The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Theriault

 

A short easy read novel dealing with obsession, friendship and haiku writing.

I loved its beautiful love story.
The poetry is beautiful with an introduction to haiku.  
At about a 100 pages, it does a lot in a short space.

The ending is guessable from quite early on.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

This is an adult fairy tale', with sex, deaths, and  swearing.

  The book contains wonder, enchantment and mystery.
  It contains medieval times, fairies, unicorns, witches, castles and a quest.
  It is full of details and a fast-moving plot.

 However, it lacks thrills and any sense of real danger.

Me, Myself and Us by Brian Little

 

This book provides a well-grounded introduction to the "Big Five" personality dimensions (Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism. Openness and Extroversion). Understanding these tendencies in ourselves and others can provide valuable insights into behaviour, helping us to be realistic in our expectations, to avoid misinterpreting the behaviours of others, and to recognize that environments and settings interact with personality to influence actions.

 A good introduction to the subject of personality subject.

There was a number of  anecdotes and examples used to illustrate the personality factors. 

It allows for reflecting, questioning, and learning about ourselves and others we interact with. 

There’s no groundbreaking research, and the book is not a self-help manual.

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey

This books describes a mystery written from the perspective of Maud, a woman with dementia.

It is very sad at times, as Maud gets no longer being listened to and people around her get irritated.
The author writes brilliantly with the thoughts, feelings and limitations of a person losing their memory. It feels like a first-hand experience of what it would be like to lose your memories - although I am not sure how realistic it is.

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

   

 This is the second instalment of JK Rowling's, writing as Robert Galbraith, private detective Cormoran Strike.  He is solving a mystery of a missing husband.

This a great detective story, full of twists and turns.
It is fast and highly entertaining.
You can see her love of underdogs/disadvantaged people.
 
I got fed up with Strike's assistant Robin suffering from angst about her relationship with her fiancé, which carried on from the first book.

Cold Blood: Adventures with Reptiles and Amphibians by Richard Kerridge

 Richard Kerridge writes about his boyhood and his adventures collecting toads, frogs, slowworms, lizards and snakes. He intertwines his childhood adventures with his relationship to his father and scientific facts.

Inspiring for those of us who can't afford to go off and see wildlife round the world -because there are some amazing fellows here in the UK.
I loved his writing on our relationships with nature, eco-criticism, anthropomorphism etc.