Would the new Harry Potter Please Stand up

So in just 11 days time the Harry Potter saga comes to an end with the publication of the seventh Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. JK Rowling has said that this will indeed be the end of Harry Potter, although she might return to writing about this amazing world and maybe some of the same characters in the distant future, she also said, on Friday night with Jonathan Ross, that she would not be writing again any time soon, and after fifteen years of writing a truly great series of books I can’t blame her. But what now? What happens after i have read the final book? What is going to fulfil the inner child that is me and my dodgy reading habits? A few years back the fabulous His Dark Materials  trilogy by Philip Pullman came out to rave reviews and I did indeed enjoy them immensely, these were shortly followed by G.P.Taylor’s Shadowmancer series, which whilst good no way matched Pullman in writing style nor the massive creative world of Harry Potter. And recent reads, such as the Philip Reeve’s Mortal Engines quartet and the Philip Caveney debut Sebastian Darke Prince of Fools have all been great reads, but aren’t quite in the same massive league. Now rumours are afoot that the new flame carrier will be Tunnels by Roderick Gordon and  Brian Williams which when self published under the title of The Highfield Mole  sold out within minutes (if we are to believe the hype). So who is it to be? Any of the above? Non of the above? Something not even mentioned above? Or will there never be a true heir to the throne  that is Harry Potter?

As usual, links to all the above books are here:

Harry potter and the Deathly Hallows Link
Phillip Pullman His Dark Materials Link
GP Taylor Shadowmancer Link
Philip Reeve Mortal Engines Link
Philip Caveney Sebastian Darke Prince of Fools Link 
Tunnels by Roderick Gordon and  Brian Williams Link

Alastair Campbell Diaries

So the papers are now going to be full of the Tony Blair and labour government reveal all that is the Alastair Campbell Diaries, not only that, but the book is serialised on BBC 2 starting Wednesday night. I am looking forward to reading his book: The Blair Years which should be popping through the letterbox anytime now. Whilst it is said there are numerous references to naked civil servants, its the Tony Blair/ Roy Chubby Brown….. sorry, Gordon Brown relationship that i am looking forward to reading about the most, after having this new prime minister thrust upon us without so much as a little insider competition, it will be interesting to see if Alastair Cambell does indeed allow us the juicy details we deserve, or whether he will fail us all and draw the Labour Party line and ignore the (what i would guess to be) very revealing details of a relationship between two powerful, and important men, who were supposed to be on the same side and who, if the popular press are to be believed, had a very drawn and tense relationship.

Anyway, the link to the book is HERE and waterstones have another great deal.

stop smoking… the only way

on the first of July 2007 the smoking ban in england takes effect, no more smoking in public places apart from outside (which is still a public place). If like me you have smoked for years and think that now is a good time to give up then there are a great number of methods and products  available on the market to help you. trouble is how do you know which method will work?  the best way i found was to ask friends who had recently quit, they all used different methods and all methods worked but two of my friends recommended a book by allen carr. it was the cheeper option for me that won. so i bought the book and read it, i gave up before i finished it and am now a happy non smoker. although the version of the book i bought was a little long winded i found that it broke down so many mental barriers that were stopping me from stopping smoking. an excellent book and i highly recommend it! here are the details:

the easy way to stop smoking

by allen carr         

Here is a link to waterstones where they sell it for £5.39

          the waterstones allen carr book link

empty world – john christopher

ok, this is one of my all time favourite books. i read it for the first time when i was at school, it was perhaps the first book i read from start to finish and we were reading it as part of english lit (the next book we studied was shakespeare’s a midsomer nights dream, which is still on the schools reading list, unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately when you consider the many sleepless nights caused by this book) empty world by john christopher is not). the story is about a teenage boy, neil miller, who is alone after the death of his family in an accident, when a virulant plague sweeps accross the world dealing death to all it touches. we follow neil as he has a double battle for survival: not just for the physical necessities of life, but with the subtle pressures of fear and loneliness. the book haunted me throughout my teens and my early adult life, i found i spent many nights at university wondering the streets during when no-one was about in order to understand the impact this book made on me. i had only read the book the once and knew i must find it and re-read it so my quest began. it was out of print and had been for many years and i found it impossible to locate the book in the second hand book shops of wales. i then found a couple of copies on ebay and was tempted to buy one, i refrained however, as i had now found i had a new personal mission and hobby and have since spent many a happy hour visiting second hand book and charity shops throughout the land. I now have a copy, found on a market stall in aberystwyth, it is a paperback puffin plus edition printed in 1982. in the front is a hasland hall school, chesterfield prize slip presented to vicci taylor who was in 1z form in 1984. it is still a fantastic read, and by re-reading it i have laid many ghosts to rest. my search still continues though, my mission is now to find a hardback first edition

if you want to read this book, and don’t have the patience to hunt it out like i did you will probably find it on ebay or perhaps more cheaply from abe books their website is here.

here’s one for all you kate moss fans

checking out the local news resently led me to the story of kate moss who has just launched her own clothing range in some high street chain store (was it topshop?), anyway i had seen another article about her mentioning what i thought was an unbelievebly expensive book, so i looked the book up, and yes it is expensive (£250!!!) but then i saw that the nice people from waterstones (waterstones deal) had knocked off a whopping £50. is this the best deal around?… well i couldn’t find the book/dvd combo anywhere else in the uk so it looks like it is an exclusive. If you are into this kind of thing, then here are the details:

The book is called  Agent Provocateur: The Four Dreams of Miss X – Agent Provocateur S.
by Kate Moss, Mike Figgis, Agent Provocateur

Synopsis
An astounding collaboration between Agent Provocateur, Mike Figgis and Kate Moss, “The 4 Dreams of Miss X” breaks new ground. Genius innovators in haute couture, AP have commissioned Mike Figgis to portray Moss in her first acting role, resulting in four unique films: “Shadows”, “Scale”, “Exhibitionist and “Narcissus” – “The 4 Dreams of Miss X”. Shot in night vision, these films are intensely intimate: a beautiful woman’s private dream experiences. Two films have been released online in 2006, with the final two released in January and March 2007. Brought together for the first time on DVD, you can now enjoy Kate Moss’ first ever speaking role at home and full screen. Beautifully presented in a display box, the limited edition book, complete with silk binding, is accompanied by the DVD of all four films and 5 limited edition prints of Kate Moss produced by Mike Figgis. The key features include: deluxe boxed edition with ribbons and black silk binding; a DVD of all four films; limited edition silk screen prints, produced by Mike Figgis; and, a Foreword by Kate Moss, and an Introduction by Mike Figgis.

So, if this is your thing and you have a spare £200. then here is the link to the

waterstones deal