Tobias Reeks

Convinced that she wasn't seeing things, Jean visits Beast to find out if she really is losing the plot. Turns out she isn't, as Cerebro connects her with previous hosts of the Phoenix. As a newcomer to the X-Men (comic) universe, basing my knowledge of The Phoenix on the animated series and the films, I'm not quite sure how that works...

We're two comics in, and the story bops along nicely, even if we're introduced to some characters that I've no idea who they are.

I just hope #3 in the series won't drop me in it as much as this one did.

By Saunders' own admission, this is a book of memories rather than a rigidly told chronological diary so to speak, so time frames are lax and fluid.

Her university application process? Sounds a lot like my own. My own mother, like Jennifer's, was more delighted at the prospect of having their child attend university than I was. My own bedroom resembles her own, with my laundry exploding everywhere. She also turns out to be a massive procrastinator as well, something I'm guilty of myself.

‘Bonkers' takes us on a journey of some of the highs and lows of Saunders' professional and personal life and perhaps I did cheat somewhat by having this read to me by the author herself, and that's partly why I enjoyed it so much.

While not being a perfect book, it has made me chuckle quite a lot with Saunders' various voices and sheer joy for comedy booming out of my headphones.

We join a rebooted Jean Grey in modern day Japan, seemingly aware of her fate and background in the X-Men universe, but one thing is clear: she's on the run from The Phoenix Force, and it's potentially lethal consequences for her, her friends and the planet.

I especially like(d) this, as having a digital version is great when getting a paper comic book can be quite difficult to get hold of.

For me, Jean Grey (and The Phoenix) has fascinated me since the 1990s cartoon and the film series thus far, in my opinion, hasn't pushed her enough as a character. Though we're talking about a different medium here with a comic, we're left with plenty of scope to wonder where her adventures will take her and her fellow X-Men next.

So why not give it a try?

Veronika decides to die... a rather morbid title, don't you think? This is my second Coelho book, having battled with “The Alchemist” some years previously. I just didn't get it at all, despite all the (online) praise.

What did I like about “Veronika”? Coelho is a gifted writer, very able to transport you to another world, in this case, a psychiatric hospital in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Did Coelho need to include himself as a character in the book in the opening few chapters? Not really...

It is in no way a perfect novel, but at its core, it has inspiring messages that many of us could take into our day to day lives, especially with 2018 now on our doorstep and when perhaps many of us have gotten bogged down by winter blues and want a fresh start. Am I likely to revisit this again in the future? Yes.

This book allows the reader to reevaluate the importance of life and that each day is precious... not to be wasted.

I finished reading this today and it made me immediately think of my family, myself being physically a long way from them. It's also made me think about how I myself have dealt with the loss of relatives over the years - my grandparents in my teenage years, and more recently my aunts and uncles.

“A Monster Calls” is written in such a way that people of all ages can ‘enjoy' it... and that is a word I use loosely here.

It's certainly not a cheerful book, but indeed one that makes us think about how we deal with some of the monsters that cross our paths in life.

This was one of the texts, studied during my first year at university, back in 2003, though originally in Spanish. All these years later, I thought it high time to sit down and properly read one of the texts I was supposed to study in depth at university, though now without the socio-political and historical context to go with it.

The story's protagonists are The Colonel and his wife, who live in a small town in Colombia, possibly in the same time period as characters such as Aureliano Buendía, who appears in García Márquez's “100 Years of Solitude”.

The story tells us of the misery and desperation they face on a daily basis, whilst the Colonel awaits his long awaited war pension, which never seems to arrive, and money the couple could make from their dead son's fighting cockerel and it's sale.

We spend most of our time spent in limbo, pondering - Is the Colonel's pension ever going to arrive? Will the fighting cockerel ever win a fight? Will life ever get better for the couple?

There's no chapter structure in the traditional sense of a novel and at times, I also found the lack of names annoying as well, and to me, these are what frustrated me more than anything else.

I may read it again in the future, but for the minute, I'm left with a sense of relief that I've finished it and can move onto something else.

