I'm not that interested in e-readers, but that's because I feel books have many advantages. Still, I'm optimistic, and I'm sure the technology can be advanced enough that it is indistinguishable from the magic of books. Here are my top ten suggestions:
1 - If a fly lands on the device, and you crush it, the device should transfer the colour and permanently to your current page.
2 - Virtual bookmarks! Official Harry Potter ones, bits of ribbon, important cheques, Pokémon trading cards and the option to dog-ear pages.
3 - There should be a soft, wobbly version of the device. Charts for both devices should be listed separately in shops.
4 - If Torchwood books are released, I expect the reader to emulate the satisfying cracking sound that occurs circa page 80.
5 - It should technically be possible to turn two pages at once. Although this will never happen, one will always feel the need to check.
6 - Each book should have a specific smell encoded. This smell should gradually change from "new book smell" to "old book smell".
7 - There should be a way to lend a friend a single book, instead of your entire collection. I have never needed to do the latter.
8 - For pirate books, the reader should automatically delete the cover.
9 - For well-read books, the reader should allow it to "fall" open on popular passages. (Your Father's Passing; Not My Daughter You Bitch).
10 - Replicate real books' magical ability to burn their contents onto your memory, so you remember the part of a page each word appears on.
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Winning at Coin Flipping
This is an explanation of Penney's Game, as seen on Derren Brown's show, How to Win the Lottery. The case shown in the programme had a quirk that meant the explanation wasn't clear, so here is the way it works.
Two opponents are going to flip a coin. They will each choose a sequence of three (say, tails-heads-tails and heads-heads-heads), and whenever one of the two sequences comes up, that participant wins the round, and the game begins again.
The question here is whether there is a way for the participant who chooses second to improve her chance of winning.
Firstly, it's important to realise that all eight possible combinations are equally likely to come up by turn 3:
HHH
HHT
HTH
HTT
THH
THT
TTH
TTT
They each have a probability of 1-in-8 of coming up. This means that the two participants will have an equal chance of winning at this point, but it's far more likely (3-in-4) that neither will win.
But! The important thing here is if either participant wins, the round ends. Otherwise, it continues. Let's assume the first participant chose tails-heads-tails (THT). This leaves seven possibilities:
1 - HHH
2 - HHT
3 - HTH
4 - HTT
5 - THH
6 - TTH
7 - TTT
In the next round, the last two digits will become the FIRST two digits. Cases 4 and 7 will give identical results - it's irrelevant that they had different results on the first throw, because only the last three throws matter.
This means that the participant who chose THT has a chance of winning in cases 3 and 6 - as long as the next coin shows tails. This is the sneaky bit. If the second participant had chosen HTH or TTH (i.e. the combinations in 3 and 6), the odds of the first particpant winning on the next turn would be halved.
So, which to choose? Assuming no-one won in turn three, TTH has a chance of coming up in turn four in cases 4 and 7. HTH, on the other hand, can only come up in case 2. This is because the first participant chose the second combination ending in -HT.
The trick to remember is to flip the MIDDLE value of the first participant's combination, use that as the first value, and use the participant's first two values as your last two. So HTT gives HHT, HHH gives THH, etc.
Let's look at this in detail. Participant One chooses THT. We flip the middle value (H) for our first value (T) and use the first two values (TH) as our last two, giving us TTH. As discussed, the first turn will be a 1-in-8 chance for both, and in six cases, the game will continue:
HHH - 1/8
HHT - 1/8
HTH - 1/8
HTT - 1/8
THH - 1/8
TTT - 1/8
On the next throw, values beginning with HH and TT are at an advantage, because there are two values apiece ending with those two in turn three. We get this:
HHH - 2/12
HHT - 2/12
HTH - 1/12
HTT - 1/12
THH - 1/12
THT - 1/12
TTH - 2/12
TTT - 2/12
So participant one's chances have decreased from 1/8 to 1/12, while participant two's have improved from 1/8 to 1/6. But the trick works again! Because there are six cases in which the game continues:
HHH - 1/6
HHT - 1/6
HTH - 1/12
HTT - 1/12
THH - 1/12
TTT - 1/6
Again, you can see that values ending in -HH and -TT are at an advantage (with a 1/6 and 1/12 combination each - these will come up 1-in-4 times), and -TH at a disadvantage (with only a single 1/12 combination allowing this).
Feel free to draw out the probability tables yourself. In turn 5, paritipant two has a 1-in-6 chance of winning, while participant three a 1-in-18 chance. In turn 6, participant two will have a 1-in-14 chance, while participant one now has a 5-in-28 chance. In short, by the time participant one's combination comes up, it's likely that participant two's combination will have come up already.
The specific case in Derren Brown's show was an interesting one. Remember when I mentioned there were two combinations that would help a participant get the correct combination on the following turn? There are two combinations that cancel out THEMSELVES - shooting yourself in the foot, since the second participant will do the same thing. This means that after the first three turns, it will be impossible for these suicidal combinations to come up before the opponent's.
These combinations are heads-heads-heads and tails-tails tails. Here it is in action.
The first participant chooses HHH, and the opponent therefore chooses THH. As ever, by turn three, they each have a 1-in-8 chance of winning. But!:
*HHH*
HHT
HTH
HTT
*THH*
THT
TTH
TTT
If you look at the remaining six cases - the combinations which will cause the game to continue - NONE of them end in -HH. That is, it will be impossible for opponent one to win in turn 4, while opponent two still has the normal 1-in-6 chance of winning on the next turn. This will continue to be the case until opponent two has won.
This skews the numbers entirely. Opponent two now has a 7-in-8 chance of winning before a single coin has been thrown. This makes it far easier to spot than in any other case, and makes the trick seem far less impressive when presented by Mssr Brown.
