There are certain advantages to being forced to take the bus to work each day. First and foremost of these is that it has renewed my interest in reading.

Above is a picture of two piles of books. The pile on the right consists of books I own but have yet to read or am in the process of reading.

On the left are a couple of the books I've read since I began catching busses. Not pictured is Not Happy John by Margo Kingston - this would have fattened the pile up quite nicely, but was a borrowed book - and Age of Consent by George Monbiot. The Monbiot book is missing because Scroop 'borrowed' it on the pretence of reading it, though I now realise he never intended any such thing and must simply not wanted me to have it in this picture.

Permutation City was a good book, but was far better as a short story (Dust featured in a Science Fiction omnibus I borrowed from Mostyn.) If you want to read a good Egan book (I highly recommend you do as he is not only a Perth boy but my favourite sci-fi author) start with Diaspora.

A Brief History of Time needs little review. Either you've read it or you own it.

Not Happy John proved particularly enlightening. I spend far more energy following U.S. politics than Australian so tend to rely on Packer/Murdoch for much of my local information. Margo's language is overly colourful at times but it's obvious she's a well-informed journalist with integrity.

I read Age of Consent at Mostyn's request - he wanted a second opinion on it so didn't tell me much about it. I see why now. The book is unlike anything I've read - it truly is a manifesto for a new world order. Most importantly though it's a practical one. I am now on the lookout for more activist literature that not only outlines the problems in the world but also propose viable solutions.

The rest of the image above is my home computer desk. I actually had to clean it up a bit to make room for the photo.