Tom's treasures of fiction, poetry, literature and more...

Looking at Young Adult fiction this month and the following month has got me thinking about what I read as I grew up. It got me to think about the origins of me reading and some of my earliest memories reading. So for today's blog post, I am going to be looking back as some moments of me I associate with books from when I was in primary school. This is because this is when I first remember reading. During classes, more so in the later years, we would have reading sessions in which there would be something that we would be reading. Each time we did reading, one table comprising of a few students would be joined by the teacher who would go through a book with us, asking every person to read certain bits. We also had a school library and took visits to the library. I do remember one time when a group of us sat in the library listening to our librarian reading from a book, while sat on a chair in front of us. We sat on the floor of course. I cannot remember who our librarian was just t...

Hello everyone. I know it has been a long time but I am back and I am here to stay. You are probably wandering why I was quiet for the whole of October as well as September. So let me explain... When September arrived, I knew I was not up to posting on my blog much and needed time away to compose and get myself back into a better frame of mind to be able to have a clearer and sharper focus on certain things (not just my blog here). Alongside that it was decided at the last minute that I would be going away to see some family. As I was not here for over a week and knew I would end up spending several days without a decent signal, I thought it was best to leave it for September. Then October came and work was being done in my home which not only left the place noisy for two weeks but also meant some days had hours of no electric and subsequently no internet. Then around about the same time I fell unwell and had to prioritise getting better as I was struggling to do all my day-to-day acti...

September has arrived and hence so has autumn. Now this month is going to be a special one for me as I am going away (hopefully) to see some family later on for several days. Because of this I shall not be here for over a week and will not have a signal likely to be able to regularly post. It is not definite I am going away because I have not been too well. For both of these reasons I have decided to take this month off from my blog so that I can come back in October when I am not thus unprepared. Sometimes life can be a lot and as a person you can experience burnout. The most important thing is your health and I need time to focus on myself. Therefore I shall not be posting this month. I hope to return in October with some great posts for you all. Until next time, Thomas (they/them). [P.S: It's okay to admit when you are struggling or not at your best! We all have our down days...]

 Yes, yes I know!

After having published The Girl with Seven Lives , I've realised that Vikas Swarup has now released a total of four novels. So today I am going to provide a timeline of all four of his novels starting with the earliest. 1: Q&A (2005) also known as Slumdog Millionaire. Swarup's debut novel focuses on the character Ram Mohammed Thomas who competes on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? When he is doing really well, getting every question correct, he is arrested on the accusation he has cheated. Through explaining how he knew the answer to each question, the novel highlights the various moments of his life. I reviewed this book last year when I looked at BIPOC authors so take a look to see what I thought about the novel. 2: Six Suspects (2008) [the one I reviewed this month]. After being acquitted for murder, Vicky Rai has an acquittal party to celebrate but gets murdered at his party. Six people are found with guns on them. The novel follows all six suspect...

Hello people. Today I have some news to offer you all. I recently found out that Vikas Swarup has his new book being released in this country, in fact it was published on the 13th of this very month and year by Apollo Books. The book entitled 'The Girl With the Seven Lives', follows the life of Devi and all about her seven lives. It was first published on the 15th of July 2024 in India by Simon & Schuster India. Alongside the novel being published on the 13th of August (just gone) here in the U.K, the novel will also be published in the U.S.A on the 1st of September by Pegasus Books. Now this is a book that I want to read because I have enjoyed all his other novels. Hopefully, I will get the chance to read it sometimes soon and will not find myself disappointed. Until next, Thomas (they/them).