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Watchmen

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by: Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons


This is a great book.

Forget the comic book format; this is very good, imaginative, intelligent story telling with real depth and complexity.

The movie will no doubt be stunning, but read this before you see it.

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A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

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by: Eckhart Tolle

June 29, 2006
Great one for the spiritual sceptics , stick with it there is something for everyone in here . Personally reccomended to a few friends something in here for everyone but if your reading it you probably dont need it , if your in doubt go check out the "is that so" chapter at the book store

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Mathematics Explained for Primary Teachers

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by: Derek W Haylock

November 15, 2005
This is the book to buy on teaching this subject. It is clearly written, beautifully laid out and provides self assessment exercises to work through in order to clarify what has just been read. There are more provided on the cd rom at the back of the book too. If you are teaching this subject for the first time, moving up or down years or simply want to refresh your knowledge and rekindle your enthusiasm then this is the book for you.

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I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot from School

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by: Caroline Taggart

May 22, 2008
I had high hopes for this book but was left a little disappointed.

There was lots of stuff in here that I had forgotten but most of it I will surely forget again because I'm not too interested. The bits I was interesting in (maths and science) I found that I did know (because I read sciencey books anyway) and it felt a bit lightweight in that area.

The book mostly covers early secondary school topics and touches on some of the basics from 'O' level (I guess that's GCSE now).

Overall, I think it is worth a read and it does deliver what it tries to. My problem is that my expectations were unrealistic (but that's not the author's fault).

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Batman: Dark Knight Returns (Batman)

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by: Frank Miller

May 16, 1997
In all types of history there are defining moments. A moment that is so extraordinary that you have to see it again to believe what you have just seen. It sometimes takes time for the dust to settle to appreciate such a moment.
This comic is one of those moments.
The Dark Knight Returns took a tired out superhero genre and re-injected it with the modern paced style we see today. A comic that in fact saved the superhero himself. The multi-layering of story lines in this epic tale is almost cinematic in its construction.
Maybe a little dated now, but at the time it re-defined everything in comics and the way superheroes where percieved. If you are a fan of Batman, this should be the cornerstone to your collection.

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Grow Your Own Veg (Rhs)

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by: Carol Klein, Royal Horticultural Society

January 02, 2007
I am not a gardener, I have never watched gardeners world and have only a small back yard. i somehow came across this book while browsing amazon and thought it would be a nice stocking filler for my husband. anyhow, it is so easy to follow and inspiring that we now have green beans, leeks, onions and shallots growing in our little garden. The difference in taste from supermarket veg is unbelievable. This is a great book that takes you from buying seeds to taking vegetables out of the ground, if i can do it, anyone can! Next season we are moving on to courgettes, potatoes, broccoli........

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To Kill a Mockingbird

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by: Harper Lee

October 05, 1989
I first read this book as a compulsory text for school and since then have read it countless number of times. It is such a beautiful story that is relevant to every society. You must take your time reading it and not rush it because there are so many hidden depths and meanings. "Shoot all the bluejays you want but remember it is a sin to kill a mockingbird". Everyone must read this book, it's beautiful.

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The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

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by: Nassim Nicholas Taleb

February 28, 2008
I think the reviews here probably sum this book up quite well. There is a realtively simple, and as far as I can see, valid point being made, but the book is written in a long-winded, verbose style, which I found very off-putting. I agree with the reviewers who point out that the strongest message to emerge is that the author considers himself to be very, very clever.
For instance, there is a lot of space devoted to discussion of the bell-shaped curve, or normal distribution, which forms the basis for many types of statistics. Some variables, such as height and weight are normally distributed. However, other variables, such as personal wealth, and many things related to economics, have a very skewed distribution, hence sayings like the 80/20 rule. Even the most ... Read More:

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Devil May Care (James Bond)

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by: Sebastian Faulks

May 28, 2008
I suppose that Penguin, who publish the novels of the late Ian Fleming these days, had to do something to mark the centenary of his birth. And indeed they have - they've commissioned a modern-day author to write a brand new James Bond adventure.

They have chosen Sebastian Faulks - and rather than attempt to do what the movies have already done and relocate Fleming's spy to the modern day, Faulks has taken this achetypal 1950s fictional secret agent and only moved him on a few years - to the mid-60s, where we find him on leave while recovering from his last Fleming adventure, and feeling over the hill and generally past it.

Faulks does a reasonably good job of writing in the style of Ian Fleming -with all of the good and bad things that that implies. ... Read More:

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Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness

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by: Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein

May 13, 2008
In this lovely, useful book, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein examine choices, biases and the limits of human reasoning from a variety of perspectives. They often amuse by disclosing how they have fallen victim to the limitations of thought that they are describing. The fact that these educated, articulate professionals can fool themselves so often demonstrates how tough it is to think clearly, a point the authors emphasize and even repeat. Humans fall prey to systematic errors of judgment, but you can harness this problematic tendency productively, including by helping others make better decisions. Some of the authors' suggestions may not be practical, but many are and all are interesting. getAbstract recommends this book to anyone who wants to know how to shape responsible decisions. ... Read More: