Book Reviews From The Bookbag
Hello from The Bookbag, a book review site, featuring books from all the many walks of literary life - fiction, biography, crime, cookery and anything else that takes our fancy. At Bookbag Towers the bookbag sits at the side of the desk. It's the bag we take to the library and the bookshop. Sometimes it holds the latest releases, but at other times there'll be old favourites, books for the children, books for the home. They're sometimes our own books or books from the local library. They're often books sent to us by publishers and we promise to tell you exactly what we think about them. You might not want to read through a full review, so we'll give you a quick review which summarises what we felt about the book and tells you whether or not we think you should buy or borrow it. There are also lots of author interviews, and all sorts of top tens - all of which you can find on our features page. If you're stuck for something to read, check out the recommendations page.
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The Masters of Manton: From Alec Taylor to George Todd by Paul Mathieu
'Manton' is one of those iconic names in horse racing: the yard on the edge of the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire and currently the home of trainer [http://www.brianmeehanatmanton.com/index.php/ Full review...
Egg by Alex T Smith
Egg rolls up to the house of the wicked Foxy DuBois. Foxy invites Egg in - she's always very kind to strangers - but she's got a glint in her eye, and has devilish plans for what she's going to do to the little egg. The clues are there: recipe books, and pictures of fried eggs adorning her walls. Be careful, Egg! Full review...
A Boy Called M.O.U.S.E by Penny Dolan
There seem to be a lot of Victorian adventures around at the moment: the combination of neglect, poverty and fiercely-protected social divisions typical of the age allows evil and greed to flourish, and creates wonderful situations for adventure. And this book is an excellent example of the genre, with its wide range of characters both good and bad, and its child hero who must suffer and struggle as he travels through a multitude of colourful settings before reaching his goal. Full review...
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
This is a thumping, great read at 850 pages. We meet a clutch of families who are all vastly different in terms of class, outlook, values etc. I have to admit at the outset that this is the first Ken Follett book I've read even although two of his previous books are in my ever-growing 'to read' pile. So although I know of him, my reading expectations were wide-open. Full review...
Full Circle by Ellen MacArthur
It's some years since I read Taking on the World and – against all expectations thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not a sailor and don't have a great deal of interest in yacht racing – but what appealed to me immediately was the character of someone who was determined not to let anything stand in the way of her ambitions. My only disappointment came later as I felt that the book had been written too soon – I really wanted to know about that big race and what you do with the future when you've done everything. How lucky did I feel when Full Circle landed on my desk? Full review...
When Titus Took The Train by Anne Cottringer and Sarah McIntyre
Titus is going on a train journey all by himself. His mum and dad have given him his lunch, books and games, and seen him off at the station. The guard will keep an eye on him on the journey, and Uncle Henry will meet him at the other end. Nothing could possibly go wrong. ...Unless, of course, the train is attacked by bandits, chased by a Tyrannosaurus rex, has a boulder hurtling towards it, and then won't stop as it's approaching the station. Luckily, our Titus is a little bit of a hero. Full review...
School Daze: Searching for a Decent State Education by Andrew Penman
As a teacher myself, I'm naturally well aware of most of the aspects of education that Andrew Penman discusses here and some of the stories he repeats are well-known to me but may be of news to some readers. Yes, people will really do just about anything to try and get their children into the school of their choice – even commit fraud! But how well does this book work as an insight into the type of measures some people will go to for those readers unaware of the desperation that can set in at this time in a child’s life? It’s a good question… Full review...
An Island in Time: The Biography of a Village by Geert Mak
In the mid 1990s journalist and author Geert Mak returned to his native Friesland and took up residence in the village of Jorwert. His aim was to investigate the quiet revolution going on in the agrarian communities not just of Holland but of the whole of Europe.
This wasn't going to be an outsider's view. Mak grew up in the northern Dutch province; he spoke the language; he knew the games and understood the people. In a very real sense Mak was going home… and finding that it scarcely existed any more. Full review...