PS: Interestingly, only four of the combinations are valid choices for the second participant, and each one "beats" two others. THH beats HHH and HHT, HHT beats HTH and HTT, and you get the other sets by swapping each H for T and vice versa.
Two opponents are going to flip a coin. They will each choose a sequence of three (say, tails-heads-tails and heads-heads-heads), and whenever one of the two sequences comes up, that participant wins the round, and the game begins again.
The question here is whether there is a way for the participant who chooses second to improve her chance of winning.
Firstly, it's important to realise that all eight possible combinations are equally likely to come up by turn 3:
HHH
HHT
HTH
HTT
THH
THT
TTH
TTT
They each have a probability of 1-in-8 of coming up. This means that the two participants will have an equal chance of winning at this point, but it's far more likely (3-in-4) that neither will win.
But! The important thing here is if either participant wins, the round ends. Otherwise, it continues. Let's assume the first participant chose tails-heads-tails (THT). This leaves seven possibilities:
1 - HHH
2 - HHT
3 - HTH
4 - HTT
5 - THH
6 - TTH
7 - TTT
In the next round, the last two digits will become the FIRST two digits. Cases 4 and 7 will give identical results - it's irrelevant that they had different results on the first throw, because only the last three throws matter.
This means that the participant who chose THT has a chance of winning in cases 3 and 6 - as long as the next coin shows tails. This is the sneaky bit. If the second participant had chosen HTH or TTH (i.e. the combinations in 3 and 6), the odds of the first particpant winning on the next turn would be halved.
So, which to choose? Assuming no-one won in turn three, TTH has a chance of coming up in turn four in cases 4 and 7. HTH, on the other hand, can only come up in case 2. This is because the first participant chose the second combination ending in -HT.
The trick to remember is to flip the MIDDLE value of the first participant's combination, use that as the first value, and use the participant's first two values as your last two. So HTT gives HHT, HHH gives THH, etc.
Let's look at this in detail. Participant One chooses THT. We flip the middle value (H) for our first value (T) and use the first two values (TH) as our last two, giving us TTH. As discussed, the first turn will be a 1-in-8 chance for both, and in six cases, the game will continue:
HHH - 1/8
HHT - 1/8
HTH - 1/8
HTT - 1/8
THH - 1/8
TTT - 1/8
On the next throw, values beginning with HH and TT are at an advantage, because there are two values apiece ending with those two in turn three. We get this:
HHH - 2/12
HHT - 2/12
HTH - 1/12
HTT - 1/12
THH - 1/12
THT - 1/12
TTH - 2/12
TTT - 2/12
So participant one's chances have decreased from 1/8 to 1/12, while participant two's have improved from 1/8 to 1/6. But the trick works again! Because there are six cases in which the game continues:
HHH - 1/6
HHT - 1/6
HTH - 1/12
HTT - 1/12
THH - 1/12
TTT - 1/6
Again, you can see that values ending in -HH and -TT are at an advantage (with a 1/6 and 1/12 combination each - these will come up 1-in-4 times), and -TH at a disadvantage (with only a single 1/12 combination allowing this).
Feel free to draw out the probability tables yourself. In turn 5, paritipant two has a 1-in-6 chance of winning, while participant three a 1-in-18 chance. In turn 6, participant two will have a 1-in-14 chance, while participant one now has a 5-in-28 chance. In short, by the time participant one's combination comes up, it's likely that participant two's combination will have come up already.
The specific case in Derren Brown's show was an interesting one. Remember when I mentioned there were two combinations that would help a participant get the correct combination on the following turn? There are two combinations that cancel out THEMSELVES - shooting yourself in the foot, since the second participant will do the same thing. This means that after the first three turns, it will be impossible for these suicidal combinations to come up before the opponent's.
These combinations are heads-heads-heads and tails-tails tails. Here it is in action.
The first participant chooses HHH, and the opponent therefore chooses THH. As ever, by turn three, they each have a 1-in-8 chance of winning. But!:
*HHH*
HHT
HTH
HTT
*THH*
THT
TTH
TTT
If you look at the remaining six cases - the combinations which will cause the game to continue - NONE of them end in -HH. That is, it will be impossible for opponent one to win in turn 4, while opponent two still has the normal 1-in-6 chance of winning on the next turn. This will continue to be the case until opponent two has won.
This skews the numbers entirely. Opponent two now has a 7-in-8 chance of winning before a single coin has been thrown. This makes it far easier to spot than in any other case, and makes the trick seem far less impressive when presented by Mssr Brown.
PS: Interestingly, only four of the combinations are valid choices for the second participant, and each one "beats" two others. THH beats HHH and HHT, HHT beats HTH and HTT, and you get the other sets by swapping each H for T and vice versa.
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Wolverine vs Sabretooth
Saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine last night. It's very daft, but I enjoyed it anyway. And I'm not going to review it! It's my blog, and I'll do what I like.
Instead, I'm going to discuss my favourite aspect of Wolverine - his nemesis, Sabretooth.
What makes a good nemesis? I think there's a basic acceptance that the main requirement is that the nemesis will share the hero's most significant traits. This, Sherlock Holmes and the Doctor both have nemeses with super-intelligence, Spider-Man has lots of animal-based villains, Iron Man has a number of armoured villains, et cetera.
But I think that, in my ideal view of nemeses, there's a second prerequisite - when they get together, they have to fight. Maybe it's a battle of wits, maybe fisticuffs, but if they're capable of joining forces for a greater good, then they're not proper nemeses in my view.
Wolverine and Sabretooth, at best, offer the strongest example of this, since they're both animalistic, aggressive and strong. The first fight between them in the first X-Men film was magnificent, because there's no explanation for why they're fighting - instantly, we accept that they're nemeses, and that's why they fight.
Their relationship in Origins is basically the same, but they're brothers (or were raised as such - we arrived late, so I missed the start). This relationship diminishes their dynamic, since there's now more of a reason for their fighting.
