The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem

I meant to listen to The Marshall Mathers LP but I never got around to it.

I bought it secondhand from a colleague and never really found myself in the right mood.

Gone.

Transient Random Noise Outbursts With Announcements by Stereolab

Some people write about music they don't like as if it's a fault of the artist: "I never really got such and such."

I am perfectly willing to accept the problem is mine. Such is the case with Stereolab and the album Transient Random Noise Outbursts With Announcements.

I buy too much music "just to hear" it. Having heard it, it sits on my shelf, never to be revisited. Occasionally I may pull it down, stick it on and get through a few songs before switching to something I enjoy more. This is a pity, because Stereolab are great, they're everything a cult act should be and they have made great albums, of which this is one.

I didn't give up on Stereolab. I listen when their music is played on the radio. I went to see them at Islington Academy around the time of "Margarine Eclipse"'s release. They were good! This album is good!

I just don't like it that much...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

I may have inadvertantly been responsible for the demise of the British publishing industry by buying Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

On returning from a week's holiday in Suffolk, I bought two copies from Sainsbury's - one for me, one for my partner - both of which were read over the weekend.

I sold my copy within three months of reading it.

I think I'm getting the hang of this.

28 Days Later

I bought 28 Days Later partly because I missed it at the cinema and partly because I like the director Danny Boyle.

I watched it. It wasn't bad, although the ending was a bit limp.

I watched all the extras.

And then it sat there on my shelf.

And I had to admit to myself I probably wasn't going to watch it again.

Goodbye.

Virgin All-time Top 1000 Albums

I have a problem disposing of slightly inappropriate gifts. Virgin All-time Top 1000 Albums is one of those.

I am a music fan and I like fact books. Lists of chart positions, that kind of thing. But this is not what I call a fact book. It's a list of opinions. Aggregated opinions from experts, admittedly. But rather than list the sales performance of OK Computer, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper, it attempts to explain why they are so popular

I don't care. I'm a fan of music. I know which albums are considered "classics" and I can decide myself whether I like them and why. "Classic" is a term for people who aren't music fans. As is this book. Which lay around my house unread for years before I finally bit the bullet and listed it on Amazon.

Sorry.

Diary of a Welsh Swagman, 1869-1894 by Joseph Jenkins

Welshman Joseph Jenkins decided late in his life to leave his family, move to Australia and earn a living as a travelling labourer, working on farms in Victoria.

His diary, discovered among the belongings of a Welsh descendent 70 years after his death, records his day-to-day between the ages of 51 and 76. Particularly poignant are the observations on his failing health and strength.

I read this once and it was unlikely I would again, but checking on Amazon it seemed to have some value - though not as much as the original which resides in the State Library of Victoria.

Memento

Inevitable I'd buy this having enjoyed it so much at the cinema, but did I really need a region 1 copy? One which was imported to Australia!?! I think I paid AU$60 for this. Madness.

It was later reissued in a two-disc edition with lots of extras, which naturally I had to have. Even then I didn't get rid of it.

Now I have.