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{{Frontpage|isbn=1912242052{|class-"wikitable" cellpaddingtitle="15" <O Joy for me!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE-->|author=Keir Davidson<!-- Davidson -->|rating=3|-genre=Art| stylesummary=''width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;Oh Joy for me!''|[[image:1912242052.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1912242052/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style=gives Coleridge credit for being ''vertical-align: top; text-align: left;''|===[[O Joy the first person to walk the mountains alone, not because he had to for me! by Keir Davidson]]=== [[image:3starwork, as a miner, quarryman, shepherd or pack-horse driver, but because he wanted to for pleasure and adventure.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Art|Art]] His rapturous encounters with their natural beauty, [[:Category:Biography|Biography]]and its literary consequences, [[:Category:Travel|Travel]], [[changed our view of the world''.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1980891117|title=G Engleheart Pinxit 1805:Category:ReferenceA year in the life of George Engleheart|Reference]]author=John Webley''Oh Joy for me!'' gives Coleridge credit for being ''|rating=4.5|genre=Art|summary=George Engleheart was one of the first person to walk the mountains aloneleading portrait miniaturists of Georgian London, not because he had with a career lasting from the 1770s to for workthe Regency era. He was also one of the most prolific, as a minerpainting nearly 5, quarryman, shepherd or pack-horse driver000 miniatures altogether (over twenty of them being of King George III). Throughout most of that time he carefully recorded the names of each of his clients, but because he wanted to for pleasure and adventuresubsequently transcribed them into what is referred to as his fee book. His rapturous encounters with their natural beauty, and its literary consequences, changed our view }}{{Frontpage|isbn=Hewitt_Renoir|title=Renoir's Dancer: The Secret Life of the world''. [[O Joy for me! by Keir Davidson|Full Review]] <!-- Webley -->Suzanne Valadon|-author=Catherine Hewitt| stylerating="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|4.5[[image:1980891117.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1980891117/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Art| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[G Engleheart Pinxit 1805: A year Deep in the rural parts of France in the life of George Engleheart by John Webley]]=== [[image:41860s, you would never really expect to find someone who would come to embody a full artistic period – and not just a movement at that, but a full generation of both creative and societal change.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Art|Art]]And if you were to expect that someone, [[:Category:History|History]] George Engleheart was one they would like as not be male. But almost stumbling into the hedonistic culture of Montmartre came Marie-Clementine Valadon. She started in the leading portrait miniaturists of Georgian Londoncircus that first caught her teenaged eye, with a although her gymnastic career lasting from the 1770s to the Regency erawas short-lived. He But what she did have from that was also one of the most prolific, painting nearly 5,000 miniatures altogether (over twenty of poise to be an appealing model for some seriously important painters and a natural beauty and figure to appeal to both them being of King George III)and their audiences. Throughout most of that time he carefully recorded And what she also had, much to the names surprise of each many and the distaste of his clientssome, and subsequently transcribed them into what is referred to as his fee book. [[G Engleheart Pinxit 1805: A year in the life was artistic talent of George Engleheart by John Webley|Full Review]]her own…}} <!-- Hewitt -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=Murakami_Music| styletitle="widthAbsolutely on Music: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Conversations with Seiji Ozawa[[image:Hewitt_Renoir.jpg|left|linkauthor=https://wwwHaruki Murakami and Seiji Ozawa|rating=3.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1785782738?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1785782738]] 5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Art|summary===[[Renoir's Dancer: The Secret Life Murakami loves music, any reader of Suzanne Valadon by Catherine Hewitt]]=== [[image:4his could tell you as much.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Biography|Biography]], [[:Category:Art|Art]] Deep Norwegian Wood was named after a Beatles song (albeit one not very well known) and After Dark is framed by a music soundtrack in the rural parts a brilliant display of France in the 1860satmospheric setting. With this, you would never really expect to find someone all that love is here. And like all who would come to embody have a full artistic period – and not just a movement at thatgood taste in music, but a full generation of both creative Murakami's is eclectic and societal changevery well considered. And if you were to expect that someone, they would like as not be maleI found myself looking up musicians after reading this because I found many of his opinions quite convincing. But almost stumbling into }}{{Frontpage|isbn=Ravilious_Recent|title=The Recent Past|author=James Ravilious|rating=5|genre=Art|summary=James, son of the hedonistic culture of Montmartre came Marie-Clementine Valadonwar artist Eric Ravilious, inherited his father's artistic talents. She started in the circus that first caught her teenaged eyeAlthough he was a gifted painter, although her gymnastic his main career was short-lived. But what she did have from that was the poise to to be an appealing model for some seriously important painters, and as a natural beauty and figure to appeal to both them and their audiencesphotographer. And what she also had, much to the surprise }}{{Frontpage|isbn=Wood_Gothic|title=American Gothic: The Life of many Grant Wood|author=Susan Wood and the distaste of some, was artistic talent of her own… [[Renoir's Dancer: The Secret Life of Suzanne Valadon by Catherine HewittRoss MacDonald|Full Review] <!