Still plenty of fighting between the two, though, so I'm pleased. I'm easily pleased.
Instead, I'm going to discuss my favourite aspect of Wolverine - his nemesis, Sabretooth.
What makes a good nemesis? I think there's a basic acceptance that the main requirement is that the nemesis will share the hero's most significant traits. This, Sherlock Holmes and the Doctor both have nemeses with super-intelligence, Spider-Man has lots of animal-based villains, Iron Man has a number of armoured villains, et cetera.
But I think that, in my ideal view of nemeses, there's a second prerequisite - when they get together, they have to fight. Maybe it's a battle of wits, maybe fisticuffs, but if they're capable of joining forces for a greater good, then they're not proper nemeses in my view.
Wolverine and Sabretooth, at best, offer the strongest example of this, since they're both animalistic, aggressive and strong. The first fight between them in the first X-Men film was magnificent, because there's no explanation for why they're fighting - instantly, we accept that they're nemeses, and that's why they fight.
Their relationship in Origins is basically the same, but they're brothers (or were raised as such - we arrived late, so I missed the start). This relationship diminishes their dynamic, since there's now more of a reason for their fighting.
Still plenty of fighting between the two, though, so I'm pleased. I'm easily pleased.
Sunday, 1 March 2009
Being Human
Have you been watching Only Human? I hope you have. It's brilliant, you see. Those with access to iPlayer can still watch the whole series (six episodes), so here are seven reasons why this niche BBC3 show deserves a wider audience.
1 - A werewolf, a vampire and a ghost rent a house.
The central concept. What's not to love? I saw the adverts for the pilot last year, and assumed this was a sitcom. It isn't - indeed, at times, it's pitch black - but this drama does have a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, and the highlights are always the central three characters sitting around in their house, having ordinary, everyday conversations.
2 - Russell Tovey
Tovey's a revelation. Hadn't seen him in anything a few years ago, and now he's in everything from Little Dorrit to Doctor Who. And George, the neurotic werewolf in Being Human, is played brilliantly. Very believable, and incredibly sweet.
Werewolves have the short straw in drama, since they're fine for all but one night a month, but Tovey manages to convey the paranoia felt by someone who knows they're never more than four weeks away from becoming a monster.
3 - Lenora Crichlow
Crichlow's a vaguely familiar face (I first came across her in Doctor Who's Gridlock), and she has her work cut out for her in this programme, which is a bit male-heavy at the start of the series. Later episodes remedy this, but Crichlow's absolutely brilliant, bringing a lightness to those early, angsty episodes.
She plays Annie, a ghost, and her story starts slowly - she died in the house that the boys are now renting, and is forced to observe her fianceé moving on with his life without her. I've so far seen up to episode four, and her story - and character - has become more engaging with each one.
4 - Aidan Turner
The least well-known of the main cast, Turner is a revelation. He's got a tough role to play, since redeemed vampires have been seen on-screen more-or-less non-stop for the last decade.
Like the other two, I think it's Turner that manages to transform this potentially-generic character into a charming, lovely character. At no point does Mitchell feel anything like Spike, Angel or any other veggie vampires you might have seen before. Even when facing genero-vampires, Turner manages to keep Mitchell fresh.
5 - Rachel Anthony
I have no idea who Rachel Anthony is. I can't find any information on her anyway. What I do know, though, is that she wrote episode three of this series. And it's superb.
I've already mentioned the angsty, shaky start of the series. This was the episode that convinced me that everything would be alright. It's excellent. All the characters have things to do, with one of the best guest characters to date in the form of a ghost who loves 80s music. He tries to help Annie come to terms with her condition, and the plot weaves in wonderfully unexpected ways.
I find that guest writers can often bring a lot to a series. They can concentrate on a single episode, which are sometimes rewritten by a lead writer. Whatever the system is for Being Human, Anthony's episode is perfectly placed, and finally delivers great moments for the female cast, including some lovely scenes for George's love interest.
6 - Brian Dooley
Brian Dooley created The Smoking Room, which I haven't seen, but I'm familiar with his work from Monkey Dust, a disturbing BBC3 animated sketch show. He also wrote episode four of Being Human. To date, it's the last episode I've seen, and also the strongest. Several very sweet moments, but a lot of pitch black storylines. It has some really striking scenes too, with some exceptional use of music - certainly reminded me of Monkey Dust at several points.
Like Rachel Anthony's episode, it brings a lot to the table, shedding new light on all the characters. Whereas most episodes have followed a pattern of the gang meeting a new character each week, who stays with them for an hour's worth of story, this episode turns the concept on its head, leaving the characters lonelier than ever.
A great standalone episode, made even more exciting for its hints of things to come.
7 - Toby Whithouse
And finally, the creator of the show. I first came across Whithouse when he wrote School Reunion, the Doctor Who episode that featured the return of Sarah Jane. He also wrote the Torchwood episode Greeks Bearing Gifts - in which Toshiko is given an artefact that allows her to hear people's thoughts - and both episodes provided very challenging central concepts. The latter in particular could have been terrible, but both were real highlights of their respective series.
Here, Whithouse uses his talent for presenting sci-fi and fantasy in a grounded, domestic manner to maintain a whole world containing monsters. Not a new concept by a long stretch, but as I hope I've conveyed, I really feel that this offers a totally different look at the idea.
He's a great writer. His dialogue is spot-on, and it's clear from the episodes I've seen that the series is building up to something big. Whithouse himself has penned the final two episodes, and I can't wait.
Hope you all catch up too!
1 - A werewolf, a vampire and a ghost rent a house.
The central concept. What's not to love? I saw the adverts for the pilot last year, and assumed this was a sitcom. It isn't - indeed, at times, it's pitch black - but this drama does have a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, and the highlights are always the central three characters sitting around in their house, having ordinary, everyday conversations.
