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

The future is bright! Or is it... Welcome to my latest review which unlocks my thoughts on the 2021 dystopian novel Klara and the Sun  by Kazuo Ishiguro. The future here is filled with ‘Artificial Friends’ which is something worrying to me. When I first read that on the blurb, I wandered if and how robots would play a role within a human society. I had already imagined that a futuristic, dystopian world where robots play a key role. For me I had a predetermined idea that perhaps any robots would be the "negative" side in this dystopian. But what actually happened changed my perception. Personally for me: AI, technology and electronics becoming too far advanced too quick scares me a little. That is why I was skeptical. However, when I read this the dystopian tale the sad truth of how this society operates. I came to feel sorry for Klara actually and I found myself with tears in my eyes from some of what I was reading. Yes it is a sad book but it is also an intense book. There ...

What I have read this week... I have decided to do a weekly post on Sundays, only a short one, just to inform you all what I have been reading that current week. When I do these little posts I will try to include everything I have read, even if it does not seem relevant to the general themes of my blog posts from within that week. This week has seen me read a little bit, though not much in the way of variety. 1: French! Yes I am still going strong at 412 days... (I think!) 2:  Wilderness Tips  (1991) by Margaret Atwood. I have been reading over some of the short stories again from this collection just to garner some extra thought for my blog post which I posted on Friday of this week. 3:  The Autograph Man  (2002) by Zadie Smith. A little while ago read Zadie Smith's first novel White Teeth  (2000) so I came to the realisation that I wanted to read her next novel in chronological order, that I actually possessed. Her second novel The Autograph Man  is one I...

Hello everyone, I know it feels like a while since I posted but I am here now to provide my insightful thoughts into another Atwood piece. This time I am delving into the worlds of her 1991 short story collection, Wilderness Tips . I found this collection a rather enjoyable read. Originally, I had studied this collection at university so it was only natural that I went back over it to give my thoughts here. I find Atwood does this thing where her characters are so unique in themselves. Her characters have this vitality and are full of depth. One character who springs to mind is Kat from the short story  ‘Hairball ’. She has this tough, outspokenness to her but at the same time she is a rather quirky character too. Even with her name, which as she says  ‘ ‘It's Kat as in KitKat. ’ ’¹ This little thing of her name choice highlights her of difference, to stand out. Then contrast this to the character of Prue from the short story  ‘Wilderness Tips ’ -  ‘She gives him an ...

  Hi everyone, I just wanted to let you all know that I am away from now until Wednesday. Therefore my next proper post will be Friday. Have a nice few days without me. Don't worry, I shall return! Until next time, Thomas.

As we draw to the end of St Valentine's Day I wanted to wish you all a happy St Valentine's Day. if you celebrated with someone special, I hope you had a lovely day. If you have someone special who you lost then my heart goes out to you. If you are single and hope to find someone then good luck to you. But if you are single and happily plan to keep it that way, then good on you! Have a slay of a day too! This year I want to emphasise that we should have love for everyone and not hatred. It does not matter if you are black, brown, white, gay, lesbian, bi, trans, asexual, aromantic, agender, gender-fluid, genderqueer, androgynous, bigender, pansexual, polysexual, male, female, non-binary, intersex, young, old, have a disability, are an immigrant, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Christian or not religious. We should all be more loving and accepting. Anyway until next time, Thomas.

Hi everyone, I decided that starting from this month, I am going to introduce you to a bookshop each month that I have visited and let you know on what I think. Therefore, if you want a good bookshop you hopefully can find one new to visit. The post will not fall on a set day of the month as I will try to publish a post on a bookshop shortly after I visit one, where possible. The first bookshop I want to highlight is The Bookkeeper in the East Sussex town of St Leonards-on-Sea down Kings Road. The reason I picked this bookshop because it is a nice bookshop and in fact I recently visited it. Here are the couple of books I purchased there on my recent visit. The bookshop is smaller in size but that should not deter people. I find sometimes a smaller bookshop can be a good thing. If it's small then it can make the shop feel more cosy. The Bookkeeper comes across as neat, petite and sweet. The person who runs it is certainly sweet and always helpful, though I do not know their name! Wh...

Monday. It's the start of the week. It also means another blog post from yours truly. I am unwell as I currently type but I feel I must try and push on as I am behind, having missed some previous posts.  Anyway I give to you a reviewing of The Hunger Games  (2008) by Suzanne Collins. Sharp, brutal and clever. Three words I would use to describe this dystopian novel. Why I hear you ask? Well... The whole premise of the novel is having one boy and one girl from each district fighting to the death. I find that what happens is sharp in that when things happen, often it appears sudden like being striked with a sharp object. But this is not a bad thing. The end of part I springs to mind when out of nowhere Peeta declares  ‘there is a girl out there’ ¹  who he reveals out of nowhere that it's Katniss. This threw me because I assumed he would have someone to win for then maybe form a close friendship with Katniss to create a dilemma. Now I use the brutal because that is what...

   What I have read this week... Here is my weekly 'What I have read this week" post. Before I get into what I have read, I want to emphasise that when I create my weekly posts here, I do not just stick to books that I have read. For me I would find it a bit boring. Besides as you will see, number one is always the same (so far). I have read a little bit of a mix this week so here we go... 1: French! Again, I am back at it with the French. This week I reached my next milestone of 400 days! I am so happy  with how I have managed to keep the momentum going. I have said to people before about wanting to reach 1000 days but whether it would ever happen is something we will have to wait and see. I think that works out as doable in under three years. I have passed the first one so far. Keep. Yours. Eyes. Peeled. 2: Album track lists. I recently got a number of albums for myself and a friend. We are both massive Madonna fans and even share some favourite songs as one anothe...

As the title states the obvious, here we are, having made it through the first month of the year. I am back to review more dystopian texts for this month as planned. Now originally I was intending on picking a new author for February but I came to the conclusion that Margaret Atwood is far too good of an author to only make her the focal author for one month. Also, she has written many texts that I think should be discovered. In January I highlighted The Handmaid's Tale  (1985), Cat's Eye  (1988) and The Testaments  (2019), however I still have more great reads from Margaret Atwood to share with you. So stay tuned! Bear in mind though blog readers, that not all the texts I review will be by Margaret Atwood so expect to read a review one day on another dystopian text from someone else. Aside from that I will publish other posts that will not be reviews. I am looking forward to posting some interesting stuff this month and seeing what the new month brings. As St Valentine's...

Hi all, my apologies for being absent. I have not been well the past few days but yesterday I started feeling better so I thought I should do a post today just to let you all know. Last Sunday I did not post my weekly 'What I have read this week' post because I there nothing that was much different to what I had read the week before. I thought a repetitive post would seem pointless.  Anyway, I shall put up a blog post tomorrow and then carry on as normal. Until next time, Thomas.