Ah, of course. And it is indeed awesome. (Thanks for the tip, by the way; I haven’t really listened much to Green Mind. Although I seem to have actually managed to rate “Forget It” as a 4/5 in WMP…)

“Forget It”, of course.

“As for my SFX subscription… Yeah, they’ve sent me some mails recently about it supposedly being a week late, but I honestly haven’t noticed, as I’m currently utterly isolated from anyone else who reads it and thus don’t know when it’s supposed to arrive…”

I don’t either, but I usually pop by their website and forum every week or so, which makes me all the more aware when it’s really, really late.

Yeah, at least there’s that. As for it being a classic or not, it does have cover blurbs enough to support such a claim — Kingsley Amis himself, for instance, is quoted as having said that this is “the best science fiction novel yet”, and another one claims that it represents the quintessence of the 50’s social science fiction — but seeing as I’m neither half-way through it nor half as well-read in the subgenre as I ought to, It’s impossible for me to say, really.

“Seeing as we’re speaking about book shops in Trondheim; what’s up with Avalon?”

I know; it’s sad, really. I usually stick my head in there once every two weeks or so, and they pretty much *never* have anything interesting, neither in comics or novels. They have shitloads of uninteresting, unknown, American-covered sci-fi and fantasy novels, of course, but most of it seems so pulp, I wouldn’t want to touch it for the world. Occasionally, though, I buy something out of pity…

” (who were stocking Steven Erikson’s “Lees of Laughter’s End” at the time).”

Fuck, now I have to go downtown today — and it’s raining cats and dogs.

“A top ten, or even a top twenty, just doesn’t have the variety I need to feel completely satisfied.”

I agree; whenever I try to put together a top ten these days, I always find myself sacrificing accuracy for diversity. And the second after I’ve scrambled some bands and artists I feel are representative, five new ones pop up like mushrooms after rain.

“(Oh, and while you’re listening to “Green Mind”, wait around till the bonus track. When that guitar kicks in… Wow, simply awesome).”

“The” bonus track? Hot Burrito #2, Turnip Farm or Forget It?

As for my SFX subscription… Yeah, they’ve sent me some mails recently about it supposedly being a week late, but I honestly haven’t noticed, as I’m currently utterly isolated from anyone else who reads it and thus don’t know when it’s supposed to arrive…

“Just about everyone I know did as little as possible on that third year Norwegian paper (except, of course, my crazy-ass sister), so don’t apologise for actually trying to make an effort. That you do epitomises just about everything that’s wrong with the Norwegian education system (in an extremely wide sense) today. You don’t have to feel ashamed about trying to do your best. (Sorry; pet peeve of mine…)”

It wasn’t so much intended as an apology; I was rather just stating some facts that seem pretty much obvious, thus preventing you or Loki from jumping in with your famed smart-assery

“Yay! One of my three or four favourite bands Dinosaur Jr is, so I’m thrilled you like them. (The two other being Radiohead and REM, and the third being Pink Floyd.)”

Haven’t tried enough Pink Floyd and can’t really stand that R.E.M. vocalist. I’ve grown quite uncomfortable listing my favourite bands, but if I was forced to, I’d have to put Radiohead very near or possibly on the top. Others would be EELS, the White Stripes and Tom Waits and (…). A top ten, or even a top twenty, just doesn’t have the variety I need to feel completely satisfied.

“Have you gotten so far as to get a favourite album yet? Myself, I used to rate Dinosaur and You’re Living All Over Me miles ahead of the rest, but recently I’ve realised that Beyond is a fucking amazing album (the solo on Pick Me UP! ), and that Bug’s not half-bad, either. Of the three others I’ve heard, Where You Been? is not that far behind Bug, while the de facto J Mascis solo-albums Green Mind and Without A Sound are lagging a bit behind. (Although I suspect that might be related to the fact that those two are the ones I’ve most recently bought, and thus haven’t established a relationship to yet.)”

“You’re Living All Over Me” is definitely my top pick right now, but I haven’t been through the rest of their albums, so I can’t be sure if it will stay that way. I saw “Beyond” was getting good reviews, but wasn’t aware it was at the same level as their early work. Thanks for the tip. (Oh, and while you’re listening to “Green Mind”, wait around till the bonus track. When that guitar kicks in… Wow, simply awesome).

