Merlin's Book Reviews

Merlin

Is that book really worth reading? 

My Profile:

My name is Merlin, I am in my 60s and my wife and I live in Northland New Zealand.  I am semi-retired and I work part time as a Psychologist/Clinical Supervisor for a busy Community Mental Health Service.  I have one lovely daughter (who set up this site for me) and two equally lovely grand-children.

I read a great deal.  I read at least one book a week and I am one of those irritating people who can happily read two or three books at a time.  I tend to read thrillers and mysteries, historical novels based (roughly) on fact and (occasionally) science fiction/fantasy.  (I don’t read a lot of science fiction nowadays – I must confess that most of it leaves me baffled and wondering what the author is on about.  Perhaps a sign of ageing, or generation gap, or something).  I also read a fair bit of non-fiction – no particular topics, but I can happily range through science, medicine, psychiatry, psychology, alternative health, religion, spirituality and the like.  I have a particular interest in Eastern philosophies and Buddhist psychology.  I am a practising psychologist and believe that the spiritual perspective (as distinct from a religious perspective) is sadly missing from much of modern psychology. (I have a separate blog spot on this topic: click here.)

What I don’t read is Good Literature!  I can well remember my school days, when they tried to foist onto us books like A Passage to India, Catcher in the Rye, The God Boy  and the like.  I hated books like these with a passion and still do.  Give me a Terry Pratchett, or Bernard Cornwell, or Janet Evanovich any day. 

A few words on navigation for this site.  Click on an author’s name in the left column and you will be taken to a review.  Or put a title, or title key words into the search box. If I have found additional interesting information, you will see a highlighted word.  Click on it to open another info box.  Pretty simple really.

In my reviews, I don’t just repeat the cover blurb. I give a synopsis and an opinion on whether I consider the book worth reading. I do my best to make the reviews interesting, informative and entertaining.

Almost all the books reviewed here can be found in the Whangarei District Libraries.  My reviews do not necessarily reflect the views of the Whangarei District Libraries.