Life isn’t all Sunshine

Sunshine by Melissa Lee-Houghton is the second poetry book I picked up secondhand from my local charity shop, purely because I wanted to read some more poetry.

Abuse, addiction and mental health are all topics present in this book, so be warned if those things are triggering to you. The poems can be quite dark at moments, but there are also many pieces which focus on brighter sides of life. Essentially, this collection encompasses the human life and the roller coaster which we all travel on.

This collection may be a little dark for some, but personally it was really nice to indulge in those darker thoughts and allow them to surface for a time and wade in them, as they are normally shoved down deep. This is something I think is good for many, to evaluate all thoughts which you have.

I’m glad that I picked this one up, and if I spot any more from this author I’ll pick it up in the future.

The perfect woman? A poetic analysis

Who Is Mary Sue? by Sophie Collins looks at the archetype of the perfect female often portrayed in media and how unrealistic this woman is within the real world. Another interpretation of a Mary Sue is when a woman writes out a character whom certain readers believe to be them simply trying to reinvent themselves within this fictional world. I picked this book up from my local British Heart Foundation charity shop as they’ve finally started selling poetry books!!

I liked the concept of this collection, however, I didn’t really connect with any of the individual poetry pieces which was a real shame. The poems all seemed very impersonal and non-connective with no real links making me feel like I can feel the authors emotions.

However, it is a very quick read and for this reason I suggest picking it up if the concept calls to you. Poetry is such a subjective art and can be interpreted so differently by the most similar of people, so I always feel that if the subject matter is of interest the poetry should be experienced first hand.

Let me know if you’ve read this collection or if you feel the same way about poetry being so personal and subjective!

Trust Your Eyes

I hadn’t thought I would ever read this book, but I bought it secondhand for my Aunt, as she reads all of Linwood Barclay’s books. I decided that I’d read it to understand what she found appealing about his writing and I’m pretty glad that I did as I enjoyed the book.

I did find it a little hard to get through, as I was constantly putting the book down both to give myself time to think about the events which were happening and also because I cared too much about the characters in the book and didn’t want to read on as I didn’t want anything bad to happen to them!

I really enjoyed how the stories which are shared with us across the book slowly start to interlock with each other as the different characters come together, with lots of different plot lines, some of which set in the past, slot into place.

There is the main plot twist ending of the book, which was captivating and interesting, but what really got me was the tiny little twist at the very very end of the book. You’re just coming down from the high of finishing the story off and finding out the ‘solution’ and how it all resolves, you’re calm. And then you get hit with a startling twist, that you can do nothing about as the book ends here. Such a great way to end a novel of this genre and I am seriously considering reading more of Linwood Barclay now that I’ve dipped my toes into his writings.