Book Reviews From The Bookbag
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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Octopus's Garden by Ringo Starr and Ben Cort
This is a beautifully illustrated book which takes the readers into a lovely world of fantasy. There is no story to speak of. The text of this book consists only of the lyrics to The Beatles song Octopus's Garden from their 1969 album - Abbey Road. I loved this song as a very young child, and I always felt this was written for children, at least on some level. I used to close my eyes listen to the words as I pictured the Octopus and his enchanted garden. It is the only song, to my knowledge written solely by Ringo, and the last song which featured Ringo as the lead vocalist. Full review...
The Abomination by Jonathan Holt
Captain Katerina Tapo of the Italian Carabinieri police force, Holly Boland, a Second Lieutenant in the US Army and Daniele Barbo a reclusive web expert, are each individually investigating seemingly separate events that become more and more entwined. Their collective probing uncovers a massive conspiracy and seems to implicate the US Army, the Catholic Church and the Italian Mafia, three incredibly powerful organisations that it is best not to rile in any way, as the three characters are quick to discover. Full review...
How Much have Global Problems Cost the World?: A Scorecard from 1900 to 2050 by Bjorn Lomborg (Editor)
The authors are leading researchers in their fields, and their papers have been critiqued by peer-reviewers. Each of the chapters reports the results of a modelling exercise, examining progress or decline in one of ten key areas, including armed conflict, trade barriers, malnutrition, air pollution, ecosystem and biodiversity, health, water and sanitation. Key economic, growth and other variables from credible sources provided a common set of data and assumptions, used in each study. Full review...
Rags and Bones by Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt (Editors)
Some of today's top authors have come together to retell classic tales - from fairy stories to Victorian-era fiction. As usual with this kind of anthology, it's a fairly hit-or-miss affair, but the hits here are so strong that they're well worth picking up the book for. Full review...
Talk Lean: Shorter Meetings. Quicker Results. Better Relations by Alan H Palmer
When I think back to my days as an employee the memory of the meetings makes me shudder. They were usually badly prepared and managed with little aim other than to tick a box so that someone could prove to his manager that he held meetings. The waste of time was on a monumental scale and I doubt that I'm alone in thinking this. Include other meetings which you have on personal matters and you'll probably agree that it's rare to emerge feeling that you've achieved what you wanted to achieve - or that you haven't been manipulated. Alan H Palmer has a plan for making meetings shorter and getting better results, but most importantly (for me) he wants you to be able to do it all openly, with no tricks, no gimmicks and complete honesty. Full review...
The Creative Person's Website Builder by Alannah Moore
Creating a website is not difficult. Although some technical knowledge is a help - as is familiarity with your computer - you would be surprised at the speed with which you can have your own website and the sense of achievement which this will give you. If you're running a big business then you might want to go to a web designer but it is possible to have a site for very little in the way of expenditure. I know - we've done it and we've grown our little baby into a business. I was lucky to have the expertise of our first tech guy when we built Bookbag, but Alanah Moore has produced a book which could give you a reasonable start and a great deal of inspiration. Full review...
A Day That Changed History: The Assassination of John F Kennedy by Tracey Kelly
I have a vivid memory of hearing about the assassination of John F Kennedy. He was young, charismatic and a hope for the future after the old guard who seemed to have been in power for ever - and then he was gone. Books on JFK are easy to find - you'll find our favourites here, but it's rather more difficult to find a book which puts Kennedy and what happened into context, so I was delighted to receive a copy of 'A Day That Changed History: The Assassination of John F Kennedy'. Full review...
Jeeves and the Wedding Bells by Sebastian Faulks
Bertie Wooster had a glorious time in Cannes, not least because of the presence of Georgiana Meadowes. He wondered if she should be allowed out at all, 'such a hazard did she pose to male shipping' - and that was before he'd experienced her driving. But, being a gentleman, Wooster's hands were tied: Georgiana is soon to become engaged to another. The two would meet again before too long as Wooster, along with his gentleman's gentleman, were invited to stay at the home of Georgiana's uncle - but, for reasons which you'll need to read for yourself, Jeeves was there as a member of the aristocracy and Wooster was his gentleman's gentleman. Confused? Oh, excellent! Full review...
Christmas by Dick Bruna
Dick Bruna’s picture book ‘Christmas’ tells the story of the nativity in his own inimitable manner. Drawn in his archetypal Miffy style, this tale sweetly captures the spirit and meaning of the season. Full review...
