The Bookbag
Hello from The Bookbag, a 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. We can even direct you to help for custom book reviews! Visit www.everychildareader.org to get free writing tips and www.genecaresearchreports.com will help you get your paper written for free.
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Eat With Pleasure by Akon Margaret Kalu
When you think about a certified nutrition coach you probably imagine someone who is going to be very strict with you about what you should or shouldn't be eating. You visualise someone who will insist that you eat worthy (and probably tasteless) food and completely avoid those foods which you really love. Gone will be the bar of chocolate and possibly even the mug of coffee which gets you going in the morning. It was particularly refreshing and something of a relief to encounter Akon Margaret Kalu - certified nutrition coach and food blogger at www.therealakon.co.uk. She's outspoken. She believes that the occasional treat does you no harm so long as you don't make it a regular habit. In fact you're better having a small, occasional, indulgent snack than resisting and finally giving into cravings and binging. In other words, she lives in the real world with the rest of us imperfect beings. Full review...
Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolito
Is there something about Scandinavia, that makes its inhabitants identify with quicksand? This is the second book with the same title by northern writers that I've read this year, and we're only into April. For clarity from the outset, this has nothing to do with Henning Mankell's conversational memoir reviewed elsewhere on here, but we are back in territory he would probably have been familiar with. We're in a Scandinavian courtroom, Swedish to be precise – we're about to begin the trial of Maja Norberg. Full review...
Fingers in the Sparkle Jar: A Memoir by Chris Packham
Everything seemed alive in that scintillating moment and as the gleams gyrated and glittered I imagined I could see their tiny twinkling hearts, seeding the sparks that made them so very vivid. And then I wiped away the spilled slop of the river, polished the glare and thrust my fingers into the sparkle jar to stir the soft tickles of the swirling tinsel of fishes.
Fingers in the Sparkle Jar is a unique memoir, written in a distinct style quite unlike any other. Chris Packham, well-known TV presenter and wildlife expert, takes us back to his childhood in 1960s Southampton, and we meet a curious child who doesn't quite fit in to the societal norm. Fast forward a few years, and the chasm widens, leading to bullying, name-calling and beatings at the hands of the local thugs at his comprehensive school. Full review...
The Future of Violence - Robots and Germs, Hackers and Drones: Confronting the New Age of Threat by Benjamin Wittes and Gabriella Blum
Looking back over this month, April 2017, the news has been full of terrorist attacks perpetrated by lone individuals. A suicide bombing on the St Petersburg Metro killed 15 people and injured 64 more. In Stockholm, Sweden, a hijacked truck steered into a pedestrian shopping area and department store. Most recently, a shooting in Paris just two days ago, claimed the life of a police officer and injured several others. Whilst it is true that governments have access to impressive, cutting-edge technology to combat terrorism, it is also a fact that these resources are becoming increasingly available to individuals. At what cost? Full review...
Hamish and the Gravity Burp by Danny Wallace
BUUUUUURRRRRRRRPPPPP!
A terrifying noise is rumbling through the sleepy town of Starkley (the fourth most boring town in Britain) and having a peculiar effect on the residents. Gravity has gone into reverse and the poor townsfolk are floating skyward, helplessly trying to grab onto whatever they can in order to slow their ascent. Hamish Ellerby has just arrived home to find his family stuck to the ceiling, along with a bowl of fruit, six batteries and a wind-up meerkat. What could be causing this strange phenomenon? Could it be leading up to something bigger? A gravity-belch, or heaven forbid, a gravity-FART? It's up to Hamish and his gang, the PDF, to solve the mystery and restore order to Starkley in time for the official visit from the Public Office of Pride, or POP (shouldn't it be POOP?). Full review...
Harold: The King Who Fell at Hastings by Peter Rex
Harold is in the unenviable position for being remembered as the monarch who was defeated and killed in the Norman conquest, and almost nothing else. He does not even merit a passing mention in the renowned 1930s spoof English history, '1066 and all That', which no doubt has him in their category of 'Unmemorable Kings'. This book is thus inevitably a history rather than a biography of someone about whom undisputed facts are rather lacking. Full review...
The Girl In Between by Sarah Carroll
After a family argument, a girl and her mother are stuck out on the streets of Ireland, finding shelter finally in an old, abandoned mill. The mill becomes the girl's castle, where she finally feels safe from the lurking threat of 'the authorities' and some of the strange men in her mother's life. Her mother, however, seems to be tumbling deeper into depression, keeping her daughter locked up, out of sight inside, and now there are strange men in hard hats coming around the mill to measure and make notes. Can the two of them move on, or will they be too late to escape? Full review...
SPLAT! by Jon Burgerman
Everybody loves a clown…. Wait a minute, does anyone like a clown? They are as likely to make a child cry as they are to make them laugh. One thing that they do have going for them is the slapstick humour and although we may not enjoy clowns themselves, we do enjoy watching someone get smacked in the face with a custard pie. Therefore, why not enjoy the mayhem without the harlequin? Full review...
