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Books are the easiest way in the world to disappear. You just pick up a book and start reading and pretty soon the room you're in fades out.
First the sounds get muted, the outside traffic grows fainter until it's the sound of a distant, droning bee, the hammering that all morning has
been coming from next door becomes slippered footsteps. The occasional voice that flutters in the window might as well be warm slices of
silence. All you can hear is the book, not even words anymore, you're hearing the world your reading living and breathing. Your surroundings
begin to dim as if someone is seducing you with mood lighting. The walls fall away leaving pictures hanging in mid air until they too drift off
like autumn leaves on summer’s last warm breeze. You become unaware of your body. You are no longer reading words, sentences,
paragraphs; you become the disembodied camera that sweeps through the narrative taking everything in, every colour, scent,voice
and view. You become enveloped in an intimate world that exists only where two imaginations meet. A bond between writer and
reader that lasts as long as you stay captivated, a bond that could last the rest of your life.

So, you could say I like books, and you would be right, which is probably why I've been asked to write this introduction to the new books section here at Unpeeled.net. I've been into books since before I could read. I would listen as my mum read stories from Hans Christian Anderson, Arabian Nights and The Brothers Grimm, drifting to sleep with my head full of ogres, witches, houses that walked on chicken legs and palaces
                                                                            made of gold. I was being transported to distant lands and times just by staring at the pictures and
                                                                            puzzling at the black marks that fell in line down the rough pages. The first book I learnt to read
                                                                            was The Sorcerers Apprentice, but I wasn't really reading, I just asked to be read it so many
                                                                            times I memorised it word for word and began to work out which of those black marks made up the
                                                                            words I knew were there. After that I began to work out other books, like I was deciphering a
                                                                            code, using the one book I'd memorised to unlock all the others that were scattered around the
                                                                            house. The first books I unlocked myself were by Enid Blyton.

                                                                            My dad was in the army so we used to move a lot. Every year it was a new school, new faces, same
                                                                            indistinct teachers hovering far above me pointing out my mistakes and patting my head when I
                                                                            completed one of their endless chores to their liking. I made friends, but I always knew I'd be gone
                                                                            soon, that their faces would fade to pink blobs of indistinct memory the second the plane took off or
                                                                            the ferry left the port. The only friends I could rely on being there were Dick, Julian, George (never
                                                                            call her Georgina, she will kick off), Anne and Timmy, collectively known as The Famous Five. With
                                                                            this bunch of intrepid explorers I discovered smugglers, kidnappers, Kirrin Island and lashings of
                                                                            ginger beer. I also discovered just how much fun a couple of hundred pages of black marks on a
                                                                            white background could be, almost more fun than real life.

                                                                            To introduce our books page I am going to share with you ten of the books that have given me the
                                                                            most pleasure in my time as a reader. I must say I never read the back of books. I believe
                                                                            that those who write stories control the information they give you throughout a story for a
                                                                            reason. I once read a book called ‘X20’ where a piece of information you received in the
                                                                            last chapter of the book was given away in the blurb at the back. That was the last blurb I
                                                                            read. So do not expect a synopsis of the narrative, I wouldn’t want to ruin your reading
                                                                            experience. My suggestion is always, if you like the look of a book, read the first chapter.
                                                                            If you don’t want to read more, don’t. It’s that simple.

‘American Gods’ Neil Gaiman: Neil Gaiman is a master storyteller and ‘American Gods’ is his masterpiece (so far). On the surface it is the story of Shadow, an ex-con employed by a mysterious man known only as Wednesday, but it is also the story of America, of Gods, people, fantasy, faith and everything in-between. American Gods is a book you will find in the Fantasy section, but due to the quality of the storytelling and the depth of the characters, you can’t help but believe every word. You will laugh and cry in equal amounts, love every word and character, and feel a sense of loss when it is done. The best fantasy books take the world that already exists and take a side-step left, and this is no exception. There is more truth in this book than any you will find in the whole non-fiction section. I recommend this book to anyone who knows how to read.

‘1984’ George Orwell: 1984 is essentially a love story that takes place in a world where love is outlawed. This is the novel that gave us the phrases ‘Big Brother’, ‘Thoughtcrime’ and ‘Newspeak’. 1984 predicted the widespread use of CCTV for population control, a television in every house and the dumbing down of language. 1984 is a bleak book where the only hope comes from

the reader’s knowledge that it hasn’t got that bad yet, but it could if you let it. When the debate on The Anti Terror Bill was raging it was put to Blair in parliament that “1984 was meant as a warning, not a text book”, and seeing as that bill was passed, it’s time the warning was taken seriously.

‘Naïve. Super’ Erlend Loe: ‘Naïve. Super’ is the story of a 25 year old who doesn’t know what he wants from life, he’s finished university and he is seemingly crushed into inactivity by the weight of possibilities that the world offers, and also by the existence of the world itself. He finds pleasure in the small things, like riding his bike, bouncing a ball and playing with his hammer and peg. The simple, declarative sentences and almost autistic point of view of the protagonist are beautifully rendered, crafted from a perspective most of us have forgotten even exists. This book will change the way you see the world simply by reminding you how you once felt, and you’ll laugh with joy as you rediscover your own naivety.

