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Classical Stoicism comprised an integrated view of theology, cosmology, physics, logic, and ethics. Today, Minimal Stoicism, really only encompassing ethics, has become a popular toolbox for living a happy and successful life, with the other areas seen as largely irrelevant.

This excellent introduction to Stoicism presents the modern distillation of the philosophy in the context of the ancients' understanding of the Universe. While we may no longer believe that Zeus controls the Universe or that our lives are pre-ordained by nature, some teachings of Classic Stoicism are surprisingly modern. For example, the belief in a Universe that cyclically expands and collapses into a fiery conflagration is not so far from modern cosmology.

This book's coverage of Stoic logic was fascinating as it is a subject often missing from other popular works - as a mathematician and software developer, seeing examples of pre-Boolean rhetorical logic was fascinating.

I've read several books on the history of Stoicism and found this one gave one of the best integrated views of Stoic philosophy. It helped provide context to modern Stoicism while being readable and not too academic.

"Cytonic" is the third in the series of four YA science fiction books about Spensa, a young starship fighter pilot by Brandon Sanderson. Like the first two, I listened to the Audible version read by Sophie Aldred (Ace in Doctor Who). She is very convincing as the teenage protagonist and a wide range of other characters. My only minor criticism was that M-Bot's accent wandered a little, which was strange as he has been a constant character in all three books.

The plot was fun, and the battles and other set scenes exciting, but the changes in Spensa's character failed to convince. Sanderson built the earlier books around the way her confidence grew and the mistakes she made along the way. In this book, the transition to self-confidence and ordering everyone else about, including the ex-monarch of an alien race, seemed too abrupt.

Finally, the epilogue felt tacked on by the publisher in readiness for the final book in the series and just a bit clichéd. I enjoyed this book, but I'm in two minds about whether I will want to buy "Defiant" when it comes out later in 2023.

In my teenage years, I loved to explore second-hand bookshops with their seemingly random piles of previously loved books making it hard to squeeze between the overloaded bookcases. One winter, I bought a 1902 edition of "The Pickwick Papers" in two pocket-sized volumes. It was my introduction to Dickens, and I loved the crisp, browned pages and old-fashioned fonts, the humour, and the author's fantastic powers of description.

"The Pickwick Papers" firmly cemented the idea that Dickens was Christmas into my brain, and books like "Great Expectations" and "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" only reinforced the sentiment. I don't know when I first read "A Christmas Carol", but it was many decades ago, and I've basked in its glories most years since. It's my favourite of Dicken's Christmas ghost tales and an essential part of my festivities.

The most impressive aspect of this book is the imagery. Dickens's descriptions of a door knocker morphing into Marley's face, ghosts sweeping through the air trailing chains of safes and strong boxes, or the flight across a roaring sea are incredible achievements of imagination. It is easy to be blasé with our experience of computer graphics and sophisticated special effects, but Dickens's imagery is simply stunning.

Recommended to be read at Christmas... slowly... by candlelight... with a glass of Edradour 10-year-old at close hand.

I read "The Daily Stoic" every year, but I have a love-hate relationship with it. Tim Ferris once described Stoicism as a "personal operating system", but to me, it is more like a toolbox of techniques for attaining your good life, and this is a good reminder of the tools available.

"The Daily Stoic" has 366 sections, each starting with a quote from a Stoic philosopher and then some commentary putting the sage's advice into a more modern, often American, context. This works well and provides a structured overview of Stoic thinking. The quotes are mainly from the best-known late-Stoic figureheads - Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus.

While most of the quotes come from works intended for publication, Marcus Aurelius's contributions are from his journal, which was not intended for publication - he often entertains contradictory views or approaches at different times. So cherry-picking quotes for a book like this can be problematic.

The modern context provided is heavily skewed to recent American examples and often has an unspoken assumption that the reader is well-off, which can be rather grating.

If you have a basic understanding of Stoic philosophy, this book is a great daily reminder of tools and exercises that can help your everyday life. However, if you are new to Stoicism, then there are better books for learning about the basics and gaining an overview of how the philosophy can help you - for example, "A Guide to the Good Life" by William B. Irvine.

Soon after "The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents" was first published, I read it to my daughter. She so much enjoyed the characters that she dressed up as Sardines (one of the ensemble cast of rats) for her school's World Book Day celebration. She emailed Terry Pratchett to tell him how much she had enjoyed the book and was thrilled to get a lovely reply.

Re-reading "The Amazing Maurice", I'm surprised by just how dark a book it is, given the nine-year-old plus demographic. For example, there are no holds barred when it comes to the short and uncomfortable lives that rodents sometimes lead, and a couple of plot points rely on how cruel humans can be to their squeaky neighbours.

The book includes a thought-provoking exploration of different kinds of consciousness and self-awareness, and there is much pleasure to be gained from the large cast of characters - rodent, feline, and the occasional human.