2 - Russell Tovey
Tovey's a revelation. Hadn't seen him in anything a few years ago, and now he's in everything from Little Dorrit to Doctor Who. And George, the neurotic werewolf in Being Human, is played brilliantly. Very believable, and incredibly sweet.
Werewolves have the short straw in drama, since they're fine for all but one night a month, but Tovey manages to convey the paranoia felt by someone who knows they're never more than four weeks away from becoming a monster.
3 - Lenora Crichlow
Crichlow's a vaguely familiar face (I first came across her in Doctor Who's Gridlock), and she has her work cut out for her in this programme, which is a bit male-heavy at the start of the series. Later episodes remedy this, but Crichlow's absolutely brilliant, bringing a lightness to those early, angsty episodes.
She plays Annie, a ghost, and her story starts slowly - she died in the house that the boys are now renting, and is forced to observe her fianceé moving on with his life without her. I've so far seen up to episode four, and her story - and character - has become more engaging with each one.
4 - Aidan Turner
The least well-known of the main cast, Turner is a revelation. He's got a tough role to play, since redeemed vampires have been seen on-screen more-or-less non-stop for the last decade.
Like the other two, I think it's Turner that manages to transform this potentially-generic character into a charming, lovely character. At no point does Mitchell feel anything like Spike, Angel or any other veggie vampires you might have seen before. Even when facing genero-vampires, Turner manages to keep Mitchell fresh.
5 - Rachel Anthony
I have no idea who Rachel Anthony is. I can't find any information on her anyway. What I do know, though, is that she wrote episode three of this series. And it's superb.
I've already mentioned the angsty, shaky start of the series. This was the episode that convinced me that everything would be alright. It's excellent. All the characters have things to do, with one of the best guest characters to date in the form of a ghost who loves 80s music. He tries to help Annie come to terms with her condition, and the plot weaves in wonderfully unexpected ways.
I find that guest writers can often bring a lot to a series. They can concentrate on a single episode, which are sometimes rewritten by a lead writer. Whatever the system is for Being Human, Anthony's episode is perfectly placed, and finally delivers great moments for the female cast, including some lovely scenes for George's love interest.
6 - Brian Dooley
Brian Dooley created The Smoking Room, which I haven't seen, but I'm familiar with his work from Monkey Dust, a disturbing BBC3 animated sketch show. He also wrote episode four of Being Human. To date, it's the last episode I've seen, and also the strongest. Several very sweet moments, but a lot of pitch black storylines. It has some really striking scenes too, with some exceptional use of music - certainly reminded me of Monkey Dust at several points.
Like Rachel Anthony's episode, it brings a lot to the table, shedding new light on all the characters. Whereas most episodes have followed a pattern of the gang meeting a new character each week, who stays with them for an hour's worth of story, this episode turns the concept on its head, leaving the characters lonelier than ever.
A great standalone episode, made even more exciting for its hints of things to come.
7 - Toby Whithouse
And finally, the creator of the show. I first came across Whithouse when he wrote School Reunion, the Doctor Who episode that featured the return of Sarah Jane. He also wrote the Torchwood episode Greeks Bearing Gifts - in which Toshiko is given an artefact that allows her to hear people's thoughts - and both episodes provided very challenging central concepts. The latter in particular could have been terrible, but both were real highlights of their respective series.
Here, Whithouse uses his talent for presenting sci-fi and fantasy in a grounded, domestic manner to maintain a whole world containing monsters. Not a new concept by a long stretch, but as I hope I've conveyed, I really feel that this offers a totally different look at the idea.
He's a great writer. His dialogue is spot-on, and it's clear from the episodes I've seen that the series is building up to something big. Whithouse himself has penned the final two episodes, and I can't wait.
Hope you all catch up too!
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Teetotal
I recently gave up drinking alcohol.
My approach has been quite vague thus far. After a big night out of drinking with some colleagues, I woke up with the same two thoughts I always have after such nights out; "what a great night!" and "wow, I feel rubbish!".
Normally, the latter thought fades, and all I can remember is enjoyment. This time, though, I had a feeling that I wouldn't be drinking again for some time. It felt like a natural point to stop.
I'll try to explain. The night had been fun, but it felt at times like it could easily shatter and become awful. As though I were walking on a tightrope. I'm glad that this night was so much fun, and that the night I've started thinking of as My Last Night of Drinking was a happy memory. The alternative - that I stop drinking only after having an appalling night - is not a pleasant thought.
Afterwards, day after day, I felt less like I simply wasn't drinking that day, and more like a Non-Drinker. And it felt nice! Having closed the door on one activity, I'd opened other doors wider. Reading was more fun. Computer games more satisfying. The internet! Look, I'm updating my blog. I've only been doing this since I stopped drinking.
I was quite a late starter when it came to drinking. I hardly drank at all before university, and even then, it wasn't until my second year that I started doing so particularly regularly. Before then, I still went out a lot, but had water if anything. And I enjoyed this!
Alcohol is fun, of course, which I imagine is why I took to it so joyfully ... but it's not as satisfying as not drinking. I have no major reason for giving up, really - just lots of little reasons that I'm quite fond of. Health, social and psychological reasons. I do think not drinking makes me a better person, if only because I always have enough control to be a good person.
And that sounds appallingly self-righteous. I'm not, really. I still love the merriment of alcohol - but I think I can join in the fun perfectly well without drinking it myself. I wouldn't wish for an end to the whole thing, and I will really miss a glass of wine with meals, but for now, I'm perfectly happy to be totally teetotal.
My approach has been quite vague thus far. After a big night out of drinking with some colleagues, I woke up with the same two thoughts I always have after such nights out; "what a great night!" and "wow, I feel rubbish!".
Normally, the latter thought fades, and all I can remember is enjoyment. This time, though, I had a feeling that I wouldn't be drinking again for some time. It felt like a natural point to stop.