Learning Accountancy: The Novel Way by Zarir Suntook
If you're planning on learning how to prepare accounts the traditional method has what almost amounts to an initiation ceremony. You're introduced to double entry book-keeping, which is the equivalent of being asked to learn HTML without ever having seen a web page. Some people do take to it like ducks to water – they're usually the people who think that Sudoku is ridiculously easy – but most people find that the concepts are difficult to grasp and this isn't helped by not really understanding why they need to master it. Zarir Suntook hasn't quite stood the methods of teaching on their heads but he's taken a more logical approach which is gentler on the brain. Full review...
The Four Little Pigs by Kimara Nye and Marcin Bruchnalski
Tom loves visiting his Granny especially as she is a witch and can cast magical spells. However, he doesn't always enjoy the bedtime stories that she reads, and when she picks up The Three Little Pigs he declares that it is boring because he has heard it so many times. Granny suggests that it might be interesting to find out what would happen if another pig entered the fray and before he realises what is happening, Tom is transported into the story. Full review...
Paper Wings by Linda Sargent
In a wood in Kent two children played happily and as is the way with children they sometimes went where they shouldn't, but it was the nineteen fifties and the worry was more about whether they would injure themselves by falling down an abandoned well than the problems which we worry over half a century later. It was a place for plans and games, projects they didn't always tell their parents about and generally growing up. Ruby loved climbing trees and longed to fly. Peter was more sensible but the pair were inseparable. Full review...
The Way of the Panda: The Curious History of China's Political Animal by Henry Nicholls
The book cover alone, with its panda hugging a tree, says 'buy me', 'read me.' A good start. The sections are divided into no-nonsense headings: Extraction, Abstraction and Protection. Maps and Prologue give a flavour of what's to come. The inside front cover states boldly that 'Giant pandas have been causing a stir ever since their formal scientific discovery just over 140 years ago.' I think it safe to say that many of us would probably say automatically, without thinking, that the panda has immense appeal. But is it only because of the beautifully marked eyes which give the animal a cuddly, teddy bear look? Full review...
The Magnificent Spilsbury and the Case of the Brides in the Bath by Jane Robins
During the early months of 1915, Britain was fighting for her life during the First World War, and newspaper headlines were preoccupied with the army's exploits and outrages by the enemy. For a time, only one event at home could compete with them on the front news pages – the unhappy fate of two or three brides who had been drowned, in separate incidents, in their baths, and the fact that one man was probably responsible. Full review...
The Long Song by Andrea Levy
July's tale, The Long Song, opens with her mother Kitty's rape by Amity plantation's overseer, Tam Dewar. Nine months later, we find him striking the midwife who can't keep Kitty quiet during labour. And Kitty doesn't keep hold of her daughter for very long. Spotted by Caroline, the plantation owner's widowed sister on the side of the road, July is taken away from her mother to become a lady's maid. Deprived of both parent and name - Caroline renames her Marguerite - July learns how to avoid her mistress's needle stick punishments and finds a place among the other house servants. Full review...
Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indridason
Maria's body was found by her friend Karen. It was hanging from the rafters of her holiday home at Lake Thingvallavatn and when Detective Erlendur arrived it seemed like a straightforward case of suicide. Maria had been in a poor mental state since the death of her mother two years previously and there was a history of depression. It wasn't until Karen approached Erlendur with a recording of a séance which Maria had attended shortly before her death that his curiosity was aroused. There was no great pressure at work and he had the time to indulge himself, so he looked further into the case along with the unsolved disappearances thirty years earlier of two unconnected people. Full review...
Blade: Risking All by Tim Bowler
It's the final chapter. There's nothing let now but the last confrontation. Blade has nothing left to lose and at last revenge is in sight. Under pressure from the porkers and the gangs, and with his private empire crumbling, Hawk has retreated to his remote hideout. Blade is there, waiting. But Hawk is surrounded by a private army of security. Dozens of grinks and gobbos lie between Blade and his nemesis and getting past them isn't going to be easy. But Blade has his instinct back and nothing is going to stand in his way. Losing is not an option. But can he beat the man who has never known defeat? Can he find redemption? Full review...
