It is a truth universally accepted that celebrities write the best books. Thank goodness there are lots of film stars, TV presenters, politicians and sportspeople all willing to put their names to these things; otherwise our bookshelves will be awash with new ideas, voices and original content. The average struggling author doesn’t get a look …
Tag: #bookstagram
Ken-ataphobia
Thanataphobic Barbie - pink is the new black To celebrate national cinema day yesterday, my daughter took me to see the Barbie Movie. I was immediately struck at how the film pitted two halves of the population against each other, yet not in a way you might think. I’m not talking about men against women, …
The Tiger Who Came to Tea
By Judith Kerr This is the sequel to Life of Pi, although it’s from a different author. Richard Parker’s sailing days are over. He’s now called Ricardo, because he want to come across as more exotic. He’s Sumatran, you know. He is living in London with the other disgraced tigers, in a small flat owned …
The Tiger who Came to Sea
Life of Pi by Yann Martel Truth is fluid, faith is constant, and belief is everything. Imaginative souls are the most resilient. Pi is cast adrift on the ocean with only the untamed tiger Richard Parker for company. There is something deeper here that the author is exploring, something about the balance between instinct and …
The Giant Jam Sandwich.
Story and illustration by John Vernon Lord, verse by Janet Burroway LUNA: This is a wonderful children’s book. I remember, when my humans were small, I read them this and they loved it. It had the capacity to both sooth and entertain. The rhyming is alluring, addictive, and alliterative. The pace is quick, the humour …
The Vengeful Dead by John James Minster
With a dedication to Edgar Allen Poe, The Vengeful Dead knocks politely on the door of classic horror, but once open a fraction, it comes bursting in and wipes its muddy hobnails in places you wish it wouldn’t. You’ll need full sunlight and a stiff drink for this one There are eleven stories in this …
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
Breakfast of Champions is a strange one, but I think that's what makes it so special. It’s about two very different constructs, Kilgore Trout and me, Dwayne Hoover. Trout's a word processor, a science fiction guy, and I'm this business man who's slowly losing my grip on reality. We're from different worlds, but somehow our …
Dead Man’s Walk by Larry McMurtry
"Rangering means you can die any day,” Call pointed out. “If you don’t want to risk it, you ought to quit."McMurtry, Larry. Dead Man's Walk (Lonesome Dove) (p. 207). Pan Macmillan. Kindle Edition. LUNA: The first adventures of Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call are chronicled in Dead Man’s Walk. I say adventures, but really these …
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian
Trigger Warning: there are boats in this, and water, and people, but no dogs. This is about a bunch of people who like messing about on boats. It’s based in olden times, so the boats are wooden and hardly ever work properly. There’s not even any motors, and they have to go where the wind …
ANOMALY by DJ Harrison
You know how there’s a nasty alien thingy in almost every part of space these days, well this is just like that, but completely different. The alien thingy isn’t what you expect. It lives inside a spaceship that likes bees and that, and it does lambing and it grows things. Mat Damon grew a potato …
David J Harrison 