The Burn Journal, by Brent Runyon

Brent Runyon was fourteen when he attempted to kill himself. He had always had a thing about suicide, having hurt himself one a few occasions. This time, he tried to set himself on fire.

It was more painful than he had thought.

It resulted in a lengthy stay in hospital, having to endure horrible pain and being disfigured. It also resulted in him reevaluating himself, meeting amazing people and discovering the extent of his parents' love for him.

He writes in the style of a diary, which can be touchingly honest, but also can veer to narcissism and boring rambles. His writing does not, perhaps, quite have the finesse to navigate away from boredom and sometimes dwells on somewhat mundane incidents. While the revelations Runyon shares are heartwarming and life-affirming, they are hardly groundbreaking. May be good for a quick read, if nothing else.

Call For The Dead, by John Le Carre

After what seemed like a routine security interview, Samuel Fennan commits suicide. The intelligence officer who conducted the interview, George Smiley, is called on to pick up the loose ends.

Despite the evidence suggesting otherwise, Smiley is convinced that Fennan's death is much more complicated than how it looks. He starts investigating and, the more he finds out, the less it makes sense. Mysterious phone calls; an undrunk cup of cocoa; Fennan's actions... slowly he pieces together the most innocuous clues to reach a startling truth.

Le Carre's grasp of plot is faultless: he guides the reader through Smiley's thoughts and leaves every clue accounted for. Despite the slimness of this volume, it should not be overlooked as it contains an excellently written story.

Choke, by Chuck Palahnuik

Victor Mancini is an irredeemable sex addict and med school dropout who spends his days in britches and a cravat, working in a period theme park. For some extra money, he goes to restaurants and chokes, in the hope that the person who saves him will then shower him with concern after the incident- and with money.

And, by the way, if his brain-damaged mother is to be believed, his parentage might just be divine.

Palahnuik does not rely on cliches to paint a portrait of a man at the end of the line. Instead, he furnishes the novel with unusual, even whimsical, details and characters- a friend addicted to collecting rocks; hiccups of memory from medical school; old people who think Victor is their son, or brother, or lifelong enemy. Palahnuik gives these enough space to develop and interact, creating an organic, surreal treat. Peppered with flashbacks and graphic scenes, Choke is an unflinching portrait of a hopeless man and those around him. Reader discretion is advised, however, for abovementioned graphic scenes.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, by John Le Carre

The British Secret Service is dying. Business has slowed to a halt, and the only thing which keeps the British Secret Service on good terms with the government is an almost miraculous source: Source Merlin. The late director of the Service, Control, was convinced there was a mole, somewhere in their midst, and spent his dying days looking through personal files of staff.

Since Control's death, the Service has undergone changes. A change of chief. A change in the way things are done. All are meant to create a more efficient, sleeker Service, all meant to please the bigwigs in Whitehall.

An impulsive agent is taken back to London, having obtained what he thinks is crucial information. George Smiley, Control's confidante, is called to action to dig into the past: to link this rogue agent's evidence with the other clues popping up around him.

Le Carre's grip on the plot never wavers (even if the reader's does) and this creates an elaborate web which makes the denouement all the more thrilling. He takes care to weave in various clues which seemed unimportant at the time, but eventually hold great importance. His writing, too, is colourful and an absolute joy to read. This is certainly a book for reading many times over.

The Honourable Schoolboy, by John Le Carre

George Smiley is head of the British Secret Service at the worst of times. Newly shaken by the discovery of a Russian mole, the Secret Service seems to be on its last legs.

He is going all out to dig out Karla, the mastermind of Moscow Centre, the man who planted his mole right in the heart of the Secret Service. His path will take him and his men through the warfields of Cambodia to the ports of Hong Kong.

Le Carre's writing is superb; he can create atmosphere and mood through seemingly sparse descriptors. His characters are interesting and distinctive, from the stiffly polite Smiley when under fire, to the reckless agent Jerry Westerby. This thick book requires some concentration (at least for this reviewer) to ensure coherence of the plot which features many characters.

Pigeons, by Andrew D. Blechman

You see them everywhere. They fly around, presumably spreading diseases and excrement on the least appropriate places. They are the world's least favourite birds.

They didn't use to be that way.

Pigeons used to be war heroes, in charge of ferrying vital messages as a last resort. Pigeons used to be symbols of fertility because of their monogamous mating habits. Pigeons inspired part of Darwin's Origin of Species.

Pigeons seem to have inspired feelings on both extremes of human emotion. Today, there are both pigeon haters- people who shoot live pigeons for sport, or those who make a living off getting rid of pigeons; and there are pigeon lovers: people who don't mind living in the midst of hundreds of birds, devoting hours of their life taking care of pigeons and alienating most other humans in the process.

Blechman meanders through the history of the pigeon and delves into the worlds of various groups of people: squab breeders, pigeon fanciers, pigeon racers and more. The flow from topic to topic seems unorganised at first, but is natural. Easy to read and engaging, this book will definitely make you think differently about pigeons.

Murder and Magic, edited by Rosemary Edghill

Crime and the supernatural make for thrilling, puzzling or plain frightening combinations in this collection of short stories. In one, a wizard is killed by one of his golems- but there are five, and they are identical, so which one did it? In another, the only witnesses to a death are a couch, a lamp and a chair.

There is certainly variety, with stories containing wizards and mages as well as sentient birds with hidden powers. Some fall flat, though, by having too many complicated names, or using magic only as a point of interest rather than being the lynchpin of the whole story.