Spiritwalker: Cold Magic by Kate Elliott
In an alternate version of our world in the 19th century, where magic exists but technology is moving forward in the shape of massive airships, 19 year old cousins Cat and Bee Hassi Barahal live normal lives. But without warning, the girls' world is thrown upside down as a cold mage, the arrogant Andevai arrives to collect Cat as his bride - as a result of a bargain which was made many years ago without her knowledge. Taken away from her beloved family, Cat is brought into a society she knows little about where danger seems to lurk in every corner... But Cat isn't as helpless as everyone else assumes her to be; unknown to anybody, she can see the chains that magic forms, while she quickly picks up allies in some unusual places. Full review...
Dark Matter by Michelle Paver
It's January 1937 and dark clouds of impending war are gathering over Europe. Jack Miller is in London, working as a clerk and living in one lonely room. He should probably think himself lucky because many people have neither job nor home in this Great Depression, but he doesn't. He feels lonely and isolated and angry that a career in research physics was snatched away from him by economic circumstance. So when the chance of becoming the wireless operator for an Arctic expedition comes along, he jumps at it - even though the team comprises of the exact privileged young men he most resents. Full review...
Ambition by Immodesty Blaize
Las Vegas Showgirl Sienna Starr has got it made. Her career is set to flourish when she lands her dream role in Vegas' top show, she has great friends, a fabulous home, and a red hot sex life with her rich and gorgeous boyfriend Max. But as Sienna starts her new job at the Follies Casino under the eyes of Vegas' most powerful showgirl Brandy Alexander, she soon becomes surrounded by people who are not only envious of her, but are more ruthless and ambitious than she could ever be. Full review...
Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich
Take one rather ditzy girl. Add a funny, extrovert friend, and another, more sensible one. Stir in two seriously attractive men, an unhinged pet or two, a slapstick plot and an unending series of cars. What have you got? A Janet Evanovich novel! This has been the formula for the winning 'Stephanie Plum' series for years, about a hopelessly incompetent bounty hunter who never quite manages to choose between the two hunks in her life, and it has given much pleasure and amusement. But even the best formulas get stale, so this year Ms Evanovich has branched out into something new. Well, almost. Full review...
Two Unknown by Alan Hamilton
The story is based 'between the wars', the 1920s to be exact. We're introduced to the main characters: a small family unit of mother, father and two children. On the surface this normal, middle-class set-up all appears fine - but underneath, things are far from fine. The father, Ian is actually the step-father to the twins. And through various detailed and sometimes unusually lengthy parent-child conversations and chats the reader is filled in with the background story. A bit staccato in places, I have to admit. Full review...
Medieval Intrigue: Decoding Royal Conspiracies by Ian Mortimer
Over the last few years Dr Mortimer has established himself as one of the foremost writers of British historical biography covering the 14th and early 15th centuries. However his previous books have been quite accessible to the general as well as the scholarly reader. This present volume is aimed more at the latter audience, assuming as it does a detailed knowledge of King Edward II and his successors. This is hinted at in his introduction, in which he points out that 'history is the most conservative of all professions, and a radical historian is generally branded a maverick by the mainstream.' Full review...
Shadow Wave (CHERUB) by Robert Muchamore
A shadow wave is a tidal flow that happens after a tsunami, and it can be deadly because it travels in the opposite direction and is often unexpected. Robert Muchamore's latest book in the CHERUB series is named after this phenomenon, and tells what happens when a bunch of young CHERUB secret agents and their teachers get caught up in the chaos in Malaysia which follows the 2004 earthquake and tsunami. They rescue impoverished villagers and help them begin rebuilding their homes, only to see all their hard work destroyed by government officials who use the disaster as an excuse to take away the fishermen's land and use it to build hotels for rich foreigners. Muchamore pulls no punches as he shows how greed and corruption win out over people's right to keep to their traditional lifestyles. Full review...
