This Book Will Change Your Life! I Promise!

The Book: The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

What The Greenwich Gazette thinks: A great read. Very insightful and truly a joy to read.

What you'll get out of it: It promises health, wealth, happiness and a parking space. Really!

Why should you buy it? Well, you don't have to but it would make for a cool and cheap (It's only £12 for the hardcover) Christmas gift.

Synopsis:

Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation that will be life transforming for all who experience it.

In this book you'll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life - money, health, relationships, happiness and in every interaction you have in the world. You'll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power that's within you, and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life.

A Good Summer Read: Ageless Body, Timeless Mind

One assumption we tend to make is that death is unnatural, even evil. Most of us shy away from mentioning it, and some of us (if not most) are terrified of getting old and dying. If you feel this way, then this is a must read for you.

It turns out that ageing is a choice after all and how you choose to age will determine the quality of your golden years. The book sheds light on how our attitude towards ourselves can change the way we age. Not old and useless, but a new beginning and a new time line.

Deepak Chopra refers to three forces pervading all life: creation, maintenance and destruction. And even though each life span unfolds in a sequence over time, the three forces themselves exist simultaneously. But the best thing ever is that it seems we have the power to shift the balance of these forces.

The book talks in detail about centenarians - their secrets to a long healthy life - also introduces questionnaires and scientific evidence of a fantastic life after 60. The book combines lucid theory, case studies and a wealth of practical exercises to demonstrate the innate intelligence of the mind/body processes and the extent to which sickness and ageing are created by nothing more than gaps in our self knowledge.

Books: Blake Morrison's South of the River

At first I was going to label this book as a bit of a tedious read. Packed with characters (five), it is quite trapping. Quite trapping to the extent that it could be suffocating at times. But I do believe that for fictional characters to invoke in me such a degree of irritation (Ned) and boredom (Jack) only means that the writer is a very very good one.

The story as the title suggests takes place along 'South of the River' and is rich with description and factual events. It broaches politics (the high hopes envisaged by all as the Labour party comes into power and progressively its demise), sex, fidelity, family and family values, racism, death, partnership, women's liberation, fox hunting as well as a variety of other issues that come about in the course of the novel as the characters go about their daily lives. Lives very similar to our own. It does unmask what British society has become; namely the society that the Blair government has produced whether intentionally or not but has nonetheless. I won't pass my judgement onto you but will leave you to make your own.

As I mentioned I stopped short of giving this book an undeserving review. The whole book (according to the author in one of his interviews) was inspired by foxes that lurked around the area of his residence in Blackheath. At various parts of the book we are taken through stories of foxes ranging from the amusing to the utterly incredulous to the absolutely horrifying to say the least.

I was amused but not a believer until last night when I was rudely awakened by the sound of a screeching bone chilling wail which, as I looked out of the window, belonged to a squirrel whose ill fortune had made it breakfast to a canny fox. I will never forget that howl or that wail that seemed to be not only an echo but a confirmation of what Morrison had written and now I know without a shadow of a doubt that it will be some time before I forget this book, if ever.

South of the River by Blake Morrison, £17.99 (at Waterstones)

Life of Pi: Coming To Greenwich Theatre in May

I had known that Yann Martel's Life of Pi is coming to Greenwich Theatre and by coincidence I saw a copy of the book at Greenwich's Waterstone bookshop. Thinking it would be a good idea to read it, as I was going to see it anyway in May, I bought it and went ahead with what the Guardian reviewers promised to be "a unique and original story". True, they were.

Piscine "Pi" Molitor is a sixteen-year-old boy who embarks with his parents on an 'adventure' to Canada, where the promise of a better life awaits them away from turbulent India in the early seventies. Unfortunately, the cargo ship they are on sinks in the Pacific ocean, leaving Pi on a lifeboat all his own, with a hyena, a broken-legged zebra, a female orang-utan and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger for company.

The story narrated by Pi himself starts out full of hope and curiosity where life for a sixteen-year-old boy is just beautiful and full of adventure waiting for him to discover. His love of God (and his search of Him) leads him to practice Hinduism, Christianity and Islam at an early age, his defence being that his aim is to just love God who he has found in all religions put together.

