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^ I think I heard an audiobook version years and years ago which had both the published and unpublished endings, but I can't really remember the detail of it now at this distance.

Weird Wills & Eccentric Last Wishes
Michelle Lovric published by PAST TIMES 2000



Looking for inspiration?

I picked this up from the small pile of unread humorous gift books.

William Pitt's last words were "I think I could eat one of Vulliamy's pork pies".
Just substitute "Gregg's vegan sausage roll" and you're good to go.

Springtime in Britain
Edwin Way Teale 1971



For ten bob on a supermarket book stall I thought it was worth a punt and I was right.

Teale was a distinguished American naturalist who spent four months in 1966 zigzagging 11,000 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats.
If you are interested in the geography of Britain, its flora and fauna, its history and even its literature then you will probably enjoy this volume, illustrated by the author's own black and white photos. It's also beautifully written. Highly reccomended.

The Year's Best Science Fiction No.5
edited by Harry Harrison & Brian Aldiss
published 1972 by Sphere



This is the an edition of the series which ran from 1968 to 1976. There are 19 entires of which 15 are stories. The other entries are 3 poems (sigh), a mock theatre review from the New York Times (yawn) and a flowchart from "National Lampoon" magazine (FFS!).

The real fiction is actually of a decent quality with few duds and two stick in the mind. The first is "Doctor Zombie and his Furry Little Friends" which is about a scientist's violently extreme response to mankind's devastation of Earth's enviroment - Greta would probably approve.
The second is "The Pagan Rabbi" by Cynthia Ozick. This is about a brilliant scholar of Judaism who appears to undergo an unreal and fantastic crisis of faith. Not really SF but hey ho.

Also included is Arthur C. Clarke's "Meeting with Medusa" which was published in "Playboy" of all places and is a traditional SF yarn about a single man expedition to the atmosphere of Jupiter. This won the 1972 Nebula Award for the best science fiction novella of the year.

Lawrence Dallaglio's Rugby Tales
2009 - Hodder & Stoughton



A collection of yarns from the English speaking ruggersphere collected by Lawrence and his fellow England internationals Damian Hopley and David Trick. The stories are provided by an impressive array of players including Bill Beaumont, Michael Lynagh, Jeremy Guscott and Gavin hastings amongst others.

You can't fault the lineup but most of the tales are pretty lame. The book's subtitle is "legendary stories of blood, sweat and beers" so I was disappointed by the shortage of true bacchanalian debauchery. I suspect most of the chaps had better tales to tell but refrained on the grounds of decency or maybe they were saving them for the after dinner speaking gigs.

The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
Stephen King - 1997



The fourth book in this series of fantasy/horror/western novels.

I read the first two over thirty years ago and thought they were ok. Volume three has been on my shelf unread for decades until recently when I decided to give it a go and so I read the first two again and was surprised at how much I enjoyed them. This one at over a quarter of a million words is a doorstopper but also a very good read and so number five is on order.

A fascinating look back over the career, life and times of a snooker legend.
From an account of those early days through the black ball final of 85 right through to the end. A brilliant read.

The Best Science Fiction of the Year
edited by Terry Carr - 1972



Carr had been editing annual collections of the best SF short fiction with Donald Wollheim since the mid sixties but they fell out and went their seperate ways, each producing a year's best anthology. This is Carr's first solo effort.

The works are all by well known figures in the field and most are OK or good although none are outstanding.

1 - Superb, would read again
None

2 - Enjoyable
The Sliced-Crosswise Only-on-Tuesday World - Philip Jose Farmer
Vaster than Empires and More Slow - Ursula K. Le Guin
All the last Wars at One - George Alec Effinger
The Fourth Profession - Larry Niven

3 - OK but forgettable
The Queen of Air and Darkness - Poul Anderson
In Entropy's Jaws - Robert Silverberg
A Meeting With Medusa - Arthur C. Clarke
The Frayed String on the Stretched Forefinger of Time - Lloyd Biggle Jr
How Can We Sink When We Can Fly - Alexei Panshin
No Direction Home - Norman Spinrad

4 - Dull or Annoying (or both)
Occam's Scalpel - Theodore Sturgeon

The sturgeon story (which isn't even SF) was described by an equally unimpressed reviewer as:
"...this story is about how it would be great if intellectual elites would manipulate the rest of us because we are all too stupid and greedy to do the right thing."
Like a lot of people I've had my eyes opened in the last four years as to how prevalent that mindset is.

The Anderson story won Nebula and Hugo awards and the Clarke story won a Nebula.

Doctor Faustus
Christophe Marlowe c1592
edited by David Bevington and Eric Rasmussen



"Doctor Faustus (sometimes referred to with its original title, The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus) follows the dark, twisted path of the restless scholar of the title. Yearning for infinite knowledge and questioning his faith, Doctor Faustus forsakes his scholarly studies for the dark world of magic and sorcery. He makes a pact with the devil. If the evil spirit, Mephastophilis, will serve him for 24 years, Faustus will bequeath the devil his soul after his death and spend eternity damned in hell. Despite warnings from colleagues, Faustus is blind to the terrifying extent of his actions until it is too late. Going on a journey with Mephastophilis and displaying his magic to a host of influential and important figures, Faustus finally realizes that he has come to the end of his allotted time on earth and learnt nothing. Regretting his deal--signed in his own blood--but unable to do anything about it, Faustus is hauled off down to hell by Mephastophilis and other evil spirits. Highly entertaining, energetic, and darkly funny, Doctor Faustus has a timeless quality, exploring mankind’s insatiable desire for knowledge and power." (from Stageagent)

I bought this edition from Manchester University Press because it has both the "A" and "B" versions of the play on facing pages so you can read and compare them at the same time. It's also annotated and has a good introduction which are essential if you know virtually nothing about Elizabethan drama. It's actually pretty easy to follow even without the notes and rattles along at a good pace until Faust meets his hellish end.

Listed in "Horror: The Hundred Best Books" edited by Jones & Newman

Not quite, currently reading, more like devoured in a matter of days.
Dracul
Dacre Stoker and J D Barker

Prequel to the most famous horror story of all, inspired by the notes Dracula's creator left behind.
Dacre Stoker is the Great-Grand-Nephew of Bram.

Really captures the essence of the original book. Also includes the fascinating details surrounding these notes which formed the parts of the first 100 pages that were cut from the original book.

Highly Recommend