Transform Your Life - Penny Ferguson

I purchased this free for my kindle a few months back because the title jumped out at me and the idea of transforming my life is an exciting concept!

I haven't read many self-help books and I was looking forward to trying one or dipping my toes in the water so to speak. To be honest I was first a little disappointed because about 60% of the book is more like a leadership or management tutorial. However I did find those parts quite interesting and hopefully it will help in my role as an RGN and as a father of two teenage boys( and hopefully one day as a multi award winning author!) It pretty much has a big emphasis on listening and encouraging others instead of simply trying to get your points across.

The rest of the book is full of helpful life tips such as positive thinking, finding out what you really want to do in life and even writing your own obituary! I havent wrote mine yet but I intend to (maybe today or tommorrow), hopefully before someone else does! Overall I found this book to be quite motivating and helpful in a constructive way and I am hoping to digest and develop some of its ideas for my own life. 'Transform Your Life' is built around 52 ideas with some bonus ideas at the end. For some reason one of these bonus ideas goes into a long discussion about growing your own vegetables which had me scratching my head and thinking I had started to read a different book by mistake!

This is an interesting read and hopefully it will help me to transform my life, only time will tell.


3/5

The Sentinel - Arthur C Clarke

This is a collection of short stories written between 1946 and 1979 by Arthur C Clarke.

I have only ever read one of his stories and that was a few years ago, he was also famous for his supernatural TV series of which I was an avid fan growing up.
These nine stories are of various lengths and are what I would describe as traditional old fashioned Sci-Fi. You haven't got all the flashy monsters and space battles typically found in Star Trek and Star Wars and later books and movies but what you have got are a collection of good honest stories. Most of the stories kept my interest without blowing me away completely. My favourite was the highly original 'The Wind from the Sun' where the protagonist takes part in a space yacht race to the moon. Other highlights are 'A Meeting with Medusa' and 'Breaking Strain.'

Overall this was a pleasant and interesting read without really getting me too excited.

3/5

Book 12 The ABC Murders - Agatha Christie

Sometimes murder is as easy as ABC but this time Hercule Poirot seems to be faced with a homicidal maniac and clues seem to be few and far between. Poirot receives a letter that informs him that there is going to be a murder in Andover and Mrs Ascher is found battered to death behind her shop counter. Next young Betty Barnard is strangled on a beach in Bexhill and then Sir Carmichael Clarke is killed in Churston. Why are each of the bodies found with a copy of the ABC railway guide and who the heck is the mysterious Alexander Bonaparte Cust?

I have read a few Agatha Christie novels over the years and every time I am convinced I will solve the case and pin point the murdering swine but of course yet again I failed! In fact this time I was nowhere close probably because this one is a little bit different. Instead of having a murder committed in a house or on a train or on a boat we have a series of murders that don't appear to be linked. In this book there does appear to be a lack of clues that you can normally find in any Christie book but in many ways it is much cleverer than the others.

I would probably say that it is an avarage Agatha Christie romp and enjoyable but nowhere near as good as the likes of the fantastic 'Crooked House' or 'Murder on the Orient express.' I haven't been too well this week, suffering from a horrible viral infection that is currently sweeping through the rest of my family ( except my dog, lucky git!) so I wasn't really up to reading but I plodded on.


3/5

The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

This was a fun and quick read following the 'readathon' of David Copperfield. I remember watching some of the BBC TV series many years ago and I also watched the new movie a few years ago. This is a funny book and also very imaginative and original.

I also found more than a few similarities between my own style of writing and that of the late Douglas Adams. Will I ever be as good as him? That is the question.

If you want a quick, hilarious and relaxing read, this could be one for you.
I am hoping to catch up on the rest of the book series soon.


4/5

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

This is the story of David Copperfield and his journey through life, his loves and his struggles. Copperfield's childhood bubble is burst upon the arrival of Mr Murdstone and his sister into their home and this sets the wheels of fate into a totally new direction. He experiences life on the streets of London and meets a lot of interesting characters along the way.

This is an enormous book and perhaps many people would need a little bit of patience to get through it. However it did keep my interest all the way and it is a good read. I found it strange to be reading a book that was written such a long time ago (probably with a feather quill and a candle in the background) on an Amazon Kindle! David Copperfield has a bit of everything, from adventure to humour to romance to social commentary. At times it is a little bit convoluted and not easy to follow and sometimes I found myself wondering who was living in which house and who was married to whom! But on the whole this book is easy to read considering how old it is. To me I found that it was written in a similar vein to an Austen book but much more accessible and more focused on different classes rather than just life of the nobility.

