Author Archives: Hannah Rachel

Poison Study is a book that I first read as a child after borrowing it off my Grandad (who was a big influence on my reading) and as soon as I picket it up this time after finding it in a charity shop, I was right back into Ixia again with my favourite characters. TheContinue reading “Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder”

This book is one of my favourites as most of the main events of the story occur in Autumn and so I read it at this time of year and have done most years since I bought it. The tale itself is a bittersweet love-triangle between Watanabe and two girls; Naoko – the girl whoContinue reading “Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami”

I can see why this book is considered a classic of the fantasy genre as well as within literature as a whole. The world-building, settings, and characters were all perfectly moulded to create a wonderful and timeless tale. I have always been drawn in by the aesthetic of the worlds of Tolkien, and had watchedContinue reading “The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien”

Though I have not fully read the original myths that contain the basis for the Circe story, I can absolutely say that, even if not accurate to the stories of old, Circe in this book is a tale that I love to read over and over. To see how Miller interpreted the hierarchies of theContinue reading “Circe by Madeline Miller”

This was a beautiful book about the relics of our past in the form of churches. The beauty and the stories of these magnificent places are shown to appreciated with and without faith tied in and about the history of people and the stillness and spiritual sensation is more important than religion. There is alsoContinue reading “Steeple Chasing by Peter Ross”

It is a really good read and a really interesting premise but I do wish that there had been more dragons as that is the title of the book and that there was more than one paper dragon (that wasn’t a boat) that came into play – especially when her mother was someone who couldContinue reading “Paper Dragons by Siobhan McDermott”

Profound, terrifying, and beautiful. A world where individual personality is all but removed is a distorted utopian nightmare that people are so warped by – the world of Ford is social conditioning and capitalist materialism to a horrific extreme. The work is powerful and still serves as a message of why not to become passiveContinue reading “Brave New World by Aldous Huxley”

Space is one of my interests so I already knew that this book was going to be up my alley – and I also enjoy Brian Cox’s writing style ( though I hadn’t read Andrew Cohen before). It was fascinating to see how each planet in the Solar System affects the whole – for betterContinue reading “The Planets by Andrew Cohen and Brian Cox”

The book is written with very poetic language and makes for a very beautiful read. Nicolson cycles through talking about creatures of the rockpools, the ocean tides, the sea shore, and how the effect of humans can shape the shoreline but also how the reverse can be true. He touches upon science, history, and philosophyContinue reading “Life Between the Tides by Adam Nicolson”