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

Hello all. I wanted to start off by apologising for my absence. I have not been well and found it hard to truly concentrate on anything. But today I have started to feel a bit better so I thought it was time to jump on here. From now on, things should get back to normal. As you tell from my blog heading, today I am giving you my review to Zadie Smith's third novel On Beauty  (2005). Before I get stuck into that though, I just want to state how much I have enjoyed having reading Zadie Smith as my author of the month, this March. Her books have made me laugh and On Beauty  is no exception! This novel is rather something special. Unlike most novels I found it such a challenge to put the book down. With any novel I read I might put it down to cook food, eat food or go out somewhere for instance. But this book was making it hard to put it down and even harder the more I read. That is because I found it highly captivating and immensely funny. To me, On Beauty  is funnier than b...

Hi everyone. I thought today I would offer a book review for anyone after something a good read for children. My review is of Judith Kerr's book Mog's Bad Thing  (2000). This book is suitable for children aged 2 - 5. This is a book that I was given some point in those years of my life. I like how this story starts and ends. In this book there is this build up that leads to a lovely, warming surprise. For me, this stands out as a children's book because it had everything a children's book should have. From the protagonist (who readers can follow) to colourful illustrations and a happy ending. As far a children's books go, this is one to recommend. There are a number of Mog  books by Judith Kerr and this is a good example of how to entertain children with a book. If you want a nice book to read with the children, this is it. A solid 10/10. Until next time, Thomas.

Hi everyone, I decided that I wanted to focus on another bookshop that I have recently visited. This time it is Baggins Book Bazaar down Rochester's High Street in Medway, Kent. The bazaar is considered the largest second hand bookshop in the country. When I went there I had this preconceived notion that it was going to across many floors. There was not many but there were many, many books. With all the aisles everywhere I kept getting lost. At one point I had to go either left or right (I cannot remember), then go down some stairs and along a corridor just to end up in hardback fiction. Paperback fiction was upstairs from this. Now the bookshop had loads of books and every category you could imagine including cookery, sci-fi and antiques. As much as I liked the books, I did not find anything I was after personally. I will say that the bookshop is open everyday from 10:00 - 17:45 which gives scope for a visit. The fact that it is right near Rochester train station, has buses and ca...

What I have read this week… 1: French! Another week has ended and so here I am to tell what I have read. This is the first again. I am almost at 450 days and cannot wait to reach that milestone! I am going to keep on going until... forever... 2:  The Autograph Man  (2002) by Zadie Smith. At the start of this week, I finished this funny novel from Zadie Smith. Her second novel was so good as you can tell from my book review I did for it, published on Monday. 3: Tesco Magazine. This week I picked up the March edition of the Tesco magazine. I shop there at times so I love to read their magazine for recipes. They have great recipes as well as coupons. 4: Instagram. (Again) I am still keeping up to date with important information. Though if I thought I could do without it then I would. This week has been informative indeed! I found out this week about a certain company who makes those chocolatey biscuits fingers in the red packaging. This certain company who has brands including bo...

Hello and welcome back to my blog people. Today I wanted to give you something different. Quite a while ago I wrote a poem entitled 'Rain'. Well, I recently came across it and decided that it was a joy to read! I felt it needed to be shared with people. Therefore, I am giving you my poem 'Rain' to read. Enjoy! Rain The patters tap the window at night The watery splatters awake me from my sleep The clatter outside from the rattling rubbish BASHING against the big metal bins drags me out of bed and over to the window. Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter! The SHATTER of a glass bottle dropped by a drunk man drinking on the bench scares the black cat lurking besides so it scatters away. Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter! By Thomas - me! I hope you liked my poem people. It was only a short one, though I initially wrote it at around about half three in the morning when I was woken up. I could not get back to sleep and I find writing poetry to be therapeutic. Until next time, Thomas. 

