• Linux in a Nutshell (4th Ed)
• LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell
• Linux Desktop Hacks
• Linux Cookbook
• Tim O’Reilly in a Nutshell
• Managing NFS and NIS (quite an old copy)
• Programming Python 2nd Edition
• Java and XSL
• Sed and Awk (2nd Edition) (bought from work library but in good condition)
• Learning the vi editor (bought from work library but in good condition)

I also have another book on programming Java from a different publisher. Will confirm details on that later.

Lastly, I may also consider parting with a couple of older commercial games for Linux, namely:

• Heavy Gear II
• Soul Ride
• Hopkins FBI
• Soldier of Fortune
• Doom3
• Quake4
• Unreal Tournament 2003
• Unreal Tournament 2004

All the games are boxed with all the appropriate manuals, although they have all been used. I’m not entirely sure I want to get rid of all of these, but if you are interested, please let me know and I’ll think harder about it.

For any of these items either leave me a comment, or drop me a mail at mrben -at- jedimoose -dot- org.

mrBen

The first thing that really struck me as I reread these books for the first time in over 15 years, is that they’re really short. I managed to read a book a day on the train to and from work (roughly a couple of hours reading a day) and I’m not a particularly quick reader. They are obviously books aimed at children – you don’t have the depth of history or explanation that you do in, say, Tolkein – and although they do appeal to an adult audience, it would be unfair to attempt to rate them alongside books that aimed at adults. Having said that, in some ways I find the world of Narnia more vivid in places than the world of Middle Earth. I certainly found myself more attached to Narnia, for reasons that will become clear.

I found that I had remembered only bits of all the books. The LW&W is probably the most vivid in my memory, but then, it’s also the one most referenced and made into film. The other books all produced some vague memories, but nothing totally concrete for any of them. This may be, in part at least, that the sparsity of the writing (and I don’t mean that in a negative sense) allows for the wild imagination of a child to be set free, but these imaginings don’t necessarily create the same lasting impression as a written description.

One of the things that brought me back to this series is the closing music piece on Prince Caspian – “The Call”, by Regina Spektor – it’s a haunting piece of music that, I believe, really captures the sense of sadness of the Pevensies having to return to their own world, knowing that nothing there has changed, and also that 2 of them will not be returning to Narnia. This is reflected in the books, and it feels that CS Lewis felt a genuine sadness for the numbers of children who find the faith of their youth fading away as they grow older.

Faith is a definite theme within the books, and still causes a lot of controversy. JK Rowling and Phillip Pullman have both been on record as objecting to the work of CS Lewis, particularly his treatment of women generally, and Susan in particular, although I am not convinced that either author hasn’t read more into his writing than was originally there. For me, however, both as a child and now, there is some wonderful imagery for faith within these books. The creation of Narnia in A Magician’s Nephew, and the depiction of heaven as Aslan’s land, painted gloriously vivid pictures of creation and heaven that still appeal to me all these years later.

Ultimately, I tend to find that the books that impress me most are either those that surprise me, or those that leave me feeling a sadness at their ending. The Chronicles of Narnia, as a complete work, definitely fall into the latter category. If you read them as a child, I would recommend a re-read. If you didn’t, certainly read them, but suspend your disbelief as an adult and see through the eyes of a child if you can.

mrBen

If you like your detectives hard-boiled, and your dialogue fast-paced and witty, then look no further than Black Jack Justice from Decoder Ring Theatre. 30 minute audio dramas taken from his case book sees Jack and his partner, Trixie Dixon, Girl Detective, deal with all the usual fray of your $35-a-day (plus expenses) gumshoe. The banter between Jack and Trixie is worthy of Joss Whedon in places, and, while hilarious at times, the series avoids being a full parody of the genre. Worthy of a place on your audio player.

The Scott Sigler machine continues to rumble on. Contagious (sequel to Infected, of course) has hit the New York Times Hardcover Bestseller list, but is continuing on as a free audiobook. If you haven’t listened to his stuff from when I’ve pimped it before, maybe now is the time.

Alternatively, if you prefer graphic novels, then both Siglers’ The Rookie and the first episode of Black Jack Justice are being serialised as comic books over at Addictive Comics.

Oh, and Classic Yak topped 700 overall downloads on Friday, and got 30 hits in a week for episode 7. Movin’ on up…

mrBen

In a vision John sees Jesus speaking to seven different churches.