-- Murakami -->rating=4.5|-genre=Art| stylesummary="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Murakami_Music.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1784700142Who won a national prize for a crayon drawing of three oak leaves before he was properly in his teens?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1784700142]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa by Haruki Murakami Who sought acclaim as an artist and came to Europe to study from the greats, only to reject all they had to offer? Who instinctively knew a picture of his dentist (yes, his dentist) would be more appealing and say more to people than floating water lilies and Seiji Ozawa]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:frilly ballet dancers? The answer in all cases was Grant Wood, practically the most well-known painter in America at one time, and still the best, alongside Edward Hopper, at presenting his world minus any Modernist trappings.}}{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:ArtFrontpage|Art]]isbn=V&A_Patchwork|title=Patchwork and Quilting: A Maker's GuideMurakami loves music, any reader of his could tell you as much|author=Victoria and Albert Museum|rating=4. Norwegian Wood was named after 5|genre=Art|summary=Patchwork is a Beatles song (albeit one not very well known) magical craft: you can take relatively small pieces of material and turn them into another piece of material with an entirely different pattern. Quilting converts a topper and After Dark is framed by a music soundtrack backing fabric with some wadding in between into a brilliant display fabric of atmospheric settingan entirely different weight. With this all that love is here. And like all who Combine the two crafts and you have a good taste in musicsomething more than magical, Murakami's is eclectic and very well consideredoccasionally fashionable but always deeply satisfying. I found myself looking up musicians after reading this because I found But where to start, when there are so many different styles of his opinions quite convincing. [[Absolutely on Musicboth crafts? One answer is to read ''Patchwork and Quilting: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa by Haruki Murakami and Seiji Ozawa|Full Review]] <!A Maker's Guide'' which looks -as the cover says - Ravilious -->at styles from Italian trapunto to Korean jogakbo and then delivers fifteen projects inspired by the V&A collections.}}{{Frontpage|-isbn=Rutherford_Landscape| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Landscape Gardens|author=Sarah Rutherford[[image:Ravilious_Recent.jpg|leftrating=4|linkgenre=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1908524936?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1908524936]] Art| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Recent Past by James Ravilious]]=== [[image:5starMy first experience of a ''big'' garden was Versailles as a teenager and whilst I was impressed, I didn't really like it. I felt stifled and strangely underwhelmed by the flatness of it all.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[ As luck would have it I then saw Hampton Court and it was official:Category:Art|Art]] James, son of the war artist Eric Ravilious, inherited his father's artistic talentsI was off big gardens. It would be many years before I revised my opinion. Although he was On a gifted paintertrip to Harewood House, his main career it was too hot a day to be as corralled into the house, so I wandered the gardens and found they were delightful. I felt uplifted. Then a photographercricket match at Stowe gave me the opportunity to walk the grounds for over an hour. I was completely won over and a devotee of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. Sarah Rutherford's ''Landscape Gardens'' was an opportunity to put him in context.|Full Review]]}}<!-- Wood -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=Barrie_Peter| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Peter Pan and Wendy|author=J M Barrie and Robert Ingpen[[image:Wood_Gothic.jpg|leftrating=4|linkgenre=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1419725335?ieArt|summary=UTF8&tag=thebookbagIt's a childhood staple -21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1419725335]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[American Gothic: The Life of Grant Wood the story of Wendy, John and Michael Darling and their beloved nurse, Nana the Newfoundland dog who took them to school each day. It's George Darling, their father, who makes the mistake when he locks Nana in the yard and the children are whisked away to Neverland by Susan Wood Peter Pan and Ross MacDonald]]=== [[image:4Tinkerbell.