insideKENT Magazine Issue 36 - March 2015 | Page 25

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT

top reads

BY LISAMARIE LAMB

Reading is good for you; by picking up a book, tablet, or eReader for just
15 minutes every day, you are exercising your mind, and that is just as
important as exercising your body.
The benefits of reading are huge; for one, it
stimulates your brain, which can slow (possibly
even prevent) diseases such as Alzheimer’s and
dementia. As part of this, reading improves your
memory too. You learn when you read and, even
when you don’t realise it, the information you are
taking in stays with you. It also expands your
vocabulary, which can be of use in many

situations, plus boosts your confidence when
speaking with those you might consider to be
‘above you’.
Reading for just 15 minutes first thing in the
morning – before work, for example – will ensure
your concentration level is at its peak and set
you up for the day. It also reduces stress levels,

especially since a good book should take you
into another world, if only for a few minutes. This
in turn lowers your blood pressure, which is
definitely a good thing.
So which book do you want to read next? Here
are just a few great ones to try in 2015.

ROMANCE
Custard Tarts and Broken Hearts
by Mary Gibson
They call them custard tarts – the girls who work
at the Pearce Duff custard and jelly factory.
However, now the custard tarts are up in arms,
striking for better conditions. Among them is
Nellie Clark, trying to hold her family together
after the death of her mother. She has the most
desperate struggle to make ends meet, often
going hungry to feed her little brothers.
Two men vie for Nellie's love. One is flamboyant,
confident and a chancer. The other is steady,
truthful and loyal. But the choice is not as easy
as it might seem.
Looming over them all – over Bermondsey, over
the factory, over the custard tarts and their lives
and loves – is the shadow of the First World War.
And that will change everything and everyone.
CRIME AND THRILLER
The Girl on the Train
by Paula Hawkins

Revival
by Stephen King
In a small New England town in the early 60s, a
shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy
soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking
man, the new minister, Charles Jacobs. Soon
they forge a deep bond, based on their fascination
with simple experiments in electricity.

Rachel catches the same commuter train every
morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal
each time, overlooking a row of back gardens.
She’s even started to feel like she knows the
people who live in one of the houses: Jess and
Jason, she calls them. Their life – as she sees
it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.

Decades later, Jamie is living a nomadic lifestyle
of bar-band rock and roll. Now an addict, he sees
Jacobs again – a showman on stage, creating
dazzling 'portraits in lightning' – and their meeting
has profound consequences for both men. Their
bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil's
devising, and Jamie discovers that ‘revival’ has
many meanings.

But then she sees something shocking. It’s only
a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough.
Now everything has changed. Now Rachel has
a chance to become a part of the lives she’s
only watched from afar. Now they’ll see she’s
much more than just the girl on the train.
RRP: £7.99
Published: 15th Jan 2015

HORROR

RRP: £7.99
Published: 8th May 2014

25

RRP: £9.99
Published: 11th Nov 2014