The Subtle Knife By Philip Pullman.

Author: Philip Pullman
ISBN: 978-0-439951-79-1
Genre: Fiction/Science Fiction.
Pages: 325
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Scholastic

"What is he? A Friend, Or an Enemy?" "He's a Murderer"

"Will has just killed a man. He's on the run. His escape will take him far beyond his own world, to the eerie disquiet of a deserted city, and to a girl, Lyra. Her fate is strangely linked to his own, and together they must find the most powerful weapon in all the worlds."

This is the second in the 'His Dark Materials' series. Having enjoyed the first 'Northern Lights' I was looking forward to following the story about Lyra and how it all turns out. From the first page I was hooked, and I very quickly became attached to Will. In fact I prefer Will to Lyra.
Having read two of the books, although I enjoy them I don't really connect with Lyra. But I like her Daemon. I don't know why? I just don't feel enough from her in the book, may be that will change in the third book for me? I loved The Witches, The Shaman and the different world in this book, in fact I loved a lot of things.
I did see some similarities in this book compared to J K Rowling Harry Potter series. The Spectres in this book, seem no different to the Dementors in Harry Potter.

In The Subtle Knife, how the different worlds are explained, is actually similar to something I believe in. But I won't go into all that stuff lol.

Anyhow, the story is about how Will after making sure his mum is safe, goes on the run in search of his father. He finds himself in a different world to his own where he meets Lyra. This worls is very different from his own. There they begin to help each other and a new journey begins in Lyra's quest.

In my opinion this book is better than Northern Lights, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was quickly drawn into the book, was able to visualize the scenery the people and the adventures that took place. A very good read and so far a brilliant series!

Easy Tarot Handbook by Josephine Ellershaw

Author: Josephine Ellershaw
ISBN: 978-7387-1150-8
Genre: Mind, Body, Spirit/tarot
Pages: 223
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Lewellyn Worldwide

"You don't need a special 'gift' to read tarot," insists
Josephine Ellershaw. And to prove it, she has boiled down thirty years of
experience into a straightforward, easy-to-use tarot guide for beginners.
More than just a manual, Easy Tarot is a boxed kit that also includes The
Gilded Tarot--a stunningly beautiful and popular deck by the well known
Ciro Marchetti.

Ellershaw gently guides novices to become proficient, sensitive, and
responsible readers. Suit by suit, she introduces the distinct
characteristics of the minor arcana, court cards, and major arcana. You
will learn how the cards link to one another and produce insightful
relationships as their unique energies merge in the Cross of Truth, the
Celtic Cross, and other spreads. There is even a list of card combinations
that commonly indicate specific events-such as pregnancy, a wedding, a new
job, and more."

I bought this box set of the Gilded Tarot cards with this book, as I am interested in the tarot, and have struggled to read my Thoth deck for years. So I decided to buy a self help book on the tarot and a new deck. The cards are beautiful, but most importantly the book is fantastic! It has helped me so much, and finally I have learned the basis of each card and now feel relaxed using them.

Josephine teaches you to work through each card slowly starting with the Minor cards, then the Court and lastly the Major. She then takes you onto the spreads. One thing that really helped me to learn the cards, is when you draw a card she asks you to write down a situation that you remember happened in your life, it's something what each card reminds you of and it helps when drawing the card. It was really good and really does help.

The book feels like good quality, the pictures are black and white, and it would have been nice to see them in colour. But the information in this book made up for it.
If you're a beginner to tarot, this box set will be invaluable to you. It is so worth it and I highly recommend it. To top it off, the cards are stunning and are worth having in your Tarot collection.

The Thoth Companion by Michael Osiris Snuffin.

Author: Michael Osiris Snuffin
ISBN: 978-0-7387-1192-8
Genre: Mind, Body, Spirit/tarot
Pages: 216
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Lewellyn Worldwide

"Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot - one of the most popular and enigmatic tarot decks - offers rich rewards for those who can penetrate its complex symbolism. Written by a ceremonial magician and tarot expert, "The Thoth Companion" is a comprehensive guide to understanding and using this fundamental deck. All seventy-eight cards are examined through the lens of Thelema, Qabala, and ceremonial magic - the spiritual foundations upon which it was built. These detailed interpretations reveal valuable insights, significant correspondences, and Crowley's encoded secrets. Once you've mastered the meaning behind this legendary deck, this user-friendly guide can help you use it for divination, developing intuition, meditation, and pathworking.Ceremonial magician and professional tarot reader Michael Osiris Snuffin has been studying the Thoth tarot for over a decade. He joined the OTO (Ordo Templi Orientis) in 1996. Seven years later he founded the Temple of Light and Darkness, a group dedicated to performing Golden Dawn initiations in accordance with the Law of Thelema."


I got this book as I was trying to work with the Thoth tarot more, being a novice at tarot, I wanted a book which would have a good explanation of the Thoth tarot. I've had the Thoth tarot for years, but have never felt connected with it.

This will be a great book for experienced readers of the Thoth deck, and those who are progressing with learning it. But if you're a beginner struggling to learn the Thoth tarot, then I think you'll struggle with this book. The reason is, you need to have some background of the tarot, astrology and kabbalah first.

However I do think it's a really good book, and I have put it away until the time I feel ready to pick it up again, when I am more advanced in tarot, and ready to learn the Thoth deck. This book has lots of charts in it, in the Appendix section at the end of the book, to help you with identifying the planets, elements, colors, chakras, symbols and god/goddess etc in relation to each card.

So for a beginner in the Thoth tarot, you're better off finding a book which is more simple and easier to understand. For experienced readers, it will be great. It is a nice large paperback, the paper feels like good quality. The only down side, it would have been nice to have the pictures of the cards in color, and not black and white.

