best books to read when your on the dole

ta for all the book stuff. i know how to hide my dylexia but its just havin the conferdence in my self that i can do these things. after many years of being told your stupid its hard to get it out of your head.

hello andrew by the way.:)

'I find dyslexia jokes pretty bad form actually. I doubt it's much of a joke if you have it.' It was a joke. Reading other threads I find it a bit ironic that something as innocuous as that brings out the humour police. If you think it's such bad form why bother highlighting the spelling mistake?

if that was aimed at me. i only say i know there are spelling mistakes in my own writing because i see there are. if i was doin something that was quite important like writing to someone to employ me, i would go find out how to spell it. i just presume that people can genrally get what iam talking about, if i mis-spell stuff. i think its a self defence thing i always admit i have done something wrong before anyone else, so no one else can pick on it if i admit it.

Nah it was aimed at me alison, dont worry. Its called irony "kevin".

peter can i have a copy too?

thanks. i just always feel the need to stick up for my backwards head. :P its got me this far. it has its good and bad days. most of the time my dylexia makes me laugh, coz of some of the mistakes i do. all i have to say is say 'trosters' to mark. :P

Alison - my wife and son are very dyslexic. She's an artist too - he's a chef, ski instructor and outward bounds instructor. He had to pick jobs he could do without being able to read or write that well. Like you though he has discovered the wonderful world of reading. It still takes him ages to get through a book but he's always got one in his hand. Keep reading and the dyslexia will get better. It takes time and effort but it does work. Have you tried the glasses with one green lens and one blue one (not sure if those are the right colours) as some dyslexics swear by them.

No, it wasn't aimed at you Alison. BTW I can read your posts perfectly, any unconventional spelling comes over like shorthand or texting and is smooth to read. My comment was aimed at Liana. She highlighted that I'd misspelt worshipper as worshiper and I thought why get all lofty about defending dyslexics and then highlight a spelling mistake?

not lofty kevin.. i just thought it was hugely ironiuc. Im not lofty about it - i have a five year old who is struggling and in tears about it most days thats all. so as you can imagine, it doesnt hit my particular funny bone.

ooh look i misspelled ironic. how ironic is THAT then?

i think my colour is blue. but its different for everyone. and it also depends on whether you have got something wrong with your retiner. not all dylexic's do. but i do. i could go for a test to see what the right colour is but i dont know where. they only did a small test when they were finding out how bad i was and what things i would need to help. i got lots of free stuff off newcastle counsil, on the 'disabled students allowense' if i hadnt i would have never been able to do my dissertation at uni coz i also got a private tutor once a week to help me. so i am quite glad i found out. i may do some readin on it now i have the time. :P

i spell how i speak. one of the big giveaways. if i stop and say something properly i can sometimes spell it. :P

Peter- cheers, mate.. you're a star. More lovely books.. er, lovely! Are you paying the postage on all these mail-outs? If so, you must be some kind of saint. Alison- didn't realise you were dyslexic. I actually quite like all the unconventional ways of writing we get on the threads from time to time. It rarely gets in the way of what the person actually means. Check out Jay's mid-sentence !'s ..a big fan of them. If Joyce can write a whole novel chapter with only one sentence and have it deemed masterful then you've no need to worry when it comes to posting on ABC. Mark- trosters *gos out into't nyte wiv thort to rent a movie mebbe*

Yeah - pete pays postage. The Arts Council informed me and my Bookmunch buddy that - while they read us and like us and think we are "a breath of fresh air" - we don't "encourage new writing" so can't have any pennies . . . Boooooooo!! I don't mind posting things tho - I get all the books in the world for free - it's a small drop in the ocean to send stuff out into the world every now and then . . .

My granny died last night. She was eating a bar of Toblerone when she tripped over the dog. She fell headfirst into the goldfish bowl and drowned before paramedics and police divers could reach her. As a mark of respect please refrain from making any humorous comments about dogs, grannies, chocolate or goldfish in your postings until the funeral in a fortnight. You can appreciate it would not hit my funny bone and I have no wish to formally complain to the management. Thankyou in advance for your sensitivity and grownupness.