‘Only Forward’ Michael Marshall Smith: Sci-Fi is an acquired
                                                                    taste, which is why I like
                                                                    ‘Only Forward’. Though it
                                                                    is set in a future where
                                                                    Britain is one giant
                                                                    metropolis separated into
                                                                    distinct districts, you are
                                                                    never overwhelmed by
                                                                    technical jargon or
                                                                    speculative science. What
                                                                    you get is a fantastic
                                                                    detective story, part
                                                                    mystery, part psychedelic
                                                                    trip, leaving you captivated
                                                                    in its imaginative scope.
                                                                    The protagonist Stark is
                                                                     the epitome of noir
                                                                     detective cool, but the
                                                                     real star of this story is the
                                                                     city itself, with its districts
                                                                     such as Colour, which is
                                                                     set up entirely for people
                                                                     who like colours, or
                                                                     Action where the
                                                                     inhabitants are all
                                                                     workaholic Gordon
                                                                     Gecko’s on steroids. There are many, many more, but half the fun of ‘Only Forward’ is discovering them for yourself. A rewarding and highly inventive novel that manages to surprise even on repeat visits.

‘Nagasaki’ Tatsuichiro Akizuki: ‘Nagasaki’ is the first full-length eye witness account of the atomic bomb attack on Nagsaki. It is written by Dr Akizuki who survived and tended to those who suffered in the attack, and his written account of his efforts to help those who were struck by the attack is almost impossible to comprehend. At that time no one knew what radiation sickness was, even what an atomic bomb was. The scenes he describes could just are more reminiscent of Dantes ‘Inferno’ than anything you can imagine happening in this world. This is not a pleasant read. ‘Nagasaki’ is one of the most horrific books I have read, and one of the most inspiring. As much as the dropping of ‘Fat Man’ on Nagasaki should make us ashamed of our humanity, Dr Akizuki’s determination to help his fellow man amidst such horror should inspire us all. A truly heroic tale.

‘Psychoville’ Christopher Fowler: Billy Marsh is forced to
                                                move to the suburbs with his
                                                distinctly working class family. The
                                                middle class world of Invicta Cross
                                                slowly destroys them. The second
                                                half of the book sees a young,
                                                successful couple move in to the
                                                same neighbourhood ten years
                                                later. People begin to die.
                                                Psychoville is clever, brutal and a
                                                brilliant satire on middle class
                                                culture, where wealth is revered
                                                and materialism essential. The
                                                violence of the second half is
                                                almost pornographic, though, in
                                                context, you can’t help feel it is justified. The suspense and tension of Psychoville is so perfectly orchestrated that you have to read one more chapter, then another, and before long its dawn, the books finished and you find yourself back at the beginning just to make sure
you didn’t miss anything. Highly satisfying.

‘Hells Angels’ Hunter S. Thompson: ‘Hells angels’
was written before Mr Thompson started to create his own myth and is more a ‘straight’ piece of journalistic writing than his other work, painstakingly researched and engaging from the word go. The Hells Angels are an American legend, the last outlaws that terrify and fascinate sterile suburbia in equal measure, and as you read you can’t help but understand this mixture of revulsion and intrigue. But to say this novel is simply an investigation into the Hells angels is to do it an injustice, it is a study of America at a time when its very social fabric was being re-woven, an important historical document that is also an entertaining and highly satisfying read.

‘Comet in Moominland’ Tove Jansson:
Moomins are white, hippo looking
creatures that walk on their hind legs. They
live in Moomin Valley which is one of the
most peaceful places on earth. You will be
surprised to learn that this book haunted
me as a child, but it does deal with the end
of the world. There is a comet in the sky
growing bigger everyday, and Moomintroll
sets off with his friend Sniff to find out if it
will hit the Earth. When I was much younger
I read this book over and over. I read it
again as an adult a few years ago and it
still sent shivers down my spine. The
writing is perfect, the characters lovable as
well as believable, and Tove Janssons
illustrations are pitch perfect. Guaranteed
to please children and adults alike.

‘Fight Club’ Chuck Palahniuk: For those who don’t know, Fight Club is the story of a man who leads an unfulfilling life as a Risk Assessor for an automobile company, who has insomnia that is only cured by going to self help meetings for people who have terminal diseases. This book has the dubious honour of being made into a Hollywood film that, if I’m honest, is just as good as the book, which is a rare thing indeed, and is testament to the quality of writing on offer within this thin tome. Fight Club is an indictment of modern society, an exposé on the emptiness of consumer culture, and a powerful reminder on the power of friends and community to get you through this vacuous existence. It’s also incredibly funny and has some of the most quotable passages ever set to paper. I recommend this book to anyone alive right now. It is also much less violent than you think, in fact there is hardly any fighting at all.

‘The Wind Up Bird Chronicle’ Haruki Murakami: Mr Murakami is one of my favourite writers; his style is lucid,
                                            poetic and full of charm. His
                                            characters are normally quiet, lost
                                            souls who say little but think lots,
                                            who often get caught up in
                                            situations they neither
                                            understand nor instigate, and
                                            ‘The Wind Up Bird Chronicle’ is no
                                            exception. Toru Okada is
                                            unemployed and looking for his lost
                                            cat when we meet him, but soon he
                                            is looking for his lost wife. This is a
                                            truly epic tale that often goes off on
                                            bizarre and unexpected tangents, but
                                            it is all so beautifully controlled and eloquent that you can’t help but read on. Haruki Murakami has been compared to Kafka, David Lynch and F. Scott Fitzgerald to name a few. Personally, I feel he is unique, and definitely a master of his craft.