The shortlist was not chosen by any "literary guardians at the beeb". The original 100 was chosen by the public, the shortlist was chosen by the public and the winning book was chosen by the public. It isn't even just the Beeb-watching public, votes were cast at bookshops and shopping centres up and down the country. How that can be viewed as 'elitist' I don't know. Besides if you look at the final 21 it was blatantly not elitist. Where was Crime and Punishment? Ulysess? Don Quixote? No Proust or Virginia Woolf or Joseph Conrad or George Eliot etc etc. The books are simply the most popular reads at this moment or at least what people think are or were their favourite reads. Personally I thought it was a good list. Tolkien was always favourite to win, not only has it been consistently popular but the recent films meant it must have won by a large amount. As for the others there must be at least a few books of the final 21 that every person would like. Personally I'd like to have seen 1984 win, just because I thought it was a fantastic read and does change the way the reader views the world, if only for the time when they are reading it. That doesn't mean that other books on the list don't change the way we see things. Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings for example get far, far more people into reading books than something like War and Peace, which I still haven't managed to finish despite having started it about ten times. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is wrapped up in Christian symbolism but I haven't met anyone who hasn't liked it even despite that. Gone With the Wind is shockingly racist in places but still a great read and that's all the Big Read was looking for. Great writers from the past like Dickens, Austen, Tolstoy and the Brontes were there along with the likes of Douglas Adams and Winnie the Pooh. Even Jeffrey Archer and Stephen King were in the last 100 so I can't see what you have against it. There was something for everyone as far as I can see and it was all voted for by the public.

Spot on. Although this WC has not attracted the masses who appear when the nation is gripped by the 'we're going to win it' hysteria, every two years. Blimey. Do you get that a lot in Northern Ireland?

There have been a number of programmes/news items on whether Rugby (thanks to the win) could become England's number one sport. There was another one on Channel 4 News tonight. No chance. I'm sure I'm not the only one who was only mildly interested in the competition. We won well and it's great to be champions in something (other than Tiddlywinks) but it ain't the same as football now is it?

Wilkinson with yet another ice-cool penalty kick. 17-14 Enlgand. Just second half of extra time to go.

Eh? Hardly think finding a joke doing the rounds on the internet and cutting and pasting it on here is going to have Peter Kay giving up the dayjob. Very amusing though, wherever it originally came from.

Wait a minute Abbey, I defended you when you made a joke about incest in Burnley because you didn't personally aim it at anyone. As Cheeky Sidders comes into contact with people who suffer from such abuse he didn't particularly find it funny. Why isn't Jim allowed to refer to cancer? As someone who has had a relative die from breast cancer I don't find it particularly funny but I don't take it personally either. I'm sorry but it can't be one rule for you and one for others.

Don't you mean that you have got your wish? At least Souness is man enough to answer questions and criticisms put to him, unlike you.

That's all right then. I can breathe alot easier now. Do you think we can still make the Champions League? You'll be delighted to know we have no chance of reaching the Champions League won't you? Still though... I wouldn't order champagne just yet though, talk of our demise is rather premature. Why do you revel so much in the misfortunes of Rovers?

No. There were no chants against Souness so no, you didn't miss them. There were chants of 'Souness for Tottenham' towards the end of the game (although that could have been from away fans) Well I certainly didn't hear that in the Blackburn End although there were plenty of angry people in there, so I must presume it must have come from another part of the ground. However most kept singing throughout the game, when we on level terms and when we went behind. The atmosphere in the second half was excellent especially compared with the poor performance on the pitch. The fans on Monday deserved much better than what they got from the players. Some did boo at half and full time but then again some always seem to if we aren't 3-0 up or whatever. Big deal, it's nothing new when supporting Rovers.

Kluivert for Rovers? As big as Newcastle? Let's be honest, there is no way a club who cannot get even 20,000 for a Premiership game when offering tickets for a tenner can ever hope to be as big as Newcastle. Kluivert turned down Manchester United without even bothering to speak to Ferguson (see Ferguson's autobiography 'Managing My Life') so there is not even a tiny chance Kluivert would bother with Rovers. Don't think Newcastle have a chance of getting him either though. If he comes to Britain it would only be to London, he has said so himself in interviews.

No. There were no chants against Souness so no, you didn't miss them. As for you being; "Founder member of the "Souness must go" faction. Said it on the day he joined" Did you say that again when he got us promoted? When he won the league cup? When we finished sixth? Are you a Tim in disguise?