The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
Julian Treslove is a middle aged former BBC radio producer now working as a professional look alike but quite who he looks like varies. Although never married, he has fathered two sons, neither of whom he sees regularly. Dismissed from the BBC for being too morbid on his late night Radio 3 programme, he is given to depressing levels of self-analysis in his small flat that's not quite in Hampstead. What Treslove lacks is a sense of belonging and this, he notes his Jewish friends have in spades, particularly his old school friend and rival, the best-selling philosopher and TV personality, Sam Finkler. Treslove, by contrast, always feels on the outside of life. Full review...
The Three Sillies by Tony Ross
If your children like silly things, they will definitely enjoy the story of The Three Sillies, written and illustrated by Tony Ross, who is perhaps best known for his wonderful Little Princess stories. The story of The Three Sillies is indeed very silly and you can tell that it is going to be just that by looking at the front cover and seeing three very strange people standing on their heads looking, unsurprisingly, very red faced. Full review...
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
It's Christmas Eve, and a young boy is waiting up to catch a glimpse of Santa. When a train pulls up instead, he soon finds himself on the Polar Express, chuffing away to the North Pole, with scores of other children. With hot chocolate in hand, and snowy landscapes whizzing past the windows, he's having a fabulous journey. At the North Pole, he meets the elves and Santa, and waits to see which child will be given the first gift of Christmas. Full review...
Theoderic by Ross Laidlaw
This is a historical tale with a capital 'H'. A Glossary, Historical Note, Prologue plus a map entitled 'The Barbarian Kingdoms and the Roman Empire' are all for the reader's maximum interest and (hopefully) maximum enjoyment and all before settling down to the first chapter. This very much sets the tone of the book. Full review...
The Bone House by Brian Freeman
The novel opens with one of the central characters, Mark. And straight away we see that he has an eye for the girls - young girls, it would seem. He's a married man, so tongues start to wag. The book's front cover depicts a house going up in flames and on the very first page there's another mention of fire, Billy Joel's hit song 'We Didn't Start The Fire.' So, fire seems as if it's going to play an important part in this book. And it does. Big-time. Full review...
A Game of Sorrows by Shona Maclean
Two years have passed since Alexander Seaton found his redemption. He is comfortably settled in his life at the University, about to be sent on the academic expedition of a lifetime, and wondering how best to ask the woman he loves to be his wife. Then a case of mistaken identity, which almost costs him his love and the respect of his friends leads Alexander to discover he has a cousin in town – the son of his late mother's brother, come from Ireland to seek his help. Full review...
As the Earth Turns Silver by Alison Wong
This lyrical novel is set in Wellington, New Zealand just over a hundred years ago. In this country of then recent immigrants, there was a racial hierarchy, with those of British origin considering themselves superior to others, and an active Anti-Chinese League. Full review...
There's An Alien In The Classroom by Gervase Phinn
There's An Alien In The Classroom is a collection of school-based poems, and poems aimed at school-age children. Taking in all forms, from limericks and cautionary verse, to acrostics and haiku, it offers a broad overview of poetry. With themes including school, families, seasons, Bonfire Night, Nativity plays and going to the dentist, there's something to appeal to every child. Full review...
Bad Tuesdays 3: Blood Alchemy by Benjamin J Myers
Chess and her brothers have been separated. Box and Splinter are incarcerated on a prison planet, at the mercy of the Twisted Symmetry and their Dog Troopers. Chess is just as much of a prisoner - she's being "protected" by The Committee and languishes in a safe house, itching to be free. None of the three intend on being locked up for long. Chess wants to find out who she really is and then to get on with destroying the Brain that feeds off the energy of innocent children, and Box wants to get back to Chess and help protect her. And Splinter, well, he's got ideas of his own and they certainly don't include an agonising death at the hands of his captors. Full review...
