Features

Check out the full lists of interviews, top tens and articles.

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Giles Milton

Here at Bookbag we're great admirers of Giles Milton. He writes great fiction, wonderful children's books and we've just enjoyed his latest history book. The chance to talk to him was just too good to miss. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Alma Katsu

We loved Alma Katsu's novel The Taker and couldn't resist the opportunity to ask her how she produced something quite so stunning. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Harry Leslie Smith

We thought that the first volume of Harry's autobiography 1923: A Memoir was a remarkable piece of writing and the opportunity to ask Harry some questions was just too good to miss. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Jon Mayhew

We loved The Demon Collector by Jon Mayhew, his follow-up to Mortlock. We couldn't resist the opportunity to ask him some questions. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg February 2011 Newsletter

Hello! Happy February!

What do we think to library closures then? Are we not too worried? After all, people are able to buy books for a penny at Amazon and tuppence or threepence at The Book People these days. And anyway, we'll all be reading via download soon, won't we? Why do we still need libraries? That's the argument, isn't it?

Unsurprisingly, we at Bookbag don't agree. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Melissa Wareham

We loved Take Me Home: Tales of Battersea Dogs by Melissa Wareham, her stories of what life in Battersea Dogs is really like, especially adapted for children. We couldn't resist the opportunity to ask her some questions. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Malcolm Fawbert and Asa Jones

Malcolm Fawbert has just published his first children's book whilst under the name of Asa Jones he's brought out his first novel for adults. We couldn't resist the opportunity to get both his alter egos into one room and ask them a few questions! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Victoria L Thompson

Victoria L Thompson's Midnight Mischief is a fun romp through space, to rescue Pluto from those pesky aliens. It's got strong rhymes throughout and engaging illustrations. We couldn't wait to interview Victoria! Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg January 2011 Newsletter

Hello! Happy New Year!

How was your Christmas? We had rather marvellous ones, helped along by our new Kindles. We're all used to this new reading experience now, and we're feeling very positive about ebooks. Although we are still miffed about them being VAT-able. Still, you can't have everything.

We also broke out the bubbly when some kindly soul became our 4,000th Twitter follower. It's very gratifying to think that more than 4,000 people are interested in what we have to say. Perhaps they're just being kind! If you'd like site updates more often than once a month via this newsletter, then why not join the throng? Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Dan Abnett

Dan Abnett's Primeval: Extinction Event is a perfect tie-in novel with lots of Cretaceous critters for fans, and a very good action fantasy for anyone else. We couldn't wait to interview him! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Savita Kalhan

Savita Kalhan's The Long Weekend is an incredibly tense thriller with a really important message about 'stranger danger'. We leapt at the opportunity to interview her. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To John Saunders

John Saunders' The Vernham Chronicles is set in the beautiful countryside of Vernbury Vale. There you'll meet the villagers of Vernham. They're distinctly odd but we promise that you'll like them. We were delighted to interview John about his humorous stories. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Richard Denning

Richard Denning's Tomorrow's Guardian is an action-filled children's story about the quest to save two universes, that will really appeal to many younger readers, especially if they're interested in history. We couldn't wait to interview him! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Philip Threadneedle

The Astronaut's Apprentice by Philip Threadneedle is a hoot of a jaunt through space for tweens with Grandpa, Bradley and Headlice. We couldn't resist the opportunity to ask Philip Threadneedle some questions. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg November 2010 Newsletter

Hello! It's that time of year. You know the one. The obsessive time during which you simply cannot find a space free of festive features. The time of relentless commercialism disguising the season's real message of goodwill to all men. We're not sure where one finds all this goodwill amongst the adverts, are you? Or is that too cynical? There is goodwill, of course, but it does tend to get buried under the flurries of suggestions for things to buy. Well, Bookbag's no different. Read more...

Amazon Kindle

Are ebooks the future of books? Is it the right time to get an ebook reader? We thought about it long and hard. Yes we did. We don't often think about things this long or this hard, because it hurts. But sometimes, cogitations are necessary. We wouldn't be here at Bookbag if we didn't love books but we knew that more and more people were enjoying ebooks. It was time to find out what it was really like to have up to 3,500 books in your pocket or your bag. 3,500! Yikes! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Mary E Martin

The Drawing Lesson is the first book in Mary E Martin's Trilogy of Remembrance. We thoroughly enjoyed the book and took the opportunity to ask Mary some questions. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To H A Goodman

Logic of Demons: The Quest for Nadine's Soul by H A Goodman is a helterskelter ride through the afterlife that asks the reader to think about the consequences - intended and unintended - of their actions. It's a highly imaginative, sometimes touching, story, told with great pace and enthusiasm. We couldn't resist the opportunity to ask H A Goodman some questions. Read more...

Top Ten Historical Novels of 2010

We love a bit of historical fiction here at Bookbag. It's a wide genre, ranging from a bit of escapist reading to serious social comment. And the past often has a great deal to tell us about the present, so it can be instructive too. Here are our favourite historical novels from 2010. Why not tell us about yours? Read more...

Top Ten Teen Books of 2010

Actually, that title should read Top Ten Teen Books Jill Read in 2010. And she's read a few. These are her favouritest of favourites and it was a tough choice. She's discounted books that were part of a series - perhaps a bit tough, but otherwise she'd still be choosing. Why not tell us about yours? Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Marcus Chown

We've always enjoyed Marcus Chown's work, from Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You to his children's book Felicity Frobisher and the Three-headed Aldebaran Dust Devil. After devouring We Need To Talk About Kelvin, we leapt at the opportunity to ask Marcus some questions. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg October 2010 Newsletter

Right. This month we are avoiding all talk of politics and spending cuts. Now the Chilean miners have been rescued - did you cry? We did - what we need is a good book to take our minds off all the cuts doom and gloom, which has been going on since forever and a day. Just do it already!

Have you heard of the British Library's web archive? It's a thing we've been meaning to tell you about for a long time and failed miserably in getting around to. Basically, it's a collection sites of cultural, historical and political importance to the UK and you can have a look at it here. Part of the plan is to keep a record of how the web has evolved over the years by taking 6-monthly snapshots of a selection of cultural websites. And guess what? Bookbag is included in the blog section - are we a blog? - and snapshots of our site have been archived for posterity since 2008. It tickles us pink to think that we've been included. Take a look - the whole website is just fascinating! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Lorraine Jenkin

Lorraine Jenkin has long been one of our favourite authors here at Bookbag Towers and we couldn't resist the opportunity to ask her a few questions. Read more...

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2010

Following hot on the footsteps of last year's winner, Exposure by Mal Peet, comes another wonderful selection of children's books in the 2010 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Mick O'Hare

The New Scientist's annual books of answers to tantalising questions have always entertained and educated us here at Bookbag, so the opportunity to interview Mick O'Hare about this year's offering - Why Can't Elephants Jump? was too good to miss. Read more...

Man Booker Prize 2010

We know that the judges are going to have a difficult time in choosing a winner - we wouldn't like to have their job! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To L A Weatherly

If you're into that whole paranormal romance thing, you're going to love Angel by L A Weatherly. It's a breathtaking helter-skelter of a story in which two young people learn to trust in and love one another as they battle predatory angels. L A Weatherly is doing the rounds on a blog tour and she kindly called in on Bookbag. We persuaded her to tell us all about Angel and how she came to write it. Oh, and if you've happened along before the closing date (31 October 2010), hurry over to the review page, because you could win yourself a copy! Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg September 2010 Newsletter

Have you bought a Kindle or another e-reader or an iPad? We Bookbaggers haven't - yet. It's not that we're Luddites. We're waiting until things settle down, everyone's stopped arguing and we can see the lie of the land. There's much to tempt us in electronic books and a lighter suitcase when we go on holiday is only the beginning. Imagine the richness possible. Imagine the convenience. And - hopefully - imagine the better prices we're all going to get. Well, we are, aren't we?