But what made this novel work for me were the fabulous characters! Lovely characters like Copperfield himself and Tom Traddles and Little Em'ly, Agnes and Peggotty. The awful Mr and Miss Murdstone and the wonderful and at times hilarious Aunt Trotwood as well as the peculiar and complex and conniving Uriah Heep. I can relate to many characters in the book but especially to Mr Micawber because of the problems I have had over the years with trying to stay financially afloat!

The amazing thing about this novel is the way in which it is still relevant
in 2012 and how the thoughts and trials of David Copperfield are not much different to our own.Even though our roads are no longer cobbled and carriages have been replaced by Ford Ka's and people carriers, there are a lot of similarities to modern day England.

I read this for Dickens Month and I would recommend it for anyone who has a few weeks to dedicate to one book!


4 Stars out of 5.

On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony

Zane is on the brink of suicide and about to pull the trigger when the Grim Reaper walks in through the door and he shoots him instead.However there is a small law of the universe that says whoever kills death becomes death.A little reluctant at first he discovers that becoming death is not an easy task, especially when a beautiful young woman and Satan himself make an appearance.

This book was recommended by a work colleague who thought it would be my kind of book and so it became my ninth read of the year.I wasn't disappointed and was pleasantly surprised.'On a Pale Horse' is very original and extremely imaginative and the story is pretty decent.

Ok so I may have read better stories and it doesn't really pack much of an emotional punch, but the sheer brilliance of this author to create such a fun and original world makes up for it. I can't believe I have never encountered Piers Anthony before and I will definitely be hoping to read more of his books, especially the rest of this series of which this was the first.

Me and my work colleague agreed that this was a great read and a bit like Terry Pratchet but not as wacky or funny.I also found the Author's note at the end to be a fascinating insight into his writing process and fellow writers out there may find it interesting too.


4/5

Bodjie Hole ( Flash Fiction)

This is a small flash fiction piece that I wrote. It does contain some strong language and sexual references if you don't like that kind of thing.



Bodjie Hole



I believe they call this a Bodjie hole but I can’t remember who told me.

It’s just one of those things I know now. Like I know gravity keeps us all clinging on to the edge of the Earth and how I know that a Samba is a type of dance and not something you spread on your toast. My knees hurt. My back aches. I am so uncomfortable it feels like I have been taken to pieces and put together again like Lego. One of my teeth is hurting but that’s something I brought with me along with this bloody cold. My nose is dripping, my ears are ringing and I can see everything that ever happened to me in my life all at once.

Apparently every galaxy has its own Bodjie hole and I just happened to have fallen into one on a train bound for Bolton. I’ve been here a long time. One, two years, ten years? I’ve lost count, I just know it’s fucking hard to get out of one when you’re in one.

I am currently me in so many ways my head is splitting and I feel like I am about to spontaneously combust. At the same time I am experiencing my first day at school, attending an interview for Starbucks and having my first wet dream. I am also getting beaten to smithereens at the back of a pub in Skemersdale whilst sucking on a raspberry gobstopper in a photo booth in ASDA in 1984. It’s pretty tasty as far as gobstoppers go but having my face smashed in at the same time kind of ruins the mood.

I think I’ve grown a beard but I can’t feel my face. I catch glimpses of myself in between me episodes. The bits I see of myself are horrible. I look all limp and thin like a scarecrow. I haven’t eaten although I am always eating every meal I have ever eaten. It’s kind of weird and I never know if I am hungry or about to burst.

How long can the human body survive without food? Surely I should be dead by now.

But that is in the real world, now I am living in a Bodjie hole. Maybe time doesn’t exist in here or perhaps every second is happening on top of every other second.

I don’t know whether to cry, sneeze or have a wank but the only thing I want is a fucking tissue so I can blow my nose.

A few moments ago I caught a glimpse of my fingernails. They are disgustingly long and curled up like little universes. I think I soiled myself again too.
My mum and dad will be distraught, I love them so much. I really have to find a way of getting out of here but I’m not sure what I have to do. Sometimes I think I have it all figured out and then I find myself confused and lost like I’ve got a hole in my head and I have to start all over again.
I am angry too. You see it was no accident, what with me finding myself in here like this.

Some bastard pushed me in or pulled me in. I’m not sure which. But that’s something to do with how I’m supposed to get out.
Fucking hell my tooth hurts. I think I’m dying. I am shaving. I am picking my nose. I just got the job.

Copyright Ally Atherton 2012