The HTC Hero looks pretty good, a possible contender to the iPhone’s crown? I’ve been thinking of getting the HTC Magic, but I think I might hold out for this one.

1) What author do you own the most books by?

I think it must be Valerie Martin. I’ve read 8 out of her 9 novels and 1 of her short story collections.

I’ve read 9 of Alexander McCall Smith’s books from the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series, but I’ve given most of them away to charity shops. If I kept all the books I’ve ever purchased, I wouldn’t have anywhere to sleep.

2) What book do you own the most copies of?

I don’t buy multiple copies (well I did once in error). I’m not into collecting first editions or anything like that; I just like to read for pleasure. I used to have a couple of bibles, but I’m not sure if I gave one away.

3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?

Nah.

4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?

Edward Cullen… Only kidding, who in their right mind would want a soppy stalker vampire boyfriend with cold sparkly skin?

I’ve always had a thing for George Cooper, the King of Thieves from the Alanna books by Tamora Pierce. He’s attractive, charismatic and always handy in a fight.

5) What book have you read the most times in your life?

Probably the first Alanna book.

6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?

I’m not sure, it was probably a Judy Blume book. Maybe Forever.

7) What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?

Playing the Game by Belle de Jour was quite boring.

What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?

I recently finished Mystery Man by Bateman, and a book has never made me laugh so much. It’s got it all; mystery, murder, romance and an unbelievably neurotic narrator.

9) If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?

Probably Mystery Man, but I’m not sure that everyone would enjoy the dark humour as much as I did.

10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for literature?

Haruki Murakami

11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?

Firmin by Sam Savage. An uplifting tale of a special mouse who loves books and movies. It would make a lovely silent short movie.

12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?

Nothing comes to mind, maybe another Dan Brown book.

13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.

I can’t think of any.

14) What is the most lowbrow book you’ve read as an adult?

Groove, Bang, And Jive Around by Steve Cannon is the filthiest novel I’ve ever read.

15) What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?

I had a really hard time finishing Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.

16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you’ve seen?

I’ve seen Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, The Taming of the Shrew, and I studied and acted in Julius Caesar in school.

17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?

I don’t have any preference.

18) Roth or Updike?

I haven’t read either of them.

19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?

I haven’t read either of them.

20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?

I’ve only read Shakespeare.

21) Austen or Eliot?

I’ve only read Austen, but I’d like to try some Eliot.

22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?

I feel like I should read more classic and literary fiction.

23) What is your favorite novel?

Chocolat by Joanne Harris.

24) Play?

Macbeth

25) Poem?

I don’t have one.

26) Essay?

I don’t have one.

27) Short story?

Parvati by Umi Sinha, from the Getting Even collection of revenge stories.

28) Work of non-fiction?

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami. He makes marathon-running sound pretty appealing.

29) Who is your favorite writer?

Haruki Murakami and Valerie Martin would have to arm wrestle for it.

30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?

Probably Stephanie Meyer. She’s a competent writer, but her Twilight novels would be 100% better if she developed her characters more and tightened up her prose.

31) What is your desert island book?

A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami.

32) And … what are you reading right now?

I’m between books right now. A couple of hours ago I finished Black Widow by Jessie Keane, an intense crime novel about a mother searching for her kidnapped daughter.

Maybe she’s just perpetually hungry; a Hollywood diet would do that to anyone.

The other day I was watching Jumper and recognised her in a brief scene near the end when Anakin Skywalker found his mother. She was skulking around the place for no particular reason, and gave him this wolfish look like she wanted to make a bracelet with his fingertips.

Anyway, talking about dangerous damsels and feckless villains, I had to laugh at this video of Buffy vs Edward Cullen. Could there be any doubt over who would win that battle? Never mind Buffy, Angel would make mincemeal of that glittery softie for embarrassing the entire vampire race.

Yesterday I received a letter from my Mexican-American penpal, Alberto, who lives in San Francisco. We’ve been writing to each other for about 13 years now.