I'll try to explain. The night had been fun, but it felt at times like it could easily shatter and become awful. As though I were walking on a tightrope. I'm glad that this night was so much fun, and that the night I've started thinking of as My Last Night of Drinking was a happy memory. The alternative - that I stop drinking only after having an appalling night - is not a pleasant thought.
Afterwards, day after day, I felt less like I simply wasn't drinking that day, and more like a Non-Drinker. And it felt nice! Having closed the door on one activity, I'd opened other doors wider. Reading was more fun. Computer games more satisfying. The internet! Look, I'm updating my blog. I've only been doing this since I stopped drinking.
I was quite a late starter when it came to drinking. I hardly drank at all before university, and even then, it wasn't until my second year that I started doing so particularly regularly. Before then, I still went out a lot, but had water if anything. And I enjoyed this!
Alcohol is fun, of course, which I imagine is why I took to it so joyfully ... but it's not as satisfying as not drinking. I have no major reason for giving up, really - just lots of little reasons that I'm quite fond of. Health, social and psychological reasons. I do think not drinking makes me a better person, if only because I always have enough control to be a good person.
And that sounds appallingly self-righteous. I'm not, really. I still love the merriment of alcohol - but I think I can join in the fun perfectly well without drinking it myself. I wouldn't wish for an end to the whole thing, and I will really miss a glass of wine with meals, but for now, I'm perfectly happy to be totally teetotal.
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Hay-on-Wye
I went to Hay-on-Wye today. Ostensibly for a nice trip to see the lovely bookshops, but I also had a mission. I wanted to find as many Eighth Doctor novels as possible.
Background for the uninitiated. In the 90s, without new Doctor Who episodes on TV, the series continued as original novels. Around half of these were new stories for old Doctors (the Missing Adventures, later the Past Doctor Adventures) and the rest were an ongoing narrative for the present Doctor (the New Adventures - featuring the Seventh Doctor - until the mid-nineties, and afterwards the Eighth Doctor Adventures).
I love this era of Doctor Who. Many high-profile TV writers contributed to the series - including Mark Gatiss, Paul Cornell and Russell T Davies - and they broke loads of new ground.
I missed most of this, as I wasn't aware of the series until half the Eighth Doctor novels had already been released. They're tricky to find, as the demand isn't there to reprint them, so owning the set is difficult indeed. I currently own around a third of them.
Independent bookshops are the place to turn, and Hay-on-Wye is full of them. Today, I set off with my housemate Jom to try and find the rest.
Shop 1
The first shop was tiny, and seemed to sum up the entire area. Books packed everywhere, with a little bit of everything. Two floors, both with enough room for only three or four people to browse comfortably.
They had some Star Wars books, so I was hopeful, but no Doctor Who books. Unsurprising in such a small shop, I suppose.
Shop 2
This shop was bigger, with many more shelves. Indeed, it was difficult to browse if anyone else was checking the same shelf, so narrow were the spaces in-between. So, while Jom examined the beautiful copies of Lord of the Rings, I asked the shopkeeper whether they had any Doctor Who novels.
Apparently not, although they did have a single Torchwood book. This was good news - at least it proved that the books can turn up sometimes. And Jom bought the beautiful Lord of the Rings books.
Shop 3
I loved this shop! There WAS no shopkeeper. You left the money in a box by the door. How brilliant is that? How could anyone be dishonest when this level of trust had been instilled in them?
Sadly, the range of sci-fi books wasn't great. No new Who for me.
Shop 4
"Hello!" greeted the shopkeeper as we entered. This was a first! All the keepers were friendly, but it was still nice to have such a welcome.
A quick search revealed no sci-fi at all. This seemed odd considering the size of the place.
"Have you got any science fiction?" asked Jom.
"Nothing here," explained the keeper. "We have a second shop up the road that has an impressive range."
"Great!" we said, and off we went.
Shop 5
On the way, we found a castle. But wait. Why was it surrounded by bookshelves? Surely not.
But yes! The castle was a bookshop! No Doctor Who books, but then, the shop was smaller than it looked. Most of the castle was a ruin.
Regrettably, this was reflected in the quality of the books outside. Remember when I said "surrounded by bookshelves"? The front lawn was dotted with loads of cheaper books. Indeed, if you check the Wikipedia article on the town, the photo is of these shelves. Years of being outside left the shelves in a shoddy condition, but the books were even worse.
These shelves weren't restacked when books sold. There was no order to the books. And they were all damp and torn. It was a depressing sight.
Shop 6
This was a lovely shop. Like many shops in the area, it packed books in EVERYWHERE - the cellar, the upper floor, and along the stairs.
Yes, that's right. As you're walking up the stairs, you're also browsing the books. And wonderfully, there were Doctor Who books on these stair-shelves! Result!
Mind you, only one was an Eighth Doctor Adventure - specifically, The Gallifrey Chronicles, the last of the 73 novels in the series. Still, they also had Fear Itself - it also features the Eighth Doctor, but published as a Past Doctor Adventure as the new TV series had started by then. I bought these and another seven Past Doctor Adventures. A great haul!
Pub Lunch
I decided that it'd be nice to have lunch on a high, so we found a nice pub for a meal. Remarkably, the pub we found had only started offering food on this very day. Amazing luck! If we'd been a day early, we couldn't have had food here at all. It was good food as well. Must find out what all these places were called.
Shop 7
Remember when Shop 4 told us they had a great sci-fi range in their second shop? This was that shop.
Their sci-fi range had a room to itself. It was covered in nerdy signs that I didn't understand. One said "The Doctor flies by TARDIS - why don't you?" I mean, I know a fair bit about this series, and I still can't work out what this means.
Worst of all, they didn't have any Doctor Who books! Actually, I lie - they had Target novels.
