As some may know, I consider “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell” one of the best books I’ve ever read… So, when I heard the news the BBC was making a TV adaptation of the novel, well…very excited to say the least. And so, the time is near, as the show premieres on Sunday (May 17th). Here’s the trailer for your viewing pleasure:

Now you know what I’ll be doing come Sunday night!

Yep… couple of new reads courtesy of Netgalley in desperate need of reviewing. And quite frankly, I’ve been on a high, having for once read two consecutive books which I rate very highly. So… without further delay:

The Water Knife – Paolo Bacigalupi

A few years back I read Paolo Bacigalupi’s award-winning “The Wind-Up Girl”. Highly recommended… read it. What stood out for me was the astonishing world he created… a future without natural food, set in a Thailand so alien it could’ve been a completely fantastical world, yet so realistic (and frightful), it blew me away. When it comes to “world-building” there’s little competition out there.

So, for his next act, Bacigalupi brought it a bit closer to home, a future America where climate change has brought on major water scarcity, leaving the Western States fighting out for “water rights” to use what’s left of rivers and lakes. And you can’t help but feel how pain-stakingly realistic Bacigalupi paints this dismal future. From the little things (assuming a Google NY Times merger), to the role of China in future America, to the potential fall-out of state independence and close to all-out civil war over water rights, it’s a sight to behold. Add in a riveting plot that reads like a good old-fashioned mystery thriller, and you are in for quite a ride.

5 out of 5. Go read it.

Boo – Neil Smith

A very sweet, touching novel about growing up, owning up to your actions, and learning to forgive, told in an extremely original setting. When “Boo” dies and goes to heaven, he wakes up in a homogeneous society of 13 year old American kids. It is here he discovers that he didn’t die from a heart defect, but was victim of a murder. And so begins the search for his killer, and Boo takes us along on his incredible journey towards spirituality, bullying, prejudices, forgiveness and acceptance. Boo’s unique voice and views on life had me laughing at some points, and deeply moved at others. Half Lord of the Flies, half old-fashioned mystery thriller, one could easily imagine this book becoming ingrained in American culture in the future. Definitely worth a read.