Hello all, in honour of International Women's Day earlier this month, I have decided to reveal who my favourite women authors are. 1: Bernardine Evaristo. I find her so captivating as an author. I studied her 2019 novel Girl, Woman, Other  for university and I immediately fell in love with it. I love her storytelling and her handling of critical or sensitive issues. Evaristo does not run away from the problems that some womxn face. Instead she highlights it as if to let society know 'we have a problem'. Her fiction just works. Is it any wander she jointly won the booker prize in 2019 for Girl, Woman, Other . 2: Margaret Atwood. I love reading something by Margaret Atwood. The way she brings worlds and characters to life is rather magical. She will create a stark vision of the future, without making it enjoyable. Her novel The Testaments  (2019) is my second favourite novel and it also jointly won the Booker prize in 2019 with Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other  (2019). 3: Za...

What can one say about Zadie Smith's second novel The Autograph Man  (2002)? I know one thing for sure people, as an author Zadie Smith is quickly growing on me. There's just something so smart about the way she welds together the funny and the serious. I found her first novel White Teeth  (2000) funny. This novel is the same. Admittedly when it started I felt some sadness and that transformed into some shock at the realisation of what happened. But then as I read more and more, particularly towards the end, I came to appreciate the beginning. Having a sad moment in a book does not automatically rule it out from being funny. This book still made me laugh on more than one occasion when I did not find it weird. I must add that I use the adjective weird in the best possible way. I found it a bit unexpected and it truly got me thinking from another perspective. I become emotionally attached to the characters, gutted for one of the characters even. I will not spoil which one! My op...

What I have read this week (just gone)… Before I get into the ins and outs of my week in terms of what I have read, I must apologise. Yesterday I had a lot on and then to top it all off, I received some bad news. For these reasons I forgot to post my weekly 'What I have read this week...' post yesterday. Anyway, I am here now (Monday 17th March), to post it a day late. I thought it is better to post it late than not at all. 1: French! You knew it was coming... Just another week of me reading, listening to, speaking and typing French. I am getting close to 450 days, give it until next month! I have also decided that when I confident enough with my French, I am going to start learning Spanish. I have always wanted to and one of my good Judy's speaks Spanish very well. Another good Judy or rather friend (if you're unaware of the 'Judy' meaning), hopes I learn French well. They happen to speak some French though I'm unsure how much... 2:  The Autograph Man  (200...

Welcome back everyone, I wanted to look at the role of witches in society, literature in particular. Reviewing A. K. Blakemore's  The Manningtree Witches  (2021) got me thinking about how witches have been perceived in literature and society as a whole. Blakemore's novel is not the only book I have read. For me, this book reveals what happened in Manningtree when Witchfinder General Matthew John with a feminist viewpoint. But before I get too deep into witches, the first question to ask is - what is a witch? Well according to The Dictionary of  Feminist Theory  (1995)  ‘Most modern writers use the old English word Wicca , meaning 'wisewoman' which is a positive term for maiden, mother and crone.’ ¹ So it remains a mystery as to how this interpretation of a witch is never portrayed. Take something in popular culture such as the television programme Doctor Who  which included two good examples of witches. The first example I am thinking of is  ‘The Shake...

Hello blog readers, I hope everyone is having a good March. If I am honest, I am finding things a bit testing at the moment but I keep on going, hoping some goodness is coming. Today I am treating you to a review of The Manning Tree Witches  (2021) by A. K. Blakemore. Set in 1643 England, this dark tale is filled with fear and suspicion when the witchfinder general arrives in Manningtree. With strong convictions from the Puritans swarming around, the women of Manningtree do not know who to trust. Questions are being asked and those being asked do not know what to say. The main question on everyone's lips - is she a witch? But this sinister novel forges a villain, not in the "witches" but rather in that of patriarchy. Here this novel challenges whether it is good women vs so called "witches" or rather "women" vs "men". Can one man truly be trusted?  This novel demonstrates the puritanical patriarchy present in the 17th century, amongst the wor...

