The Tempest by William Shakespeare.

Try this if you are looking for the source of the art of storytelling. Will really does it! This is all about faeries, a desert island, wizards, and black magic and white magic. Close your eyes, say goodbye, let's drift away. Like a ship on the ocean we set sail for a better day. Come on live in a daydream, create your destiny, let's swim in the deep sea and it will set you free..... Love it or loath it but read it!




Caught Inside by Daniel Duane.

Tossing aside a mundane and meaningless job, Daniel Duane went to Santa Cruz, California, to surf for a year. The book he wrote about it, Caught Inside is something of a Walden of our times. It's wonderfully written, weaving wave wisdom with literary and historical references. And it's not for surfers only: even readers who have never seen the surf will find themselves taken up in the book's rhythms. Duane sought the peace that surfing offers, and his impressions of surfing characters, sea life (otters, seals, and the great white shark everyone fears is right under you as you paddle your board), and the seasons by the sea are evocative and soothing to read. Also try The Face Of The Deep by Thomas Farber



The Beach by Alex Garland.

The Beach is a legend among young travellers in Asia: white sands circling a lagoon hidden from the sea, coral gardens and freshwater falls surrounded by jungle. In this earthly paradise, it is rumoured, a select community lives in blissful innocence. For Richard, haunted by the glamour of Vietnam war movies, a trek into unknown Thai territory is irresistible. He finds what he hopes for but also a lot more... You liked Lord of The Flies and Mysteries of Pittsburgh? Well, be happy for this is a nice mixture of both (IMHO!!). A great first novel, carries you along all through the night or the long hot day on the beach..... Shame-fact: soon to be released movie tie-in starring Leonardo DiCaprio (and I hoped he died in Titanic! Silly me!)



The Sandman by Neil Gaiman.

A comic book?, you wonder. Well, The Sandman is not just a comic book. The Sandman takes an original approach to shopworn conventions, creating a fantasy world as rich with potential as Frank Baum's Oz or J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth. Gaiman's scripts also display a refreshing amount of wit and compassion. He plays with tropes borrowed from a wide variety of cultural sources, from pioneering cartoonist Winsor McCay to Lewis Carroll, from Cristopher Marlowe to Shakespeare. He mixes the majesty of age-old folklore with the tawdry horrors of modern life. 'If this isn't literature, nothing is' Peter Straub said of the award winning comicbook series by Neil Gaiman. Enough has already been said about the Sandman and I have nothing more to say. Try The Dreaming for more!