Joseph Holmes
Insider
Stress- it may be an over-
used word in our current
situation but in the purest
form- nobody wants to get
home and look at their work
emails, see what a fantastic
day somebody else has had
or watch a news article on
Brexit. A book is an escape.
It may not be touch-screen,
talk to you, or do a funny
dance but maybe we need
something simplistic in our
chaotic lives. I will not bab-
ble like an agony aunt but
instead, offer some sugges-
tion to each point and hope
that you have access to a
brain.
Knowledge- even from fic-
tion there is a lot to learn
about different people, situ-
ations, trivial knowledge.
It’s an insight into a walk of
life; whether it’s an autobi-
ography or Game of
Thrones. I have learnt the
silliest things from various
books, but you’d be sur-
prised that they’ve been the
most useful.
Entertainment- A film is
two hours (or unfortunately
longer), a book could take
you a week or more to read.
This depends on you, but
when you start off, one
book can provide many
hours of entertainment. If
this isn’t for you- try shorter
books, even anthologies of
short stories or read over a
more extended period.
Step one- find a book.
Step two- try it.
Step three- read it or find
another book.
Hopefully, that shouldn’t be
a vicious cycle. Start off
basic and work your way up
- don’t be afraid to start low
on the bottom rung as you may find it is the longest ladder.
The first book of my monthly reads is Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi.
They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.
Now we rise.
Zélie remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. When different clans ruled –
Burners igniting flames, Tiders beckoning waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoning
forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king,
anyone with powers was targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her peo-
ple without hope. Only a few people remain with the power to use magic, and they must
remain hidden.
Zélie is one such person. Now she has a chance to bring back magic to her people and
strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must learn to harness
her powers and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where strange creatures prowl, and vengeful spirits wait in the wa-
ters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to come to terms with
the strength of her magic – and her growing feelings for an enemy.
I will warn you that it is about 500 pages of small font, but it fast-paced and encompassing
from the outset. Written by Goodreads Debut Author of 2018, it uses Adeyemi’s knowledge
of West-African mythology to create a world of fantasy that Black Panther would be jeal-
ous of. Despite its face value of fantasy fiction, it deals with racial inequalities with the
outcast minority of the magic Magi.
See you next month when I shall be onto my next book, and I’ll
publish a full review of Children of Blood and Bone.
The College Magazine