I think that this is the only site that I've seen a reasonable number of people express a preference for Thousand Autumns. Usually Cloud Atlas gets the rave coverage and little or no mention is given to the other.

I finally finished The Luminaries this month. It was a massive slog to get through the first 300(!) pages, but the persistence paid off. I think it could be improved by a reasonable amount of pruning, especially in the first half, as it takes a very long time to get going. If I wasn't averse to leaving books…

That must be a great job (I hope so at least!). A family member volunteers in a library and says it's fantastic when they have the children visiting from school and doing activities during the summer. Sadly politicians think that everyone can afford a Kindle and don't think about the community services that libraries…

Not for too much longer if you live in certain parts of the UK. Terrible cuts to libraries. On the plus side, plenty of money for a shiny new nuclear deterrent.

It's the same for me when I see reviews of anything Kieron Gillen's done recently. He'll always be thought of as a PC Gamer writer (and a very good one at that).

All after London's Burning, Sunday evening ITV was great then!

Just a couple of books so far this month. I've almost finished The Golem and the Djinni thanks to recommendations from various threads here. I'm enjoying it very much, I'm tempted to explore the mythological aspects further. The other is The Goldfinch. It's some time since I read the previous Donna Tartt novels but I…

This is all revenge for rejecting Piers Morgan and making us take him back.

Lair of the White Worm makes for a hilarious film, with a very young Hugh Grant, if I remember correctly.

Most people don't care so long as you're fairly discreet. Having said that, the UK is the home of the Daily Mail, so there are a lot of people who are uptight about anything that's happened since the 19th century.

I can see how it would be on a replay, but the first time, back when the game had just come out, it was amazing. I still remember watching one of my friends playing through it, and then spending my running up and down the train looking at everything.

I really liked The Night Manager, it's my favourite of the more modern le Carre's. A Delicate Truth was good, but I'm not sure I rated it as highly, probably due to being annoyed by the parallels with the process leading up to the war in Iraq. Admittedly that was what he was aiming for, but the reality of the…

Inform, Educate, Entertain is the original aim of the BBC as envisioned by the first Director General, Lord Reith

All of a sudden Max referring to Alex "Gilloolying" her leg in Happy Endings makes sense! Strangely enough I watched that episode again last night.

I'm not sure whether I'd class it as New Weird (or even if I quite understand what New Weird is) but I can recommend Steph Swainston - probably not as cyberpunk as some of China Mieville's work, but has people with wings and a war against insects.

I've not read the Vorkosigan Saga, so I'll add that one to the list. I forgot about the Culture books, to be honest, and I think I'd take those over Reynolds, not the least for the amusement of the ship names. Reading an interview with Iain Banks, one of his regrets was not finishing up with a Culture novel.

As well as my usual Christmas / New Year read of one of the Isaac Asimov Foundation series (usually read when I spend some time at my parent's as they have the entire series), I've started working my way through this year's Booker shortlist.

Revelation Space is one of the best SF series that I've come across. I've not been quite so impressed by the other Alastair Reynolds books, although I was a big fan of House of Suns.

Peter Capaldi should have the swearing covered at least.

To steal a line from HIMYM, the 1990's didn't come to the UK until 2003.