'A local group claimed the books were satanic and promoting witchcraft, and consequently, set about burning a large cache of the books outside the Christ Community Church.' [a 2001 campaign in Mexico against The Lord of the Rings] In two previous articles, I talked about some of the books I enjoyed as a youngster. I …
Black Holes
by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw A Review 'Black holes are perfect for learning about physics because understanding them requires pretty much all of it.' 'What happens at the singularity of a black hole is beyond current understanding.' Sometimes you think you know quite a lot about a subject, only to find, after reading another …
Cloud Cuckoo Land
by Anthony Doerr Like All The Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr's 2014/2015 Pulitzer winner, Cloud Cuckoo Land comes as a big surprise. It is a book within a book, as compelling as it is original, and tells the story in three timelines - well, four really (which I will explain shortly). Beginning and ending …
A Story for Boys (and Girls)
World Book Day 2023 - thoughts after the event: Let me begin with a question: Should we boycott, ban or burn great stories because we don't like the authors' opinions, or the opinions and mores of the society in which they lived? Before delving again into the literary world I introduced in my previous article …
Books Quote By Pamela Paul: “Books are a…”
I know World Book Day was Thursday, but I thought this was appropriate retrospectively!
A Story for Boys
Thoughts on 'Treasure Island' by RL Stevenson 'His left leg was cut off close to the hip, and under the left shoulder he carried a crutch, which he managed with wonderful dexterity, hopping about upon it like a bird.' I would have been about eight years old, and developing my reading skills, when I read …
Girl Meets Boy (13th Century Style)
The Tiger and the Cauldron To coincide with the release today of the new paperback, here are two final teasers from the story! ' Dawn came too quickly for Hassan. He had hardly slept but his body felt warm and alive. Doquz lay close to him beneath the double blanket, her wounded arm still wrapped …
Challenging an Empire
The Tiger and the Cauldron New Edition " Doquz had seen death and violence before but never had it filled her with such horror. Though Jahan had relaxed his hold, she was for a moment unable to move. Then something snapped inside her brain. Instead of fear and disgust, she was filled with terrible rage. …
Lose Face or Die?
Never by Ken Follett A Review What is the probability of nuclear war in the next five years - ten years - your lifetime? And what will be the consequences - hundreds of millions dead, cripples or poisoned - half of the habitable earth a wasteland? These are questions posed by Follett’s brilliant, apocalyptic and …
The Judge’s List
by John Grisham A Review 'After twelve years of investigating judges, Lacy considered herself immune from shock. She was also calloused and jaded enough to have serious doubts about Jeri's story.' For my second book to read over the Christmas period, I chose this thriller by John Grisham. Judges - as far as I know …
Bookheathen Scribblings 