Fiction

I absolutely loved this book,not just because it is so well written but for me Cora's writing enabled me to visualise so well the atmosphere of the times she was writing in. Her many characters felt very real and I found myself empathising with Mara - a very newly appointed judge.

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT is a caring and also funny book in parts about a young boy with Autistic Spectrum Disease. On the front cover there is a quote from Ian McEwan which says "Mark Haddon's portrayal of an emotionally dissociated mind is a superb achievement. He is a wise and bleakly funny writer with rare gifts of empathy"

This is the tale of three friends who's lives are very intertwined.

We meet Bella and husband Philip who have been married for 6 monthe, Laura a recent divorcee and son Eric and last but not least Amelie the widow with 2 young children. As friends they get together on a regular basis for meals and time out with each other to put the world and their lives to rights.

I read this book after Vicky had interviewed Fan Wu (now being edited for the podcast) and was so enthralled I was unable to put it down until the end.

John Bunyan started to write after 1660 with the restoration of the monachy, and the resusitation of old anti-conformist legislation, his preaching led to imprisonment for twelve years in Bedford Goal. The resultant increase of literary output culminated in Grace Abounding, one of the finest books on religious experience ever written. In 1672 Charles ll, realizing that this policy of suppression was accomplishing nothing, used is royal perogative to issue a Declaration of Indulgence . As a result Bunyan was set free. ..read more

This is the story of a powerfully honest exploration of the grief and the rage the loss of a child inspires. Blue Water is one of the most heartfelt portraits you could read of a mother struggling with her need for revenge.

In telling the story of the woman who accidentally took that child's life, it is also a novel that challengers our desire to attribute blame.

It would be fair to say the town had a suspicion of strangers. Driving over the moor at Achentiber that first October evening, I saw Dalgarnock Abbey and the town below it emerge out of the darkness like burning matter in a dream of constant renewal. I tasted sea-salt coming at the open window, I turned off the radio, and immediately thought of the Balliol drinking song.

Lesley Horton's Book On Dangerous Ground is about a killer who seems to have a fettish for destroying the lives of prostitutes. The police officers involved find out that that there does seem to be a ring of child prostitutes in and around Bradford and in fact, based right next door to one of their own Police Stations. ..read more

This book to me is a very good listen especially as I was able to hear it with my youngest daughter in the same room. I found myself not wanting to stop the audio cd the story was so exciting.