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children'There's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]]a wonderful mix of characters, [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]from Peter Pan, [[:Category:Art|Art]] Who won a national prize for a crayon drawing the boy who never wants to grow up, Tinkerbell, the rather unpleasant fairy, Captain Hook, Tiger Lily, the lost boys and - of three oak leaves before he was properly course - Wendy, but then it wouldn't have been a classic since the original stage production in his teens? Who sought acclaim as an artist 1904 and came to Europe to study from the greats, only to reject all they had to offer? Who instinctively knew a picture novel of his dentist (yes, his dentist) would be more appealing and say more to people than floating water lilies and frilly ballet dancers? 1911 if it were otherwise.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Grahame_Wind|title=The answer Wind in The Willows|author=Kenneth Grahame and Robert Ingpen|rating=4|genre=Art|summary=Kenneth Grahame's ''The Wind in all cases was Grant Wood, practically the most well-known painter in America at Willows'' was one time, and still of the best, alongside Edward Hopper, at presenting his world minus any Modernist trappings. [[American Gothic: The Life defining books of Grant Wood by Susan Wood my childhood and Ross MacDonald|Full Review]] <!-- V&A -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-alignmore than sixty years after I first read the book I've just recently passed it onto another young reader. Since the book was first published in 1908 there have been some notable illustrators: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:V&A_Patchwork.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0500293260?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0500293260]]Paul Bransom provided illustrations for the 1913 edition, Ernest H Shepard (perhaps better known for his illustrations of ''Winnie the Pooh'') in 1933, Arthur Rackham (possibly the leading illustrator from the golden age of book illustration) in 1940 and Robert Ingpen who illustrated the centenary edition of ''The Wind in the Willows''.}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Jenkins_100|title===[[Patchwork and Quilting: A MakerBritain's Guide by Victoria and Albert Museum]]100 Best Railway Stations|author=Simon Jenkins|rating=5|genre=Art [[image:4.5star.jpg|link|summary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crafts|Crafts]]In the mid-twentieth century, [[:Category:Art|Art]] Patchwork is a magical craft: you can take relatively small pieces of material the railway was something which harked back to the Victorian age with trains being supplanted by cars and turn them into another piece of material with an entirely different pattern. Quilting converts a topper planes, but steam was being replaced by oil, even then and a backing fabric with some wadding in between into a fabric of an entirely different weight. Combine the two crafts and you have something more than magical, occasionally fashionable but always deeply satisfyingtwenty-first-century oil is giving way to electricity. But where to startIt's cleaner, when there are so many different styles of both crafts? One answer is more environmentally friendly and the stations which we'd all rushed through as quickly as possible, keen to read ''Patchwork escape their grime, were restored and Quilting: A Maker's Guide'' which looks - as the cover says - at styles from Italian trapunto became places to Korean jogakbo and then delivers fifteen projects inspired by the V&A collectionsbe admired, possibly even lingered in. Simon Jenkins has chosen his hundred best railway stations. [[Patchwork and Quilting: A Maker's Guide by Victoria and Albert Museum|Full Review]]}}<!-- Rutherford -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=Hurst_Norfolk| styletitle="widthOn My Way: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Norfolk Coastal Walks|author=John Hurst|rating=4[[image:Rutherford_Landscape.jpg|leftgenre=Art|linksummary=httpsIt was pure serendipity://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1445669935?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbagafter a five-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1445669935]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: hour drive, we were, annoyingly, left;"|===[[Landscape Gardens by Sarah Rutherford]]=== [[image:4starwith an hour to fill in Blakeney before we could have the keys to our holiday cottage.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Art|Art]] My first experience There was an art exhibition in the church hall, so we went in - and found a display of a ''bigthe most gorgeous pictures. I'' garden was Versailles as a teenager d cheerfully have bought every one and whilst I was impressedhung them on our walls, but thought that I didn't really like it. I felt stifled and strangely underwhelmed by the flatness would have to make do with a couple of it all. As luck would have it greetings cards when I then saw Hampton Court and it was official''On My Way: Norfolk Coastal Walks'' and I was off big gardenscouldn't resist buying it. It would be many years before I revised my opinion. On a trip to Harewood House it }}{{Frontpage|isbn=Blackburn_Threads|title=Threads: The Delicate Life of John Craske|author=Julia Blackburn|rating=4|genre=Art|summary=John Craske was too hot a day to be corralled into the housefisherman, from a family of fishermen, so I wandered who became too ill to go to sea. He was born in Sheringham on the gardens north Norfolk coast in 1881 and found they were delightful. I felt upliftedwould eventually die in the Norwich hospital in 1943 after a life which could have been defined by ill health. Then a cricket match at Stowe gave me the opportunity to walk the grounds There were various explanations for over an hour. I what ailed him, what caused him to sink into a stupor, sometimes for years at a time and he was completely won over and a devotee of Lancelot on occasions described as 'Capabilityan imbecile' Brown. Sarah Rutherford's ''Landscape Gardens'' was an opportunity But John had a natural artistic talent, albeit that his work had to put him be done on the available surfaces in contexthis home. [[Landscape Gardens by Sarah Rutherford|Full Review]] <!Chair seats, window sills, the backs of doors all carried his wonderful pictures of the sea. Then he moved on to embroidery, producing wonderful pictures of the Norfolk coast -- Barrie -->and, most famously, of the evacuation at Dunkirk.