Let me explain. Back in the 60s and 70s, repeats of Doctor Who were very rare indeed. Especially since the 60s episodes only existed in black and white. And these were the days before video players, so the only way to experience these older stories were to buy these novels. They'd sometimes be written by the writers of the original stories, or otherwise by former producer Terrence Dicks, or Ian Marter, who played companion Harry Sullivan.
For a certain generation, the books hold more memories than the episodes themselves. For me, a fan from the video-filled 90s, they hold few memories, and little appeal. Here, they mocked me by proving that there was a dedicated Doctor Who section, and that no Eighth Doctor Adventures were available.
Shop 8
This shop - called The Sensible Bookshop - was quite small, and had two floors. Jom was excited. He'd been in this shop before, years ago. He phoned me, because there was such a high number of Doctor Who books.
These were, like in Shop 6, kept along the stairs. Sadly, today, they were mostly Target novels ... but there was one Eighth Doctor story! The Banquo Legacy! Joy for all.
Spoiler: This was the last book I bought today. No other shops had Doctor Who books. But I'll tell you about them anyway.
Shop 9 sold new books. A bit incongruous, since a few other shops sold new books too, and the appeal of the place was mostly the fact that they had independent bookshops selling second-hand books.
Shop 10 was an enormous place. Felt like a level from Perfect Dark, with its four floors and multiple routes.
Shop 11 sold kids' books exclusively. It had a few Doctor Who books, but they were the new hardback ones. Oddly, it also placed plastic jackets on all the books, making the whole place look like a library. Seriously, books look ugly in these jackets.
Shop 12 was mental. It looked like a tiny house, made up of three rooms, that had been adapted into a shop. It was down an avenue that Jom and I had already walked past once. Inside, the owner - a man in his 60s with a beard - asked immediately if he could help, without bothering to say hello. I told him what I was looking for, and he entered a cupboard-sized enclosure, and pulled a curtain across.
When he opened it again, I saw that there were only two cardboard boxes inside, but miraculously, he'd found three Targets and a Dalek annual from 1965.
How had he managed this? There couldn't have been more than a few hundred books in the shop itself. The boxes weren't huge. I'd been in plenty of big shops without any Doctor Who books at all. What were the odds of these two boxes containing any? Why hadn't he unpacked them? Very odd indeed.
Shop 13 was an antique bookshop. The oldest Eighth Doctor book being 12 this year, I decided this wasn't the place for me.
Shop 14 wasn't so much a shop as it was a tent. It seemed to contain books too unexciting to be contained in a shop. Again, no rhyme or reason to their ordering.
Shop 15 looked like a library. We had to hand in our bags at the door, and the place was cavernous. I found it a bit much, to be honest. With so many books, it was difficut to focus on individual ones. I much prefered the smaller shops, which managed to display their whole range in a managable way. Plus, they didn't take my bag away like Nazis.
Shop 16 was huge as well, but much friendlier. The girl serving assured me that there were definitely Doctor Who books somewhere, but I went through the whole place, and I couldn't find them. Not even in the huge theology section.
Either way, Jom chose to stay here for a while, so I quickened the pace.
Shop 17 - called Murder and Mayhem - was a shop dedicated to crime and horror. Beautifully decorated.
Shop 18 wasn't so much a shop as it was an alley. It was called the Book Passage. A couple entered while I was there, the man saying "I'm going to take you up the Book Passage!". Classy.
Shop 19 was a poetry shop, but it did also offer "literature and an ice chamber". At this point, all thought of Doctor Who novels fled my mind. What on earth is an ice chamber? Why would there be one in a poetry shop?
The truth was not what I expected. The shop seemed normal enough. I headed downstairs to see the "literature". There was a narrow corridor that kept twisting, with books on shelves to the right. At the end, the architecture changed to a distinctly more gothic style. The "ice chamber" seemed to be an enormous dark room, which you could see into via a round hole sealed by iron bars. A prison? A dungeon? I escaped too quickly to learn more, I'm afraid.
The library was my next stop. Not a shop, I know, but libraries are magical places, and it seemed wrong to come to a town that worshipped books and forgo the library. Sadly, it was a bit rubbish. Very small, and they'd dedicated too much space to DVDs and things. Still, I suppose with so many indie bookshops, you'd have to turn to other media to compete.
Shop 20 was nice, with little "rooms" made from shelves for each section. Too small to have very many sections, though, so sci-fi shared with fantasy, children's and, weirdly, philosophy.
Shop 21 was actually number 21 in the street. A sign!, I thought, since I'd been counting the shops in my mind all along. Surely this will deliver! But no. All books were factual. Sad news.
At this point, Elanor arrived with her mother, so we all met up for an end-of-day piece of chocolate cake and drinks. I had a lemonade with lime - thanks for asking - and showed off the ten Doctor Who books I'd found. An average of one in every two shops, I suppose.
So, what have we learned? It's difficult to know why there were so few of these books. There were loads of Star Trek, Star Wars and X-Files novels. Maybe interest in those franchises have waned, while Doctor Who's new series has catapulted it to new heights. Maybe other Doctor Who fans have had the same idea that I did, and have already cleared the area of these books.
Still, some questions remain unanswered. How easily available are these books elsewhere? Will the popular new series significantly increase their rarity?
And why is it that they're only ever kept on staircases?
Background for the uninitiated. In the 90s, without new Doctor Who episodes on TV, the series continued as original novels. Around half of these were new stories for old Doctors (the Missing Adventures, later the Past Doctor Adventures) and the rest were an ongoing narrative for the present Doctor (the New Adventures - featuring the Seventh Doctor - until the mid-nineties, and afterwards the Eighth Doctor Adventures).
I love this era of Doctor Who. Many high-profile TV writers contributed to the series - including Mark Gatiss, Paul Cornell and Russell T Davies - and they broke loads of new ground.