It doesn't surprise me that you were disapointed somewhat with Harris . I've long suspected that his friends in the newspapers have exagerated his talents . "Fatherland " was only mediocre at the best. I was in Malta recently were I re-read both Robert Graves' "I Claudius" (part 1) , and Trevor-Roper.s "The Last Days of Hitler" - both top notch works and very readable - if you're into historical stuff . Try also Tacitus' "Annals". I quite liked Fatherland at the beginning but it seemed to me that he ran out of ideas half way through. Same could be said of Archangel, but as holiday reads go it was quite good. As for Tacitus, I've read him many times and particularly liked his "Agricola", the account of Mons Graupius being particularly fine. If you like your Roman authors, you can't beat old Suetonius for dishing the dirt on the Caesars. Some of those tales would make your hair curl! Emperor: The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden is excellent and is the first on a series of books following the life of Julius Caesar. Will have to wait for the others to see if it can be classed in same bracket as the two I Claudius novels. It is interesting that so many love the work yet Robert Graves himself described them as 'potboilers'. Apparently they are about as historically accurate as Braveheart although I wouldn't know myself, just realise a fantastic story when I see it.

Personally I have been catching up on some of the books that made it into the BBC Big Read Top 100. If they are good enough to get on there I thought I should give them a try. How Jeffrey Archer got in there I don't know, maybe I should have a read even though I really don't want to. As for Magician by Raymond E Feist; who voted for that? Even by fantasy standards it is bad. Why read this when someone as good as Terry Pratchett is around? http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml The Secret History by Donna Tartt is an excellent murder story set in a sinister American university among classics students who attempt to be animals, thinking only of pleasure and violence. Holes by Louis Sacher is frankly weird but also compelling, set in a young offenders instution in Texas with a difference; short but superbly written. The book I really recommend though is Perfume by Patrick Suskind which is a great crime novel with twists and turns galore. The king of crime though is still Raymond Chandler; any Philip Marlowe tale is always difficult if not impossible to put down. PS- Archangel was better than average but that is about it. Bit like Fatherland; great premise but only average execution. A much better take on Russia is The Russian Interpretator by Michael Frayn; funny and a much lighter read!

If that was true surely he would be known as RibbleValleyBlue or AlderleyEdgeBlue or somesuch now? Rather than having just a single fan giving their opinions week after week and becoming repetitive I think a better idea might have been to have a few contributors and have them give in a column every few weeks or so. This would have allowed both Rev and Jason to contribute and lead to a broader range of opinion. Instead we essentially have the same viewpoint repeated a number of times throughout the season. After all, the difference of opinion is what makes this board interesting and a good disagreement always helps. Of course there is no option for that when only one opinion of a fan is given. Look at the John Curtis debates in the past two years or so, totally opposing views from members on here but in the LET we only ever got Rev's opinion. Still better than that 'fan's jury' crap it does every week. Which shows maybe the LET should stick to just the one opinion after all. For those who haven't seen it, best description would be a wonderful mixture of a crap question (usually a closed one) paired with equally dreary answers. Sample question- Are you going to Turkey? Usual answer- No, but i'll be flipping well watching on telly! Great... glad I wasted a small part of my life reading that rubbish!

There used to be a bloke called Melvyn who liked to beat what was in front of him in Corporation Park but he got sent away to what we used to call the 'looney bin'. Probably back on the streets as Care in the Community now. As for the Jason Whalley fellow- give him a chance, he has only done a couple of articles. Rev- I enjoyed your thoughts and well-aimed attacks on the Dingles.

As my holiday to Greece is well and truly over (boo!) I may as well as recommend these two books that I read. The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Tartt by name, good novelist by nature. Actually read this because it appeared on the list for the BBC Big Read 100 and I hadn't heard of it never mind read it. It is a a kind of murder mystery in which the twist is that the reader is told at the start about the murder and the rest of the novel unwraps the actual scenes. Well recommended although quite heavy going in places as these are students of Ancient Greek and there is much musing on morality, violence, language etc. Dune by Frank Herbert. Wasn't expecting much from this as I am not a huge sci-fi fan but it's fantastic! So much superior to that David Lynch film in the eighties which had Sting looking like a weirdo. The action takes place on the planet of Dune (also known as Arrakis) the only source for Spice- a drug-like substance which allows time travel or something like that. Anyway the planet is so arid the locals have to wear suits to recliam moisture from their own er... outgoings. Paul (played by Kle McLachlan in the film) has to find himself (etc etc) and live up to the myths that he would one day arrive. Gigantic sandworms also make appearances. Great novel, recommend to all, even non-Sci Fi fans like myself.

