Books: Mrs Dalloway, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Bliss and X-1999

1. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

This book was amazing. I read it while camping, thankfully, since it needed every bit of my attention, and even then I read most things twice. There's so much going on in here. I won't say much more since it's obviously one of those books that gets banged on about over and over, but rightfully so. It broke me out of a long reading drought.
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

This is the book that turned me off reading. "Whoa!" I hear some people say. Easy, easy there, friend. I didn't hate the book/s, it's just that reading them altogether and for the first time is a bit much. There's a bit too much smartness in too little space. Not smart as in dense, smart as in "smart alec". Reading it felt like having a bookish ten year old following me around the house, correcting my grammatical errors and spinning out endless lies at breathtaking speed. I got over it very quickly.  It's also one of those cultural relics that's suffered from endless homage and bad impressions.

And on a side note the film version, which I thought was okay at the time, now seems awful.

3. Bliss by Peter Carey

Peter Carey's first novel, this was the recipient of nearly every literary prize Australia has on offer. It succeeds in being both creepy and beautiful, which for me is always a winning combination. The story involves a prominent advertising agent who, following a near-death experience, believes he's actually in hell, and that everyone around him - including family and friends - are merely actors. The excellence of the prose and the strength of the protagonists wife is enough to carry the novel through it's slightly messy and over-the-top third act.

4. X-1999 by Clamp

Okay look, look. I'm not recommending this one to you unless, like me, you have a hysterical Japanese girl pent up inside of you. If so, then read on.

The manga, which is exclamation and caps heavy, is about a group of teenagers FACED WITH THE END OF THE WORLD......LITERALLY! Two old friends end up on opposing teams of good and evil! With a sister/lover fond of being in peril caught IN THE MIDDLE! Throw in a bevvy of cool sidekicks and villains and amazing powers, not to mention some great cyber-punk style and THERE'S A LOT TO ENJOY! As long as you can deal with the endless exclamations! And emotional MOMENTS!  

Everything about this manga, created by Clamp (a collective of girl manga artists) is girly. It's drawn in the Shojo style, which means big moist eyes and plenty of lady boys. Not to mention homo-erotic overtones. It is a gender studiers dream boat. So if that's your thing, this is for you. It isn't? Well I tried. Oh, everything is girly apart from the violence, which is MAJOR. Deaths involving tensile wires ala Ghost Ship are the death du jour.

No, not everyone's cup of tea. It is objectively ridiculous. But there's something about it that just gets me. It's just so epic, so over-the-top that it just works. The film, with it's deliciously bad dubbing and heinous sound track, is also recommended.