I missed most of this, as I wasn't aware of the series until half the Eighth Doctor novels had already been released. They're tricky to find, as the demand isn't there to reprint them, so owning the set is difficult indeed. I currently own around a third of them.
Independent bookshops are the place to turn, and Hay-on-Wye is full of them. Today, I set off with my housemate Jom to try and find the rest.
Shop 1
The first shop was tiny, and seemed to sum up the entire area. Books packed everywhere, with a little bit of everything. Two floors, both with enough room for only three or four people to browse comfortably.
They had some Star Wars books, so I was hopeful, but no Doctor Who books. Unsurprising in such a small shop, I suppose.
Shop 2
This shop was bigger, with many more shelves. Indeed, it was difficult to browse if anyone else was checking the same shelf, so narrow were the spaces in-between. So, while Jom examined the beautiful copies of Lord of the Rings, I asked the shopkeeper whether they had any Doctor Who novels.
Apparently not, although they did have a single Torchwood book. This was good news - at least it proved that the books can turn up sometimes. And Jom bought the beautiful Lord of the Rings books.
Shop 3
I loved this shop! There WAS no shopkeeper. You left the money in a box by the door. How brilliant is that? How could anyone be dishonest when this level of trust had been instilled in them?
Sadly, the range of sci-fi books wasn't great. No new Who for me.
Shop 4
"Hello!" greeted the shopkeeper as we entered. This was a first! All the keepers were friendly, but it was still nice to have such a welcome.
A quick search revealed no sci-fi at all. This seemed odd considering the size of the place.
"Have you got any science fiction?" asked Jom.
"Nothing here," explained the keeper. "We have a second shop up the road that has an impressive range."
"Great!" we said, and off we went.
Shop 5
On the way, we found a castle. But wait. Why was it surrounded by bookshelves? Surely not.
But yes! The castle was a bookshop! No Doctor Who books, but then, the shop was smaller than it looked. Most of the castle was a ruin.
Regrettably, this was reflected in the quality of the books outside. Remember when I said "surrounded by bookshelves"? The front lawn was dotted with loads of cheaper books. Indeed, if you check the Wikipedia article on the town, the photo is of these shelves. Years of being outside left the shelves in a shoddy condition, but the books were even worse.
These shelves weren't restacked when books sold. There was no order to the books. And they were all damp and torn. It was a depressing sight.
Shop 6
This was a lovely shop. Like many shops in the area, it packed books in EVERYWHERE - the cellar, the upper floor, and along the stairs.
Yes, that's right. As you're walking up the stairs, you're also browsing the books. And wonderfully, there were Doctor Who books on these stair-shelves! Result!
Mind you, only one was an Eighth Doctor Adventure - specifically, The Gallifrey Chronicles, the last of the 73 novels in the series. Still, they also had Fear Itself - it also features the Eighth Doctor, but published as a Past Doctor Adventure as the new TV series had started by then. I bought these and another seven Past Doctor Adventures. A great haul!
Pub Lunch
I decided that it'd be nice to have lunch on a high, so we found a nice pub for a meal. Remarkably, the pub we found had only started offering food on this very day. Amazing luck! If we'd been a day early, we couldn't have had food here at all. It was good food as well. Must find out what all these places were called.
Shop 7
Remember when Shop 4 told us they had a great sci-fi range in their second shop? This was that shop.
Their sci-fi range had a room to itself. It was covered in nerdy signs that I didn't understand. One said "The Doctor flies by TARDIS - why don't you?" I mean, I know a fair bit about this series, and I still can't work out what this means.
Worst of all, they didn't have any Doctor Who books! Actually, I lie - they had Target novels.
Let me explain. Back in the 60s and 70s, repeats of Doctor Who were very rare indeed. Especially since the 60s episodes only existed in black and white. And these were the days before video players, so the only way to experience these older stories were to buy these novels. They'd sometimes be written by the writers of the original stories, or otherwise by former producer Terrence Dicks, or Ian Marter, who played companion Harry Sullivan.
For a certain generation, the books hold more memories than the episodes themselves. For me, a fan from the video-filled 90s, they hold few memories, and little appeal. Here, they mocked me by proving that there was a dedicated Doctor Who section, and that no Eighth Doctor Adventures were available.
Shop 8
This shop - called The Sensible Bookshop - was quite small, and had two floors. Jom was excited. He'd been in this shop before, years ago. He phoned me, because there was such a high number of Doctor Who books.
These were, like in Shop 6, kept along the stairs. Sadly, today, they were mostly Target novels ... but there was one Eighth Doctor story! The Banquo Legacy! Joy for all.
Spoiler: This was the last book I bought today. No other shops had Doctor Who books. But I'll tell you about them anyway.
Shop 9 sold new books. A bit incongruous, since a few other shops sold new books too, and the appeal of the place was mostly the fact that they had independent bookshops selling second-hand books.
Shop 10 was an enormous place. Felt like a level from Perfect Dark, with its four floors and multiple routes.
Shop 11 sold kids' books exclusively. It had a few Doctor Who books, but they were the new hardback ones. Oddly, it also placed plastic jackets on all the books, making the whole place look like a library. Seriously, books look ugly in these jackets.
Shop 12 was mental. It looked like a tiny house, made up of three rooms, that had been adapted into a shop. It was down an avenue that Jom and I had already walked past once. Inside, the owner - a man in his 60s with a beard - asked immediately if he could help, without bothering to say hello. I told him what I was looking for, and he entered a cupboard-sized enclosure, and pulled a curtain across.
When he opened it again, I saw that there were only two cardboard boxes inside, but miraculously, he'd found three Targets and a Dalek annual from 1965.
How had he managed this? There couldn't have been more than a few hundred books in the shop itself. The boxes weren't huge. I'd been in plenty of big shops without any Doctor Who books at all. What were the odds of these two boxes containing any? Why hadn't he unpacked them? Very odd indeed.