Kinslayer (Lotus War Trilogy 2) by Jay Kristoff
Spoilers for Stormdancer follow so read it first! The Shogun is dead, murdered in the public square by 16 year old Kage rebel Yukiko to avenge her family and in retribution for the evil hold that he has over the dystopian land of Shima. He may be dead but Hiro (equally nasty and Yukiko's former lover) has a plan to take power which includes marrying Aisha, the Shogun's sister and secret Kage sympathiser. Yukiko has to stop the wedding with the help of Buruu, the flying thunder tiger and Kin, the former Lotus Guild engineer. Yes, the Lotus Guild - the Shogun's lot. Yukiko has problems of her own as well, in that her ability to hear the thoughts of animals and feel the emotions of anyone and anything is becoming a curse. Meanwhile in Hiro's palace there works No One, below the radar and beneath contempt, but one day. Full review...
Time Trap by Richard Smith
Who was Hector Lightfoot? And why did this 19th century soldier and engineer disappear in such mysterious circumstances? And who are the two ghosts inhabiting his house in 21st century London?
Jamie and Todd are thrown into the mystery when they spend a weekend in London with Jamie's Uncle Simon who lives in the house that once belonged to Hector Lightfoot. Simon takes the two boys to see Hector's recently-discovered underground lab at the British Museum. When the building is struck by lightning, the two boys are sent back in time to the year 1862. They know that their only chance of returning home is to find Hector. But where is he? And can they avoid being sucked into a life of crime while they search for him? Full review...
Love...Under Different Skies by Nick Spalding
Jamie, Laura, and baby Poppy have had a few mishaps here at home, so when the opportunity comes to flit off to the land down under, and start a new life in Australia, they’re more excited than they are apprehensive. It might get them out of the rut they’ve fallen into, and it will definitely give them the sort of warm glow that comes from living under the, erm, warm glow of the sun. There’s really no reason not to go. Full review...
The Mistletoe Bride and Other Haunting Tales by Kate Mosse
This book of 14 short stories and a short play is based on the idea of haunting. Sometimes the haunting is the ghostly kind and sometimes something psychologically deeper and more primal. All the stories drift to us from different eras, both past and recent, but all have one thing in common: they centre on a troubled person. For instance we meet Gaston, a French child who witnesses an odd event on the beach just after losing his parents. In the inevitably touching but beautiful Red Letter Day we travel to a French castle with a woman who has an appointment with the past. If you want something completely different, there's The Duet which draws us into a fascinating dialogue and then hits us with a sting. Full review...
Books by Charlie Hill
Neurology professor Lauren Furrows witnesses the sudden untimely death of two tourists in a bar while on holiday. Birmingham bookshop owner Richard Anger happens to be in the same bar so together our single holiday makers decide to team up as an investigatory force to be reckoned with. (Well, Lauren teams up for that. Richard's reasons are more physical than intellectual to begin with.) The murders seem to emanate from author Gary Sayles, a legend in his own mind and, apparently, fatal to read. Elsewhere hippy exhibitionists (in an over-18 way) Zeke and Pippa, are planning the art installation to end all art installations and, are determined to make Gary the centrepiece, whether he realises it or not. Full review...
Smoothly From Harrow: A Compendium for the London Commuter by Chris Moss
If you want to get behind what commuting is really like - not in an academic or a political way, but from the perspective of having your hand through a strap and wishing that the man next to you wasn't quite so enamoured of Brut aftershave - then you need a travel journalist. Step forward (but mind the gap), Chris Moss, who writes regularly for the Daily Telegraph and has done the same for the Guardian, Independent and various magazines. Most importantly, he's commuted from Camberwell, Camden, Hackney, Harrow, Herne Hill, Surbiton and Tooting. Personally, I think he deserves a medal. Full review...
The Purchase by Linda Spalding
1798: Daniel Dickinson moves his five children and 15-year-old second wife away from the Pennsylvanian Quaker community he used to call home, towards Virginia. While on an equipment-buying trip he comes across a slave auction and decides to be true to his abolitionist beliefs in an unusual way. He buys Onesimus, a young slave boy, in order to change the lad's life, intending to offer him a home and fairness in place of captivity. However, reality is more difficult and the Dickinsons find that their new servant will actually change their lives instead. Full review...
Mr Wuffles by David Wiesner
Mr Wuffles (a name I cannot help but imagine being said in a Chinese American accent) is a feline. Not a kitty. Definitely not a pussy. Barely even a cat, he’s so fierce. Look at him glaring out at you from the cover. He looks like trouble, not so much in a cheeky, mischievous way but in a dirty, rotten scoundrel one. Mr Wuffles’ owner clearly does not know her pet very well. She offers him a typical, pet store toy but he simply turns up his nose at it and stalks off. Full review...