But let's face it. We readers might be ready, but is the product? Too many electronic books are badly designed, little more than a scan of the print version. What a waste. The publishers do need to catch up. And what's going to happen with DRM? Will we have to stop passing our books on to friends and family? And as web publishers, what about our review copies? The finished ones? Will we have to stop donating them to school libraries? Has anybody thought this through? Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Andy Mulligan

You will probably know Andy Mulligan best for Ribblestrop, his wonderfully absurdist comedy set in a boarding school. Now he's turned his attention to social issues and mystery adventures in Trash, a gorgeous fable that is bound to win awards. You shouldn't miss it. Andy was kind enough to have a chat with us. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Leigh Hodgkinson

Bookbag has long loved Leigh Hodgkinson's work with its unique design and great sense of humour. When Limelight Larry and Scrummy! were both released in close proximity, we couldn't resist the opportunity to ask her a few questions. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Ken Howard

Ken Howard's The Young Chieftain is a really unusual story about an American boy who finds himself on a remote Scottish island in the middle of a clan conflict. It's easy to read, but with several layers to peel back. We loved the mix of modernity and tradition and jumped at the chance to ask Ken some questions about writing it. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Rebecca Elliott

Bookbag really enjoyed Milo's Pet Egg and jumped at the chance to ask Rebecca Elliott some questions. We're delighted we did as she's provided some fascinating responses! We've subsequently read Just Because which we loved all the more, and Cub's First Winter which also really charmed us. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg August 2010 Newsletter

Hello! How are you? We're all good here at Bookbag Towers. Jill is dealing with a glut of runner beans. Sue is enjoying her new office. Keith is making new pals in deepest Wales. And we're all reading lots and lots of lovely books.

As we now have more than four thousand reviews on the site, we were wondering how you prefer to navigate them, and so we thought we'd tell you about our recommendations page this month. It gives some good options for finding a book you'd really like to read. If you're into all things new, you can check out the newest reviews sorted by category. If it's themes you're looking for, try our extensive list of top tens. The highest rated reviews by genre are the creme de la creme, although if you like browsing a bit more broadly, then you'll enjoy rummaging through all the 5 star reviews. On the other hand, if you're feeling lucky, you can just read a random review. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Alan Durant

Bookbag fell head over heels in love with Unfortunately by Alan Durant and Simon Rickerty - unfortunately we can't stop reading it, but fortunately it's super. We leapt at the opportunity to ask Alan Durant some questions. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg July 2010 Newsletter

It's windy and rainy today, here at Bookbag Towers. What's going on? Where's our sunshine? Do we have to leave the shores of this sceptr'd isle to catch some rays, always, every single time? Sometimes, it sure does feel like it. Jill doesn't mind: she's swanning off to Tuscany for a fortnight, and it's bound to be hot there, right? Right?!

We've been taking stock this month. We're not far away from a site containing five thousand book reviews and approaching that milestone has pulled us up short. At Bookbag's birth five years ago, if you'd told us Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To David Gatward

Bookbag thought The Dark, a book of zombie horror positioning itself firmly in the Darren Shan market, provided strong characters, an interesting premise and a wonderful sufficiency of gore. So, naaturally, we enjoyed asking David Gatward all about writing it. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Melanie Welsh

Bookbag thought Mistress of the Storm was full of seafaring adventure, mystery and intrigue. Naturally, we jumped at the chance to shiver some timbers and buckle some swash with her. This is what we talked about! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Heather Gudenkauf

Bookbag found The Weight of Silence to be an impressive debut with plenty of suspense and unexpected twists. We were delighted by the opportunity to ask Heather Gudenkauf some questions about it. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg June 2010 Newsletter

Vuvuzelas, eh? Who'd 'ave 'em? Personally, here at Bookbag Towers, we prefer vuvuzelas to the World Cup but even we know that's a sacrilegious remark and so we shall say no more about it...

... ahem.

Possibly a more constructive topic is holiday reading. Do you pack books? Or do you rely on airport potboilers? Or stick to newspapers and magazines? We Bookbaggers obviously have a separate piece of luggage just for our books, and we carry it everywhere we go, no matter how heavy it gets. Fancy being stuck on holiday with nothing to read! Now that is sacrilege! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Joel Stewart

Bookbag has really enjoyed Joel Stewart's recent work, including Dexter Bexley And The Big Blue Beastie On The Road and Have You Ever Seen A Sneep? We were delighted when he agreed to answer some of our questions. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Anthony Browne

Bookbag has long loved Anthony Browne's work - particularly Little Beauty. After being enthralled by the Children's Laureate's latest offering, Me and You, we jumped at the chance to ask him some questions. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Joanne Owen