Shop 13 was an antique bookshop. The oldest Eighth Doctor book being 12 this year, I decided this wasn't the place for me.
Shop 14 wasn't so much a shop as it was a tent. It seemed to contain books too unexciting to be contained in a shop. Again, no rhyme or reason to their ordering.
Shop 15 looked like a library. We had to hand in our bags at the door, and the place was cavernous. I found it a bit much, to be honest. With so many books, it was difficut to focus on individual ones. I much prefered the smaller shops, which managed to display their whole range in a managable way. Plus, they didn't take my bag away like Nazis.
Shop 16 was huge as well, but much friendlier. The girl serving assured me that there were definitely Doctor Who books somewhere, but I went through the whole place, and I couldn't find them. Not even in the huge theology section.
Either way, Jom chose to stay here for a while, so I quickened the pace.
Shop 17 - called Murder and Mayhem - was a shop dedicated to crime and horror. Beautifully decorated.
Shop 18 wasn't so much a shop as it was an alley. It was called the Book Passage. A couple entered while I was there, the man saying "I'm going to take you up the Book Passage!". Classy.
Shop 19 was a poetry shop, but it did also offer "literature and an ice chamber". At this point, all thought of Doctor Who novels fled my mind. What on earth is an ice chamber? Why would there be one in a poetry shop?
The truth was not what I expected. The shop seemed normal enough. I headed downstairs to see the "literature". There was a narrow corridor that kept twisting, with books on shelves to the right. At the end, the architecture changed to a distinctly more gothic style. The "ice chamber" seemed to be an enormous dark room, which you could see into via a round hole sealed by iron bars. A prison? A dungeon? I escaped too quickly to learn more, I'm afraid.
The library was my next stop. Not a shop, I know, but libraries are magical places, and it seemed wrong to come to a town that worshipped books and forgo the library. Sadly, it was a bit rubbish. Very small, and they'd dedicated too much space to DVDs and things. Still, I suppose with so many indie bookshops, you'd have to turn to other media to compete.
Shop 20 was nice, with little "rooms" made from shelves for each section. Too small to have very many sections, though, so sci-fi shared with fantasy, children's and, weirdly, philosophy.
Shop 21 was actually number 21 in the street. A sign!, I thought, since I'd been counting the shops in my mind all along. Surely this will deliver! But no. All books were factual. Sad news.
At this point, Elanor arrived with her mother, so we all met up for an end-of-day piece of chocolate cake and drinks. I had a lemonade with lime - thanks for asking - and showed off the ten Doctor Who books I'd found. An average of one in every two shops, I suppose.
So, what have we learned? It's difficult to know why there were so few of these books. There were loads of Star Trek, Star Wars and X-Files novels. Maybe interest in those franchises have waned, while Doctor Who's new series has catapulted it to new heights. Maybe other Doctor Who fans have had the same idea that I did, and have already cleared the area of these books.
Still, some questions remain unanswered. How easily available are these books elsewhere? Will the popular new series significantly increase their rarity?
And why is it that they're only ever kept on staircases?
Monday, 16 February 2009
I'm Nice
I've been thinking about niceness a lot recently.
At heart, I think I'm basically nice. I mean, I know I behave quite nicely. I'm polite. I have morals, which I abide by. I'm honest.
My problem is whether behaving nicely is the same as being nice. Am I inherently nice, and behaving in a way that reflects this? Or am I just like every selfish, nasty human being, managing against all odds to keep up an effective facade?
I'm not that cynical, of course. I think everyone has the potential to go either way. Certain traits come naturally. Selfishness and laziness are, I think, the basic instincts of humans. Both need to be overcome to be nice - but the same is true of being nasty.
Most people aren't nasty, because being nasty requires effort (and we're too lazy for that) and puts us at risk (and we're too selfish for that). Being nice also requires effort, and requires us to constantly consider others.
Anyway, I have two main concerns that make me worry that I'm not as nice as I could be:
1) Bad habits. Alright, everyone has them, but I think that genuinely nice people try to overcome them. I've given up alcohol for the time being, to see how it suits me. I have a reunion this weekend, and a birthday the next weekend, so we'll see how long this lasts. I do feel better, though, for knowing that I'm striving to better myself.
2) I'm nice to bad people. I'm not sure whether this makes me a good person (because I'm nice despite their badness) or a bad person (because I'm not making a stand for what I believe). I think this is a case of laziness (it's so hard trying to change bad people) and selfishness (they'd probably be annoyed if I tried).
At heart, I think I'm basically nice. I mean, I know I behave quite nicely. I'm polite. I have morals, which I abide by. I'm honest.
My problem is whether behaving nicely is the same as being nice. Am I inherently nice, and behaving in a way that reflects this? Or am I just like every selfish, nasty human being, managing against all odds to keep up an effective facade?
I'm not that cynical, of course. I think everyone has the potential to go either way. Certain traits come naturally. Selfishness and laziness are, I think, the basic instincts of humans. Both need to be overcome to be nice - but the same is true of being nasty.
Most people aren't nasty, because being nasty requires effort (and we're too lazy for that) and puts us at risk (and we're too selfish for that). Being nice also requires effort, and requires us to constantly consider others.
Anyway, I have two main concerns that make me worry that I'm not as nice as I could be:
1) Bad habits. Alright, everyone has them, but I think that genuinely nice people try to overcome them. I've given up alcohol for the time being, to see how it suits me. I have a reunion this weekend, and a birthday the next weekend, so we'll see how long this lasts. I do feel better, though, for knowing that I'm striving to better myself.
2) I'm nice to bad people. I'm not sure whether this makes me a good person (because I'm nice despite their badness) or a bad person (because I'm not making a stand for what I believe). I think this is a case of laziness (it's so hard trying to change bad people) and selfishness (they'd probably be annoyed if I tried).
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