Rain: Four Walks in English Weather by Melissa Harrison

The author actively sought out the rain and drizzle on her four walks around Wicken Fen in the Winter, near a village in Shropshire in the Spring then the Darent Valley during the summer and a damp Dartmoor in Autumn.

She is able to convey the finest detail of her surroundings without a single wasted word of prose. I like the way she pulls snippets and facts into the narrative whilst still keeping it personal and familiar. In each of the walks the rain falls and she describes the sights, sounds and feelings of being there. I found it all charming from the quotes about rain from the past, the folklore on thunder and lightning, and then I learned some facts I never knew about ants and birds among other creatures.

 However, there is ONLY four walks covered and only 88 pages of actual book.

The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens

    

This the story of Little Nell and her Grandfather and the characters that they met.

I loved the way Dickens is able to create such a vast and intricate web from such seemingly disparate pieces. The imagery and description in the novel that truly sets it apart. There is a wide cast of characters which resembles  the profusion of old curiosities in the eponymous shop’s window. I loved Kit and the kind school teacher as well as the villain the Daniel Quilp.

The grandfather’s addiction to gambling is still a curiosity in some respects, although repeated  up and down this and many other countries, in betting shops, casinos and gambling dens every day of the week which makes this book still relevant today.

I found he tactic of introducing Nell and her grandfather via an unnamed narrator who wanders straight out of the story afterwards confusing but apparently it's a common feature of Victorian fiction

Nail, The: Being part of the Passion by Stephen Cottrell

  

The book is constructed around seven key gospel characters telling their part of the Easter story: Peter, the Roman centurian, Pontius Pilate, Ciaphas, Judas, Mary Magdalene, and Pilate’s wife. Each chapter is dedicated to one of these and includes a Gospel reading, an Old Testament reading,  an imaginative first-person reflection by the character, and a final poem of response.

I didn't enjoy as much as his Christmas book but it was readable with lots to think about - maybe because each chapter was so short.

It offers opportunities for pray and guidance to use within a church cell however I don't think you need to be Christian to enjoy the story.

Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie

This was one of the best Agatha Christie books I have yet read. Nine people at a bridge game, one murdered, four suspects and four above suspicion who investigate.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Tom Sawyer's Comrade by Mark Twain

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

 

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is the first of Mark Twain's novels and is an American classic novel. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it!

It is a historical fiction giving readers a glimpse of the laid back town's life in the mid to late 19th century and is basically a satire of the customs and superstitions that Americans practiced and believed during that time.

I enjoyed the shenanigans that a young, mischievous boy got into.

A Short History of England by Simon Jenkins

   

It's a concise illustrated brief history of England (not Britain) since the beginning of times (after the Romans left) to the present, quite up-to-date, considering.

It helped me to give some order to my weak understanding of British history

Due to the conciseness it feels more like a list of names and dates, simply listing the names of kings, the dates of battles, and occasionally makes a comment on the culture or economy of the time.

City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World's Largest Refugee Camp by Ben Rawlence

 


I found this to be a gripping insight into the lives of people living in a refugee camp.

This is a huge culture shock, and I think that was ultimately the point. I had no idea this refugee camp existed, let alone that it is the largest ever. I had no idea there were so many disadvantaged people, with limited resources and an expansive population boom.
However, at times it was confusing to read as it jumps from person to person, and I had a hard time separating what was an overall review of current events and what was specific to one person's circumstances.