Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman

AZ: "When Lyra is studying at Oxford University, she comes across the story of Lee Scoresby and Iorek Byrnisson's first meeting, many years ago, along with much evidence of the adventure that brought them together. When a young Texan balloonist, Lee Scoresby, comes down to earth in the harbour of an Arctic town in the North, little does he realise that he is about to be embroiled in an out-and-out political brawl. Lee and his daemon, Hester, find themselves the target of political factions trying to take over the running (and oil) of the town. And also resident in the town are huge arctic bears, ignored and patronised by the people and treated like second-class citizens. When Lee and Iorek first meet, they cement a friendship that will continue throughout their lives, as the tensions and pressure in town lead to a deadly conclusion..."

Another beautiful little book, this time bound in navy blue with silver embossed writing. Includes a fantasic little game: Peril of the Pole, tantalising maps and 'ephemera', left me watering at the mouth and wanting more!

Lyra's Oxford by Philip Pullman

AZ: "A small bundle of material that has somehow slipped between Lyra's universe and our own. The book includes a wonderful new story by Philip Pullman, fully illustrated intricate maps and other ephemera from Lyra's universe. The text is illustrated throughout in beautiful black and white wood-blocks by the highly acclaimed engraver, John Lawrence, together with specially printed three-colour pull out maps of "Lyra's Oxford". This publication could have come from a parallel universe. The short story contained within "Lyra's Oxford" finds Lyra with her daemon Pantalaimon a couple of years after the end of "The Amber Spyglass". Sitting on the roofs of Oxford she sees a bird, the daemon of a witch, a storm petrel flying towards her pursued by a huge and angry flock of starlings. Birds play a big part in this story. And gradually a mystery unfolds.."

Set after the end of the Dark Materials trilogy, this is a short story about Lyra encountering the mystery that is the universe, in this case that her Oxford and its birds are protecting her couched within a visitation from a witch's daemon. Beautifully presented in a little hardback book with tantalising 'extracts' from newspapers and other ephemera a small story perfectly crafted.

Molecules of Emotion: Why you feel the way you feel by Candace B Pert

AZ: "As a graduate student in 1972, the author was part of the team that discovered the brain's opiate receptors. In this text, she provides an in-depth look at the science that led to this and other findings, such as the fact that similar receptors exist in the glands, spleen, bone marrow and other organs, which convey information in both directions via "neuropeptides" to all parts of the body. The author argues that this complex communications network invalidates the distinctions between mind and body"

Brilliant, I understood a little about neurotransmitters and thought I understood that SSRIs inhibit retaike because that is where most bodily communicatin takes place, but Pert's discovery that neurotransmitters and other bodily drugs dock bodywide affecting vastly separated organs and systems was a revelation. It helped me make sense of the need for a holistic approach to bodily health and makes me more determined than ever to find a balance.

Beat Stress and Fatigue by Patrick Holford (Optimum Nutrition Handbook)

Confirms and intersects with Pert's much newer book, helps me understand going gluten-free is only part of the equation and how to control my blood sugar by ensuring I eat low GI food. Have tended to rely on baked potatoes but are high GI so will cause blood sugar to ricochet.

Murther and Walking Spirits by Robertson Davies

AZ: "A novel involving the narrator, who has been murdered by his wife's lover, observing the follies of mankind and wreaking his revenge."

I bought this a long time ago (about '93) and finally got round to reading it. I didn't get very far the first time, found it uninteresting, but this time I was captivated and charmed. The quality of the writing is brilliant and the exploration of the family history which has been only names ot the main character Connor Gilmartin is brilliant, bringing Wales, the fledgling US and Canada together through one family tree. Reminds me of Poliakoff's Perfect Strangers in its evocation of the lives of people we know only as elderly grandparents or only in the roles of father and mother. Makes us ask uncomfortable questions about our own voyeurism.

Shadow of the Silk Road by Colin Thubron

A fascinating book about the history of the fabled Silk Road, not a single path but a network of routes stretching from China through Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Iran to Turkey. Thubron travelled 7000 miles in 8 months through the Taklamakan desert and conflict ridden mountains. Beautifully written and absorbing. A window on an alien world

The Afghan Amulet: Travels from the Hindu Kush to Razgrad by Shelia Paine

An extraordinary travelogue as Paine travels through Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey in search of the origins of a triangular amulet. She somehow communicates with people with whom she has no language in common and writes of people so without possessions that a local British calendar is a real gift. Makes me more determined to make my tread lighter on the earth. And unlike Thubron Paine is female and there is one episode where she has to jump over muddy streams from the roadside in a burkha, she is regularly asked where her husband is and has to be constantly on her guard against assualt. So many situations where she appears fine and I would have been scared witless!

Under Orders by Dick Francis

Francis is, like Koontz, the author I turn to time and time again for a good read, a relief from the world in intrigue and love and violence that all turns out okay in the end. Under Orders sees the return of ex jockey and person who can't help getting in trouble Sid Halley, it's not Francis' best, but it's good enough for me.

