The edition I read was published by Vintage in 2001. The original was published in 1958.

Our Man in Havana is a story of an Englishman in Havana who is approached to spy for the British government. Needing the extra money, and after deciding to simply fake his reports, the vacuum cleaner salesman starts making up stories for his bosses in London. The trouble is, not only do the British government believe his stories, but so to do other people in the “business”. Unfortunate consequences, including an attempt on his life, and the death of three people lead to his being “recalled” to London. Despite the fact that it is known that he faked all of his reports, he is still rewarded with a knighthood.

Graham Greene is an author that was recommend to me, and Our Man in Havana is the second of his stories that I’ve read. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading, even though it isn’t the sort of story that I read normally. I wouldn’t purchase a copy for myself, though I would probably read it again if I had nothing else to read. Three and a half stars.

Mort, by Terry Pratchett, was first published by Victor Gollancz Ltd in Great Britain, 1987.

Mort, a young man who seems to be useless at virtually everything, is apprenticed to Death, an anthropomorphic personification, who ushers souls into the next world. A strange combination which is even stranger when it is discovered that Death has both daughter (adopted) and a, umm, servant? However, things don’t quite work out as well as might be hoped. While Death enjoys being able to have time off (gambling, getting drunk, that sort of thing), Mort risks the very fabric of time and space by killing someone, which prevents the death of a princess. It all works out in the end though, with Mort marrying, well, I’ll leave it up to you to find out who he ends up marrying.

As a stand alone book, Mort is probably three and a half stars stars. Within the Discworld series, well, it is still three and a half. It’s one of the better ones. Rating Discworld novels are difficult for me, because I’ve read every one (except the latest) more than once. So far as it goes though, this is one of the Discworld novels that I would, and probably will, read again, and again. Would I own a copy? Umm, if I think about it hard, I might already. But if I don’t, and could get a fifty-cent copy, sure I would pick it up. Otherwise I’ll just keep borrowing it from the nearest library.

First published in 2006 by the University of Queensland Press.

Loop is a book of 14 short stories (not that you can obviously tell this from the cover). They tend towards the mythical and supernatural, but tend to still be set in the “modern” era. The first story “The Garden” features a ghost, and talks about a house in Sydney and how it has passed hands. “Running the Majestic” talks about a teenager who loves movies, and one day does something courageous. “Jigsaw” is about how a young woman finds a great dress in an op-shop, but whenever she wears it, she gets flashes of someone else’s life. “Free” is an interesting look at dogs and wolfs from a dog’s perspective. The title story, “Loop” is another look at the old story of someone playing the same day over and over again.

Loop is a book written for “young adults”, and as such, I did not appreciated as much as perhaps it deserves. However, it is not that complicated, and does not explore the themes in as much depth as they could have. Still it was well written for what it is, and I would recommend it to someone in their mid-teens. I personally would not bother to read most of the stories again, nor buy the book, but, I’m not the target audience by any means. 3 and a half stars.