Is not what it seems

Advantages: Fast-paced reading, compelling account of real-life issues
Disadvantages: Superficial in places, threadbare, too much emphasis on action

... Introduction A few weeks ago while sitting in Starbucks with my friend she put the book she was reading on the table. She went to get some coffees so I sneaked a peek and caught a random sentence mid-page that read: " The worst thing about London is that nobody really fits in. And the best thing about London is that nobody really fits in". Well, I thought, that actually sounds like me and said to her I want to read it so I borrowed her library copy and finished it in three days over the Easter weekend. About the author Douglas Kennedy is a contemporary author of popular fiction novels - many of them bestsellers and translated into over a dozen languages - including The Pursuit of Happiness the book you will have most likely to have heard of. He started to become known as a non-fiction writer of travel books...

lillamarta 01.04.2008 (09.04.2008) · Read review
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Review of A Special Relationship - Douglas Kennedy

JPod - Douglas Coupland

Advantages: It has a nice cover
Disadvantages: The stuff in between is bad

..."Oh God, I feel like a refugee from a Douglas Coupland novel." "That asshole" "Who does he think he is?" As opening lines to novels go that was a first for me. I've never known an author name check them self so brazenly and I have to say it set me off on the wrong foot with this book. I've never read Coupland before so wasn't really sure what to expect. As the celebrated author of 'Generation X' I was looking forward to an IT literate book for the information age. What I got was something far less, a self serving work lacking irony and intelligence. A book that wastes the reader's time and provides little in return. But I'm rushing to a conclusion so let me step back and tell you a little about it before I completely trash it. The story follows events over a year or so of Ethan Jarlewski's life. A regular kind of guy he...

brereton66 07.03.2008 · Read review
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Review of JPod - Douglas Coupland

Generation X - Douglas Coupland

Advantages: An intelligent read
Disadvantages: A bit on the light side

...I must be such a sucker. A year or so back I bought the book Jpod by Douglas Coupland and hated it with a degree of hostility out of all proportion to its inherent quality, yet here I am shelling out good money for another one. I?d bought that first book largely on the basis of the author?s reputation as a modern, zeitgeist surfing writer with a savvy appreciation of the turn of the century world. A reputation almost entirely earned with this break through novel; ?Generation X?. Unfortunately, Jpod was so annoyingly self-regarding, so out of touch with the 21st century that I felt almost personally insulted that I had been so duped ? hence my disproportionate loathing. Still, once bitten ? never learn is my motto and I resolved to go back to the source of all this trouble and actually read Generation X, the book that created a reputation...

brereton66 11.03.2009 (15.03.2009) · Read review
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Review of Generation X - Douglas Coupland

The Big Picture

Advantages: Superbly written read for winter night or a journey
Disadvantages: You won't want to put the book down

...Douglas Kennedy writes in a really easy reading tone - you read his books and feel like you are in the room with the characters. This book gives rise to housewifely boredom who turns to adultery, an overspending businessman who turns to murder...not only this, but you follow a man's quest to hide his atrocity and re-invent himself as photgrapher, his life long dream. This book is bound to bring out in you feelings of what could have and perhaps should have been. It is an excellent read for those winter nights snuggled on the sofa or perhaps on a long journey. You won't want to put it down until it's finished and it's guaranteed to make you want to read other of Douglas Kennedy's work....

sianalrida 17.11.2007 · Read review
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Review of The Big Picture - Douglas Kennedy

BLACK DOUGLAS

Advantages: Strong malt flavour
Disadvantages: Hard to find on draught

...The BLACK DOUGLAS - A legendary brew named after a legend?......... Not quite. It's more like a very good beer named after a well known figure from Scottish history, but the first description sounds a bit more enticing, I think. David Younger, a descendant of the George Younger brewing family of Alloa, founded BROUGHTON ALES in 1980, in the pretty little village of Broughton (Brote-un), near Biggar in the Scottish Borders. It was one of the first of the new generation of Scottish breweries and in fact their Greenmantle Ale - which used to be extremely popular - was one of the first real ales I ever sampled, way back in the days when I thought the antithesis of 'real' ale was wholly imaginary. Official website: http://www.broughtonales.co.uk/ The 500 ml bottle is a sturdy, dark brown affair with a couple of Saltires...

proxam 04.12.2002 · Read review
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Review of Black Douglas Ale

Kennedy Space Centre Florida

Advantages: best value tour in Florida
Disadvantages: not enough hours in the day