Well, when you have a novel that’s supposed to be very thrilling, it’s generally not a very good idea to bog the pace of the plot down with extensive philosophical discussions. Also, when both the perspective and the voice of the novel constantly belongs to the same character, what you have is basically a first-person narrative, and those are extremely hard to get right. And This time, Bakker didn’t make it. It’s clichéed, and mixed with a very didactic tone throughout the novel, it makes for an unappetizing mixture.

“What are you reading now?”

A real fluff sci-fi novel from 1952, of all things, “The Space Merchants” by Fredrick Pohl and C.M. Cornbluth (or something). I completely fell for its über cheesy title when I saw it at Outland, and just had to have it. It’s a bit fun, even though it’s mostly dull. The basic plot is pretty much that in a 23rd century completely dominated by advertisement firms, humanity has decided to go to Venus and colonise that planet. However, as Venus is a fairly unhospitable planet, one of the big PR firms’ sharpest young heads is tasked with designing a recruitment campaign to attract prospective colonisers. A boringly executed premise, really, but in between it’s fun to see how these authors figured the future would develop (and how they perceived the PR firms of their own time). For example, they can imagine all manner of sorts of technological development (albeit no space transportation device more advanced than a really big rocket), but they seem unwilling to draw the extent of gender equality too wide.

“(And yes, I do realize I’m putting much more work into this than what’s required. I could potentially just read AG and/or Sandman plus some of the prose books and call it quits, but… I *want* to do it this way. Even if it’s overkill for a twenty-pages long paper.)”

Just about everyone I know did as little as possible on that third year Norwegian paper (except, of course, my crazy-ass sister), so don’t apologise for actually trying to make an effort. That you do epitomises just about everything that’s wrong with the Norwegian education system (in an extremely wide sense) today. You don’t have to feel ashamed about trying to do your best. (Sorry; pet peeve of mine…)

“On different note, I thought I’d add that I’m really digging Dinosaur Jr. at the moment. I would’ve never listened to them if you hadn’t put me on them via your last.fm page, so thanks a bunch, old chap”

Yay! One of my three or four favourite bands Dinosaur Jr is, so I’m thrilled you like them. (The two other being Radiohead and REM, and the third being Pink Floyd.)

Have you gotten so far as to get a favourite album yet? Myself, I used to rate Dinosaur and You’re Living All Over Me miles ahead of the rest, but recently I’ve realised that Beyond is a fucking amazing album (the solo on Pick Me UP! ), and that Bug’s not half-bad, either. Of the three others I’ve heard, Where You Been? is not that far behind Bug, while the de facto J Mascis solo-albums Green Mind and Without A Sound are lagging a bit behind. (Although I suspect that might be related to the fact that those two are the ones I’ve most recently bought, and thus haven’t established a relationship to yet.)

What are you reading now?

I’m currently wading through a massive brick called “Captain America: Omnibus” (collects Ed Brubaker’s and Steve Eptings up to #25 as well as two one-shots, one of which is quite long). I think it’s in the vicinity of 750 pages long and has thus become one of the rare comic books that lasts me more than a single sitting. You should, btw, check out Brubaker’s and Sean Phillips crime comic series, “Criminal”. There are currently two tpb’s out in Europe and they’re both ace.

After I’m done with Cap. A, I’ll probably start thinking about beginning my Neil Gaiman read-till-I-drop-marathon. So much stuff to go through; American Gods, Anansi Boys, Neverwhere, Coraline, The entire Sandman run, eleven individual tpb’s he’s written for either Marvel or Dark Horse and that’s before I even mention the four thick prose books I’ve purchased about his work. I’m going to become a real authority on this guy when this is done in late February. You will all learn to love and fear me!

(And yes, I do realize I’m putting much more work into this than what’s required. I could potentially just read AG and/or Sandman plus some of the prose books and call it quits, but… I *want* to do it this way. Even if it’s overkill for a twenty-pages long paper.)

On different note, I thought I’d add that I’m really digging Dinosaur Jr. at the moment. I would’ve never listened to them if you hadn’t put me on them via your last.fm page, so thanks a bunch, old chap