Is This Love? by Sue Moorcroft
Sue Moorcroft is not a typical ‘chick lit’ writer, despite the pink and purple cover of this novel, and the fact that her publisher is ‘Choc Lit’. Certainly there’s a romantic element to the book, but there’s a great deal more besides. Love, in the title, does not simply refer to romance and adult relationships, but also includes strong family ties. Full review...
The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom
Something extraordinary is going to happen, and will continue to happen, through a long and eventful autumn in the small town of Coldwater. People will pick up phones, and hear a loved one speak to them, with assurances, love, delight – but they will all be the voices of dead loved ones. One woman has her slightly older, late sister contact her, another her deceased mother, who had ended her life disabled and wordless, while the local policeman will regain contact with the son killed in action in Afghanistan. The whole town will be transformed, but it might actually hit someone else hardest – Sully, fresh out of prison and patching his life back together with his six year old son, with both of them puzzled at why the lad's dead mother is among the silent majority. Full review...
Endless Knight by Kresley Cole
Evie has survived in the post Flash apocalyptic world in part because of the help of her Cajun boyfriend, Jack, and the other companions they've picked up along the way. But it's also because of Evie's impressive abilities. Full review...
I Love Lucid by Mark Lingane
Lucid is more than a full-immersion role play game; it's THE full-immersion role play game. Its inventor Seth Pascal has ensured that all that needs to be done is to plug in and the player's brain will take them to the virtual world while during sleep, providing perfect lucidity and an alternative life within an avatar. However it's also becoming the game to die for. Yes, literally die for as players are being murdered while they're connected. Detective Evan Waugh is the investigator given the case to prove that he still has what it takes. However there's an added complication for both he and Seth as the investigation continues. Her name is Ellen, the woman for whom Lucid isn't just a way of life, it is her life. Full review...
The Room Beyond by Stephanie Elmas
In modern-day London Serena is the new nanny to the Hartreve family at 36 Marguerite Avenue. She's aware that there's something unsettling about the house and the family who live there, but Serena was escaping the ghosts of her traumatic childhood when she took the job and it was easy to fall into the relaxed way of life and the pleasure of her room at the top of the house with a view over the rooftops. Her charge - four-year-old Beth - is a real treasure. But Serena's inquisitive and can't help wondering about the subtle air of menace in the street. Some of the relationships between the members of the household are puzzling and it soon becomes obvious that the family is trying to hide something from her. And where is number 34 Marguerite Avenue? Full review...
Harry: My Autobiography by Harry Redknapp
Everybody with an interest in football knows who Harry is. The cover of his book won't tell you who he is, but if you're not in the know it's Harry Redknapp - football manager and for many of us, something of a national treasure. He's the manager who's seen it all, having started at rock bottom - a 70s Portakabin at Oxford City - and risen to the heights of managing Tottenham Hotspur in the Premiership. At the same time he was the popular choice for the England Manager's job when Capello threw in the towel. It's fair to say that Harry has lived his football life to the full and anyone buying this book will get their money's worth. Full review...
The Assassination of JFK Minute by Minute by Jonathan Mayo
President John F Kennedy had been warned about going to Dallas - he himself referred to it as 'nut country' - but, conscious of the upcoming 1964 presidential elections, he needed to bring some support from the city onside and that was why he and the First Lady found themselves in the motorcade which swept into Dealey Plaza on 22 November 1963. There can be few people who are not aware of what happened next, but Jonathan Mayo has presented a chronology of events over the next four days (four days, three murders, hundreds of stories, as the cover says) demonstrating the pressure under which the officials involved were working and the dreadful impact of what happened.. Full review...
The Time Traveller's Almanac by Anne VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer
From H.G Wells to Doctor Who, there is something about a good time-travel story that has the power to ignite the imagination in a way unique to the genre. Perhaps it is due to the fact that when dealing with the subject of time travel, literally anything is possible. Well, almost anything...apart from going back in time and killing your Grandfather, which we know would cause an almighty paradox and probably destroy the universe. Full review...
The Gravity Between Us by Kristen Zimmer
Kendall Bettencourt, at the age of just 19, has become one of Hollywood's hottest properties, but is missing her best friend Payton. Flying the other girl out to keep her company in LA and help teach her music seems like a sensible thing to do. But Payton's realised she thinks of Kendall as more than a friend - does Kendall feel the same way about her, and can their feelings survive the craziness of Hollywood life? Full review...