When we were both 16 or 17 years old our English teachers did an international exchange and swapped countries and classes for a year. Our American teacher encouraged us to write a letter to our US counterparts which would be matched up with an appropriate person. For some weird reason I requested a female penpal. A while later I was given his reply, which said that we had so much in common that he had to write to me (I was learning Spanish and studying music at the time). Since then we’ve written to each other quite regularly, and hung out when I visited San Francisco in 2004.

We write to each other in Spanish, which is the main way that I’ve kept up my Spanish since I studied it years ago. We normally write about our careers, life goals, families, love-lives and creative pursuits. He plays guitar and listens to Latino rock music.

He always uses the same kind of envelopes, so I smiled with recognition when my mother handed it to me. Although we could easily correspond via email, for me at least there’s something about knowing that a letter has been handwritten, folded and placed in an envelope, posted and carried on an international flight before it could finally reach my letterbox.

His personal life was troubled, but there’s no doubt that for many years he was an inspiration to millions of people around the world.

Rest in Peace

Which musical mode are you?

Aeolian Mode. Or just plain old Minor. All the “white keys” starting on A, and you’ve got a minor scale.

You have a dark sense of humor. You like to keep to yourself, finding social interaction rather difficult and draining, perhaps even boring. Sometimes you feel like life is a real drag, and question why you even bother. How depressing, dude. In truth, the thing that keeps you going is the vague notion and hope in a little thing called Love. You are a hopeless romantic. You often stare out the window and daydream, most likely about that special someone that you wish you were good enough for. Yes, love really does make the world go round, and it’s not all rainbows and sunny meadows. That’s not real love. Love is a brutal, gut-wrenching affair. You probably have some sort of creative talent, which is good. If you didn’t have an outlet for all your emotions you’d probably lose your mind.

I was hoping to be dorian mode for some reason, but this is quite fitting too.

Video: Baby Baby Baby by Make The Girl Dance

It’s an interesting list, as it features many films that people actually choose to see, the usual list of films recommended by the critics. There are some very good films on the list, alongside some dodgy ones (Music & Lyrics, PS I Love You).

I’ve seen 72 so far, which I’ve marked in bold. I’ve starred the remaining ones that I’d like to see (most of which are in my rental queue already). How many of them have you seen?

1. The Last King Of Scotland
2. Little Miss Sunshine
3. Atonement
4. Casino Royale [2006]
5. Deja Vu*
6. The Pursuit Of Happyness* (caught the end at a friend’s house, but that doesn’t count)
7. The Departed
8. Hot Fuzz
9. Blood Diamond
10. American Gangster
11. Children Of Men
12. Crash [2005]
13. The Bourne Ultimatum
14. The Devil Wears Prada
15. Run, Fat Boy, Run
16. The Constant Gardener
17. The Holiday
18. The Queen*
19. Die Hard 4.0
20. Walk The Line
21. Knocked Up
22. Inside Man
23. Million Dollar Baby
24. I Am Legend
25. The Prestige
26. Pan’s Labyrinth
27. Stardust
28. The Da Vinci Code
29. The Island
30. Hotel Rwanda*
31. Brokeback Mountain
32. Borat
33. Batman Begins
34. Next
35. No Country For Old Men* (saw bits of it last Christmas)
36. Night At The Museum
37. Mr. And Mrs. Smith (2005)
38. Michael Clayton
39. Notes On A Scandal
40. Finding Neverland*
41. Babel* (I have it but haven’t felt in the mood for it yet)
42. The Illusionist
43. Memoirs Of A Geisha
44. The Bourne Supremacy
45. Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End
46. Wedding Crashers
47. Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
48. Ratatouille
49. Lucky Number Slevin
50. The Golden Compass
51. A History Of Violence
52. National Treasure
53. Apocalypto
54. Miss Potter
55. Ocean’s Thirteen
56. Syriana*
57. The Lives Of Others
58. Sin City
59. Stranger Than Fiction*
60. Transformers
61. The Interpreter
62. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
63. The Aviator
64. Spider-Man 3
65. Mission: Impossible 3
66. Wallace And Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit*
67. Munich
68. Flight Plan*
69. Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe*
70. War Of The Worlds [2005]
71. Hitch
72. 300
73. Collateral
74. The Kingdom*
75. 28 Weeks Later*
76. V For Vendetta
77. Cloverfield
78. Shooter*
79. Closer
80. Man On Fire*
81. This Is England
82. The Good Shepherd [2006]
83. Shrek The Third
84. The History Boys
85. The BreakUp
86. Meet The Fockers
87. Ocean’s Twelve
88. King Kong [2005]
89. Layer Cake
90. P.S. I Love You
91. The Terminal*
92. Superman Returns
93. Music And Lyrics (only because it was the only film shown on a flight I was on)
94. The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford*
95. The Simpsons Movie*
96. The Incredibles
97. Volver*
98. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street*
99. Fracture*
100. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory [2005]*
101. Iron Man

