Kukadoodles

Friday, 26 June 2015

Exeposé Books - Review 'Charm Offensive - William Thacker'

Originally published on Exeposé Online, 23 March 2014. Click the image to read the full article.

We all have established authors which we know and love, but nothing can match the excitement of discovering a wonderful novelist who is just starting out.

William Thacker, a young London-born author and scriptwriter, recently released his debut novel; Charm Offensive, published 1 March 2014 by Legend Press. Intrigued by the unusual protagonist (and the prospect of a free book), I jumped at the chance to review it.

The story follows retired politician, Joe Street, who is thrown back into the spotlight as a result of a media scandal. Accompanied by a cheap PR consultant, he tries to save his reputation and marriage, rebuilding his relationship with his estranged daughter.

Exeposé Books: 'Can You Judge A Book By Its Cover?'

Originally published on Exeposé Online, 28 March 2014. Click the image to read the full article.

Christy Ku argues that the cover and title of a book is one of the most important elements to take into account when choosing what to read. Do you agree?

Several years ago, Borders was liquidising its stock as it went bust. Naturally, I went bargain hunting/scavenging through the boxes and chose a book purely because of its beautiful cover and intriguing title. To this day, I Capture the Castlestill stands as one of my all-time favourites.

As a result, I firmly believe that judging a book by its cover is a wonderful way to choose books. When you’re faced with overflowing bookshelves (physical or virtual), the book cover and title will be the first things that attracts your attention, making you pick it up and flick through the first few pages. Just listen to these book titles; Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, When God Was a Rabbit, Life of Pi, A Clockwork Orange – they’re utterly bizarre, intriguing or just hard to forget.

Exeposé Books: 'So You Think You Can Read?'

Originally published in Exeposé. Issue 618, 21 Jan 2014, page 33. Click on the article to read the full thing!

Christy Ku gives advice on how to focus on reading and be efficient with your study time

'Had a nice Christmas at home? Got some money as presents? Good - now spent it all on your course books. And then read it all - you're not seeing daylight again.'

That seems to be the voice of uni as we head back to our halls, to the mountain of reading ahead of us. But never fear - Exeposé is here! We might not be Hermione Granger, but here are some tips to tackle that stack of books. Good luck!