This is probably the best ghost story I have ever read, and quite possibly even the best horror (though there are some other strong contenders). What helps this short novel by Shirley Jackson really stand out (and send shivers down its readers’ spines) is that it genuinely feels the most realistic of any horror novel that I’ve read before.

Of course, realism is hard to do when dealing with anything supernatural, but she’s done a fantastic job here. The story goes that a man called Dr. John Montague invites a group of people to stay with him in a place called Hill House because it is allegedly one of the most haunted houses in America and he wants to bring them together in order to document their experiences and potentially find evidence for the existence of ghosts. A pretty plausible setup.

The kinds of frightening things that end up happening are extremely minor – doors seeming to slam shut on their own and so forth, but I think this actually really helps it. When you read other novels that have unfathomable monsters chasing after people, you really can’t fathom how something like that would feel, because it’s not rooted in reality. Meanwhile, almost most all of us have had the experience of something weird, or slightly unsettling happening that we can’t properly explain. The fear and anxiety they feel is very relatable.

Meanwhile, not only are all the characters masterfully written (especially Eleanor, who is essentially the main character) and compelling, but their reactions to the inexplicable events feel completely natural, with them often making jokes in the face of the unexplained as they try and dismiss what’s happening as ridiculous, and later even question themselves about what they’ve experienced. For a lot of what happens a “rational” possibility is given, and a lot of it makes you start to question the characters’ sanity, in much the same way that you’d do so with yourself if you kept having ghostly experiences.

At the end of novel, I wondered whether it was really about a haunted house at all, but I loved how things weren’t spelled out directly one way or another. It was Eleanor and Theodora at the heart of it that I felt most invested in, and their strangely intense and uncomfortable relationship helped compliment the horror perfectly, as there were social tensions alongside the supernatural ones. Ultimately, it all comes together brilliantly, and reflects Shirley Jackon’s perfect understanding of human minds and feelings.

Rating: 9.2/10

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A classic Dickens novel that tells a sympathetic story of people living in poverty in Victorian society. In this particular novel, you’ve got an old man who is trying desperately to look after his granddaughter, Nell, but who ends up getting involved with some pretty horrible people in the process of trying to get his hands on some money, causing them to go on the run.

The novel opens absolutely beautifully, with a man going out to take an evening stroll and ultimately coming across Nell and her grandfather in the curiosity shop that they live in. Curiously, the style of the novel changes completely after a few chapters, because the narrator essentially removes himself from the narrative and never comes back, switching to a third person narration instead. This was a side effect of the way it was originally written (serialised in a magazine) where Dickens wanted it to be told by his existing character, Master Humphrey, who was involved with all stories in the magazine, but later decided it was best to distance the projects. It’s not a problem at all, but it’s really interesting and not something you’re likely to see in modern pieces.

Sadly, I did like the style just a little more while it still had a narrator, but I think that’s because some of the slower, more boring chapters only came after he had gone. Dickens almost always has pacing issues, and The Old Curiosity Shop is no exception – but I was pretty deeply invested in the story of Nell and her grandfather. It’s just a shame that there were quite a lot of chapters set in a law clerks’ office which I was nowhere near as interested in. It is relevant in the end, but a lot of the chapters didn’t really captivate me, especially those without Nell’s old friend, Kit.

The villain of the novel, a man named Quilp, is potentially a little problematic. It didn’t bother me enormously, but a lot is made of the fact that this amoral criminal is a dwarf, and he’s constantly described as obscenely hideous. I have no issue with the fact that he’s written a person with dwarfism as being awful, because of course there are loads of awful people with dwarfism, just like anybody else – but it’s the first time I’ve ever seen him write a dwarf character of any kind, so it’s unfortunate that he is an irredeemably terrible person. The amount of time spent describing how ugly he was didn’t feel great either. I was still able to enjoy it and take a step back from what was almost certainly a case of unpleasant 19th century ideals, but it may be less easy for other readers. I seem to recall some off-handed casual racism too.

While I didn’t find it as profound as A Tale of Two Cities, or as all-round amazing as A Christmas Carol, I did have a good time with this novel. The ending, which is somewhat controversial, was really moving for me, despite some people calling it melodrama. All in all, its a great example of Dickens being able to create lovable, engaging characters, while highlighting the inequality of his society… even if he does waffle a bit.

Score: 7.7/10

This is the fourth full-length Sherlock Holmes novel (and the seventh in the series, counting the short story anthologies) and I have to say that it’s potentially my favourite one. This might be a somewhat unexpected perspective though, as while Holmes and Watson themselves have always been what I love most about the series, in this one, their involvement largely feels like a framing device for a story set in America.

However, while Holmes and Watson themselves have roles that feel diminished, I’d say that the cast of this story are the most interesting characters Arthur Conan Doyle ever created for the Sherlock Holmes series (outside of Irene Adler and Moriarty). Set in a place called Vermissa, the character, known as Douglas in the ‘present’ of the story, gets involved with a criminal gang working under the guise of a trade union.