The Bloomsbury Nursery Treasury by Patricia Borlenghi and Eleanor Taylor
I am sure that all small children love traditional tales. Maybe for some the appeal is the beguiling innocence of Little Red Riding Hood, or the audacity of Goldilocks as she invades the three bears' cottage or even Jack's daring and courage as he climbs the beanstalk and steals the giant's gold from under his nose. Whichever tale is favourite, there is always something very satisfying when the good characters win and the nasty characters are beaten especially as this always leads of course to a happy ending. Full review...
Net Profit: How to Succeed in Digital Business by David Soskin
There's a misconception that digital business is just like the old bricks and mortar type, except that the digital fellahs escape a lot of the expense that real people have to pay and that if they learnt how to do thinwhich a traditional business is content with is almost certainly a danger signal in a digital business and unless you can take your idea and make quick decisions then the chances are that you are dead in the water. Life is very different out there on the internet. Full review...
Mr Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt
For a couple of years now Esther Hammerhans has lived alone and money is a little tight. She works in the House of Commons library but it doesn't pay particularly well. Letting the spare room to a lodger seemed like a good idea, but she's somewhat surprised when she sees Mr Chartwell's silhouette. It's the size of a mattress and Mr Chartwell is a dog. A large black dog.
At home in Kent, Winston Churchill wakes up. He's reaching the end of his time in parliament and in some ways he's not surprised to sense that there's a visitor in the room. It's someone he hasn't seen for a while, but the presence of the huge, mute hulk who watched him with a tortured expression was only to be expected. Winston's black dog was back. Full review...
You Never Give Me Your Money: The Battle for the Soul of the Beatles by Peter Doggett
When four young Liverpudlians got together to make music in the early 1960s, they can have had no idea of their future impact on the world around them. Likewise they would surely not have had an inkling of the extraordinary business minefield which their existence as a group would create, and which would leave the scars long after they had gone their separate ways, even after two of them had died. As at least one of them ruefully commented, they must have provided several lawyers' children with a very expensive education. Full review...
Why Women Have Sex: Understanding Sexual Motivation from Adventure to Revenge (and Everything in Between) by Cindy M Meston and David Buss
Many many years ago, a man who was far too young to be the fusty, dusty RE teacher he was shaping to be, asked my best friend and I why we were each having sex with our girlfriends. Even aged fifteen I thought something along the lines of 'well, if he doesn't know by now, he never will', and listed that it was great fun, a very enjoyable sensation, showed an appetite for the relationship, and that sex proved the ultimate in bonding - how much closer, to be blunt, could you be to someone than actually inside them? I'll come clean now and admit said girlfriend was not real, but several have been since, and I have had heaps of fun finding out how - and perhaps why - women have sex. I was never to know, until now, there are 237 reasons for it. Full review...
To Die Alone by John Dean
The bodies of a man and his dog are found in an isolated part of the northern hills. The injuries, particularly to the dog are horrific and although it initially looks though the man might have died from accidental injuries it soon becomes obvious that he's been stabbed. The victim – Trevor Meredith – has been acting strangely lately and it looks as though he might have been aware that he was in danger. And where has his girl friend disappeared to? More to the point, who, exactly, is Trevor Meredith. Chief Inspector Jack Harris and his team have their work cut out. Full review...
Blameless: The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger
Blameless opens with Alexia back in the family home. She hopes that this is a temporary situation. Not to put too fine a point on it, she has absolutely nothing in common with her parents or her silly half-sisters. Her mother is outraged. Why? Well, because no married woman in proper Victorian society leaves her husband. It's simply not done. Alexia's just done it and would probably say to her mama that she couldn't give a rat's arse either - except her mother would no doubt have a fainting fit. But scandal is looming. And Alexia is forced at some point to re-assess her situation. Underneath all those ridiculous ruffles and lace she is a little put-out and concerned - especially in her present condition. Full review...
