Carol Naylor's REVIEW it...

Time Does Heal.  A Collection of Poems by Julie Day. "Life has no meaning when it's devoid of love/ Love is, in fact, what we're all searching for." Julie Day enlightens us with an interesting and positive approach to the tragic end of a relationship and how to deal with the heartache. "Time will heal" is the ultimate answer, a reassurance that it does because for the writer, she has become whole once more.  And for anyone who has suffered similar break-ups you should feel reassured by this anthology of thirty short verses. Young teenagers embracing their first love affair, diving into the unknown with hormones racing all over the place will seek solace in the poet's advice: "Love yourself/ Love who you are/ Love to love/And you'll go far." Julie Day has plenty of gems to offer to ease the heartache so don't despair. She offers an abundance of sound advice. The verses are all extremely personal and document the stages o...

                             The Hundred Foot Journey. Film Review. "Food blends cultures and allows us to have just a little peek into someone else's life. It's about a hundred foot divide between cultures." (Oprah Winfrey) Hassan Kadam ( Manish Daval) is the "boy who knows." Put it another way to give you a clue. "He has it." He has a gift. Okay…The Kadam family flee their hometown of Mumbai after their restaurant was firebombed by a mob over an election dispute. Their livelihood is destroyed and tragically, their mama perishes in the fire. They seek asylum in Europe heading to London for a short while. They leave England disappointed and head into Rotterdam, gateway to Europe after Hassan's remark to the Immigration officer that "the vegetables have no soul, no life," in England. So much for English food. Dismissed like that. Mama Kadam had groomed him to replace her. "You cook to make ghos...

                A Twist of Fairy Tales by K.J.Rollinson. Book Review . K.J.Rollinson has presented us with an interesting collection of nine short stories for young children and adults alike to enjoy, with illustrations. "A twist of fairy tales you'll dream tonight. Some new, some old." Fairies and Unicorns : Lucky Chloe. Imagine having a leisurely walk with breathtaking views of nature in all its glory, water cascading and a beautifully sparkling waterfall surrounded by a spectacular array of flowers of every hue imaginable. Delightful. The warmth of the sun made Chloe sleepy so imagine her delight in awakening to discover that there were two golden haired fairies with rainbow wings and even more of a magical sight: a beautiful white unicorn with her foal. Of course it's make-believe and these magical creatures possess human traits including the power to communicate. In fact, anything can happen, can't it? "Gossamer and Honey...

                      Street Cat Bob by James Bowen. "I was a recovering drug addict and failed musician living a hand-to mouth life in sheltered housing. Taking care of myself was enough." Bowen had a restless, unhappy and disturbed childhood travelling between the UK and Australia after his parents divorced. This unfortunately had an adverse effect. No friends. Bullying. He reflects on a particular sad incident whilst at Quinns Rock in Western Australia involving being stoned by the bullies which resulted in concussion. His step-father, Nick the Prick, disliked James so all in all, it is not surprising that an unhappy James soon became addicted to drugs and alcohol. "I became a tear-away, a wild kid who was always late, always defying my mother and generally thumbing my nose at authority, no matter what form it took." His destructive cycle of behaviour probably began with glue sniffing and smoking dope. This f...

                Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. Book Review. "Novels gave you a completely false idea about life, they told lies and they implied there were endings when in reality there were no endings, everything just went on and on and on." These apparently disparate case histories cover 1970, 1994 and 1979 involving girls who had either been murdered or had simply vanished into thin air. Private Investigator, Jackson Brodie, beautifully drawn but flawed through and through had spent 12 years in the Cambridgeshire Constabulary and before that the military police. Forty-five years of age and working on irksome or dull cases like Binky Rain and her missing cats when he becomes inundated with requests to solve three case histories of people who have been seriously damaged by crimes committed against their loved ones. "He was used to being a voyeur, the outsider looking in, and nothing, but nothing that anyone did surprised him an...

                 Learn With Alex and Anna by Peter Hayward. And now for a complete change…children's books for your child or grandchild. This was my area of expertise when I was in educational management and conducting some post-grad research into reading so it is an area I am more than happy to promote. "Each story is written around a basis of positive family, personal and social values," didactic in nature. Series 1 will consist of 20 books, 9 of which have already been published. Peter Hayward covers a wide range of themes: train journeys, rain molecules, road safety, acorns, seat belts and a plethora of other relevant subjects. All of them are well-illustrated with the added bonus of primary colours so the reds, blues and yellows are appealing for the young readers. "With the aid of significant people helping them on their life's journey, Alex and Anna are duly taught educational subjects whilst learning important life skill...

       P aris For One I love the idea of Quick Reads , currently 58 titles by well-known authors and more than suitable for beach reading, retailing at £1 is a bargain. If you enjoy a romantic comedy, then you'll like this one. This one's for the girls. "She pictured herself and Pete, tangled up in a French hotel bed, gazing out of the window at the Eiffel Tower, holding hands over croissants and coffee in some street café." Nell Simmons is 26, a sensible and quiet person unless she is with her girlfriends letting her hair down or having a romantic encounter in Paris and then anything can happen! Who knows? She was the type of person who would willingly water your plants if you went on holiday or look after your children if you fancied a night out. She wasn't the type to run off with anyone's husband! Completely trustworthy. On the other hand, her mother liked telling people that her daughter wasn't adventurous or pretty. She added that she w...