The Big Blowdown by George Pelecanos

AZ: "Spanning the two decades from the 1930s to the 1950s, this is the story of a groups of friends struggling to find work after the war. The friends' lives interact to form a complex pattern that rocks the Italian and Greek communities of Washington DC with violent repercussions."

The magazine Psychologies advised me to step outside my comfort zone and do something spontaneous or differently from the way I usually would, so instead of browsing in the library I reached out and picked a book at random. It was a book I wold never have picked, the blurb about 1950s gangsters in Washington and the Greek community disinterested me even when I read it after reading the book, but I would have missed something amazing. Well plotted and beautifully written, I just could have drowned in his descriptive passages about the shocking reality of immigrant life in 50s DC. The deep joy of being touched by an unknown writer as happened with Shreve. And it's the first of a quadrology!

Day by AL Kennedy

AZ: "Alfred Day wanted his war. In its turmoil he found his proper purpose as the tail-gunner in a Lancaster bomber; he found the wild, dark fellowship of his crew, and – most extraordinary of all – he found Joyce, a woman to love. But that’s all gone now – the war took it away. Maybe it took him, too.
Now in 1949, employed as an extra in a war film that echoes his real experience, Day begins to recall what he would rather forget..."

As usual Kennedy finds an extraordinary angle and writes with devastatingly painful accuracy

Being by Kevin Brooks

"Sixteen-year-old Robert lies anaesthetized. A routine operation has just gone wrong. 'What the hell is that?' 'That, Mr Ryan, is the inside of this boy.' 'Christ . . . It looks like some kind of plastic.' As Robert slowly wakes, he can hear, he can feel, but he can't scream. The operation isn't over. But life, as Robert knows it, is. Robert goes on the run, terrified and desperate for answers. But what if the answers are too terrifying to face?"

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett AUDIO

I would never have read Bennett without this being a book group read and I would have missed out on a softly witty, very funny treat.

Au: "It was the corgis' fault. When they strayed through the grounds of Buckingham Palace, the Queen discovered the City of Westminster travelling library. The Queen has never had much time for reading - pleasure's always come second place to duty - "though now that one is here I suppose one ought to borrow a book". She is about to discover the joys of literature, albeit late in life. One book leads to another and the Queen is soon engrossed in the delights of reading.

However, this uncommon reader creates an uncommon problem. The royal household dislikes the Queen's new interest; it makes them uneasy. Books are devices that ignite the imagination. And devices like that are likely to explode."

The Snow Spider Trilogy (The Snow Spider; Emlyn's Moon; The Chestnut Soldier) by Jenny Nimmo

The Snow Spider has just been made into a film although the book is much older, written in the 80s I think, and reading the three books was a joy. Although fairly short because written for younger children Nimmo's books don't lack in imagination and they have the ability in spades to send a genuine chill down your spine as the snow spider grants a peek at the crack between worlds.

Dragonfly by Julia Golding

An excellent teenage fantasy fiction book, unfortunately all her other books are for younger readers, but this story of princesses, rebels and slaves was captivating

Lily: A Ghost Story by Adele Geras

Billed as a 'Quick Read' this certainly is that, but is also a story that lingers long in the mind with its nastiness of what is just out of the corner of the eye. Chilling.

From Where I Stand and A Voice in the Distance by Tabitha Suzuma

Suzuma's books had me in tears, someone brave enough to write about mental illness for a teenage audience, for those who most need the help and early intervention without feeling patronised, to just not feel so alone. You are always right there with the deeply hurt Raven and the desperately torn Flynn

AZ From Where I Stand: "Raven is a deeply disturbed teenager, who, after witnessing the death of his mother, is placed in foster care. The Russells do their best to earn his trust, but only little Ella manages to get through to him. Meanwhile, at school, bullies are making his life a living hell. An unexpected companion comes in the form of Lotte, a classmate bored by her 'ordinary' friends. Together, they track down Raven's mum's killer, with the goal of exposing him to the police. But their carefully crafted plan goes dangerously wrong and suddenly nothing is as it seems. Everything is falling apart and, ultimately, there is only one, final way out."

AZ A Voice in the Distance: "In his final year at the Royal College of Music, star pianist Flynn Laukonen has the world at his feet. He has moved in with his girlfriend Jennah and is already getting concert bookings for what promises to be a glittering career. Yet he knows he is skating on thin ice - only two small pills a day keep him from plunging back into the whirlpool of manic depression that once threatened to destroy him. Unexpectedly his friends seem to be getting annoyed with him for no apparent reason, he needs less and less sleep, he is filled with unbridled energy. Events begin to spiral out of control and Flynn suddenly finds himself in hospital, heavily sedated, carnage left behind him. The medication isn't working any more, the dose needs to be increased, and depression strikes again, this time with horrific consequences. His freedom is snatched away and the medicine's side-effects threaten to jeopardize his chances in one of the biggest piano competitions of his life. It seems like he has to make a choice between the medication and his career. But in all this he has forgotten the one person he would give his life for, and Flynn suddenly finds himself facing the biggest sacrifice of all."