Mentors by Russell Brand
In ‘Mentors’ Russell Brand describes what a mentor is and how important they have been in his life. Mentors can be almost anyone, but they must be able to help you move onto the next stage of your life. Russell says that we all need heroes, role models and mentors.
There were lots of wonderful lessons in this book – for instance, by spending time around positive people, being positive to one another we can improve our own wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of those around us.
Another lesson was the importance of gratitude. Russell says “The gratitude of others is a good way to build self esteem. If you regularly help others the tendency to think of yourself as worthless or not good enough diminishes”.
I really enjoyed this book and I’ve taken a lot away from it. Its a book I will read and refer to many times.
Diary of a Somebody – Brian Bilston
In ‘Diary of a Somebody’ Brian Bilston tries something a little different. The novel is in diary form and the main character challenges himself to write a poem a day.
I really liked the thought of the book, but it turned out to be a disappointment. The story itself and the characters were interesting and entertaining, but the diary format seemed to prevent the story from flowing.
I enjoyed some of the poems – particularly the one based on the Lord’s Prayer. Brian shows that poetry can be visual and the layout of the words on the page can be as important as the words themselves.
If you were looking for an introduction to poetry this is the book for you.
Pixie Places for Reading
Cake and Ale Café, in Carlisle, regularly hosts the Tipsy Filly Book Club. Tipsy Filly is a business run by Helen Askew, who creates the most amazing gin cocktails. Normally, Tipsy Filly creates her magic at festivals, hen parties and weddings, but every now and then she hosts a book club.
This month the guest author was Brian Bilston. Brian read some of his poetry and took some questions from the audience. The poems were hilarious and helped make an excellent night.
Pixie Chronicles 