First thoughts
Catching The Sun is the latest foray into fiction by journalist Tony Parsons, who is best-known for his popular novels One For My Baby, Man And Wife, and Man And Boy.
After relocating to the sun-drenched island of Phuket in Thailand, a British family hopes to find some semblance of paradise, especially the father, who was involved in an unsavoury incident back in the UK.
However, darker powers conspire to threaten not only their new lives, but their family bonds, leading them to the very things they wished to escape.
Parsons steps into familiar territory by exploring the emotional trials and tribulations faced by an average family, except this time the action takes place in a foreign country, somewhat exacerbating their problems.
Catching The Sun is a simple yet effective story, exploring the incessant search for happiness and what people will do to secure it.
Sweden is making something of a name for itself as a hotbed of crime thrillers. Its latest offering, The Black Path, is Asa Larsson’s third novel in the award-winning series following the troubled but talented Rebecka Martinsson.
When a body is found on a remote frozen lake in northern Sweden, the multiple signs of torture point to a grisly case. But as the investigation team delve deeper into the deceased’s past, Martinsson uncovers murky links to a multi-national corporation, embroiling them in something larger and more twisted than she had ever imagined.
The heroine’s penchant for hard work and an inquisitive eye make her likeable, and her background in law, something she shares with the author, adds a string to her bow as she works in tandem with the police force.
Although the translation from Swedish is at times clunky, Larsson’s chilling insight into the worst of human nature cannot be faulted.
It is the age-old question: What possesses man to risk his life and limb in search of the next high?
For more than a century that question has vexed many who have been drawn inexorably to the Tourist Trophy races on the Isle of Man.
Times journalist and author Rick Broadbent has come closer than ever to answering that question.
From wide-eyed teenagers to grizzled pensioners, the TT offers an annual pilgrimage to a more dangerous existence.
It is all about escapism, explains Broadbent, who is himself powerfully drawn to the world of madmen racing to within inches of brick walls at an average speed of around 130mph.
If you get your kicks from the mere thought of men racing motorcycles at speeds so fast they nearly suck rabbits out of hedges, That Near-Death Thing is a must.
Chip Conley, the CEO of America’s second-largest boutique hotel company Joie de Vivre Hotels, came up with the idea of using emotional equations to become a better worker after suffering turbulent times in his life.
He uses maths, such as Disappointment = Expectation – Reality, to explain why and how we react in certain situations and, more importantly, how we can modify our thinking to change the way we feel and understand the cards we have been dealt. He focuses on what we can change and what we can’t, explaining how a person’s whole outlook can turn around if their perspective about the area they can modify is tweaked.
This self-help book is useful to understand how the mind interprets situations and how we can practically alter our thinking to become more positive and effective.
Definitely food for thought.
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