High Browse Online

Literary Highlights The Man Booker Prize longlist of titles has been released. Amongst the nominees, Australian author Peter Carey is the only one who has previously won the prize, twice. You know that this award is a big deal when punters in England bet on the eventual winner of the prize! Either that, or the [...]

[Read more →]

Immediate action By Andy McNab London : Corgi, [2005] Call No.: 356.16092 MAC There was a lovely phrase I came across recently when reading about career US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan: the “strange allure of a hard life”. Such a phrase, I think, perfectly describes the military career of Andy McNab and his former [...]

[Read more →]

  Image courtesy of bbc.co.uk Dame Beryl Bainbridge died last week at the age of 77. During her time, she has written 18 novels, of which 5 were shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Unfortunately, she never landed the prestigious prize. She has also published several plays, essays, reviews and 2 collections of short stories. [...]

[Read more →]

Dick Francis, whose full was Richard Stanley Francis, was of Britain’s most successful post-war authors. His 42 crime novels had sold over 60 million copies in over 35 languages. But he lived an equally colourful life. Born into a family of farming gentry and horsemen, he showed an early aptitude for horse riding. His education [...]

[Read more →]

Relentless By Dean Koontz Harper Collins (All Rights Reserved) Call No.: KOO-[TH] Relentless is Koontz’s 2009 novel, following Your Heart Belongs to Me. Written in the first person, which is certainly more personalized and easy-going, it gives a fast-paced feel and is relentless in its storytelling. Bestselling author, Cullen ‘Cubby’ Greenwich, receives a bad review [...]

[Read more →]

Case Histories Kate Atkinson 2004, New York: Little, Brown and Company Call No.: ATK -[MY] I have not been inspired to do a proper review of an adult’s book since college, but this time I had to skip over all my recent children/young adult fantasy reads to laud Kate Atkinson’s Case Histories. I picked up [...]

[Read more →]

WHO’S READING WHAT . reader’s recommendations The serial killers club : a novel / Jeff Povey New York : Warner Books, 2006. Call No.: POV -[TH]  The Serial Killers Club is a suspense, yet comedic fiction written by Jeff Povey. The book starts with telling how the narrator after accidentally kills his attacker, realizes that [...]

[Read more →]

The Getaway Man Andrew Vachss New York: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard Original, 2003 Call No.: English VAC-[TH] Paying tribute to the noir fiction that flourished in the 1940s and 50s, Andrew Vachss has written a love song to all the greats before him with The Getaway Man. The story is told from the perspective of simple [...]

[Read more →]

HB Squad ALERT! . gossip + snippets Those who are familiar with the DDC will know that strange stuff can be found in the 000s section. Although it’s boringly entitled “Generalities”, it’s a haven for fans of the paranormal/unexplained – crop circles, lake monsters, yetis, aliens, hauntings… you name it, if it’s weird, it’s probably located in that shelf!   Just [...]

[Read more →]

QUIRKY THEMES: Flubbergasted . book reviews The Riddles of Epsilon Christine Morton-Shaw New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2005 Call No.: English Y MOR On the island Lume there stands a cottage. It had been deserted for many years, until a recent arrival from the city, Jessie, stumbles upon it. Little does she expect that her [...]

[Read more →]