Book Worlds

Reading has to be one of the best stress relievers there are. I haven’t had much time to read for pleasure lately, but after finishing up a couple of projects by the end of next week, I intend to make some. Reading a lovely review of one of my favourite historical writers today (Philippa Gregory – born in Kenya by the way – another notch in our African belt of great ones) brought on a terrible urge to grab one of her books, curl up somewhere comfy, and get reading.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Virgins-Lover-ebook/dp/B005Z4QUBO/ref=sr_1_28?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1364743919&sr=1-28&keywords=philippa+gregory

Books take you away from everyday life to other worlds, times, and places. Movies are good, but with a book, you translate the script into what you see with your mind’s eye. I’m sure that every reader sees the world in a book differently to the way the author visualised it.

I read Stephen King’s, The Shining before I saw the movie, and my visuals of those spooks had been a lot scarier than depicted on the big screen.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Shining-ebook/dp/B0037TPMOA/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1364744055&sr=1-1-catcorr

Reading isn’t only entertainment, it’s creativity. I don’t know if Anne McCaffrey’s Pern dragon series (the best dragon books ever written in my opinion) were ever turned into movies, but if they were, I don’t want to see them. The cover art was more than enough to start me off, and Pern and its dragonriders have very distinct lives in my mind. I don’t want to change that.

http://www.amazon.com/Dragonflight-The-Dragon-Books-ebook/dp/B008FY4KBS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1364744306&sr=1-1&keywords=anne+mccaffrey+pern+series

Apart from zooming off to distant planets, or times long gone, sometimes when real life gets a bit tedious or generally not much fun, I’ve headed off to the worlds of my favourite funny guys. Not many of my friends love Terry Pratchett quite as much as I do, but his Discworld series has to be one of the cleverest, funniest ever written. It’s not just the humour, which has had me in half an hour, jaw aching, unstoppable laughathons, it’s the sweet little digs at everyone and everything on this planet. These are not children’s books at all by the way – this author can wield sexual innuendo better than most.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Colour-Magic-Discworld-ebook/dp/B0031RS69G/ref=sr_1_14?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1364743487&sr=1-14&keywords=terry+pratchett

Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy series is another pick me up go to place,

http://www.amazon.com/The-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-ebook/dp/B003GK2180/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1364743642&sr=1-6&keywords=douglas+adams

as are all of Robert Rankin’s brilliant books,

http://www.amazon.com/The-Antipope-Brentford-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B007JPNZUQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1364743759&sr=1-1&keywords=robert+rankin

but I have to say that the funniest books I’ve ever read have been by Tom Sharpe. Definitely not for under eighteens, but as far as I’m concerned, his books are some of the rudest, most hilarious ever written.

http://www.amazon.com/Porterhouse-Blue-ebook/dp/B0051UT83Y/ref=pd_sim_kstore_4

So… If you are not having the best day ever, and things all just seem a little too much, whether it’s tedious relatives having partaken of too much gin after the Easter Sunday lunch, or life just getting you down in general, I suggest you zoom on over to Amazon, or your book supplier of choice, and find a lovely little place elsewhere to spend the rest of your day. Also, find some lovely friends, readers, bloggers, and authors on Google+ – I’d love to see you there. And as a P.S. – any of my African friends (or friends from anywhere really), who might have trouble buying books online, give me a shout, and I will be more than happy to send you any of my scribbles that you might want to read for free.

https://plus.google.com/communities/115573021758683598908

Till next time friends. xxx