}}|-{{Frontpage| styleisbn="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Bray Titania[[image:Barrie_Peter.jpg|left|linktitle=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1786750856?ieTitania and Oberon|author=UTF8&tagJo Manton, Phyllis Bray and David Buckman |rating=thebookbag-21&linkCode4|genre=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1786750856]] Art| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Peter Pan ''Equus, Waiting for Godot and Wendy by J M Barrie A Mid-summer Night's Dream'' – three very distinctive plays, and Robert Ingpen]]=== [[image:4starmy favourite three, out of which you won't often get me choosing just one.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:For Sharing|For Sharing]]But were I to do so, [[:Category:Art|Art]] It's a childhood staple - it might actually be the story of Wendylast, John for the simple reason that I would delight in playing any and Michael Darling and their beloved nurse, Nana the Newfoundland dog who took them to school each dayall characters from it. It's George DarlingYes, their father, who makes the mistake when he locks Nana in the yard I know Hermia and Helena look a bit implausible now – but I put it to you stranger things happen on stage… Some of the children are whisked away to Neverland by Peter Pan strangest things involve a player himself, a lowly actor who gets given an ass's head and Tinkerbellis forced to be enamoured of a fairy queen. ThereIt's a wonderful mix this section of characters, from Peter Panthe play that this book concentrates on, the boy who never wants to grow upin quite stunning form.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=BM_Origami|title=Origami, Tinkerbell, the rather unpleasant fairy, Captain Hook, Tiger Lily, the lost boys and - Poems and Pictures|author=The British Museum|rating=5|genre=Art|summary=Sometimes you find a delight of course - Wendya book. On an afternoon when it was unseasonably cold and decidedly wet I discovered ''Origami, but then it wouldnPoems and Pictures''t have been a classic since the original stage production in 1904 and the novel of 1911 if it were otherwiseI was transported to Japan. [[Peter Pan As the title suggests we're looking at three celebrated arts and Wendy by J M Barrie crafts: the ancient art of paper folding, haiku poetry and Robert Ingpen|Full Review]] <!-- Grahame -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Grahame_Windpainting.jpg|left|link=httpsI'll confess that it was the origami which caught my attention, but I was surprised by the extent to which the rest of the book caught my imagination. We begin with something very simple://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1786751062?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1786751062]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Wind a boat and in The Willows by Kenneth Grahame case you're worried, all the entries have a degree of difficulty (from 'simple' through to 'tricky') and Robert Ingpen]]===this one is at the lowest level. }}'[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident ReadersFrontpage|Confident Readers]], [[:Category:Artisbn=Foreman_Travel|Art]]title=Travels With My SketchbookKenneth Grahame|author=Michael Foreman|rating=4|genre=Art|summary=I guess the best children's ''The Wind in the Willows'' was one literature can do away with complete veracity, as long as it has something about it that is recognisable – a little of the defining books spirit, heart and character of my childhood and more than sixty years after I first read the book I've just recently passed real thing, whatever it onto another young readermay be. Since And if that's the book was first published in 1908 there have been some notable illustratorscase then it definitely applies to children's literature illustrations, such as those provided close on two hundred times by [[: Paul Bransom provided illustrations for Category:Michael Foreman|Michael Foreman]]. This prolific artist leapt at a scholarship in the 1913 editionUS when he'd completed his official, Ernest H Shepard (perhaps better known for his illustrations of ''Winnie the Pooh'') in 1933formal studies, Arthur Rackham (possibly and it would appear – huge credits list regardless – that he's never stopped moving since, as this book takes us to all corners of the leading illustrator from the golden age of book illustration) in 1940 world, and Robert Ingpen who illustrated the centenary edition of ''The Wind in the Willows''back home again. [[The Wind in The Willows by Kenneth Grahame and Robert Ingpen|Full Review]]}}<!-- Jenkins -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=ISBN| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"BOOK|author=AUTHOR[[image:Jenkins_100.jpg|leftrating=4|linkgenre=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/024197898X?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASINArt|summary=024197898X]]}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Biesty Trains|title===[[BritainStephen Biesty's 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins]]===Trains [[image:5star.jpg|linkauthor=Category:{{{Ian Graham and Stephen Biesty|rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Reference=5|Reference]], [[:Category:genre=Art|Art]]summary=Trains look imposing, [[:Category:Travel|Travel]] In but true fans (little boys, usually from about three years old and upwards) want to know what lies beneath the mid twentieth century the railway was something skin which harked back you can see. They want to the Victorian age know how it works. Getting to grips with trains being supplanted by cars and planesone in real life is quite a big ask, but steam was being replaced by oil, even then and in the twenty-first century oil is giving way to electricity. Itthe next best thing is ''Stephen Biesty's cleaner, more environmentally friendly Trains'' which features trains from all over the world and spanning the stations which we'd all rushed early steam train (complete with cowcatcher) right through as quickly as possible, keen to escape their grime, were restored the trains of the future which can reach a speed of 430 kph and became places to be admired, possibly don't even lingered inrun on rails. Simon Jenkins has chosen his hundred best railway stations. [[Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations Once the train reaches a speed of 150 kph the wheels are raised and the train is held up by Simon Jenkins|Full Review]]magnetic forces alone.}}<!-- Hurst -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=Cumming_Vanishing| styletitle="width: 10%; verticalThe Vanishing Man -align: top; text-align: center;"In Search of Velazquez|author=Laura Cumming[[image:Hurst_Norfolk.jpg|leftrating=4|linkgenre=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/095444003X?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=095444003X]] Art| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[On My Way: Norfolk Coastal Walks by Pitching up at an auction and picking up a lost masterpiece for a pittance is the dream for most art lovers. That seemingly happy circumstance happened to bookseller John Hurst]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Art|Art]],[[:Category:Sport|Sport]] It was pure serendipity: after a five-hour drive we were, annoyingly, left with an hour to fill in Blakeney before we could have the keys to our holiday cottage. There was an art exhibition in the church hall, so we went in - and found a display of the most gorgeous pictures. I'd cheerfully have bought every one and hung them on our walls, but thought that I would have to make do with a couple of greetings cards when I saw ''On My Way: Norfolk Coastal Walks'' and I couldn't resist buying it. [[On My Way: Norfolk Coastal Walks by John Hurst|Full Review]] <!-- Blackburn -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Blackburn_Threads.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0099582198?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0099582198]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Threads: The Delicate Life of John Craske by Julia Blackburn]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Biography|Biography]], [[:Category:Art|Art]] John Craske was a fisherman, from a family of fishermen, who became too ill to go to sea. He was born in Sheringham on the north Norfolk coast in 1881 and would eventually die in the Norwich hospital in 1943 after a life which could have been defined by ill health. There were various explanations for what ailed him, what caused him to sink into a stupour, sometimes for years at a time and he was on occasions described as 'an imbecile'. But John had a natural artistic talent, albeit that his work had to be done on the available surfaces in his home. Chair seats, window sills, the backs of doors all carried his wonderful pictures of the sea. Then he moved on to embroidery, producing wonderful pictures of the Norfolk coast - and, most famously, of the evacuation at Dunkirk. [[Threads: The Delicate Life of John Craske by Julia Blackburn|Full Review]] <!-- Bray -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Bray Titania.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/184365329X?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=184365329X]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Titania and Oberon by Jo Manton, Phyllis Bray and David Buckman]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]], [[:Category:Art|Art]] ''Equus, Waiting for Godot and A Mid-summer Night's Dream'' – three very distinctive plays, and my favourite three, out of which you won't often get me choosing just one. But were I to do so, it might actually be the last, for the simple reason I would delight in playing any and all characters from it. Yes, I know Hermia and Helena look a bit implausible now – but I put it to you stranger things happen on stage… Some of the strangest things involve a player himself, a lowly actor who gets given an ass's head and is forced to be the enamoured of a fairy queen. It's this section of the play that this book concentrates on, in quite stunning form. [[Titania and Oberon by Jo Manton, Phyllis Bray and David Buckman|Full Review]] <!-- BM-->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:BM_Origami.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0857639382?