I happen to just be back from an Alpha meeting, and so the closest book was Questions of Life by Nicky Gumbel.

The rules for this meme thing are :

* Grab the nearest book.
* Open it to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
* Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

And now I get to tag 5 other people with the meme

Heather
Al
Jono
Aq
Phil

Enjoy, folks.

mrBen

Initially, it’s only Detective Comics but I’ll be putting the full list online. If you want them, they’re yours. If you want to make some contribution to the BigAl Self Improvement Fund in return for the comics that is appreciated, but hardly necessary. It would just be a bonus to clear some space.

If you’re local to Glasgow you can come and pick them up but if you’re further afield you’ll be responsible for the postage.

BigAl

Best wishes to him and his family – I hope that he will be able to live a “normal” life for as long as possible.

mrBen

I discovered this book pretty much “by accident”. A conversation with a friend had led to looking on the internet at some of the different programs available in the UK and the US for men, and I came across an article by David Murrow on Pastors.com, and liked it so much that I bought the book.

Essentially the book divides into 3 broad sections – an identification of a problem, namely that there is a gender gap within the church, generally regardless of denomination, country or style. Then he attempts to explain why this problem has occurred, his main point being that the church (and it’s view of Christianity and Jesus) has become overly feminised. Finally he bring some suggestions as to how you can solve these issues practically.

I read a lot, but I’m not overly quick, but I managed to rifle through this book in a weekend. ‘Devoured’ is probably the best word. To say that this book has changed the way that I look at not only my current church, but also churches that I have been part of in the past, is a total understatement. IMHO this book is revolutionary. It’s not without it’s controversies, but I believe that most of those come from a misunderstanding of what Murrow is trying to say.

But more than a book about church, it’s also a book that helps to redefine what it is to be a Christian man. I think that many men struggle to reconcile their understanding of Christian and some of the character traits that define what it is to be “a man”. This book is extremely helpful in resolving that conflict.

I read the book back in January, then again in February, and then we had our church mens weekend away based on the book as a theme. It’s now March, and I am _still_ talking about this book, and _still_ mulling over the implications and practical realities. It’s that good.

If you’re a man, and you would describe yourself as Christian, and struggle with your church, or even to attend any church, then this will be a great book to read. But, even more importantly, if you’re a church member, man or woman, I would urge you to read this book.

David Murrow also has a website at ChurchForMen.com and there is a discussion forum at CFMBoards.com.

mrBen

If you have a long commute (and a handy mp3 player) I thoroughly recommend you try them out. The first 2 are available at PodioBooks.com (also linked at the bottom of the sidebar) and the others can be found at http://scottsigler.podshow.com.

Oh, and there are lots of other Podiobooks at podiobooks.com, some of which I’ll be checking out, I’m sure.

mrBen

You all need to grab a copy of this book and read it, and marvel at the foresight of this man, now sadly dead, who managed to sum up much of the policitcal fervour, and the potential downsides, in this wonderfully little thriller.

Amazon new and used start from only £0.01! Libraries are free! Do it now!

mrBen

Anyway – thought I would do a couple of book reviews for a change:

Serenity – the novelisation by Keith R. A. Decandido. I borrowed this one from the library, and was very curious to read it, having heard a couple of interviews with krad, and seen him on the message forums. He’s done a few novelisations, including the 2 Resident Evil movies, so I had relatively high hopes. For the most part it is an entertaining read – he has novelised from the original screenplay, so there are some extra scenes that aren’t in the final cut of the movie. Additionally, he decided to throw in some of the background material from the series. Generally it’s a well rounded novel, but I didn’t like some of his characterisations (in particular I felt he over-demonised the Tam parents), and some of the descriptions were a little off, IMO.
Overall, if you’re a Firefly fan, then it’s worth having, but it’s not a patch on the Visual Companion, which also contains the entire shooting script.

Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly. I actually won this book in a competition in the Metro, so I came to it without any real knowledge of the author or his style. I’ve not finished it yet, so I can’t comment on the conclusion, but so far this has got to be one of the most fast-paced books I have read – it drags you along on the edge of your seat for page after page after page, sucking you into the action continuously. Some of the action is a little over done, in the style of a big budget action film (I would love to see the stunt where the main character manages to roll his car sideways over the roof of another car played out visually…..), but so far this books has been worth every penny, and then some

mrBen