...Whatever you do in Orlando or Wherever you are in Florida, this place is without any shadow of a doubt is a ....'must see' ..it should be on top of your Day Out list...forget Disney, Universal and Seaworld as interesting as they are this is your target, this is living History... Steeped in recent history, see the original bits and pieces of Space travel on display at the space centre, rocks from the moon, discarded space junk, old rockets, film shows on IMAX Screens, tour the whole complex on specially designed buses, see launch pads 39a and 39b where the shuttle takes of from... Kennedy Space Centre has to be one of the best Value attractions in Florida, don't panic if you dont have a car there are plenty of bus excursions from Orlando, take the kids, take Granny & Grandad they will all love this place, take the Mother in law if...

Dalesman 24.08.2000 (29.07.2001) · Read review
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Review of Cap Canaveral - Kennedy Space Centre (Florida)

Douglas Adams Douglas Adams Douglas Adams

Advantages: Really great and well written ideas
Disadvantages: No movie, and the sad news of Douglas Adams’s death

...I wouldn’t say Douglas Adams was a hero of mine but he is someone I admired a great deal. I love the way he wrote and the ideas he came up with, it wasn’t until his death a year ago that it really came home to me of how much a part he played in my life, he will be very missed. I have written a couple of opinions about Douglas Adams’s lately, and have done several, most of the following I wrote but left out due to the length of those ops. So seeing as a new revised edition of what is essentially a biography of Douglas Adams has just come out and been read by this fan I thought I’d include it here. ~~Don’t Panic - Douglas Adams & The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy~~ Written by Neil Gaiman and originally came out as ‘Don’t Panic: The Official Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy Companion’, in 1987. It was revised by David K...

seagulls-lost-horizon 14.08.2002 · Read review
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Review of Don't Panic - Douglas Adams & The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy - Neil Gaiman

Douglas Coupland - creater of modern classics

Advantages: A great social commentator
Disadvantages: his later books are not as good

...I love Douglas Coupland. He is definately one of today's most important and influential authors. His novels include the modern classic Generation X, (1991) Life after God (1994) Girlfriend in a coma, (1997) All families are psychotic, (2001) Hey Nostradamus (2003) and many more. He has also written some non-fiction such as 'Polaroids from the Dead' and 'city of glass'. He is an amazing visionary and there really is no-one else writing like him. His post-modern approach to story telling is beautiful, moving and often very funny. He has been described as a visionary and important social commentator. A Canadian born in 1961, he has studied art and design all over the world. He also creates art and even makes his own furniture. Truley a creative talented man. His later novels such as Microserfs and JPod are (obviously...

mycatis 09.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of Douglas Coupland

A Fantastic Holiday On Kennedy's Open Pet Farm

Advantages: superb accomodation, beautiful place,very hospitable,ideal for young children.
Disadvantages: A long drive from England

...As a family with young children we had tried various holidays in the past ranging from caravans to hotels, none of which had been remotely therapeutic.We had friends in the South of Ireland so decided to look for something in this area. I had been to County Kerry (south West ireland ) in my backpacking days and remembered it as being very dramatic and beautiful. I booked a week at Kennedy's farm online with no problems.We had to send a deposit and for a week in April May June,September or October the cost was 500 EUROS.In July and August this increases to 750 EUROS. I was a little apprehensive as this was a lot of money especially after counting in the cost of the ferry and the general cost of living in Ireland is not cheap.However when we arrived the accomodation was superb.We didn't use the upper part of the house at all as there...

Jenner1 18.04.2007 · Read review
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Review of Kennedy's Open Farm, Killarney, County Kerry

Douglas Adams, a hero

Advantages: Greatest author ever
Disadvantages: will write no more

...I first heard of Douglas Adams' death when I saw it in the paper. They had given him a very small section, one column and about thirty lines. I actually gave a minutes silence almost automatically after seeing the headline. Douglas Adams was almost a hero for me, as I enjoyed all his books. I would often learn things about the way he felt and thought about things, and it would sometimes scare me. I can say ‘I never really got the hang of Thursdays’ without it being a pure quote as I really do have trouble with Thursdays. It is the worst day of my week often. I also agree with many of his beliefs, on reading ‘Last Chance to See’ I agreed at every turn. The Hitch-Hikers Guide has influenced me more than any other book, and I must confess that my friends and I look out for the number forty-two everywhere...

R_Easton 09.10.2001 (14.10.2001) · Read review
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Review of The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy - Douglas Adams