Three men on the Brummel is the only Cycling fiction that comes to mind.

I search for climbing memoirs if I've got the opportunity. Picked up 2 firsts by Eric Shipman for £60 some years ago, Nanda Devi and Blank on the Map. Our clubhouse has a copy of Colin Kirkus' Let's Go Climbing, which we reckon would pay for a new roof if we could bear to sell it.

Among non-fiction cycling books there is Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne. He is in the habit of taking a fold-up bicycle on tour with him, and cycling around the various cities of the world he visits, as a way of gettig more of a flavour of the places than a touring musician would normally get. Reportedly good - I enjoyed reading his How Music Works, although it was really more about how the music business works than how music works.

I found that for free a while back but never read it and lent it to a mate (you know the rest)

you know the rest

From which we can conclude that your friends only ever press dross on to you, right?

And that you don't but your faves more than once?

Should have read

And that you don't buy your faves more than once?

I think the books I've read twice are in single figures. A thread?

From which we can conclude that your friends only ever press dross on to you, right?

I've read hundreds of books more than once. I thought most keen readers did.

Same here. One of the joys of my life is revisiting old friends.

Rereading might be one of those indicators of a great psychological divide - like somewheres/anywheres or dogs/cats.

You may have something there. My wife can't understand my rereading books. If I followed her book-collecting advice, I'd bin everything once I turn the last page.

She does like reading, just - once is enough.

My impression is a lot of women are very plot-oriented. Once they know the end, there is no reason to re-read.

I rarely remember the endings of books.

I was totally, completely and utterly wrong.

In most bookshops it's true that the biggest buyers of fiction are female (but not exclusively so). Men tend to buy more non fiction, but there are exceptions. In our shop cookery books are around 50-50. Women are the biggest buyers of psychotherapy titles. History books tend to be more popular with male customers, and, not surprisingly, military history books are bought almost entirely by men.

Something about shelves of books and the mousey intelligent women in used book stores that turns me into Errol Flynn. But apparently said women to not share my fantasy. Ah, a copy of Kiss Me Deadly...hmm.

It made a great film, did that.