Today we have lost a brilliant poet.
You can read his obituary here
I
studied some of his poetry during my degree, and found it very
accessible.
I would like to offer my condolences to his family.
I've read three books on my Kindle.
Villette by Charlotte Bronte, I'd only give it 3 stars, as I'm now sure I prefer Emily Bronte's writing style. I got to the stage where I really couldn't care less what happened to Lucy Snowe.
One Dead Hen by Charlie Williams is the fourth in a series. I haven't read the other three, again I would give this book three stars. The main character is a badly flawed man whose thoughts we are party to. He doesn't seem to like other people breaking the law, but it doesn't seem to bother him personally. An entertaining read. A good experiment along the lines of "What if my main character was unlawful?"
Locked In by Kerry Wilkinson was a slow start, but then became a page turner. There is a dead body discovered, but how did the murderer leave as all windows and doors are firmly locked and there is no sign of a forced entry. I'd give this four stars. It is only available for Kindle.
Proper books I have read are
The English Eccentric by Henry Hemming, a factual book, following the author's quest to find present day eccentrics. There was one point that made my brain scream, and it thoroughly annoyed me. If you are going to write a factual book, make sure your facts and statements are ALL correct, after all, if you are fact gathering, what harm does it do to check what you are writing is 100% true?
I'll get off my hobby horse now, incorrect facts drive me mad. **
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamie starts as the A bomb explodes in Nagasaki. It then follows Hiroko Tanaka, a Japanese national, through her life. A very deep book exploring what it is like to be an outsider for one reason or another in life. ****
Inkheart and Inkspell by Cornelia Funke. An engrossing young adult book exploring the idea "what if characters from books could become alive in our world, and what would it be like for us to travel to their world?" Inkheart starts with a shabby looking man turning up at Mo and Meggie's house wanting Mo to "read" him back into the book he is from. Along the way we meet other characters from Inkheart, (the story Dustfinger is from,) and learn that when these characters appeared in our world Meggie's mother disappeared. In Inkspell Mo, Meggie and several other "real" people, including the author of the book in the story, travel to Inkworld. I really enjoyed these books even though they are not adult books. *****
Our Lady of the Forest by David Gutterson. A down and out teen has the Virgin appear to her in some woods, and the place rapidly becomes a shrine. A good book
The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak. A tangled story that turns out to be a family saga with a twist. ****
The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko. This was the first of the books I read, I know it had vampires, wizards, witches, etc. A damned good read. I believe there is a film of the book. *****
Resurrectionist by James McGee. Back with Hawkwood, a pre Bow Street runner type. This time bodies are being dug up at the dead of night from fresh graves. A grave robber is crucified in a churchyard, and a man escapes from Bedlam. At times things look like they will never be solved, but Hawkwood saves the day. *****