Not entirely innocent . He did , after all ,voluntarily enter the murky world of leaking information to the press , even if it was supposed to be "unattributable". Perhaps a man with such a scientific mind should have been able to predict the hostility from gov't circles his actions would precipitate. During his grilling by the select committee - which is what they are for - I suspect he was not entirely honest about the degree of his own importance to Gilligan's stories. His was a tragic story but he helped to write it . Yes I agree with you there Phil. Dr Kelly did seem to get caught up in events which he couldn't control and ended up taking his own life. However it was not an honourable way for him to leave this world. By taking his own life he has passed the grief onto his widow and family who are left to face the outside world in his absence. Kelly's widow, Janice Kelly, has now had to have meetings with the likes of Geoff Hoon after her husband just left her to it. The tragedy of Kelly's death is more on the suffering inflicted on those living by it than that of Kelly himself. With suicide he acheived release, yet his family are not granted that easing of stress. As someone who has seen the effect a suicide by a father had on a friend and her family, I have every sympathy with Kelly's surviving family.

That'll get the fans in Bryan! Come to Rovers and be abused! Fat or thin, young or old we'll take the p#*#!

Another cracker (which I have just finished) is Ratpack Confidential by Shawn Levy which details the exploits of Sinatra, Matin, Davis, Lwford etc... Cost??? Zero... free with the first edition of Word magazine- haven't even bothered to read the magazine yet...

All the Flashman books are back in print as they were republished a couple of years ago for the 30th Anniversary of the original Flashman. Of the series my favourites are the original Flashman (in which he is a real b'stard, not likeable as in the others), Flashman's Lady (in which his bird-brained dizzy wife also contributes to the storytelling) and Royal Flash, which is the only one they have made a movie out of so far. Malcolm Macdowell played Flashman whereas Oliver Reed played the baddie; irritating example of miscasting as I thought Reed would have made a perfect Flashman. There is to be another film soon (of the first one which will turn into a series of them if successful) although haven't heard who is to be Flashman. The two that you seem to have read sound like Flashman at the Charge and Flashman and the Dragon, both of which are classics. They aren't the easier novels to begin reading but once you make an effort you will be hooked. Cannot praise these highly enough!!! PS- You will need to go to a decent bookstore to see all of them. In other words, one out of Blackburn. The Waterstones in Preston and Bolton are much better bets than any in Blackburn. Seed & Gabbut (spelling?) used to be the best but that upped and scarpered to make way for an overpriced tacky Irish theme bar.

