Siam Sam

John Heard

They're illegal.

I read Bangkok 8 a few years back, didn't go much on it at all so never read another of his.

Bird On a Wire

Yes, it is based on a period of his life. I watched it a few months ago but didn't think it was that good. There is another film about his life starring Matt Dillon called Factotum. I started watching it on Kodi a while ago but the stream kept failing after about twenty minute so I gave up on it.

Ah, where would we be without Kodi? A friend introduced me to it when I came to Thailand last October and I've been using it ever since. I can't get the subtitles to work either.

The last time I posted here I had just finished Post Office by Charles Bukowski. I'm going to list the books I've read since then with a rating out of ten and a short review. Last year I decided I'm going to read some of my favourite books again. The Damage Done by Warren Fellows The third time I've read this. Brilliant stuff. About the convicted heroin smuggler Warren Fellows who served 12 years in the notorious Bang Kwang prison in Bangkok. The ultimate novel about prison and redemption. Highly recommended. Ten out of ten. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

I haven't seen the documentary but I am going to watch it because I am extremely interested in this subject and have conducted much of my own research over the years, mainly due to periods of anxiousness about contracting HIV when I have been reckless and barebacking with bar girls in Thailand. Indeed, if there was one thing that I could change about my trips to Thailand and something that takes the shine off of them a little, it's the anxiety I sometimes experience worrying about this. It would be asinine to deny the existence of AIDS but after extensive research I do believe that much of the

The agent I spoke to on Monday is full of shit. I've just booked flights direct with Thai Airways and the return flights can be amended for £75 per person when we are in Thailand. Open tickets don't exist in the way that you have to give them a return date but you can pay extra so that you can have the type of ticket that can be amended so effectively you do have an open ticket.

I phoned an agent that were offering the cheapest flights on Skyscanner for Thai Airways and she told me that "open" tickets don't exist any more. Apparently if you want to change your return date then you have to purchase a ticket that has a return date but is also valid for 12 months and the return date can be changed at any time during the 12 months. I'm not sure I believe this because she then said if I wanted to amend the return date in Thailand it would cost me £150 for each person plus the difference between the tax on the two flights which could mean more than £200 per person.

Excellent answer. Thank you. I'll be buying my tickets direct from the airline I think!

The last time I was in Thailand I had to come back to England unexpectedly and I had to change the date of my return flight. I called the agent I bought the ticket from and was charged about £300 to do this. A friend told me that I should have called the airline direct (BA) and they would have changed the return date for free. Another friend has told me that that is only possible if you have booked the ticket direct from the airline and not through an agent. So who is right? I am looking at flights for our upcoming trip and because we are going to be in Thailand for a long time I was think

Yes I have The World of Sex on my reading list. Is it any good?

The way in which I carefully select the books that I put on my reading list, based mainly on my own research but also on recommendations means that I am having a great run of books that I would rate as nine and ten out of ten. I have just read three fantastic books in quick succession that I would all rate highly and recommend. They are: Fear by L. Ron Hubbard A psychological horror that was both thrilling and gripping with a clever twist at the end. This is one of the greatest science fiction books ever written and often makes lists of the greatest books ever written. Paddy Clar

Yes it's good stuff. Funnily enough I have a few of Roald Dahl's books on my reading list including Switch Bitch. I bought copies of Tales of the Unexpected and My Uncle Oswald recently.

I was only going on the strength of my copy. Considering the syntax of the Russian language and its translation into English it could be translated both ways but I prefer the surname first.

I'd give it a go. It's brilliant. It is however quite epic at 870 pages (my copy) long so it'll take you a while to read it. It's actually called The Karamazov Brothers - for some reason I keep calling it the Brothers Karamazov.

I think many are put off reading Dostoevsky because they believe it to be far too intellectual and hard reading but I can assure you with the Brothers Karamazov that that is not the case, it was an absolute pleasure to read.

Recently I finished The Karamazov Brothers by Doestoevsky. It was brilliant - an absolute masterpiece of writing. No wonder this is considered by many to be his magnum opus. I really enjoyed Crime and Punishment and felt before I read this that it would have to be exceptionally good to surpass that but it did and I highly recommend it, it's one of the best books I've read.

Malcolm McDowell

I finished reading Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs by Hunter S Thompson which I really enjoyed and give a nine out of ten. It's a candid account of the year that he spent with the Hell's Angels and gives a great insight into their way of life although it's obviously a bit dated now as it was written in the sixties. Still a good read and easy to see why this launched his career as a writer. After this I read The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll. This was made into a film in 1995 that starred Leonardo DiCaprio in one of his early roles. I enjoyed the