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman.

Author: Philip Pullman
ISBN: 978-0-439951-78-4
Genre: Fiction/Science Fiction.
Pages: 397
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Scholastic


""Without this child, we shall all die."

Lyra Belacqua and her animal daemon live half-wild and carefree among scholars of Jordan College, Oxford. The destiny that awaits her will take her to the frozen lands of the Arctic, where witch-clans reign and ice-bears fight. Her extraordinary journey will have immeasurable consequences far beyond her own world..."

It was last year that I first heard about Philip Pullman. After J K Rowling had released her last installment of the HP series. I saw a lot of people on the internet recommending Philip Pullman. My sister in-law also recommended the 'His Dark Materials' but I never got around to getting them until, the release of 'The Golden Compass' on the Cinema (which I haven't watched).
I was a little put off by all the hype with this book (due to the Cinema release) but I decided to try it. I am pleased I did.

I really did enjoy this book, I liked Lyra, and I loved the whole thing about having Daemonds, and not being able to live without the other, and the search for Dust.
Lyra was a likeable character and a strong willed one who won't let anything stop her. I also liked her Bear friend, Iorek Byrinson, he was a strong character and I am hoping we'll see him in the next book (not sure about that though considering....)
This book was fast paced and easy to get into, there was barely a boring moment and I was gripped all the way through. It was easy to visualize the scenery described, and feel the emotions that were expressed, and to also have a good vision of the characters throughout. Both children and adults will enjoy this book. I just wish my son would sit down and read, as he'd love it!

There's two characters I didn't like in the book and yes of course it's Mrs Coulter and Lord Asriel. Nasty nasty people!!!! :)


Definitely worth reading, and I am really looking forward to reading the next installment which I shall start today. I am hoping to see Lyra grow more as a person and to find out more about what it is she must do. She seems a very lonely person, with only the love of her daemon to comfort her. But I'd better shut up or I'll end up giving some of the story away to those who haven't read it.

Oh yes and, I'm not even going to compare this to J K Rowling's HP series, as I loved her books too.

Name Change

Ooopsie!!!!! I just can't stop myself can I?
Well I changed the name of my blog one more time, and this time it is gonna stay!!!!!
The reason I did it, is because I had changed mine to books and stuff, and then I realized Daphne's was Shelf and stuff, and so I felt it just didn't seem right to have the same sort of title. So I reverted back to the blogs original name which is Book island.
Phew!

Books I Keep Avoiding.

There's a few books I keep avoiding. They're sitting on my shelf and I can't help feeling guilty that they're still there, unread.

The books are:

IT by Stephen King
Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Little Women by Louise M Alcott

I really want to sit down and read these. But I wasn't enjoying Pride and Prejudice and so gave up half way through the book. The size of Stephen King's IT, puts me off. Little Women was boring so I gave up, and Mists of Avalon, I was enjoying but I stopped reading it to read Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire, and didn't go back to Mists.
So after I have read Philip Pullmans His dark material series, I shall challenge myself to get through these books once and for all!!!!

But I am slowly also making my way through the Lord of the Rings series, so it's gonna be a while!!! LOL

A Bit of Spring Clean!

I've been having a bit of a spring clean here, and have changed the lay out of my blog and have in the process had to delete some stuff. I'll be adding some of it back over the next few days. I felt that my blog needed a change and I quite like the new look. I've also changed the name, and this time it's going to stay.

I got this theme from 3 Columns Blogger I've put the link here so that if anyone was to have a mess about with their blog, here's where the codes are.

Have fun!

The Magic Cottage by James Herbert

Author: James Herbert
ISBN: 0-330-37625-x
Genre: Fiction/Horror
Pages: 394
Format: Paperback
Publisher: PAN

"We thought we'd found our haven, a cottage deep in the heart of the forest. Charming, maybe a little run down, but so peaceful. That was the first part of the Magic. Midge's painting and my music soared to new heights of creativity. That was another part of the Magic. Our love for each other - well, that became the supreme Magic. But the cottage had an alternative side - The Bad Magic." "What happened to us there was horrendous beyond belief. The healings, the crazy sect who wanted our home for themselves, the hideous creatures that crawled from the nether regions, and the bats - oh God, the bats! Even now those terrible things seem impossible to me. Yet they happened..."

This is the second time I've read this book, having read it for the first time years ago. I had forgotten the story so reading it again, was really enjoyable. Although James Herbert is not my most favourite author I really do like some of his books. Reading his books are a little like reading Stephen King's books, I have to be in the 'mood' for it. Otherwise, I'll soon get bored.

Anyway, it took half of this book to get through for anything to really happen, the first half is learning about Midge and Mike, and them moving to the cottage and some of the strange things that begin to happen. Midge is getting over her parents deaths and they both move out into the Cottage. Things happen that they can't explain, and the cottage seems to have a life of it's own. Not too far is a group of people, who are part of a sect. Things seem OK at first, but Mike is suspicious, and as Midge begins to become more friendly with them, the sect begin to get in between them both. There is more to this story but, if I carry on I'll be telling you the whole story!!!

This book is pretty spooky, I was especially spooked when Mike's friend 'Bob' comes to stay with his girlfriend Kiwi. They're awoken to Bob's screams as he sees something 'unnatural' in the cottage, and swears never to return again.

Overall, this is a good spooky ghost book. Which will have you shouting down at the characters, saying No! Wake Up! RUN! I loved the way Mike was described, and the whole relationship he had with Midge. It was sexy in places and had me laughing and smiling a long with them.
I loved how the Cottage was described, it made me want to move in there.

If you're a James Herbert fan, you'll love this book. If you haven't read this book, give it a go. You may find you'll love it.