There are some decent football books on the market, which do not peddle the old 'i woz gutted' routine of so many bland ghost-written autobiographies. If interested try these- The Far Corner by Harry Pearson - the best football book I have ever read. Insightful and intelligent. The far corner of the title relates to the North East although this is a great read for any football fan. A season with Verona by Tim Parks - Not really a recommendation although it seems many others have enjoyed it. Parks is an articulate and descriptive narrator of his own travels with the most notorious club in Italy. Yet I found his biased reporting merely served to irritate and he does seem like a bit of a big girl's blouse at times. There wasn't as much on Italian football as I was expecting although everyone else I have discussed the book with recommended it highly so don't necessarily let me put you off. Fathers, sons and Football by Colin Schindler - Examing the Summerbee family business through the decades, namely football. Grandad George plyed for Preston, his son Mike (easily the best of them) was an England international and a Man City legend (who also played for our nearest dearest to the east) and the youngest, Nicky Summerbee, is crap but gets well paid for being so. An interesting look at the changes to the players and their wages that have steadily progressed over the years. Schindler also wrote 'Manchester United ruined my life' but that is too much of an autobiographical element to it if you ask me (why do I want to know which school he went to or how he lost his virginity? Just united-bash will you?). The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro by Joe McGinniss - Brilliant tale of a bemused American attempting to pick his way through the minutiae of Italian life and its football (calcio!). Castel di Sangro is a tiny remote village in the Umbrian mountains who, despite only having a population of 5,000, managed to spurt forth a Serie B side a few years back. Imagine Barley or Keswick in the Lake District having a team in the first division. Some very (very) interesting revelations about corruption and match fixing in Italian football which means it is still banned in Italy to this day. Stamping Grounds by Charlie Connelly - Bloke follows Liechenstein around their World Cup qualifiers. Sounds boring but isn't, a very funny and quirky read. Amazed that anyone could make Liechtenstein interesting. Barca by Jimmy Burns - Tale of probably the world's greatest club (after Rovers naturally), which has had to battle the establishment as much as the other teams. Repressed against Franco and almost torn apart during the Spanish Civil War, the book shows how Barcelona came to represent Catalonia, individuality and human freedom, rebelling against the fascist plaything that constituted their greatest rivals Real Madrid. Psycho by Stuart Pearce - Does as it says on the tin. The Day Italian Football Died by Alexandra Manna and Mike Gibbs - A history of Torino, focusing on the 1949 Superga disaster which obliterated their greatest team. Unlike Manchester United they have never really fully recovered and have won only one Serie A title since. Only recommended if you are HEAVILY into football (and Italian football as well for that matter). The Essential History of Blackburn Rovers/The House the Jack built/Simon Garner autobiography - The only three books you should need as a Rovers fan. The history book contains all Rovers' league results meaning you can answer questions by checking the book and everyone will think you know more than you do. Works for me. The Story of the World Cup by Bryan Glanville - A football journalist who attempts to steer away from cliche recalls the last seventy odd years of the greatest competition in football. Sightlines by Simon Inglis - Bloke with obsession about football stadiums (or stadia, whichever is the correct plural) travels to see some of the most interesting. Although obviously being an expert on stadiums is a rather peripheral subject to have as a career, the bloke is strangely interesting. Even if he is a stadium geek. and finally Addicated by Tony Adams - This is a warning to avoid the most overated football book of all time. Adams is the kind of bore only a recovering alcoholic can be. Man, can this donkey preach! The book goes along fine until he (unsuccessfully) attempts to philosophise about alcoholism. Adams is attempting to relaunch himself as a thinking man's former footballer. Unfortunately the pseudo-intellectual claptrap he comes out with in his ever more tedious diatribes are embarrasing. Enough already! If I see one more interview in which Adams offers to be a guiding influence to younger players I think I will scream. The man is so boring he will drive them all to drink just by taking to them. Class A plonker. The prose is turgid, the style is akin to secondary school Creative Writing class standard and, worst of all, Tony "I bore for England" Adams is at the centre of it. Blimey, that's a long post! Has AESF infected me with something? As for non-football reads... Everybody should read at least one of George Macdonald Fraser's brilliant 'Flashman' series which are some of the best comic novels of all time. Genius is too light a word. Flashman was the bully in 'Tom Brown's Schooldays' and Fraser has used this character in his series to show how Flashy squirms his way through some of the great historical moments in British colonial history. Flashman turns up at the Indian Mutiny, the Zulu Wars (soon to come), the American Civil War, Battle of Wounded Knee and The Charge of the Light Brigade. Yet he is a coward, a poltroon, a cad, a lecherous womaniser, a drunk and an a complete antihero. Throughout the novels he seduces his way through various nationalities of women, using his fool proof 'Flashman manoeuvere' - one hand on a breast, one on a buttock and away you go. Brilliant novels and they teach you history at the same time without boring. Fraser should have had a knighthood by now.

In this parallel universe do you stand outside selling copies of Socialist Worker?

That's nice to know. Guffaw At least, nothing that is not still continuing be discussed to death with no end seemingly in sight.

Bought 'Stupid White Men' today on your advice- will let you know what I think when I finish it. Am not going on holiday until July, so I think i'll have been through all the books by then... oh well.... Well. Just got back from Peru where I took with me 'Stupid White Men' by Michael Moore. Good stuff. Easy, enjoyable reading. In hindsight I wish I'd taken another book with me since I got through 'Stupid White Men' very quickly... Have to agree that it doesn't last you too long but a good laugh nonetheless. May be an idea in the future for him to stick to American politics as his little section on Northern Ireland merely reveals his ignorance of the situation.

Bought 'Stupid White Men' today on your advice- will let you know what I think when I finish it. Am not going on holiday until July, so I think i'll have been through all the books by then... oh well....