In high school, there were some books I couldn't stand, not because we were instructed to wring the meaning out of them, but as a result of them being the subject of class reading. With each of us pupils being told to take turns to read a section out loud, I'm sure it was as embarrassing for them as it was excruciatingly slow for me. One such book was "Of Mice and Men". I dreaded the moments when the teacher would bring out the book, because for the rest of the class, the air would be filled with stilted reading and mispronunciation. None of it was really the kids' fault, but I couldn't ever see how this exercise was intended to improve and educate us. It certainly didn't help me to actually enjoy the story. About a year or so ago, I took the time to read the book to myself, at the urging of a Steinbeck enthusiast. With the flow of the story uninhibited, I was finally able to love the book, and I felt a lot better for it.

That is an excellent rendition of the Tabletop trophy! And if it's not already happening, I wouldn't be surprised if game manufacturers started falling over themselves to have you and your friends play their games on the show.

I'm utterly mystified. I've tried three different browsers on my PC - Firefox, IE and Chrome - and in each case, I'm still seeing the thumbs up/thumbs down buttons; I only see a "G+ +1" button if I click the "Share" button first.

Ah, cats and clean clothing... the perennial problem :)

I've been reading for a few months, particularly after I started following you on Twitter, and speed across to here (obeying all traffic signals) to read your latest offering when you announce it. Always excellent!

It's done in Britain, too (I used to do it when I was younger) - though I think Americans generally do it with more panache... The US method is more sensible, too, IMO - rather than hard-boil them, Brits tend to make a hole in each end of a raw egg, and blow the insides out of them. Makes the whole thing rather more fragile. And Wil: I think it's wonderful that the neighbours invited you to dye eggs with them and their kids. Thank you for sharing moments like these with us.

It's for purposes of morale. The number of days is actually one, but if you put that, it's going to make people nervy, because they'll think that there may be more out there which haven't been captured yet. But four days gives the reader the feeling of, "Okay, the problem's solved. I can go about my business." It's all about psychology.

Wil, when A Decent Guy such as yourself takes the time out to express genuine appreciation for his fans, that's not silly at all. It just makes him All The More Awesome. Thank you. Mark