Wednesday 17 December 2008

What am I reading now?

OK so not everybody is a reader. Some of you may know that I have a weird taste in reading too. Actually there are two passions I have in my spare time, reading and playing MMORPGs. If you've got to ask what that last one is then you won't be interested, trust me.
My tastes in books are limited, mostly because I never have enough time to read so I only get through about 15 novels a year.
Mostly I like fantasy novels, particularly if there is a comic element. No surprise then that Terry Pratchett is always on my backlist of to reads. I think (for the first time ever) I'm down to just one of his left to read, the latest one which is sitting on my bookshelf with 'Xmas Hols' metaphorically on it.
for more of Terry's stuff go to http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/
If you like your fantasy more sword and sorcery with a twist of sci-fi then I recommend anything by Terry Brooks - they are all excellent. Be prepared to put aside some serious time to catch up on his catalogue, though. If you liked Lord of the Rings, you'll like him. Start with The Sword of Shanarrah but stick with it. This was his first novel but not his best. What follows is far more original and epic. http://www.terrybrooks.net/novels/index.html#
Don't like him? Try David Eddings, particularly the Belgariad series or Sparhawk novels. Much more magic and epic battles. Still not your thing? Try Stephen Donaldson. He's more heavyweight and thought provoking but he has the most original anti-hero I've ever read in the shape of Thomas Covenant - a crippled man swept from this world in to another dimension where he has god - like talents he doesn't want! http://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/

What am I reading at the moment? Can Reindeer Fly? The Science of Christmas by Roger Highfield, of course!

Thursday 11 December 2008

Bones, blood and body bits

Year 8 have recently been studying the digestive system. We looked in detail at how it works. For the curious amongst you there is a very good FREE interactive body model at the link at the bottom of the screen.
Note, although it is free you will need to give an email address for activation and you will also be prompted to install some animation software. The first time you run it it will take a few minutes to load the body systems up so be patient! It is worth it.
Sorry if you only have a dial up connection then it will take forever. The program stays in cache so it will be quicker once you've run it the first time.
Enjoy!

http://www.visiblebody.com/