I laughed a lot and indeed cried at “The Wrong Knickers”, Gordon's first book which documented her chaotic twenties, a real life “Bridget Jones”, if you will.

By talking about her own experiences with mental illness, Gordon has forged ground in increasingly normalising mental illness, like Matthew Haig and Ruby Wax have done before her.

Told in her delightfully madcap way, which brings on both laughter and tears in equal measure, “Mad Girl” could be a stand alone book, but is equally a fitting sequel to "The Wrong Knickers".

I read “The Handmaid's Tale” in sixth form back in 2001-2002, and at the time it was a bit shocking, particularly one scene fairly early on in the book. One of the novel's key themes is power - who has it and who doesn't, and ultimately what we do with it is the most frightening thing proposed in the novel.

Roll the clock forward fifteen years and now things in the twenty first century have possibly taken a step backwards, with some parts of the first world now putting things into place which clearly remind me of a possible blossoming of Gileadean society.

Every little bit as powerful, shocking and frightening as it was back when it was published in the mid 1980s, “The Handmaid's Tale” is a word of warning to us all.

Living in the aftermath of her family's murders, Libby Day is living in dark times and places until one day she is encouraged to challenge her own testimony which led to the conviction of her brother, taking the reader across rural America in the process.

A dark and indeed at times intense novel, the narration is split between 1985 and the present day between multiple characters, protagonist Libby, her mother and aunt including others.

I loved the beginning and the premise of the story from the blurb seemed promising too... and then it droned on and on over 421 pages.

Having built up the suspense over the course of the novel, I wasn't entirely convinced with the ending - the resolving of the whodunnit, to use a phrase. For me personally, it took a long time to get there, with six months between starting and finishing it.

Finishing this has felt like a chore, rather than a pleasurable experience and there's no doubt in my mind that Flynn is a skilled author, who creates atmospheric, mystery novels - I certainly don my hat to her in that sense.

This novel is potentially best read on a sunny beach providing you with a total contrast to the tone of the novel and allows you to consider how blessed your life is in comparison to the Day's in 1985.

“The Girl with All the Gifts” is a hugely cinematic reading experience, set in a post apocalyptic Great Britain.

I guess I was taken in by the opening, as you know something is afoot when a young girl is strapped into a chair with no ability to move her limbs, and then force fed something no normal child would eat or want to eat either.

When you find out that the foreword is written by none other than Joss Whedon himself, and that the author is producing a screenplay at the same time as writing said novel, then it's winner winner chicken dinner.

Though I've not seen “The Walking Dead”, it has that kind of feel to it - atmospheric, dramatic yet personal and touching at the same time.

The novel didn't end how I wanted it to, but it certainly made for an enjoyable and thrill packed read.

“Do Not Disturb” picks up where “The Girl in 6E” left off, with the reader rejoining Deanna about two weeks after the events of the first novel.

Having stepped outside once, Deanna is now taking massive steps at rejoining the real world - her relationship with her love interest steps up a gear, and even going as far as making a massive purchase on something we may take for granted.

Deanna's online activities, however, leads a caged beast to make a more active interest in her, to the extent where the lives of her nearest and dearest are now in the firing line.

Told again, in a mixture of first and third person narrative, the short chapters make the story fast paced and lively, so you will finish it within a few days.

Again, there is scope for the reading of the third novel in the series, called “If You Dare”.

Another great thriller from Ms Torre!

First of all, my twenties were not as chaotic as they perhaps should have been and maybe now I am making up for lost time now as I enter my thirties - I've lost count of the times I've gotten myself into a pickle of late.

But it's safe to say that Gordon's account of her so-called “decade of chaos” makes for a hilarious read, her memoir starting out when she is handed the wrong knickers post one night of passion with a delicious stranger. What follows is a series of anecdotes that involve questionable other halves, dodgy living arrangements, and the party scene of dear London Town.

I have to admit, that finishing the book made me shed a tear - it's not often a book does so! A hilarious and enjoyable read for anyone trying to make sense of what it's like trying to be an adult without not much of a clue of how to do so.