Bookbag was really intrigued by The Alchemist and the Angel by Joanne Owen. It's a rather unique historical fantasy, well-researched and bursting with fascinating detail. Those with a taste for colourful and slightly gothic folklore will love it, and Bookbag was delighted to ask Joanne Owen some questions. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Pete Johnson

Bookbag really enjoyed The Vampire Blog by Pete Johnson, with its one liners and a horror element at a level perfect for late primary school readers. We jumped at the opportunity to interview Pete Johnson, and are glad we did: there's an exclusive revelation about a sequel! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Mavis Cheek

We thought that Mavis Cheek's Truth to Tell was a good story, thought-provoking, beautifully written and laugh out loud funny in places. We wondered what more we could want and decided that we couldn't resist the opportunity to ask Mavis a few questions. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg May 2010 Newsletter

The good: huzzah! The sun has finally come out.

The bad: spending cuts are upon us.

The ugly: there's worse in the offing.

But fret ye not: there is a silver lining in every cloud and we at Bookbag Towers see a good book as the best response to all of the above. Books don't cost a great deal of money and most of us can afford to buy them, even in these straitened times. And even if we can't, we can always go to the library. And what better way to spend an afternoon than reading a good book in a sunny garden? You see? A good book. The answer to everything. And there's plenty to choose from on the site at the moment, so if you haven't paid us a visit lately, do come along and have a look. We've reviewed 84 books this month alone. Read more...

Carnegie Medal Shortlist 2010

We know that the judges are going to have a difficult time in choosing a winner - we wouldn't like to have their job! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Gregory Hughes

Gregory Hughes's Unhooking the Moon came straight at us of leftfield and is one of our favourite books of the year so far. It's a bittersweet road trip of a novel, featuring a loyal brother, a street hustler, a cigar smuggler, a chart-topping rapper, some goddamn paedophiles, and the most entrancing central character you're ever likely to meet. Unsurprisingly, we jumped at the chance of asking Gregory a few questions. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg April 2010 Newsletter

We've been reading like crazy this month as the books have been pouring in - and there have been some very positive reviews from very satisfied reviewers, so do come visit. There's bound to be something you like. Overall, we're feeling rather happy here at Bookbag Towers. We have good books to read. The sun has come out. We weren't abroad when the volcanic ash cloud hit and we didn't know anybody that was, either - although we did feel very sorry for the poor people who were. Volcanos, eh? Who'd 'ave 'em? Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Anthony McGowan

Bookbag has always loved Anthony McGowan's work, including The Knife That Killed Me and Henry Tumour. After laughing throughout his latest work (Einstein's Underpants - And How They Saved The World) we couldn't resist the opportunity to ask him some questions. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg March 2010 Newsletter

Looking forward to the Easter break? We certainly are - and if someone doesn't buy Jill an egg from Montezuma's this year, her nearest and dearest are going to be very, very sorry. We have been busy fund-raising for Sport Relief, gadding about in London meeting publicists and going to birthday parties, and helping our heirs to plan gap year expeditions to Borneo - interestingly, we've also read two gap year novels recently, In the Trees by Pauline Fisk and The Island by Sarah Singleton. They're very different books, but they're both great. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Julie Cohen

Julie Cohen's Nina Jones and the Temple of Gloom is funny, quirky, compelling and intelligent - chick lit at its best - so we jumped at the opportunity to interview her. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg February 2010 Newsletter

Hello, hello, hello! How are you? Less snowy than when we last spoke? Good, so are we. It's fun for a day or so, that white stuff, isn't it? After that though, it just becomes a slog. We at Bookbag are clinging to the hope that the fabled barbeque summer comes a year late, and 2010 will be a scorcher. A little bit of snow and a lot of sunshine, that's what we like. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Ellie Sandall

Ellie Sandall's Birdsong features a superb rhyme woven around lots of different bird calls. It's a picture book that any young book fan will love, so we jumped at the opportunity to interview her. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Gary Blackwood

Bookbag devoured Gary Blackwood's Mysterious Messages - A History of Codes and Ciphers and couldn't resist the opportunity to ask him a few questions. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg November 2009 Newsletter

Firstly, an apology: if you have visited us and had problems over the last few weeks, then we are very sorry. We had some problems (you might even call them arguments) with our hosting company and we have now moved to a home that is much more welcoming. It's more suited to our needs and we're sure there won't be any more of that nasty downtime getting in your way of a good book recommendation or two. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Paul Howard

Bookbag really enjoyed Paul Howard's illustrations in The Penguin Who Wanted To Find Out and couldn't resist the opportunity to ask him a few questions. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Hilary McKay

Bookbag really enjoyed Hilary McKay's Wishing For Tomorrow (the sequel to A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett) and couldn't resist the opportunity to ask her a few questions. Read more...

