Tag: Titles

Agatha Christie – Surprise! Surprise! | Review

Title: Surprise! Surprise!

Author: Agatha Christie

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 224

Rating: 3.5/5

This book is something of an oddity, and in fact I hadn’t even heard of it until I spotted it going as part of an Agatha Christie job lot on eBay. Essentially, because different publishers released different books in different regions, there are some unique USA titles that never came out in the UK, and vice versa.

That mostly applies to short story collections, of which this is the perfect example. In fact, to say that I read this is almost cheating because I only bothered to read the stories that I hadn’t read before, and so there were only four of the twelve or thirteen in here that I actually read. I remember the ones that I skipped, though.

In fact, this is actually a pretty decent little read, if only because it features a bunch of Christie’s most well-known characters, from Parker Pyne to Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. It also includes the title story of The Witness for the Prosecution, which I’ve seen performed as a play before. I think the play was a little better than the short story, but both of them are very much worth consuming. All in all then, I’d have to say that this one is worth reading.

Learn more about Surprise! Surprise!.


Isabelle Kenyon – Please Hear What I’m Not Saying | Review

Title: Please Hear What I’m Not Saying

Author: Isabelle Kenyon

Type: Poetry

Page Count/Review Word Count: 240

Rating: 4.5*/5

 

Isabelle Kenyon - Please Hear What I'm Not Saying

Isabelle Kenyon – Please Hear What I’m Not Saying

 

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free.

I’m not really sure what it would take for a poetry book to get a five out of five for me, but this one was pretty damn close. It’s a stunning collection of dozens of different poets all writing about mental health issues, and proceeds from the anthology are put towards Mind, the mental health charity.

What I liked about this collection is that there’s such a diverse selection of poetry covering all kinds of different subjects. So while I could relate to the anxiety and depression poems, I also learned when reading poems about borderline personality disorder and Alzheimer’s. I also liked the fact that the different sections come without titles and invite you, as the reader, to come up with them.

All in all then, I don’t think this necessarily has breakthrough appeal if you’re not normally into poetry. But if you’re a fan of contemporary and indie poetry as I am then there’s a lot to love about this one, especially if you’re also interested in the mental health angle. Its diversity and the sheer number of poets included within its pages make it a pretty  good way to meet your new favourite poets. Enjoy.

 

Isabelle Kenyon

Isabelle Kenyon

 

Click here to buy Please Hear What I’m Not Saying.