I am a massive fan of YouTube and (shamelessly) admit to spending a good half hour (perhaps more) watching videos about such things as a Japanese cat called Maru as well as the clever and funny content from BuzzFeed, not to mention repeatedly watching Charlie's finger biting skills, so naturally I stumble across Joey Graceffa and it appears that he's written a book no less!

I identified with a lot of what Joey has written about - less so with his family life, but definitely with the other aspects mentioned - the bullying and loneliness, his personal life issues and dating life, to perhaps the most drastic tactic of uprooting yourself and going on a journey to follow a passion as I'm doing that soon! It did feel at times like I could have written parts of this myself, which is scary...

Though the chapters do end with some life advice clearly aimed at people (dare I say a generation) much younger than myself, apparently autobiographies by people who produce online videos do work because I finished reading it within a week.

The message we're to take away from this is that it's not about where you begin or where you've come from but about where you end up.

To quote Joey himself: “If you don't spread your wings you won't discover how far you can fly.”

In just under two months, I will be doing what Jeremy did – packing my bags and setting off to sunny Spain to teach in a private immersion school working with primary school children in the Canaries, no less.

A lot of the humour comes from the anecdotes written about the children themselves as well as Jeremy and his wife's lack of language skills in doing things we would consider fairly run of the mill communicating in our language. I remember being giggled at because I couldn't get my English tongue around the Galician version of George (Xurxo), being offered pig's ear and assured it's the most delicious part – so yes, these anecdotes made me chuckle out loud.

Anyone who is thinking of upping sticks and moving abroad, especially to teach should read this as a preparation for what's to come.

Was I entertained? Yes. Did it remind me how much fun teaching can be? Yes. Am I likely to be telling my friends and family anecdotes of a similar nature in the next few months? Yes!

Zen kyu Jeremy!

Told in a mixture of first person and third person narrative, The Girl in 6E tells the story of Deanna, an online webcam model, who has locked herself away to stop herself from acting upon her psychotic urges, having already killed once before.

Everything is going well in her structured world of prepared food and easy money until one of her clients rocks her world with a disturbing fantasy, though when she goes to the police no one believes her. Having locked herself in her apartment with only her neighbours and her deliveryman Jeremy as her connection to the outside world, what can she do?

Comparisons to “Dexter” are perfectly valid here, we really get into Deanna's head, learn her backstory and get into her world. The short chapters keep the writing and the story fast and interesting, like any other good thriller.

With an open ending (and therefore scope for a sequel), I very much enjoyed this well paced thriller.

Since starting this book I have finally managed to part with my graffiti laden secondary school polo shirt, which I last wore in 2001, and university notes I've not looked at since writing them down in 2007.

Kondo's approach is methodical and indeed ruthless, and recommends starting with clothes. Why? - You may ask. Well to me this makes sense. She recommends starting here, as we're all prey to buying something new every season – in theory discarding something we didn't like or use so much from the previous season.

The way to figure out whether an item is worth keeping or not, is whether it “sparks joy” – these are her words, not mine. Again, this methodology makes sense. If you don't love an item, why are you keeping it? In theory if you apply this theory to every item you own, you end up with only the items you truly cherish, and you end up happier as a result.

By sorting your clothes, you then have the know-how to approach other items you may own, sorting and decluttering as a result.

The author's culture and her background do seep through in some aspects of the book, but in a way that appealed to me. Don't let this aspect of the book put you off though – take it with a pinch of salt, as the message behind it is well meant.

No amount of nagging from my mother, Feng Shui books or the approach of trying to sort out a corner of my bedroom at a time was going to get me to sort all of my stuff out – until now. So far unloved clothes have been donated, books have been given to the public library in town and I have felt “lighter” as a result.

Though I'm far from a clutter free life, I've certainly broken the camel's back with the KonMari method and if like myself, you've struggled with clutter for whatever reason, this may be the book you're looking for.

Thoroughly recommended.

Two worlds meld when Ana Steele falls into Christian Grey's office (see what I did there?) and shortly after the two embark on a passionate love affair, of which you will have read about yourself or heard a lot about in the press, online and also in its subsequent film adaptations.

