If you haven’t yet come across Jasper Fforde the novelist, here’s a strong recommendation for his books. A combination of crime novel with literary references and a strong vein of surrealist humour, they’re perfect for satisfying your brain while also tickling your funny bone.
Fforde writes about an alternative Britain where you can have a dodo as a pet, where Swindon takes on much more significance, and where Literary Detective is a possible job option. All these work around the character of Thursday Next, who comes to investigate when characters go missing from books, plotlines change, and the dastardly Goliath Corporation try to expand their empire further.
An off-shoot series deals with the Nursery Crime Division, in a similar vein to Thursday’s work, but with villains such as the Gingerbread Man. The hero, Jack Spratt, is also not what he seems…
For the die-hard enthusiast, there is the possibility of attending literary events while clutching your own dodo. It could be your best activity of 2007…let me know if you get to one.