Okay, first up, i received a message on facebook from one of my friends. it was one of those cyclical 'b.s.' things that go around to waste time, except that it wasn't. for a chane it was somewhat more intelligent than i'm used to from random poswts, but then it came from one of my more interesting amd intelligent friends. It said, as follows... 'Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Tag 15 friends, including me because I'm interested in seeing what books my friends choose.'

Well, needless to say i responded, and I thought that first off i would repeat myself here, but no, it took over an hour and a half rather than fifteen minutes as I struggled to shorten the list, book by book by book.

Secondly, an update on my life. It's boring, monotonous, repetative and not all that different from my last post, with one exception... I move into my new home in 6 days time. A lovely little 2 bed (well, one bed, i'm dumping a bedroom in favour of a dining/utility room).

So, now that's out of the way, here is the literature of my life!

01: The first and most obvious book in my list has to be Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett. It's a classic Prachettean satire on life and, in a very litteral way, Death. I think i've read it about twenty times now and it's just as impossible to put down now as the first time I read it.

02: Truckers. Further Terry Pratchett, but this time inspirational writing for an imaginative youth and one that has left a lasting impression on my interpretation of fantasy characters.

03: The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. I had a pretty slow but none-th-less intense relationship with fantasy from the age of about 12 to 17 and this book was, naturally, one of the first I picked up in my exploration of the genre.

04: Having previously found Tolkien a wonderful, but sometimes laborious writer, with The Wheel of Time Robert Jordan managed to capture my attention almost immediateley in his tale of epic proportions that easily tops the LOTR franchise in its breadth, depth and intensity. I am eagerly awaiting the final instalments of his work, despite his unfortunate demise. He is sadly missed.

05: Yet again, Terry Pratchett makes an appearance in the list, this time in conjunction with co-author Neil Gaiman on Good Omens. As one of the most published and highly respected authors of British history and a great commentator on the contemporary world, it should not be a great surprise to my friends to find TP in here a third time and Gaiman's addition to the partnership is quite sublime, making Good Omens an obvious addition.

06: Now if this is going to ba an accurate record it has to stretch to all the extremes of litterature that have impacted my reading habits. As such, the next book on this list is a reminder of my youth as much as school itself and so I can do far worse than mention the Letterland series of books, in particular 'Munching Mike'. Not because of the main character's name, but because we had to read it over and over and over again. A great story as it happens, but one of many (twenty six to be precise).

07: Keeping with the childhood theme a little longer, my next book is Blackberry Bunny (Brambledown Tales) by Geraldine McCaughrean. My mother must have read this to me every night till i was too old to let her! Beautifully written and charming to a fault.

08: Back to a more adult theme, I could not continue my list without adding in Douglass Hancock's 'The Sign and the Seal'. An in-depth and engrossing journey into Hancock's search for the Holy Grail and the Arc of the Covenant. If you haven't read it I won't break the conclusions to you but I do insist that you give it a go. As a work of non-fiction I find it peerless in its intrigue and as epic as any great work of fiction could be.

09: From one Douglas to another and The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy. Adam's hysterically hilarious science fiction trilogy in five parts gets off to a brilliant and irresistably funny start in what is one of twentieth centuries greatest reads. Satire, sarcasm, cynicism and silliness mixed with a sprinkling of science fact and mathematical theory make for an exhilerating story about a fairly ordinary person. Brilliance.

10: As additional proof of Douglas Adam's genious, I turn now to Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Illustrious in its understated spoofing and down-right ridiculousness, Adam's once again creates a masterpeice of comic fiction by laying the simplest of scenario's. What if...

11: As you can probably tell by now, I have a thirst for the fantastical in my literature, be it scientific, modern day, reality or historical. Perfectly in keeping with this decree comes a second non-fiction offering, Supernature by Lyall Watson. An enjoyable look into the reality of the 'unknown'. A strange description? Well not really in a book that attempts to shed light on as many subjects as the paranormal, UFO's, and how nature itself can surprise us in not only its complexity, but also it's consistency at being above and beyond what we take for granted as 'normal'.

12: There are book series and then there are book series. another of the greater series, to my mind, is that dealing with the planet Pern and it's Dragons. I know of several people that will instantly dissagree with my inclusion of any of Anne McCaffrey's books, but I find the stories to be well written and intelligent. McCaffrey's ideological society, it's histories and hopes are well designed and reflect a hopeful view of life even in their darker moments. In particular I will single out All the Weyrs of Pern as it holds the record of the only book to have ever caused me to shed a tear with the simple yet beautiful description of Master Harper Robinton's funeral.

13: Okay, now i'm getting into difficulty, while it has probably taken jus t a few moments to read this far, singling out individual books is becoming something of a struggle and time consuming affair. This is less because i can think of no books than there are so many i would like to ention here, still, to remain as brief as possible I will now go off-track to a little set of books about Greek Byzantite, Demetrios Askiates, from the second I picked up Tom Harper's The Seige of Heaven I was hooked. Exhilerating and terrific are the only words I can think of to describe his writing, including some of the most well thought out and accurate descriptions of warfare I could hope to read, down to the urine soaked earth and blood smeared mail.

14: Nearly done and another tough decision, but I would be a fool if i din't include a bit more science fiction, this time from possibly the greatest author of this genre to have ever lived, nameley 'The War Of The Worlds' by H.G. Wells. at the age of ten my father dumped the impressive tome on my lap and said simply, 'you might like this'. More fool him, I still have his copy!

15: Lastly, and an hour and a half after beginning this list, there is only one book i have yet to enter that needs to be entered. I doubt there is a person left on the planet that hasn't felt it's influence in one form or another, be it good, bad or indifferent. It is responsible for more attrocities and, inverseley, more hope and social justice than any other single institution in civilised history, namely, The Holy Bible. Written by innumerable unknown authors to a timeline that is unrecordable at best, it holds all that is good and all that is bad in humanity in a single document and is inspiration to millions, not least 'Christians' and, although I am not a Christian myself, this includes me.

It may be due to having a number of Baptists in the family, simple curiosity, faith or maybe even divine itervention, but I have read it several times and will likely read it several more. It affects even the smallest part of my day at some level and will likely remain the corner-stone of western civilisation (such as it is), law and governance for countless generations to come. Despite my lack of belief in the 'Christian Way' I find this a comforting thought.