As the story proceeds (particularly after the ship sinks) we get a more mature Pi who has to deal with all the ferocious animals in the boat with him if he is to survive and outlive the experience. He does have a head start though as he is the son of a zoo keeper and therefore attempts to forge a relationship with the Bengal tiger in particular (who is the fiercest, strongest, wildest and most dangerous of the animals). It is truly a magnificent story from the start. A story of courage, belief, true humanity and innocence lost.

In all honesty, I expected something like "Three Men In A Boat" if you've read it. I didn't particularly enjoy that story, but this one was different. Or again, age before beauty and maybe now was just a good time for me to fully understand the significance of this book (however, this is a personal observation, not backed by any scientific evidence). But the book is enchanting. It is easy to follow and at the direst of times in the boy's plight at sea it can be unbelievably funny and witty. It will make you question a lot of your beliefs and will stay in your memory for some time. Whether you like it or not, this is a book not easily forgotten.

The play will be shown at Greenwich Theatre in May, 2007. Twisting Yarn is the only company in the UK permitted to stage the story, so don't miss your chance to see this production. However, a note to the wise: Read the book first to enjoy the book's true impact and significance. For other reviews on Life of Pi, click here.

Note: Check this space in May as Whimsy ChiChi will also be reviewing the play.

Greenwich is Scene of the Crime!

Book Review: The Dead of Summer

The Dead of Summer is a real page turner, great fun for the daily commute and really interesting if you happen to live anywhere in the Borough of Greenwich. If you thought Greenwich was just a peaceful laid back old tourist attracting town, think again. Trust me, after finishing this creepy book, you'll never look at Greenwich the same way ever again.

I have to admit, it is a clever book. The author has you hooked from the first paragraph and you can't let the book go just for the simple reason that you want to know what happens to that frail poor little girl. It is a heartbreaking yet chilling take on kids these days: "Mugging, fighting, raping, killing -- Kids today, they're animals". Had it not been for that first italicized paragraph, I doubt I would have bothered reading. But once you embark on the journey, there will be no turning back.

The novel takes place in 1986. Anita's family has just moved to Myre Street after her mother dies. Kyle lives next door. A shady, troubled, secretive boy. He tells Anita that the area is peppered with hidden, disused mines that he intends to find; a perfect playground for restless kids with nothing better to do. However, these mines turn to be the scene of a murder that rocks this quiet peaceful area to its core. It's the summer, and by the end of it, blood is everywhere.

A beautifully compelling story that uncovers the disturbances of not only our youth but the way life takes its toll on adults as well. How what seems to be beautiful could be a facade to something tarnished beyond repair. Haunting by all means. And it happens in Greenwich.

Camilla Way was born in Greenwich, south-east London in 1973. Her father was the poet and author Peter Way. After attending Woolwich College she studied modern English and French literature at the University of Glamorgan. Formerly Associate Editor of the teenage girls' magazine Bliss, she is currently an editor and writer on the men's style magazine Arena. Having lived in Cardiff, Bristol, Bath and Clerkenwell, she now lives in south-east London.

£6.99

Books: The Big Fat Bitch Book

This is actually ONE BOOK but with two different covers. First Published in Great Britain in 2007 by Virago Press.

I thought that after all the fiasco that happened on Big Brother in the UK this would be an appropriate and well-timed read. For those of you who've been in the dark and don't really care much about reality TV, Big Brother a few weeks back was battlescene to racist bullying of Indian Bollywood Star Shilpa Shetty. The bullies (aka the bitches) were Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd, and Jo O'Meara.

This book is an insightful look at cattiness in all its forms. It sets facts straight by stating that we can't escape bitching anymore. It has become so acceptable to say publicly what we think, even if it's rude, hurts or humiliates, that it can be hard for a girl to know where the lines of good etiquette and manners lie any more.

This book sheds light on two types of bitches: the strong successful and admired bitch who knows who she is and what she wants from life, able to show originality without caring what others think of her. And there is the weak bitch who nobody much likes. The strong bitch feels enough self-confidence not to need to put others down while the weak kind of bitch excels at manipulating others, making them feel small so that she can feel more powerful. This book promises to show you how to be more of that first strong kind of bitch and genuinely popular.

With an understanding of bitching technique, you will begin to recognize whether your friends are bitching out of insecurity, sheer malice, or because they want to be firmer friends with you, and you will be able to give as good as you get.