Hidden in the depths of this book, alongside Steele's split three way personality (her inner goddess and her subconscious feature prominently) there's a love story of sorts, if a very passionate one with very unconventional features to it, though perhaps in terms of the White Knight saving the Damsel in Distress, it's wanting to be a mixture of both here?

What did I learn from Fifty Shades of Grey after it's 514 pages? Do we all know what we're getting into when we meet someone? No. Do we have ourselves tested to the limit when we meet someone? Yes.

For whatever reason, this book has become a publishing sensation and has clearly entertained many people in the process of doing so.

Learning the Tarot, like learning any other new skill or practice can be tricky, especially if you're wading into unknown territory. So I was quite glad I came across this title on the recommendation of a YouTuber called Kate aka Daily Tarot Girl.

Advice on choosing other decks apart from the beginners go-to “Original Rider Waite” are suggested but the main point Morgan makes is to choose a deck which speaks to you on a personal level. Tricky to do so without seeing the cards or decks in person but there are sites online where you can have a look for yourself. My decks include The Radiant Rider-Waite Tarot Deck and Morgan Greer Tarot, simply because I fell in love with its vibrancy having looked at pictures online.

In contrast to other Tarot books, sample readings are given before the author's definitions, and the advice is to say what you see, and start journaling as well. Frustratingly no mention or guidance how to phrase questions or even sample questions to ask the Tarot, so again you may have to refer to the Internet. I found the section on symbols, colour associations and numerology the most helpful bit of this book, so I will be consulting this section in future reference but I didn't care too much for advice on how to use the Tarot to cast magick either, nor how to find a good psychic in my area.

Other titles from my local bookshops or even other titles I've picked up, require you to digest the 78 card meanings and definitions, or even worse, write your own (gulp!) before even getting to a sample reading. This method is just far too time consuming for people who just want to get on with it, and what I learnt from Morgan is that with the right deck, the answers to your questions will come from your intuition, once activated.

In my opinion, if this is your first Tarot book, you'll need something like The Tarot Bible by Sarah Bartlett to assist you, as although this is a good title, it's not perfect, but Morgan's approach to reading the Tarot is refreshingly different and makes for an enjoyable and easy read.

Like many other television personalities, and indeed some of her fellow “Made in Chelsea” co-stars, Binky has written an autobiography... at the age of 25.

Interjected with “Being Binky” tips at the end of each chapter over its 213 pages, Binky tells her story in a very matter of fact way, mostly covering her upbringing of private schools, her parents' divorce, bullying due to an unnamed learning difficulty before moving to London, which then lead to “Made in Chelsea”. Sounds boring?

“Being Binky” certainly is an autobiography in that it chronicles Felstead's life so far, but this is not where you'll find figurative dirt on any of her fellow cast members, and in reality a lot of the later chapters cover what you may have seen on screen already. By this I mean that “Made in Chelsea” is there, but is not gone into specific detail as perhaps you'd want it to.

Did I hate this? No. Did I love this? No, but “Being Binky” will appeal to young women and hardcore fans of “Made in Chelsea”, rather than anyone else.

Let's face it, anyone who has completed teacher training in whatever form has found it a complete emotional roller coaster. Like nothing can really prepare you for the training year, nothing can really prepare you for the NQT year either.

Amazingly, despite completing my training and leaving my second placement full of confidence, I quit my NQT job back in March 2013 for various reasons and I needed a bit of a confidence boost before I leapt into supply work. At the time, this was it.

It's divided into well thought out sections covering everything from “Before you start” to “Professional development and promotion”.

If you've had an excellent teacher training period and proactive/helpful mentors in your placements, and you took the time to find a school that works for you and your NQT year, then reading this will provide you with a source of comfort and satisfaction over the next few months.

For me, as someone with two terms of NQT experience, the chapters and sections I found most helpful were “Climbing the Paper Mountain” and possibly “The First Lesson”. However a lot of what I read was relatively straight forward and each school is different, so in reality you do learn on the job.