A Time to Tell Lies by Alan Kennedy
Psychologist Alan Kennedy's fifth novel continues the story he began with Lucy by Alan Kennedy. In the autumn of 1942, Captain Alex Vere and Justine Perry are among the men and women picked up and taken to a stately home in Scotland, where they are trained in spy skills. After this first encounter, Alex is smitten yet uncertain if he will ever see Justine again. The spy's life is dangerous and unpredictable, after all. Six weeks later, though, they meet up again in southwest France, where they have been sent to collect Simone, a Special Operations Executive agent. It's Alex's first mission (Justine's fourth) and all goes horribly awry. Alex ends up in custody at the Gendarmerie, facing a German who knows he has a false passport. Full review...
Say Yes to New Opportunities! by Ruth Pearson
Ruth Pearson was deputy head of her school and was studying for a Masters degree when she suffered an emotional breakdown as a result of the stresses of the job. The breakdown was so severe that she was afraid to return to the classroom, but rather than sitting back and letting the circumstances overwhelm her she allowed what had happened to become a catalyst which would help her to change her life. In Say Yes to New Opportunities she shares what she learned from the experience. To come back from this situation requires strength, honesty and a sense of purpose, all of which Pearson demonstrates quite clearly throughout this book. Full review...
The Incredible Crime by Lois Austen-Leigh
Prudence Pinsent flings her novel across the room. Unutterable bilge is her description of the typical country house murder mystery of romantic novels. The deliberate irony of this is that The Incredible Crime is precisely one such novel. Full review...
Sweetpea by C J Skuse
In many ways, Rhiannon Lewis lives an ordinary life. She works at a local paper, lives with her long term boyfriend, dotes on her dog and is part of a large group of friends. There are just a few unusual things about Rhiannon, like that she is obsessed with Slyvanian families... and she's in fact a serial killer. She's harmless though... as long as you stay off her list. Full review...
Travels With My Sketchbook by Michael Foreman
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 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. Full review...
Skullsworn by Brian Staveley
"Love is like killing," she said. "You do it with every part of you, or not at all.” Pyrre is a skullsworn; one who is devoted to the God of Death. Trained as an assassin and having studied under the deadliest killers in the world since she was eight, Pyrre is about to embark upon her final trial. A trial in which success will mean elevation to the rank of priestess, while failure will mean death. Full review...
Blood Miracles by Lisa McInerney
Like all twenty-year-olds, Ryan Cusack is trying to get his head around who he is. This is not a good time for his boss to exploit his dual heritage by opening a new black market route from Italy to Ireland. It is certainly not a good time for his adored girlfriend to decide he's irreparably corrupted. And he really wishes he hadn't accidentally caught the eye of an ornery grandmother who fancies herself his saviour. Full review...
From Darkest Skies by Sam Peters
No one likes to see a loved one die, but when they do we can reflect on how they lived and eventually move on with a piece of them inside us. However, what would happen if we could take all the memories we have saved on the internet and combine them into an Artificial Intelligence that represented them? Would this work to keep them close, or just give you a false facsimile that prevents you from moving on? Full review...
Girlhood by Cat Clarke
Girlhood focuses on a group of friends; Harper, Rowan, Lily and Ama, who are fast approaching the end of term at an elite boarding school in the middle of nowhere. The arrival of Kirsty causes a seismic shift in this previously supportive friendship group and Harper soon finds herself caught between her old friends and the mysterious new girl who seems to have so much in common with her. But is Kirsty who she claims to be? Full review...
The Loxleys and Confederation by Mark Zuehlke and Claude St Aubin
There is a huge hole in my history knowledge where North America is concerned. Slowly, from an opening of sheer ignorance, having never studied it whatsoever at school, I've got a small grip on things like the Civil War, the foundations of the USA and a few other things. But that means nothing as far as this book is concerned, for that huge hole is Canada. No, I didn't have an inkling about how it was trying to unify, just as the American Civil War was in full pelt just across the border. I didn't know what was there before Canada, if you see what I mean. The story does have some things in common with that of their southern neighbours – European occupancy being slowly turned into a list of states as we know them now, slowly spreading into the heart of the continent with the help of the railways etc; native 'Indians' being 'in the way'; past trading agreements to either maintain or try to improve on; and so on – but of course it also had the British vs French issue. But did you know how an American President getting shot at the theatre had a bearing on the story? Or the Irish? Like I said, a huge hole… Full review...
The Earth Book: A World of Exploration and Wonder by Jonathan Litton and Thomas Hegbrook
The Earth. I kind of quite like it, you know – it seems to serve my purpose. I don't think I've taken too much out of it, all told, and if it's divided up into 200 countries I'm getting close to having visited a quarter of them. But way back when I just didn't get on with studying it. I didn't like geography – what with having to draw maps, oxbow lakes and whatnot I think it was one of those subjects I was put off through the pictorial element – and dropped it as soon as I could. But then, I didn't have the likes of this book to inspire me… Full review...