The characters in Vermissa feel a thousand miles apart from those you usually encounter in Baker Street (I guess that’s because they are). The way Douglas gets entwined with the criminal world, and the relationships that he builds with other members (including the leader of the gang) is so enticing. You even begin to understand the twisted sense of morality that they operate under and feel sympathy for them – it makes you realise how somebody really could get involved with something like this. There’s also a massive twist that I never saw coming.

The novel also loosely ties into Holmes’ pursuit of Moriarty, so is evidently intended to take place before The Final Problem. Continuity-wise, I don’t think it meshes perfectly with The Final Problem, as he seems to tell Watson about Moriarty for the first time in both of them, but as far as I’m concerned it’s a very minor problem in the light of such a gripping story.

Even if you’ve never read a Sherlock Holmes story before, I think that this could be an excellent place to start, as you really don’t need any knowledge of the other stories. It’s especially worth reading if you enjoy gritty crime dramas. It’s a bleak novel, for sure, but it did a tremendous job of immersing me in its world.

Rating: 9.3/10

Buy it here.

The Muppet Christmas Carol is one of my favourite adaptations of my one of favourite books, and with this illustrated picture book, things have come full circle because the adaptation the novel has itself been novelised – or indeed, picture bookised.

If you know the movie, then it will no doubt be a wonderfully charming and nostalgic experience to see several key moments from the film re-imagined in Luke Flower’s beautiful art style. There are several big scenes in particular, where it’s fun to pause your reading and just take a moment to take in all the scenery and appreciate the small details. Funnily, I think they have intentionally tried to avoid making Scrooge look like Michael Caine, but I don’t think it’s an issue.

As for the writing, it’s what you’d expect of a picture book for very young children. This has been designed to be read to kids by an adult (not that it can’t be enjoyed by adults on their own) and I have to admit that Brooke Vitale did a pretty good job of condensing the whole of A Christmas Carol to something that can be enjoyed within the space of ten minutes.

One minor detail that I found slightly silly was the fact that it did change some pieces of dialogue to avoid directly saying that Tiny Tim died (even though it is very strongly implied). I guess I can kind of understand wanting to keep things light in a book for young children, but I saw the movie as a young child and don’t think it did any harm to see references to Tiny Tim dying. Also, I think most kids are quite inquisitive, so they will probably ask their parents or figure it out.

Nonetheless, that’s a nit-pick, really. I love this book and as a fan of The Muppets, A Christmas Carol, and The Muppets Christmas Carol, I am delighted to have it on my bookshelf.

Rating: 8/10

Buy it here.

This novel tells what is probably one of the most iconic sci-fi stories of the twentieth century which is a good indicator of its quality – although the downside of this is the fact that I don’t imagine there are many people who will read this without knowing the final twist. While I saw the movie adaptation as a child many years ago (and several other times since) I won’t mention the final twist on the off-chance that there is anyone who doesn’t know what happens – and to be fair, the twist is slightly different for the novel anyway.

The story begins with a couple of space travellers finding a message in a bottle – that message makes up the entirety of the book. I did think to myself that it must be an abnormally large bottle in order to contain such a large manuscript, but I quite liked this faming device. Indeed, there was quite a charming level of whimsy to it, and it was not at all how I expected it to start. This framing device comes back in a really interesting way at the end too.

But as to the story itself, it’s about a man named Ulysse Mérou who goes on an interstellar journey with a couple of scientists and a chimpanzee. It takes many hundred years for them to make the journey and it is made with the understanding that they will never be able to return to the world as they know it. When they get to the planet of their destination, they find that the humans are essentially animals, living out in the forest and unable even to talk – meanwhile, apes are the dominant species and they hunt and use humans in much the same way that humans do to apes in reality.

I enjoy the moderately progressive way in which the treatment of apes (and indeed, all animals) is condemned here. Though generally speaking, Ulysse is an absolutely loathsome character. Not only is he arrogant without ever really being shown to have particularly noticeable qualities, but he’s an absolute creep too. Near the start he meets a woman who he names Nova (she doesn’t have a name as she and the other people of her tribe are unable to speak) and he immediately becomes infatuated with her. Though in his own words, she is “more a girl than a woman”, so, yeah, and the fact that she obviously is not mentally developed in the same way that he is creates a power imbalance. The stuff that happens between them is downright disgusting in my mind, and he’s super possessive of her too… I guess Pierre Boulle is not immune to the classic trope of fantasy and sci-fi writers being massive creeps (or at least, writing as if they were).

