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Old Man on a Bike - Simon Gandolfi

Mr Gandolfi has had ten other books published and the reason for his success was obvious to me before I had finished giggling my way through the prologue of Old Man on a Bike.

With his remarkable insight and searing self awareness, Mr Gandofli reminded me, time and time again, of my grampie Kirkby. Once the patriarch of our family, always my hero, a man who died having forgotten more than I am likely ever to be able to learn.

This book is singularly unique in that it draws the reader inside an older person's mind. I found it an enriching, often comforting and pleasant place to be.

The writing style in Old Man on a Bike is mature and mischievous, gritty, factual and witty. The book is filled with concise, clipped sentences of professional brevity:

'Although travelling, I am on familiar territory. We are always on familiar territory, all of us. Yet we divide ourselves from this reality by erecting fake barriers and boundaries of nationality and race and religion.'

'They infuse their finds in hot water and insist I bath the burns. They are small commanding women. They cook, clean and do the laundry. Disobedience would be foolish.'

'For the past few days I have been pursued by a middle-aged hen. Today the hen slinks into my room while Nora collects my laundry. I discover the hen on my bed. She has laid an egg.'

The book also regularly offers flowing paragraphs of perfect descriptive indulgence. I savoured every word.

I read the last page of this book with a smile on my face and a sense regret that I had reached the end of this enthralling paperback.

Old Man on a Bike is published by The Friday Project (an imprint of Harper Collins) and is available to buy now.

You can find out more about Mr Gandolfi on his blog and website

What Choices We Made - Sandy Lender

Somewhat unusally, I am posting about a book which I have not yet read. The reason for this is two fold:

1) I was asked by a friend who has impeccable taste in novels, if I would help promote Sandy's new book which is available at the end of Novemeber.

2) I've read a chapter of the book and it is AMAZING!

For those of you who do not read fantasy and therefore do not know of Sandy's reputation as an author this new book is the first volume of stories set in the universe Sandy created for her best selling novel Choices Meant for Gods. So without further ado I would like to introduce you to Sandy's latest novel:

Would the world of Onweald be the same if Enara had acted differently all those years ago? Join Chariss's early ancestor on the shores that become Arcana. Rescue a dragon and flee a screaming horde of edras demons. Step into a fantasy realm where romance and humor meet sword and sorcery—where choices of the past shape the world of a powerful heroine. Step into What Choices We Made.

It will be available to buy from Amazon and is on my wish list...