Time is Money by T K Williams-Nelson
Whatever your age it's frustrating to have to work for someone else. If you're under twenty five there's a strong chance that you'll be under-valued and probably not paid very well. There is though, a certain security in employment, usually because there's a reasonable certainty of income and a possibility of paid holidays: when you're self-employed neither of those are guaranteed. It is, though, a big step to leap into the world of self-employment. Time is Money is a self-development tool aimed at young people, creatives and people in business. Full review...
The Story of Space by Catherine Barr, Steve Williams and Amy Husband
I have no actual idea how I first got an interest in space. Perhaps it's there because I'm so old to almost coincide with the last Apollo astronauts being on the moon (and that's pretty old, it's been so long) and it kind of rubbed off on me. Perhaps in fact all young children are interested in space anyway, and don't need any impetus or reason to look up in wonder. But if they do, this is the newest way of nudging the newer child towards a keenness for all things celestial. And it's a pretty good way indeed. Full review...
A Fanfare of Tales by Patrick C Reidy
I love short stories, so I'm always happy when a new collection arrives for review. A Fanfare of Tales by Patrick C Reidy promises me a compilation of short stories that highlight the adventures of diverse characters as each encounters unforeseen challenges. I like this premise. So how does the book shape up? Full review...
For My Sins by Alex Nye
1586: Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, has time to look back over her past life as she sits, incarcerated by her second cousin Queen Elizabeth I. Mary's life hasn't been one of totally pampered royalty. Growing up in France, away from her mother, widowed and then returning to Scotland to claim the throne before she was even 19, her struggle with fate started early. The tensions between Mary the woman, Mary the Catholic and Mary the political force continue through three marriages, an unsolved murder and the thwarted desire to serve her people. Now it's come to this prison cell but while there's life, there's still hope… Full review...
Peak: How all of us can achieve extraordinary things by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool
Most of us have had the experience of watching a game at Wimbledon, or hearing a concert pianist, or reading about a new world record for the youngest chess Grandmaster, and daydreamed about ourselves in that position. Except, we invariably tell ourselves, that isn't possible because we were always beaten in school tennis matches, we didn't start piano lessons until we were twelve, and we were never pushed by our parents to play chess. Peak is a supremely optimistic – which is not to say unscientific – ode to practise, and the idea that with the right amount and right sort of practise, almost anyone can achieve almost anything. Full review...
Lots – The Diversity of Life on Earth by Nicola Davies and Emily Sutton
How many different kinds of living things are there on Earth? Lots…that's how many. Children will learn lots and lots from this wonderful book. I learned lots from it too. There are 100,000 different kinds of mushrooms. Who knew? Well I certainly didn't. This is one of those special books with cross-over appeal. Tiny children will adore the illustrations, slightly older ones will learn fascinating facts and readers of any age will be moved by the message that we need to take better care of our beautiful environment. Full review...
The Boy on the Bridge by M R Carey
It's ten years since mankind was almost wiped out by a virus that turned the great majority of it into the hungries – zombies by any other name. A lone, heavily armoured vehicle is travelling from the British redoubt on the south coast the length of the Kingdom, tracing a previous expedition that failed to return, and hoping to find evidence somewhere, somehow, of something that can either counter the virus or rid the survivors of their enemy. As a result the vehicle is divided in personnel between scientists and the military, and as neither side is completely cohesive it's no surprise to see the crew split along partisan lines. That's not helped by one of the scientists, Samrina Khan, being heavily pregnant. But she's also rubbed people up by insisting on an intriguing character being on board – a teenaged savant, no less, called Stephen Greaves. But that source of the unusual is nothing perhaps to the bizarre the team will find on their explorations… Full review...
This Mum Runs by Jo Pavey
I am something of a self-confessed running addict: I think nothing of hitting the roads for 50 miles a week, and spend much of my time searching for races to run all over the country. That is, until I wound up with a persistent sports injury, hung up my running shoes for nearly a year, and switched the road to the pool. At the time I thought nothing could alleviate the misery of not being able to run; but now I wish I had had Jo Pavey's autobiography, This Mum Runs, to keep me company because the elite athlete’s account of the Olympics, injury, family, and life in general falls nothing short of inspirational. Full review...
The Button Box by Lynn Knight
Buttons are the underdogs of the clothing world: dismissed as functional elements of clothing, falling into the same dustbin category with zips and shoe laces, they tend to be seen as necessary for keeping clothes on, rather than contributors to style. But Lynn Knight is set to prove that the opposite is true. We think nothing of lacing discussions about clothing and feminism with headscarves, bikinis, and underweight models – and buttons deserve a place on the pedestal of gender discussion, too. Full review...
The Story of Be by David Crystal
David Crystal is something of a torchbearer when it comes to popularizing linguistics in the UK. He churns out material about language for a general audience at steady pace: he has covered everything from the history of English to how Shakespearean drama was actually pronounced to how language is used in an internet context. Given his previous grand themes, it is perhaps surprising that Crystal has now picked something rather more inconspicuous to present: the verb be. Full review...