I’m not tagging anyone else to do this, but feel free to use it if you want.

1, What color is your toothbrush?
White

2, Name one person who made you smile today?
Firmin - the main character in the book I’m reading

3, What were you doing at 8 am today?
Sleeping

4, What were you doing 45 minutes ago?
Watching an old episode of Las Vegas

5, What is your favorite candy bar?
Cadbury Time Out (at the moment)

6, Have you ever been to a strip club?
No

7, What is the last thing you said aloud?
“What’s most important or most urgent.” - defining the word ‘priority’ for my dad.

8, What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Vanilla

9, What was the last thing you had to drink?
Orange Juice

10, Do you like your wallet?
Yep, it’s an old denim mini filofax.

11, What was the last thing you ate?
Toasted hard dough bread with cheese

12, Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
No

13, The last sporting event you watched?
A couple of weeks ago, my brother’s footie team, Liverpool were playing some other team and won 5-1 or 5-0 or something like that.

14, What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?
Butterkist Toffee

15, Who is the last person you sent a text message too?
An ex-work colleague

16, Ever go camping?
Never

17, Do you take vitamins daily?
Yes

18, Do you go to church every Sunday?
No

19, Do you have a tan?
Yes and no…

20, Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza?
Of course

21, Do you drink your soda with a straw?
Sometimes, when it’s offered.

22, What did your last text message say?
“Poor you - another late finish! I’m back at work today - trying to give myself next week off. Not sure when I’m going to finish tonight, but I’ve been here since 9 and I’m flagging already. I should still be able to meet with you next week if you like but I can’t remember what we agreed on. Keep the faith.”

23, What are you doing tomorrow?
I might go to the gym

25, Look to your left, what do you see?
Bookcase with books and dvds

26. What color is your watch?
Rose gold and silver

27, What do you think of when you hear Australia?
Outback

29, Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
I usually eat-in

30. What is your favorite number?
5

31, Who’s the last person you talked to on the phone?
One of the counsellors at work last Thursday

32, Any plans today?
Sort out some website stuff and chill out

33, How many states have you lived in?
I’ve only lived in London

34, Biggest annoyance right now?
Workmen making noise next door

35, Last song listened to:
I Poke Her Face by Kid Cudi Feat. Kanye West

36, Can you say the alphabet backwards?
Probably

37, Do you have a maid service clean your house?
No, but we have a woman who does our ironing

38, Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
Nike white trainers (sneakers) that I bought in Dublin last year

39, Are you jealous of anyone?
Nah, but I’m probably envious of a good few.

40, Is anyone jealous of you?
Probably not.

41, Do you love anyone?
Not romantically

42, Do any of your friends have children?
Yes

43, What do you usually do during the day?
All sorts.

44, Do you hate anyone that you know right now?
No

45, Do you use the word ‘hello’ daily?
Yes

46, What color is your car?
I don’t have a car

47, Do you like cats?
Yes

48. Are you thinking about someone right now?
Nope

49, Have you ever been to Six Flags?
No

50, How did you get your worst scar?
Removal of a contraceptive implant in my upper arm

This trailer for the forthcoming Where the Wild Things Are movie looks really good. I’m looking forward to joining Max on his adventures again.