Introduction

Poetry was described by Samuel Taylor Coleridge as the best words in the best order. Whilst I appreciate the thinking behind the sentiment and am also appreciative of much poetry I would hesitate to believe poetry was any better than prose. Any good literature is surely by definition the best words in the best order.

But in these reviews I have made no attempt to stick to good literature (however that may be defined) I’ve also included some pretty awful words that have been poorly ordered. The only qualification a book requires to make it to this Blog is that I must have read it. The view on how ‘good’ it is can only ever be subjective so that is what the reviews are. And even one person’s subjective view will change from day to day. Books I read in my teens may no longer appeal. By contrast my early attempts at Dickens (Ugh!) bear no relation to my recent enjoyment of his works. Even day to day moods affect one’s view. If I’m not in the mood for a light-hearted Ellis Peters story it becomes ‘samey’ and ‘boring’. If I am the mood it is a harmless and fun way of relaxing for an hour or so.

There is no attempt to place these reviews in any order. The first one just happens to be the work I most recently read. Others may be reviewed as and when they come to mind. I reckon that on average since I was about 4 years old I have read two books a week (both fiction and non-fiction) which means I have about 5,400 books to catch up on though if one takes out duplicates I suppose one could round it down to about 5,000. (In fact some like ‘Lord of the Rings’, the early Discworld ones and the Stephen Donaldson ‘Thomas Covenant’ stories have been read at least three times!) If I live to be as old as my parents and grandmother and kept my sight and wits I’ll add another 3,000.

It would be fun to pick my Top Ten or Top Hundred but at this stage I cannot imagine so doing. Nevertheless, odd lists and quotes and jottings will be included in these Blogs in the hope of making this something more than just a set of reviews.

Enough now of introducing the task. It’s time to get on with it....