Strange Design

About a year ago I asked what was the longest amount of time Y! A users had gone without TV. Now I'm wondering - what's the longest you've ever gone without reading a book? Not just magazines, but an actual book?

Celebrity biographies, unfunny joke books, romance novels (the cheap kind with the corseted lady and the shirtless fella on the front - you know what I'm talking about), brain-dead adventure novels, books (ghost) written by celebrities/heiresses/royals, books with easily corrected errors, such as bad spelling, books generally purchased at airport bookshops or check-out lines...care to add any more to the list?

I was wondering how foreigners are received in Japan, as I heard that some Japanese people can be slightly xenophobic (of course I don't believe all Japanese people are this way, only a minority). I was also wondering how you (if you are Japanese) feel about Americans, and American culture in general. And, on a slightly more irreverent note, are they still angry at us for the time when President Bush Senior threw up on the Prime Minister?

Thank you for any and all answers.

Leggings, kilts, socks with sandals, bikini, whatever...

Say anything.

Like bell-bottomed jeans, or saucer-eyed owl paintings, or Le Car?

I'd like to read something informative, thought-provoking and well-written. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I was recently reading a book called 'Narrative of my captivity among the Sioux Indians', by one Fanny Kelly, published during the 1860s. Basically, I was wondering how accurate she was, and was it really as horrible as people made it seem, or was it just the predjudice of the time, personal bigotry and/or a tendency to exxagerate. I know there is a good chance I'm going to unintentionally offend someone with this question, so please allow me to apologize in advance, and state that I am not attempting to insult or denigrate anyone whatsoever. I just wanted to know if anyone had any information, opinions, links, or or articles relating to said question. Thank you.

Just curious, no bashing, please.

...and stop re-adjusting it every five minutes? :(

I can understand the first few, because basically they just stand there looking cute and helpless, but Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) seems braver, and more independent. (I'm referring to the Disney films, but if you have a comment on the original stories, I would be equally pleased to hear it.)

I can understand the first few, because basically they just stand there looking cute and helpless, but Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) seems braver, and more independent. (I'm referring to the Disney films, but if you have a comment on the original stories, I would be equally pleased to hear it.)

Bonus question. Would you trust the genie in the first place?