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0857639382]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Origami, Poems and Pictures by The British Museum]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crafts|Crafts]], [[:Category:Art|Art]] Sometimes you find a delight of a book. On an afternoon when it was unseasonably cold and decidedly wet I discovered ''Origami, Poems and Pictures'' and I was transported to Japan. As the title suggests we're looking at three celebrated arts and crafts: the ancient art of paper folding, haiku poetry and painting. I'll confess that it was the origami which caught my attention, but I was surprised by the extent to which the rest of the book caught my imagination. We begin with something very simple: a boat and in case you're worried, all the entries have a degree of difficulty (from 'simple' through to 'tricky') and this one is at the lowest level. [[Origami, Poems and Pictures by The British Museum|Full Review]] <!-- Foreman -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Foreman_Travel.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1783704721?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1783704721]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Travels With My Sketchbook by Michael Foreman]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Art|Art]], [[:Category:Travel|Travel]] I guess the best children's literature can do away with complete veracity, as long as it has something about it that is recognisable – a little of the spirit, heart and character of the real thing, whatever it may be. And if that's the case then it definitely applies to children's literature illustrations, such as those provided close on two hundred times by [[:Category:Michael Foreman|Michael Foreman]]. This prolific artist leapt at a scholarship in the US when he'd completed his official, formal studies, and it would appear – huge credits list regardless – that he's never stopped moving since, as this book takes us to all corners of the world, and back home again. [[Travels With My Sketchbook by Michael Foreman|Full Review]] <!-- Biesty -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Biesty Trains.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1783704241?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1783704241]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Stephen Biesty's Trains by Ian Graham and Stephen Biesty]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Art|Art]], [[:Category:Travel|Travel]], [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]] Trains look imposing, but true fans (little boys, usually from about three years old and upwards) want to know what lies beneath the skin which you can see. They want to know how it works. Getting to grips with one in real life is quite a big ask, but the next best thing is ''Stephen Biesty's Trains'' which features trains from all over the world and spanning the early steam train (complete with cow catcher) right through to the trains of the future which can reach a speed of 430 kph and don't even run on rails. Once the train reaches a speed of 150 kph the wheels are raised and the train is held up by magnetic forces alone. [[Stephen Biesty's Trains by Ian Graham and Stephen Biesty|Full Review]] <!-- Cumming -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Cumming_Vanishing.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0099587041?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0099587041]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Vanishing Man - In Search of Velazquez by Laura Cumming]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Art|Art]], [[:Category:Biography|Biography]] Pitching up at an auction and picking up a lost masterpiece for a pittance is the dream for most art lovers. That seemingly happy circumstance happened to bookseller John Snare at a sale in 1845 and is the centrepiece to Laura Cumming's excellent ''The Vanishing Man – In Pursuit of Velazquez''.[[The Vanishing Man - In Search of Velazquez by Laura Cumming|Full Review]] <!-- Hustvedt -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Hustvedt_woman.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1473638895?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1473638895]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women: Essays on Art, Sex and the Mind by Siri Hustvedt]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Politics and Society|Politics and Society]], [[:Category:Art|Art]] I must confess that ''A Woman Looking'' spoke to me on a profound, intimate level. This is in part due to the apparent similarities between me and Siri Hustvedt- we are both feminists who love art and also love science in a world which emphasises that these two passions are mutually exclusive. What Hustvedt suggests in A Woman Looking is that it is the similarities between these two areas we should emphasise and that a cohesive, inclusive approach towards art and science could help fill the gaps in both disciplines. One of the unfortunate similarities shared by both art and science is a general inhospitality towards women. This critique is not new, it has been emphasised by women from Suffragettes to Guerrilla Girls and recent research has highlighted the difficulties faced by women in STEM careers, however the fact that this remains an ongoing concern only highlights that further discussion is necessary. Discussion is what Hustvedt provides, balanced yet concerned, coherent but also impassioned. This critique of entrenched sexism is a recurrent theme in each section of the book and is one Snare at a sale in 1845 and is the centrepiece to Laura Cumming's excellent ''The Vanishing Man – In Pursuit of the most important elements of her workVelazquez''. [[A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women: Essays on Art, Sex and the Mind by Siri Hustvedt|Full Review]] <!-- DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->|}}