Dlp92

I had similar concerns - I'm new to sci-fi, but I was still looking for a fairly sophisticated world that I could get lost in. There is an online introduction to the world of the 'Culture' here http://www.vavatch.co.uk/books/banks/cultnote.htm. The prose is actually a lot heavier than the books themselves (at least in my experience of Consider Phlebas so far) so don't be too put off. It's an interesting philosophical and practical introduction though.

No problem! I've recently started exploring sci-fi books myself - it's something I've always loved watching on TV or in film but have never considered reading. The other series which I have started with is 'Culture' by Iain M. Banks, starting with Consider Phlebas. This might be of interest to you, too.

A phrase which I always find irritating when it is said incorrectly is 'to all intents and purposes'. Many people think it is 'to all intensive purposes' which just lacks meaning. I'm from the UK, if this makes any difference.

As someone who has never studied German, it definitely sounds harsher on the ear to me than other European languages like French and Spanish. I do wonder whether English sounds similar though, but may not be noticed in the same way.

I agree, I find it infuriating! I understood when most people used phones with numerical keypads, but many people have smart phones with keyboards now and it just seems unnecessary. Old habits die hard, I suppose.

I hadn't thought about this in a while! According to my Mother, my first word was 'Tree'. I do feel sorry for my parents, although I suppose they didn't have to deal with the implied favouritism of it being Mum or Dad!

Inspirational, from a giant of American literature: Life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain

I've been attempting to learn Norwegian for a long time. I have friends who live in Norway and I always feel guilty that they have to speak English to communicate with me! It may only be spoken in one country, but it is such a beautiful country. It also sounds lovely.

I second this. The vision of Jazz Age America portrayed in Gatsby is fantastic; it's a novel I often find myself dwelling on subconsciously. It's still very relevant today. As a huge fan of the book, I did actually enjoy the recent film adaptation too (although I know this isn't a particularly popular viewpoint!)

I've seen Perks of Being a Wallflower referred to as a modern Catcher in the Rye. I agree, perhaps star with 'Perks' and if you find you enjoy it, move on to Catcher. I really enjoyed both, personally.

I haven't finished it yet, but if I do, I will be very proud at having completed Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. It's over 1000 pages long, it has footnotes with their own footnotes and it follows numerous different story lines in a near future world. I'm loving it so far and highly recommend it - requires some effort though!

I think it's easy to lose momentum, especially if you've been unlucky and read a few bad books recently. Whenever this happens to me, I tend to go back to reading a book I know I love from the past, something fairly light and easy. Don't be too ambitious.

I would also suggest the Robot stories by Asmiov, starting with I, Robot. It happens in the same universe as the Foundation series, exploring the nature of robotics and artificial intelligence.