What I have read this week... I am back once again to share with you what I have been reading. 1: French! Yes... I am still continuing to grow my knowledge of the French language. I want to get to a point where I can speak French and understand it. I will put it like this... If I go to France I want to be able to adapt and integrate into their society on my visit. When visitors come over here, people expect them to just speak English as if it is a first language. Why should we not try and learn a bit of another language. After all, French is a common language. I am slowly on my way to 500 days of learning French! I will still be here for the weeks to come... 2:  The Autograph Man  (2002) by Zadie Smith. Because I am yet to finish this novel, I wanted to make sure I got to the end of it. 3: Palestine leaflet. When I was out and about, someone gave me a leaflet regarding boycotting companies that support Israel. There was also a website and Instagram link from the BDS (Boycott, ...

Yes today is International Women's Day! As someone who considers themselves a proud feminist, I stand with all women. For me this includes but is not limited to neurodivergent women, poor women, lesbian women, trans women, bi women, pans women, poly women, black women, brown women, white women, disabled women and working class women. This year I think is crucial because women's rights are constantly under threat, not so much in the U.K as in other countries. There are certain things women should be able to do such as make her own choices about her bodies, get married if and when she chooses to - this includes who to. The way I see it is that the rights of everyone should be equal regardless of gender identity. Every man, woman and non-binary person should get the same rights as one another.  The rights of women should also apply to all women. Not just some. As a feminist, I see all women as equal. Not rich women get priorities or trans women get excluded for instance. Some peop...

Hello people. Here I am because I came across an article which I thought had some relevance lately. I was looking through some old Waitrose magazines from last year for the recipes I wanted to mark. As I did this I came across an article entitled  ‘Novel Noels’ from the December 2024 issue. Now as you have guessed it had something to do with novels. The aforementioned issue was all centred around Christmas and the celebrating the festive season with food. This is not unexpected, but finding the following article was.                                                           The article looks at different festive dishes from works of fiction. The selection happens to include  ‘THE NEW YEAR FRY-UP in White Teeth’ ¹  which I thought was nice. I also like that they clearly state what it is actually comprised of:  ‘Three fri...

Hello people, I am here to deliver my first book review of the month. It is of Zadie Smith's chunky, yet multi-layered White Teeth  (2000). This novel may be over 500 pages and that may well put people off who are not used to reading that much. But, yes there's a but! But it is well worth the read. For starters, it tackles issues which I think are as relevant today as they were 25 years ago. Where do I start? We have people who stick up for animal rights in a perhaps extreme way, there's clashing religions and questions regarding science. Though for me, this novel is key when it comes to postcolonialism. That is what I am focusing on here. Throughout the novel we are met with three contrasting families. There is the Jones/Bowden family with Archibald 'Archie' Jones who is British and his black Jamaican wife, Clara Bowden. On the other hand, we are introduced to Samad Miah Iqbal who is a devout Muslim Bangladeshi with his wife Alsana Begum. The novel follows both the...

What I have read this week... I am still here telling you what I have been reading. But this week there has not been much. This week has seen me read a little bit, though not much in the way of variety. 1: French! I have not stopped doing my French at all! The new words and phrases I am learning all the time fascinates me! 2:  The Autograph Man  (2002) by Zadie Smith. I am continuing to read this novel and hopefully it will continue to be interesting without spoiling too much... I have decided once I get this finished then I am moving onto her third novel On Beauty  (2005) because I enjoy reading what Zadie Smith has written. 3: Monopoly. I recently got myself a second hand Monopoly. It's Ms. Monopoly I mentioned last week. It was brought out to celebrate inventions made by women and to take aim at the gender pay gap. In this one, it gives more money when passing go for being a "woman". I will say however that some of the cards can offer more money for being a man. I actu...

Hello all, To kick start off a new month I am here to inform you all of my changes. Firstly, I chose to post today instead of yesterday as it is the 1st today. As we have entered a new month, it is a goodbye to Margaret Atwood as our author of the month. I hope you enjoyed reading my reviews on some of her pieces. But another thing. Every two months we have a new theme. For March and April, I have decided to coincide with International Women's Day on 8th March. The theme of the month therefore is "female"/"women" authors. For my March, my author of the month is the incredible Zadie Smith so do look out for reviews of her some of her work. Anyway here's to a new month! Until next time, Thomas.