The opening of the library is my daily ritual these days. I come in and browse the selection of paperback novels. Ye gods there's some rubbish getting printed these days. A lot of it is genre based. Half a dozen tales about the Roman period are there, and the details on the back are sounding very similar... Johnius Smithio the detective... On the trail of the man who killed the other one... blah blah blah. I've heard all this before. Doesn't sound like a likely scenario anyway.

Ooh look, a novel about Egypt. Johna Smithra the detective... On the trail of the man who killed the other one... blah blah blah. Sounds familiar. Didn't know the ancient egyptians had a police force...

Lets see.. Whats this? A novel about mysterious goings in a modern greek monastery. John Smith the detective, on the trail of - Lets not bother eh?

Or this one? A novel about mysterious parchments, mysterious hooded men, and a trail that leads to the legendary Sword of Excalibur... John Smith the detective.... On the trail of the man who.... Sigh.

Is it just me or are novels getting just a bit less novel than I remember them?

Keeness of the Week

The security guard finally overcame his lethargy and opened the doors. The coffee bar downstairs was first to open. One young man rushed forwards. Wow. He must be thirsty. Then, before the guard pushes back the doors to the stairway, the young man reappears from the other side and bounds up the steps.

Well done. You managed to get in around twenty three seconds sooner than the rest of us. Very impressed. Especially since the guard happened to open the door a minute early and you can't access the internet until nearly 09:31. I amble my way upstairs. Choose a PC, and log myself in. He rushes past behind me, keen to find a PC he can log onto....