So not essential, but certainly worthy of perusal in any spare moment you may have.

Relevant to new teachers entering the profession within the British education system.

Sookie's narrative introduces us quickly to her world where a mixture of romance, mystery, humour and the supernatural make for an entertaining and well paced read over twelve chapters.

Positives - The tone is lighter than the television series. The writing is fresh as well, Sookie acknowledges Anne Rice's success and “Bubba” gets a mention too.

Negatives - The chapters are quite long and at times it does feel like an advertisement for product placement.

I came to the source, via the inspiration in that I've watched and throughly enjoyed “True Blood” on the television. So if you've enjoyed “True Blood”, then you may enjoy “Dead Until Dark” - just prepare yourself for some differences, courtesy of Alan Ball and HBO.

Before I read this book, I was hoping to gain some more concrete advice on how to manage ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), CD (Conduct Disorder) and ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder) but having worked as a Teaching Assistant for the past two years at a secondary school, I have learnt a huge amount about how to manage these conditions simply by observing my colleagues' efforts.

I loved this book because it was a quick read, informative and I loved the cartoons. I also loved the fact that I was able to identify some of the students I encounter on a daily basis within this book. Due to its size, it's ideal to have in your drawer for a quick peek between lessons.

I would say this book is better suited for PGCE students and NQTs within school, who may not have encountered students with these behaviours before. It's a great back up to read just in case all the information and abbreviations on your SEN register confuses you. Therefore, even though I enjoyed this book, I didn't find it particularly helpful from my perspective as a Teaching Assistant of two years.

In 2009, on holiday I chose to take “Twilight” to read. I gave it a few chapters before I gave up, sickened by the very full on description of how perfect Edward was in each and every way. I said to a friend that it was like reading the diary of a teenage girl, and it did feel quite wrong doing so, I being male and not in my teens any more.

However, I decided to give it a second chance and persevered with it. The first person narrative gives the impression of someone who is older than the seventeen year old protagonist in the novel; Meyer presents Bella as a blank slate. Maybe so this is so that the reader can imprint themselves onto her?

The plot, only really picks up pace towards the end of the novel, which for readers wanting an action based novel, will be sorely disappointed by. The main bulk of “Twilight” concentrates on a teenage romance, and all the drama and ecstasy of it, whilst also leaving predictable plot lines open like gaping potholes on a major road, which are continued in “New Moon”.

At it's core, “Twilight” IS a romance novel - that involves vampires. It is well written in a descriptive manner, but at times overly done. There is a plot, but at times it is difficult to find. There are characters, but they're used as plot devices. There are vampires - but not as we know them. There is a lack of action, yet continuity.

So my personal reaction to “Twilight” is somewhat mixed.

Herbert has produced what will no doubt be one of the many biographies about Lady Gaga that will appear over the course of her career. Spread over two hundred and sixty something pages, she recounts Lady Gaga's past twenty four years into an informative tome of biographical data, wordy description and scarily un-sourced sound bites from Gaga's various interviews over the last sixteen months or so.

As a fan, most of these quotes are familiar and doesn't really add to anything I didn't already know or haven't heard already, and it may be possible to say that Herbert spent many hours in front of her computer trawling the Internet in the name of “research”, rather than going to New York and trying to infiltrate the Haus of Gaga.

As a biography, Herbert seems totally in awe of her subject whereas a biographer's duty is to remain objective - this is not the case here. The cut and paste nature of this biography gives us a product that appears to be hastily put together in order to be sold quickly, and unfortunately it shows.

The idea is nice in theory, but in practice poorly executed. Much of this “Workbook” consists of graph paper to doodle on, which does not inspire me, as sketching out on paper how to apply Feng Shui is something many of us have done long before being issued graph paper by Too.

Much of the information has been regurgitated from her previous bestsellers so no information here is new or indeed remotely helpful, as an owner of Too's other Feng Shui publications.

Packaged in a spiral bound book, complete with elastic band to presumably hold it together when it falls apart, this is a low point for Lillian Too.