His Dark Materials (Northern Lights, Subtle Knife and Amber Spyglass)

by Philip Pullman

This book series is one of the best I have ever read. Full of adventure, magic and fantasy, it uncovers parts of one’s imagination you’ve never dreamed of. When I finished the series, I felt so upset it had ended because I wanted it to go on for worlds as it does in Pullman’s imagination.

As a science geek, I know that the myth that you only use 10% of your brain is untrue, but these books have me beginning to doubt that.

Don’t let these books get Dusty on your shelves, they are honestly something else.

a nice cup of tea and a sit down by Nicey and Wifey

A charismatic and quirky book, a nice cup of tea and a biscuit describes all the forgotten wafers, shortbreads and rolls. It makes one laugh at the different idiosyncrasies of tea-drinkers and biscuit-dunkers and sets out all the do’s and don’ts of using mugs at work.

Nicey and Wifey have a website where you can review biscuit, do a quiz and write in about your biscuit experiences.

The Angina Monologues by Samer Nashef

An intriguing and thought-provoking read, the Angina Monologues is a book about heart surgery. Written in clear and simple English and free of scientific language, it’s perfect for every budding biologist.

You can learn a lot from this book; I learnt that defenestration means, ‘to throw someone out of a window’, that CABG means a coronary artery bypass graft, and that a person can survive wothout a pulse and without breathing during heart surgery.

Would I recommend buying this book? Definitely.

Harry Potter series

How could I forget the magical HP series? It’s a crime! Harry Potter is a book on a level only reached once in a blue moon.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Living with the Dursleys at No. 4, Privet Drive, Harry is trapped and miserable. His aunt and uncle are the biggest Muggles you’ll ever encounter and his cousin Dudley Dursley is a big, fat bully. When a letter from Hogwarts School slips through the letterbox, his world is turned upside-down…

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief series summary

The Greek gods are very much alive and kicking in these humorous but informative novels. Join Percy and his demigod friends as they battle Greek myths and legends ( the Hydra, Nemean Lion and Minotaur to name just a few), get into beef with the gods, major and minor, and protect Olympus from some monstrous nasties.

If anybody wants individual reviews, comment.

No Stone Unturned by Helen Watts

A bustling quarry in Victorian times. A haunted, barren quarry in 2012. Wilmcote, Kelly’s home (for now) is steeped in mystery. With no friends in school, she’s on her own when it comes to entertainment. Until she meets Ben. Homeschooled and seemingly unworldly, Ben has no grudges against Travellers, so when he offers to help her research the quarry for her homework, Kelly has no qualms about accepting. But soon this turns into more than a history project. Their old town is steeped in mystery and murder.

Ending on a torturing plot-twist, No Stone Unturned is a great read that touches on several good talking points – bullying, loneliness and discrimination.

The Extinction Trials 3: Rebel

As Earthasia becomes more and more inhospitable, the inhabitants call for desperate measures. They set up camp on Piloria – permanently. Having been to the continent twice before, and survived, Reban Don, Storm and Lincoln are put into positions of leadership – even over the Gamemakers. It’s up to them to protect against the enemy, but is that the dinosaurs or the people inside their own camp?

Spirit by Sally Christie

When Matt Barker drops a bomb on the Truth Game at school, nobody believes him. Nobody except Jazzy. Matt says that he saw a fairy and took it home in a bag. Already unpopular with his classmates, this claim lowers their opinion of him even further.

Matt and Jazzy must team up against the ‘popular’ people to prevent them from doing something terrible.

Spirit is quite hard to follow and confusing because of the shifting point of view.

Buy? Probably not. Borrow? Yes

The Blood Guard by Carter Roy

The Blood Guard is a story about a boy called Evelyn Ronan Truelove. Or just Ronan, because most boys don’t want to be called Evelyn Truelove. His mum is part of a secret society called the Blood Guard, and no, they don’t guard blood, they guard the thirty-six Pures. A Pure makes the world a better place by just being there, but the Bend Sinister try to kill them at every opportunity. By the way, the Sinister part is actually from the latin for ‘left’. Who knew? The next book is called the Glass Gauntlet and the series is good for fans of Percy Jackson.

all that remains by Sue Black

Told frankly and reassuringly, all that remains is a non-fiction peek into the life of a forensic anthropologist. Sue takes us to her lab, the dissecting rooms and her own personal life as she explains the ups and downs of her job, tells of her Uncle Willie, her cadaver Henry and several other intriguing topics.

This book, although dealing with the sobering concept of death, is not distressing and has indeed got moments of humour. In fact Sue herself says in this book that death and humour are closely linked.

On the whole, all that remains is an interesting read that I believe broadens human knowledge.

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started