Murtagh – Christopher Paolini
Murtagh by Christopher Paolini, is a book in the World of Eragon series. By all accounts it’s book 5 of The Inheritance Cycle Series. However, not having read the first four had no negative...
Review
Poppie – Elsa Joubert
Poppie – Elsa Joubert Some time ago I read Cul-de-sac by Elsa Joubert, her last book, and in the process discovered Poppie, first published in 1978 in Afrikaans and then in English in 1980....
Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Einstein’s Daughter – Tim Symonds
Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Einstein’s Daughter – Tim Symonds Mention Einstein and one generally thinks of a grey-haired man and/or E=MC2. I can’t say I ever thought of him being married, let...
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Moby Dick – Herman Melville It appears that I am one of a minority who have worked through Moby Dick by Herman Melville – that is the unabridged version. I say ‘worked through’ as...
The Furies (2022) by John Connolly
The Furies (2022) by John Connolly[spacer height=”25px”] A very good friend is a huge fan of John Connolly and it is through her that I got to hear of him. She’s mentioned him so...
A Gothic Read – The Monk
The Monk by Matthew Lewis is probably the oldest novel I’ve read. It was written around 1794 and likely published soon after as reference to the second edition notes that he had expunged various...
Rajeshwar Prasad #Reviewed – #plays #scripts #drama #absurd #philosophy
Read what others think of Rajeshwar Prasad’s literary output: Theatre of the Absurd in India and Rajeshwar Prasad’s Plays in IJRE by Dr. Ramsurat (2025) https://www.englishjournal.net/archives/2025/vol7issue2/PartA/7-1-172-135.pdf Theatre of the Absurd: East and West in...
Two books min – One author
Two books minimun – One author Reading more than one book by an author can be quite revealing. At the end of Stephen King’s On Writing, he has a list of some of the...
Reading in the Dark
I regularly get asked if I know of a certain author or a book – the expectation being that because I publish books I know everything (or almost) that has been published and probably...
Review on Reviews
How useful are reviews in getting readers to buy books? I’m not sure to be honest. If I think about reviews I’ve encountered, probably a handful have enticed me to engage with a book....
Where I’m bound I can’t tell – Jeremy Lee (self-published)
Where I’m bound I can’t tell by Jeremy Lee is a self-published book through lulu.com. The story is well told – mixing three generations, telling two stories – my interest being its mention of...
Your unconscious biases – Patrick L Schmidt
Your unconscious biases – Patrick L Schmidt Let’s be honest, we all have biases. Some we are aware of, others not. In Your unconscious biases: Exploring the mind through art and neuroscience, Patrick L...
Lockwood & Co The Screaming Staircase – Jonathan Stroud
The Screaming Staircase is the first of the Lockwood & Co series by Jonathan Stroud. It was recommended to me by a friend as an all-time favourite series. Although not my genre – as...
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – CS Lewis
My nephew recommended we read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis for our monthly book read. He enjoys fantasy whilst it’s not my favoured genre. An astute and adventurous reader’s...
Thomas Pynchon – V
Having got to page 50 of V by Thomas Pynchon, I was ready to give up. However, I had bought the book because it had popped up in a search to do with an...
Cul de Sac – A memoir by Elsa Joubert
Cul de Sac – A memoir by Elsa Joubert This is a memoir of being old. How it came to be in my collection I’m not sure – possibly due to someone I know...
How to write about Africa – Binyavanga Wainaina
How to write about Africa – Binyavanga Wainaina Where does one start? This eclectic collection of essays and articles effectively summarises the career of Binyavanga Wainaina. From Kenya to Transkei for education, to South...
Dave Robson appreciation
Dave Robson I’m intrigued that so many think sailing is easy, but maybe that’s more to do with my personality and the books I’ve read. Over recent years, a number of books about the...
Jane Lockyer Willis appreciation
Jane Lockyer Willis Jane is for me the quintessential English lady. Her stories evoke an England of yester year infused with a gentle and often unexpected humour. Her collection of short stories – Tea...
Megan Carter appreciation
Megan Carter Megan is another of TSL’s quiet authors. Social media and other such things are not her strength. She prefers being with people and is quite community focused evidenced by the author sales...