The Single Hound: Poems of a Lifetime - Emily Dickinson

Advantages: Good for the soul, great for the bedside table!
Disadvantages: 101 poems might not be enough ...

...After' and a whole section of 'Instant Moral Fibre'. There are classic poems from the likes of Emily Dickinson and Lord Byron and previously unpublished works by contemporary poets including Wendy Cope, who has a wry outlook on life that's refreshing and funny. One of my favourite poems is published here, entitled, 'If People Disapprove of you' by Sophie Hannah. I bought this book for a friend of mine who was going through a rough patch and she loved it. I then went back and bought myself a copy!... Read review

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Advantages: strange, intruiging and startling.
Disadvantages: hard to make sense of

.... There are quite often meanings that can be found, but to some extent they will be things that you bring to the poetry yourself. e.e.cumings was actually Edward Estlin Cummings and did most of his writing between the 1920s and 1930s. If you find his work interesting, I would also suggest looking at Emily Dickinson (who perdates him) Wallice Stevens, and William Carlos Williams - all very strange and creative American poets. A final note, My favourite lines by e.e. cummings are, "and what i want to know is how do you like your blueeyed boy Mister death"... Read review

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Advantages: Well-written, strong characters
Disadvantages: A bit too long

...character with potential for success. All in all, excellent characterisation by Reginald Hill, such a relief after some of the blander detectives such as PD James' Dagleish and Peter Robinson's Alan Banks. Conclusion I was so pleased to see that Reginald Hill is back on form, having been so disappointed in his last couple of books. This time, he has got it spot on, with the strong characters backing up a good plot that has enough twists and turns to keep the reader enthralled, without being over-complicated. The use of Emily Dickinson's poetry to add a literary aspect to the book is unnecessary, but not surprising in Reginald Hill's work, and didn't really take anything away from the book as far as I was concerned. In case anyone was wondering, the title of the book comes from one of Emily Dickinson's poems: "Good Morning - Midnight - I... Read review

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