Poop Poop

I caught the new stage musical by Julian Fellowes, Stiles and Drewe in October – the same creative team who crafted the stage version of Mary Poppins and the simply joyful Half A Sixpence – a new adaptation of The Wind In The Willows. I’ve loved the stories and characters since my uncle first introduced them

The Horror

Whenever I visit my favourite second-hand bookshop I am strongly reminded of the opening scene from Ghostbusters – where the librarian wanders between shelves and the books mysteriously rearrange themselves – and being Halloween I purchased two books which seemed in keeping with the theme. I spent Halloween visiting my favourite, dingy little bookshop in

Old Friend

Hello Halloween. Time to get reacquainted.

The Player Of Games

After weeks of on/off reading I FINALLY finished The Player of Games, and boy did I love it. That it’s full of brilliantly unique ideas goes without saying. It blends vast, magestic concepts and descriptions with Iain M. Banks’ trademark humour so that, while the universe is always awe-inspiring in its complexities, it is never dour. Characters are

The Dark Tower Volume 1: The Gunslinger (1988)

First Published: 1982 (in parts – 1978, 1980, 1981) Edition Published: 1988 Cover Illustration: Michael Whelan Illustrations: Michael Whelan  Publisher: Sphere Notes: A copy which seems to have travelled as long and hard as the gunslinger, himself. Inlaid with the full set of illustrations by Michael Whelan, none of which I’ve seen before (my original copy did

Banks On The Beach

The first day of a week off and it’s time to get back into reading The Player Of Games. There’s been such a lot going on and so many things to deal with over the last month or so that it’s nice to actually zone out, listen to the waves and simply enjoy getting lost

Destiny

Since (finally) upgrading my PS4 subscription I also got myself into Destiny, a game I was hugely unsure about when playing the initial Beta, and was very skeptical about after my love of the original Halo trilogy, but have actually since grown to love. Bungie do such a great job of creating exciting, edge-of-your-seat and enjoyable action sequences

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016) – Welcome Back

After a particularly awful night I’m taking it easy today and, as if by magic, this arrived to give me some comfort while battling my own set of Dementors. The feelings it invokes are a curious mix of nostalgia and childlike excitement. I suppose being a big kid at heart means I’m always able to

Carrie (2000’s)

First Published: 1974 Edition Published: Late 2000’s Cover Illustration: Getty Images Publisher: Hodder Notes: I never understood why Hodder didn’t publish all King’s books in this format instead of limiting it to a handful. I absolutely love the design on all of them, they have everything – a nice, standard title and author treatment, a neat colour scheme

There’s No Such Thing As Magic!

Sorry to disagree, Uncle Vernon, but there definitely is – that feeling of unwrapping a new, beautifully designed set of books can only be described as magic.