"Favourite Poems of England" and "The Ten Offenses"

Favourite Poems of England edited by Jane McMorland Hunter

This is a pretty little book, but I didn't enjoy the poems as much as I'd hoped. I had recognized a number of the author's names so was looking forward to what might be offered, but most of the selections simply didn't appeal to me. There's no explaining my relationship with poetry. The ones I love mean the world to me but there is so much of it that I don't like at all. Who knows why?

I did have one good laugh somewhere in the middle of the book. It had all been fairly serious up till that point, then I came across A Hand In The Bird, by Roald Dahl. I can't reprint it for you here because of copyright law, but do find a copy if you can. It cracked me up.

Some of the poets whose works are included are Thomas Hardy, William Blake, A. E. Houseman, John Keats, William Wordsworth, Percy Byshe Shelley, Christina Rossetti and William Shakespeare. Quite an elite group, isn't it?  I feel rather ashamed of myself that I couldn't find anything to love.


The Ten Offenses by Pat Robertson

This one had some very good points but for me the presentation was a bit preachy. It was also somewhat dated and had a strong American emphasis.The style of writing didn't appeal to me and is not the kind that stays with me when I've finished the book.

The title is a play on the ten commandments, which the author suggests have become so unpopular in today's society that they would be more aptly called the ten offenses now. I didn't enjoy the writing, or the author really, though as I said I do think he made some valid arguments.