I could be just making a wild guess but I suspect the average OLO forum contributor might have had a few books arrive in their stockings this Christmas. Mind was certainly laden with a measure.

The list of the new titles include;

The Road by Cormac McCarthy,

Dissent over Descent by Steve Fuller,

Perilous Power by Noam Chomsky and Gilbert Achcar,

Flat Earth by Christine Garwood,

and

Khubilai Khan's Lost fleet by James Delgardo.

The only one I have had the time to open was The Road. Consumed in a sitting and as one would expect from McCarthy a vivid read was had. As with our own Tim Winton I would be pressed to call him a pleasurable read but certainly powerful and some of his constructions were breathtaking.

The books others pick for you can be pretty revealing about how they view your tastes, not always in concert with what you would have chosen for yourself, but unexpected delights can result.

I was wondering if others would like to share their lists?

Dear csteele,

I only received a couple of titles this year.
I was given theatre tickets to The
Australian Ballet, and the Melbourne Theatre
Company, instead.

Anyway, the titles that I received were:

1) "The Costello Memoirs,"
Peter Costello with Peter Coleman.

2) "From Russia With Lunch,"
David Smiedt. (I had lent a copy
previously to a friend and never got it back).

3) "Mao's Last Dancer,"
Li Cunxin.
(Again same story - lent a copy and never
got mine back).

4) "Find Me An Island,"
Chris Sutcliffe.

I'm looking forward to some quiet moments during
these holidays to curl up and do some re-reading,
as well as some new reading. I've almost finished
Thomas L. Friedman's, "Hot, Flat, and Crowded,"
(on Climate Change issues).

You lucky people!

Because I used to race, & only like old cars, [my regular car is over 30 years old], my family tend to take the easy route.

I recieved,

1/ The Fastest Cars, a coffee table picture book.

2/ David Mackays autobiography, because I used to drive for him, & have a few mentions.

3/ Another motor racing book, [the name escapes me] in which my son tells me, I have 72 references.

Actually, I am finding David's book very interesting. From 40 years on, I can see that, although I spent a year working very closely with him, trying to win a championship, I did not know him at all.

Only now can I see why he did things, & why he did them, the way he did.

I wonder how many people I have actually known.

Dear Foxy,

All good Australian fare by the look of it except of course for Friedman.

My only flag flying present was one of the second-hand books, Bob Ellis' Night Thoughts in a Time of War. The one I have my face stuck in at the moment is Profits of War by Ari Ben-Menashe and if even half of it is true then it is explosive stuff.

There is just something about books that the internet just can't compete with.

Dear Hasbeen,

Looks like the family may have read your interests well by the sounds of it. Mine can be a little perverse at times and also afflicted with the sin of buying for themselves knowing the books will get passed around. But since everyone does it no one minds.

My purchase for my brother was Thomas Keneally's The People's Train. Quite looking forward to getting my hands on it.

Well at least there’s few intull…intellechew…intellekchuwal…ahm…sort-of-smartsh people on OLO who read books n stuff!

What did I get for chrissmus? Nothin! I ignored the silly business. And I let all my huuuuge number of friends and family know about it.

Well…actually they all knew (all two or three of them, that is), coz I have been ignoring it for years.

But I did recently get a great book, for a birthday prezzie.

It’s called; ‘The 2nd dinkum dunny companion’ by Nicholas Reed.

(:>|

Dear Ludwig,

I know Christmas can be tough for some so I have an inkling what might have happened to the First Dinkum Dunny Companion, which can be quite disheartening for the author. Bit rough it might be said.

But I happen to know Nicholas Reed quite well and he tells me some bloke named Kenny is after the movie rights.

Alls good that ends well so to speak, even a dodgy pudding.