My favorite character was Zira, a female chimpanzee who is sympathetic towards Ulysse and completely accepts the fact that he is intelligent. She’s proof that Boulle can write a good female character too, as her character arc of over-coming the long-standing beliefs of her civilization is a really interesting one. Honestly, I’d say that she grows more than Ulysse himself. She is also, rightly, not approving of his relationship with Nova.

Overall, despite Ulysse being unbearable, I really enjoyed this novel. It’s got some really cool ideas in it, and I think the writing style is pretty engaging too. If you’re a fan of classic sci-fi, or of the Planet of the Apes movies, I strong recommend giving it a read. I think the twist is slightly improved in the movies, but I still really enjoyed how it was done here.

Rating: 8.3/10

Buy it here.

Winter’s Heart is a very appropriate title for the ninth Wheel of Time novel, as it’s a very wintery novel. I’ll admit, by this point, I’m feeling much less invested than I once was in the series, but I also feel like the setting and writing style is cosy and familiar, and this is further reinforced by the fact that winter has set in the Wheel of Time universe. Something about reading novels with that brisk, chilly, wintery feeling to them is very appealing, especially if I’m reading them as we move into autumn and winter in reality, so I applaud Robert Jordan for getting that atmosphere just right.

Besides that, it was another book where there’s aren’t all that many major events Perrin sets of to rescue Faile after she got kidnapped in the last book – but the plotline is still unresolved at the end. Perrin continues to be grumpy and angry all the time, while we’re told that he is a man who doesn’t usually get angry – and of course, he’s getting worse in that regard now that Faile has been kidnapped.

Mat’s storyline was probably the one that I found the most interesting, as he had to keep his head down while living among Seanchan. Generally, as much as he’s quite lecherous character, I also find him the most believable – he’s just trying to get by and doesn’t want to be caught up in the big, world-changing events. His relationship with Tylin is still horribly uncomfortable in a way that I hope was intentional (although knowing some of the weird stuff Robert Jordan writes, maybe not), but that actually makes me pity him and like him more.

Towards the end, things got quite interesting with Rand as Shadar Logoth returns after previously only making much of an appearance in the first book. What happens with that actually felt like it was moving the overall story forward in a way that hasn’t happened much in a while, so that was pretty cool. They also explore his growing relationship with Min, Elayne, and Aviendha – which is interesting, for sure, even if it is kind of eye-rollingly silly at times too.

It’s a shame to think about how enthusiastic I was about the series when I first started it. I still enjoy reading them and want to find out what’s going to happen, but now it’s just kind of like comfortable reading that keeps my occupied without really blowing my socks off. The wind is going out of my sails and I think the overall plot has been spread a little too thin. Having said that, I’m not actively bored or frustrated by the series, so I am happy to go on. It’s just a shame it didn’t turn out to be a series of pure classics like I ininitially thought.

Rating: 6.2/10

Buy it here.

How come some people are happy and others aren’t? That’s pretty much the question that Jonathan Haidt sets out to answer with this book. It explores the ideas of what exactly makes a person happy and looks at some commonly held beliefs about human wellbeing, and then assesses whether or not those perspectives really carry much weight.

Something I enjoyed about this book was the way that it draw from a wide range of sources when exploring what makes people happy, from The Bible and Greek philosophers, through to modern science and psychology. It’s interesting how often it seems that there was a nugget of truth in religious texts and so forth, but the book then goes on to show how they were just ever so slightly wrong, or how the right ideas lead to the wrong conclusions. It is very interesting to see how a lot of general ideas have essentially be right for a long time, and I liked the typically neutral and balanced way that it was all discussed.

But for me, the most interesting thing was what I learned. For instance, the person that most people are closest with and get the most out of confiding in is their mother and those who don’t know the feeling of unconditional love from a parental figure often have trouble forming significant bonds with people later in life, because they haven’t learned that unconditional love exists, and now probably never will.

My favourite parts were all about human relationships really, especially the bits about how having lots of friends can do a lot to help somebody feel generally happy in themselves. Though I was also surprised to learn that those who marry young and stay married are typically happier than those who don’t – I found that to be quite different to my experiences of life. Although funnily enough, the book also goes onto explain that when we read things that conform to our perceptions of life, we find them agreeable, but when we read things that contradict them, we find reasons to discredit them – which goes some way towards explaining the horrible state of politics in the world at the moment. It’s also kind of sad to thing about how we seem hardwired to avoid being logical in what we believe.

My ultimate takeaway from The Happiness Hypothesis was that happiness largely comes down to genes. Each person has a base level of happiness that is determined by their genes, and though there will be peaks and troughs connected to good news and tragedies, people will typically always return to that level. This felt very true to me, and it was interesting to learn about the ways in which people could raise their base level (by living well) or essentially lower it (by being toxic).

About the only real critique I have (which is a side effect of it being about twenty years old) is the lack of intersectionality – but other than that, I think anyone who loves learning about relationships and the human mind will enjoy reading this.

Rating: 8.9/10

Buy it here.