*laughs hysterically at such original humour*

*Joins in hysterical laughter at original humour even though he can't see it, wonders if L is being a teensy weensy bit sarcastic........nah, oh yes the poster is called Kevin ha!ha!*

Nothing to add here. Just correcting your spelling.

cooking on a shoestring?

ahw the dole period . . . happy days . . . and the best books from the dole times? don quixote master and margarita james ellroy's LA quartet charles palliser's the quincunx lots of dickens that should keep you going for a bit!

try john lanchester

i'd also recommend michel faber's lovely saucy crimson petal and the white *returns to his booklined hole*

try The Bird Artist by Howard Norman

Doesn't that make an awful mess, frying bacon on a shoesting or an omelette even.

and the works of John Irving (minus Son of the Circus)

*stands his ground*

ahw yeah - the bird artist - lovely book howard norman is a treasure

and the works of anne tyler minus nothing

i got the recomendation for bird artist off some book website ...

(sorry abt the spelling i am still bored)

I'm all for book websites, me

Something long. Maybe A suitable boy : Vikram Seth or Underworld: Don Delillo. Have you tried Love on the Dole by something Greenwood? I read it ages ago, and it was good. Walter, its Walter Greenwood.

it wasnt as good as the review said it would be ... also i read Electric Brae recently ... that's a big beautiful meaty complex read for someone with some time on their hands ... by andrew someone

and the punctuation. Its you're.

Gotta also say, while we're throwing things in the meagre pot . . . Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (cos it's my favourite book in the world) Nalda Said by Stuart David (because it's a gem) and anything by Ray Carver, Richard Brautigan, Kurt Vonnegut plus maybe some Tama Janowitz (cos she's fun)

also read some poetry ... get Emergency Kit out of the library and read it ALL ... its the best anthology of contemp poetry i have had my hands on in a long while ...

in fact that goes for anyone on the dole or not

of course, how you're ever going to afford these books is another matter . . . if you tell me yr address I'll post you a free copy of the crimson petal and the white (cos I have eleven copies sitting on a shelf at home) it's a big fat lovely shag of a book too, so - lots of fun to be had there!

"Poor Little Rich Girl" by Gloria Vanderbilt? Those Frank McCourt books can make anyone feel good about his or her current situation, no matter how dismal. Incidentally, "Confederacy of Dunces" is a great book.

Penguin Rhyming Dictionary...I keep coming back to it again & again. It's got 26 words that rhyme with stethoscope.

Love that confederacy of dunces ... but read anything by Tom Robbins - especially Jitterbug Perfume, Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, Only Cowgirls Get the Blues. They'll be in the Library!

No, fish, Mr Grieg did not put me off, apart from the fact that several of my bitches fancied him. It is just that there are so many books out there that I have decided to read them in strict alphabetical order. I'm reading The Aenid at present. Aenid Blyton - what a writer! Yours etc, James Riddle.

thanks for the stuff to read and i know that my spelling and punctuation is not very good, and its because iam dyslexic. so this reading lots of books thing is new to me. i have gone form readin one book in about a month to about 3 in a week. another book i have just finished is 'reasons to be cheerful. from punk to labour thought the eyes of a dedicated troublemaker' by mark steel. its top!! it talks about the politics that i can only just remember from growing up. and its really funny.

oh and thanks peter that really nice of you. will do. and i alson have my dear brother mark that lives round the corner so i can go nick off with his books. coz iam sure you can all guess how many he has.:)

woops forgot this part peter if you give me your email address i'll email you my address. thanks again

Porbably. He was dyslexic too. No offence anyone.

Skeeter you bad lad.

fish - Electric Brae was by Andrew Grieg. Mr. Rizla - All I got was 'horoscope'. And 'no hope'. Though that second one arose from looking for a word to rhyme with 'what are Everton's chances of staying in the Premiership this year?'

I will second Tony's recommendation of Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. He is the most original writer in the world. Any writer can begin any book by writing so amazingly about beetroot, deserves a read. Also: Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden The Siege - Helen Dunmore Ray Bradbury - The Martian Chronicles