Yesterday I ventured into a brilliant independent bookshop in Wimbledon called Copperfield's Second Hand Bookshop. I won't bore you with all the details as I was in there for ages and looked slightly suspicious as I cruised around the shelves gawping at the vast range of books stacked so neatly in such an efficient way. The important thing is that I found a...

Book three for me out of the TV Book Club list and so far it has been my favourite. At times the subject matter is hard to digest as the institutionalisation of children and adults is such a delicate topic. There is no skirting around the edges when it comes to discussing child abuse, humiliation and degradation. Grace Williams is just eleven when she is sent to...

Reviewing a book by Terry Pratchett is like walking into a garden centre and telling the head gardener that roses are really quite wonderful. It doesn't really need to be done. Everything he writes is literally (and I use this word in the most literal sense) magical. So for that reason this review is purely self-indulgent as it gives me a chance to...

This book is both creepy and disturbing and that's exactly what it is intended to be. Through a swift and light-hearted narrative the novel captures the reader by drawing you in to the mind of a seemingly friendly and fun girl. However, the water does not remain calm, so to speak, as soon you are dragged under by a strong current which takes...

Last Thursday I was treated to a night at the theatre. We went to see Chicken Soup with Barley the rejuvenated 1950's play by Arnold Wesker. Focusing on a Jewish family and spanning 20 years from 1936 to 1956, this extraordinary play blurs the lines between realism and idealism. Sarah Kahn is an East End Jewish mother, fighting to protect her family from...

Well this was the second book I read from the TV Book Club list and I have to say I was more than a tad disappointed. Bear in mind that I am a ginormous fan of Gothic literature and vampires pretty much float my boat. But recently I feel there's been a smidgen more than overkill (excuse the pun) on this genre.  The Radleys is great if...

Just to be clear the 1/8 means it is the first of the 8 books that I have read out of the pile sent by the lovely people at the TV Book Club, I don't think it's the first they have discussed. I am so glad I started with this book, it's that lovely chunky size which means you can really chew on...