What a great idea for a story, a fascinating journey into discovering what intelligence is and what effect it can have on your life - whether you have it or you don’t, and what happens when you go from one to the other. I loved how the writing improved as the intelligence did, gradually spelling mistakes went away and the vocabulary increased massively… and then the same in reverse. I thought the book was a bit stretched out, you could sort of tell it was originally a short story that was elongated, but considering how long ago it was written, it stands the test of time amazingly well.

The last couple of Bond adventures haven’t totally grabbed me but I liked this one quite a lot more than I was expecting. The opening chapters were so familiar from the film - Bond foiling Goldfinger’s cheating card scam - it was amazing. I wasn’t as keen on the following pieces where a game of golf is described in excruciating detail… but then we get to the Fort Knox plot and it all picks back up again.

I was perusing through some older audiobook purchases and discovered Stephen Fry reading through the second Paddington book. What could be more perfect in the current crazed situation than going on some adventures with a beloved bear? It’s simple, it’s fun, it has great characters and it’s well-read by Mr Fry. Perfect.

I’m sure I’m not alone in picking this book up after enjoying the Netflix adaptation, and I’m also sure I’m not alone in being surprised how different the story was to the visual feast. It’s a completely different set up, not a family at all but a disparate set of people drawn together in curiosity about the supposed hauntings of said Hill House.

I think this is a book that we read in school, but if that is the case, I don’t remember very much about it. I had a vague feeling it was a difficult read but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I loved the way it started with just a small boy being dumped in some long grass, and gradually his world expanded more and more until you get to the end where there’s a whole adult life still to be explored.