Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge… The thrilling final instalment of this ground-breaking trilogy promises to be one of the most talked-about books of the year and it is sure to be one of our best-sellers.

A Review By Keith Smith

On the Booker longlist, and described by many as dazzling, this seemed an important book to look at. Having read the first few pages I wanted to immerse myself some more and ended up reading it from cover to cover. ’Post-modern’ according to the critics..who knows or cares? It is a brilliant read, and you either pick up the many and varied literary and philosophical illusions or not.

Starting with the birth of the protagonist Serge Carrafax, one immediately is thrown a googly as the start of the book is more concerned with Serge’s father who is at the forefront of the new medium of wireless and transmissions, as well as head of a school for the deaf and mute where he employs unusual methods. We learn about communication in all its forms, personal and scientific, as Serge grows up in his unusual environment and conducts experiments of his own, whilst also taking on board the interests of his eldest sister Sophie whose tragic death ends the formative period of his life.

We are then with Serge as he just manages to survive the First World War. Because of his skills he is a spotter and code transmitter. The images of his perilous flights above the rat-holes, trenches and craters, are vivid indeed, and the experience of flying in these conditions is wondrously conveyed. And whilst this clear air combat is a world away from the oppressive underground world of ‘Birdsong’ , the impressions it leaves are equally brilliant.

Post-war decline of Serge and the society that spawned him is rendered in dark undertow in a bleak and drug-ridden London, and then all of a sudden we are into the last phase of the book, and of his own life, when he is assigned to improve Empire communications in a fraught Egypt. Fascinating stuff.

No plot, sometimes abstruse, nevertheless ‘C’ is uniquely brilliant, and I agree wholeheartedlywith those who say even if it doesn’t win the Booker (and why wouldn’t it?), there won’t be a better book published this year, or perhaps for a long time. Highly recommended. Also £5 off to encourage you.

A Review By Keith Smith

Experience how it feels to be the subject of a blasphemy prosecution! Find out why ‘wool’ is a funny word! See how jokes work, their inner mechanisms revealed, before your astonished face! In 2001, after over a decade in the business, Stewart Lee quit stand-up, disillusioned and drained, and went off to direct a loss-making opera about Jerry Springer.

“How I Escaped My Certain Fate” details his return to live performance, and the journey that took him from an early retirement to his position as the most critically acclaimed stand-up in Britain. Here is Stewart Lee’s own account of his remarkable comeback, told through transcripts of the three legendary full-length shows that sealed his reputation.

Astonishingly frank and detailed in-depth notes reveal the inspiration and inner workings of his act. With unprecedented access to a leading comedian’s creative process, this book tell us just what it was like to write these shows, develop the performance and take them on tour. “How I Escaped My Certain Fate” is everything we have come to expect from Stewart Lee: fiercely intelligent, unsparingly honest and very funny.

I can’t disagree with any of the above. I saw the book climbing the charts and thought I better have a look, somebody is bound to ask about it. I started at the beginning where the boring bits in biographies are usually located, and was drawn inexorably deeper. I was soon for instance reading the whole of his stand-up routine in Glasgow, trying to imagine how he was going to get a laugh for treating 9/11 as a subject of comedy, and talking about things in general straight as a die, seeming to go nowhere, when I was caught. I would love to have been there. Not only is the man a comedian he is also a thinker and a philosopher, and Glasgow loved him. The extensive footnotes and explanations are truly astonsishing, as are his views on other comedians. This is the book you didn’t know you wanted to read…it’s terrific.

‘Kenilworth Through Time’ contains 180 photographs of Kenilworth, of which 90 are old photographs – some of the photographs are printed in a sepia tone and some are printed in full colour. Each page takes a different view of the past, complements it with its modern day equivalent and provides factual captions to explain the changes. The contrasting illustrations show how the area has changed and developed during the last 100 years.

Shops, schools, garages, churches, houses, local landmarks and street scenes all feature and the book includes an introduction which gives a brief overview of the history of the town.

Browsing through the photographs you will notice the increase in the number of vehicles on the road and changes to road layouts. Shops have not only changed ownership but also the goods that they sell, or are perhaps now estate agents or charity shops.

Jacqueline Cameron is a prolific author who has published ten books, two of which were widely translated. Her work has also appeared in Today, Daily Express, Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Post, The Observer, The Examiner, Writing in Education, Writers Forum and Mslexia.

She was first prize-winner in 2007 of the Society of Women Writers & Journalist’s ‘Clemence Dane Cup’ for a monologue.

A Review By Keith Smith

I chose to read this book again , one of Dicken’s greatest, because it is in a superb hardback edition for only £12.99, and I wanted to see what it was like. I can’t tell you what a pleasure it was…beautiful cover, a delight to pick up each time, wonderfully crisp and clear text, tightly bound, great introduction and notes and even a map, everything you could want in fact for sheer reading pleasure. You really really can’t beat a good hardback book for a special reading experience, and what good value too.

Anyhow, did I enjoy the novel itself? Of course I did. It is a long time since I have read any Dickens and I had forgotten what a master he is. A master of detailed descriptions, of creating atmosphere, of splendid use of adjectives and nouns which he piles on to great effect. And the plot carries you along at a rattle and a roll. Apart from which it is a thoughtful read, asking us at all instances to examine our morality and make judgements.

Who can forget the opening?…”at such a time I found out for certain, that this bleak place overgrown with nettles, was the churchyard; and that PhilipPirrip, late of this parish, and also Georgiana wife of the above, were dead and buried; and that Alexander, Bartholomew, Abraham, Tobias and Roger, infant children of the aforesaid, were also dead and buried; and that the dark flat wilderness beyond the churchyard, intersected with dykes and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle feeding on it, was the marshes; and that the low leaden line beyond, was the river; and that the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing, was the sea; and that the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip.

“Hold your noise!” cried a terrible voice, as a man started up from among the graves at the side of the church porch. “Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!”

Who wouldn’t want to read on?! And be chilled to the bone by the gloomy marshland, or made to feel dirty in the grime and noisesome filth of London itself………..

If you too have not read Dickens for a while, and fancy a great tale of character, hope and expectation, read this….. but not in the flimsy Penguin paperback. treat yourself to this hardback …you won’t regret it.