Top Ten Picture Books For Halloween

Boo! If our Top Ten Books For Children Who Love To Be Scared Silly was too... well, scary for you, then this is the selection for you. There are witches, pumpkins and black cats in abundance, so the littlest ones can join in with the Halloween fun, but there's nothing that'll give them nightmares. Why not tell us about your favourites? Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg October 2009 Newsletter

Hi again from Bookbag Towers. The banner headline this month: one of us had suspected swine flu. Nobody will actually give you a diagnosis though, so you lay sweating and shivering on the sofa and take your Tamiflu, but you've no idea at all whether or not you'll have to go through it all again when you actually do get it. Bah. The other banner headline, of course, is that the Booker judges met with our approval this year by giving Wolf Hall the big prize. If you haven't read it yet, you really are remiss. It's an absolutely wonderful book and will stay with you for a long, long time. Read more...

Top Ten Books For Your Girlfriend

Whether it's a birthday, Christmas, or just a random occasion to tell her you love her, books make great presents for girlfriends. Yes, yes, we know we're playing up to all the stereotypes with historical fiction, romance, celebrities, and lashings of chick lit, but you know she's going to enjoy them. If it's an anniversary and she's looking to get you a gift too, then make sure to point her in the direction of our Top Ten Books For Your Boyfriend. Why not tell us about your favourite books to get for your girlfriend? Read more...

Top Ten Books For Your Boyfriend

Whether it's a birthday, Christmas, or just a random occasion to tell him you love him, books make great presents for boyfriends. Yes, yes, we know we're playing up to all the stereotypes with books about sport, music, trivia and everyone's favourite secret agent, but you know he's going to enjoy them. If it's an anniversary and he's looking to get you a gift too, then make sure to point him in the direction of our Top Ten Books For Your Girlfriend. Why not tell us about your favourite books to get for your boyfriend? Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Ian Stewart

Bookbag loved Ian Stewart's Hoard of Mathematical Treasures and couldn't resist the opportunity to ask him a few questions. We're delighted we did, as his answers are fascinating! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To David Barrie

Bookbag was impressed by David Barrie's debut novel, Wasp-Waisted and couldn't resist the opportunity to ask him a few questions. Read more...

Top Ten Books To Drag The Kids Away From Computer Games For Ten Minutes At Least

Truth be told, we like computer games - they're great fun, a good way to let off steam, and man cannot survive on books alone. (What we don't like are Bluetooth headsets providing a constant commentary - eldest Murphy son, take note). There are times when tweens and teens need to be dragged away from the computer games though, and these books will keep them entertained and quiet when you're looking for a peaceful afternoon without an endless barrage of bleeps and explosions in the background. Some are high octane, some are a bit more thoughtful, but they're all gripping thrillers. Why not tell us about your favourites? Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg September 2009 Newsletter

It's been a stressful month at Bookbag Towers. Our host's server had a major malfunction and we spent several days trying to sort out the aftermath of being hurriedly moved to a new one. After much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth - Jill's children retired to their bedrooms with sandbags, and Sue's dogs did much the same - we think it's all ok now. We're very sorry if you experienced an interruption to service and we hope you'll forgive us. We promise to make it up to you, we do. Starting with our features section, which has the low down on this year's Booker prize. Jill is rooting for the utterly sublime Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. What would you like to see win it? Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To K S Turner

Bookbag thinks that Kate Turner's Before the Gods is something rather special and we couldn't resist the opportunity to ask her a few questions. Read more...

Man Booker Prize 2009

We have reviews of all the books on the longlist and we'll let you know the winner as soon as we hear! Read more...

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