Mystery Man

Mystery Man, Murder Mayhem and Damn Sexy Trousers - Colin Bateman.


Thoughts and Opinions
I HIGHLY recommend this book and the series of books by Colin Bateman. They are from the point of view of a rather strange, cynical, hypochondriac. This makes the book very funny indeed, i used to read these books while work was quiet (i worked in a pub and when it was quiet there would be, at times, no customers).

I literally laughed out loud at certain parts and found myself gasping in shock at some cases within book. Or Simply gasping at cringe worthy events.

Basically a struggling bookshop owner starts to take on detective work as people turn to him when the private eye next door closes down. You get to see his every idea and thought on people and circumstances which you can relate to.

Verdict
Read it! This book is the first in the series and there are quite a few that follows, the ones i have read such as Dr Yes. and the Day of the Jack Russell, i have found just as funny as the first. Bateman never fails to deliver with these books. Find one, read it, love it.

WC:200

Silas Marner

George Eliot, Silas Marner.


Thoughts and Opinions
Well this isn't my sort of book, personally i don't think that anything really happens throughout the book. Nothing that would make me say 'wow' and make me want to read on to find out what happens next!

However it is a bit of a light hearted story, something with a simple plot to just sit down and relax with. There is many themes within this book. Such as transformation of character, acceptance within a community as well as delicate and difficult things called relationships but honestly that's about it.

Verdict
This book isn't for people who like a lot of action and suspense and it's not what i would call a page turner. If you really enjoy classics and have read other things by George Eliot i'm sure you will enjoy this heart-warming story.

If you've got nothing else to read or do you might as well but don't put aside a lot more interesting things for this book. It's not really worth it.

WC:171

Hound of the Baskervilles

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Hound of the Baskervilles.




Thoughts and opinions
This is the first one i have read of the Sherlock Holmes collection but i do have the first couple in line to read, i have seen the films which i believe are quite true to the book in terms of setting and mannerism with the characters. I do also love the series of Sherlock Holmes the modern day interpretation i think is brilliant.

The books are quite different to the current series for obvious reasons they are set in a different time which makes an incredible amount of difference in the way the characters interact with each other and the way the mystery's are solved.

Hound of the Baskervilles is a good book and a bit of a page turner, it took me just a few days to read this book although it is quite small i enjoy the way it is set, using letters from Dr Watson to Sherlock to give a break to the descriptive narration.

The letters also allow things to move on quite quickly which could be long and drawn out if just written as events that would have occurred in the time span Watson is writing.


Verdict
I would recommend anyone to read this book, but only if you are interested in the mystery type books otherwise you may find this book a bit drab it's not exactly a lighthearted read either it does take some thinking in order to work out where the storyline is going, but don't worry if you don't figure out the culprit because there is an explanation at the end.

WC:272

Alice in Wonderland

Lewis Carol, Alice in Wonderland.

Thoughts and opinions

If you haven't read this yet, i recommends that you do! I'm sure most of you have seen the cartoon or a film but none compare to the actual thing. 

To say that Lewis Carol specialised in mathematics and logic really makes you think more about the book. The way he plays around with these aspects is really quite clever. Nothing is really logical or makes any sense and yet  as Alice points out throughout the book, she is no longer surprised by the usual happenings. 

Perhaps this acceptance of the unusual  is Alice's acceptance of her growing up and going through puberty. Her innocent and childlike view on the world is distorted as she gets older and has a more mature view of things.

I am not going into an in depth analysis of these books just thought i would give you something to think about while you are reading this book.

There is a lot of use of poetry and to understand them more i would recommend that you research the originals. This would make the poems more humours and the story slightly more sensible. 

Verdict

Even if you don't fully understand the happenings in this book i think you may just enjoy the strange adventure Alice takes and the way it is written.

WC:224

Intro

Ok, so this is my first blog so it may take a while to get used to this so please bare with me.

My aim is to write about the many books i need to read for my English degree as well as the occasional film i think is worth mentioning.

Also anything else entertaining i think people may be interested in.

Feedback would be much appreciated. I would LOVE to know if anything i have said has influenced your decision to read a book, watch a film etc.

Please feel free to disagree with me as well, the more opinions the better!

Thank you!