Don't Try This At Home

A collection of convention reports by David Langford, first published in 2015 as an Ansible Editions ebook and made freely downloadable from the TAFF website in November 2018. The ebook was followed in 2022 by a trade paperback edition distributed mainly to Langford's fan friends and relatives. 32 articles covering 35 conventions and con-like events including a very strange underground book launch party. Roughly 79,000 words.

The cover photograph shows late-night balloon activity at Loncon 3.

Book page at the TAFF site

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• First Contact: Another Introduction
• My First Ever Report: Mancon 5 (Eastercon), Manchester, Easter 1976
• Cosmic Harmonee at Novacon: Novacon 6, Birmingham, November 1976
• Easter ’77: A Novacon Action Replay: Eastercon ’77, Coventry, Easter 1977
• What Has Fourteen Protons and Lives in Newcastle?: Silicon 3, Newcastle, August 1978
• Group Dynamics of Conventional Assemblies: Silicon 4, Newcastle, August 1980
• The Novacon Records: Novacon 11, Birmingham, November 1981
• Back in the Jug Agane: Oxcon (Unicon), Oxford, August 1984
• Mexicon Jigsaw: Mexicon 2, Birmingham, February 1986
• Strange Vibrations: Conspiracy ’87 (Worldcon), Brighton, August 1987
• Microcon: “The Absolute Con”: Microcon, Exeter, February 1988
• Follies of ’88: Various, 1988
• Contrivance Memories: Contrivance (Eastercon), Jersey, Easter 1989
• Several Days in May: Including Mexicon 3, Nottingham, May 1989
• The Charity Con: Compute for Charity, Hull, July 1990
• Conquassation: Various, 1991
• Boskone Postcards: Boskone 29, Springfield, Massachusetts, February 1992
• The Illuminoids: Illumination (Eastercon), Blackpool, Easter 1992
• Di Ex Machinis: Mexicon 5, Scarborough, May 1993
• The Scottish Convention: Intersection (Worldcon), Glasgow, August 1995
• Swan Song: UK Year of Literature and Writing, Swansea, December 1995
• Six Day Warp: Intervention (Eastercon), Liverpool, Easter 1997
• Things To Do in Docklands When You’re Dead: World Fantasy Convention: London, October-November 1997
• Minicon Diary: Minicon 33, Minneapolis, Easter 1998
• Pratchettcon: Discworld Convention 2, Liverpool, September 1998
• Dreamtime Guilt: Aussiecon 3 (Worldcon), Melbourne, September 1999
• Langford Meets Swamp Thing: Tropicon/Fanhistoricon, Florida, November 2000
• Another Convention Diary: Torcon 3 (Worldcon), Toronto, 2003
• I Was a Dunnikin-Diver: Discworld Convention IV, Hinckley, Leicestershire, August 2004
• Potterdammerung: Sectus (Harry Potter), London, July 2007
• Moose in Darkest Berks: Plokta.con 4.0, May 2009
• Glimpses of Loncon: Loncon 3 (Worldcon), London, August 2014
• Acknowledgements
• Index by Convention Name

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Publication

2015

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