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 Kingdom of Light by Giulio Leoni and Shaun Whiteside
Famous poet Dante is at present the prior of Florence, which gives him responsibility for investigating crime. Several murders occur in quick succession - there must be a connection… but how, why? I approached this book with excitement. The underlying premise seemed to be interesting - take a famous character and place them in situations unknown to us. The portents were good! (Can you feel, a but?) Full review...
SOS Adventure: Fire Storm by Colin Bateman
This book opens with a breath-taking chase as a young local boy, Joe, flees the bandits who have just murdered his father; they intend to kill him too so they can take over the land owned by his village. The plight of the Joe and the villagers, who have to choose between keeping their land and risking death, or selling it for a few dollars, continues as a theme right through the book and provides a nice counterpoint to the exploits of Michael and Katya. Full review...
The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek
Erika is a single woman in her thirties, who, despite the best efforts of her mother, did not succeed as a concert musician, but instead works as a teacher at the Vienna Conservatory. I say best efforts, I mean outright pressure. Erika and her mother make for an unusual relationship - the older relying on the glory, company and complete obedience of the younger, the daughter sharing a bed with her mother even at this stage of her life. All this is until a young student at the school decides he will be a younger lover for Erika, and forces his will into the household. But who, should such a relationship actually form, is going to be the power-maker? Full review...
The Auschwitz Violin by Maria Angels Anglada
In Poland in the early 1990s, a violin sings. The maestro who owns it produces such a music from it, people are forced to take note. They'd be even more amazed if she could bring herself to state exactly how the instrument came to be. For this was the work of Daniel, suffering in a subsidiary camp to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Stumbles, chances, half-lies, all conspire to allow Daniel to take time off his enforced labour and engage in his real-world career. But is there a price to pay in doing something you love, just for a man you can only hate? Full review...
Tolstoy: A Russian Life by Rosamund Bartlett
Count Lev Tolstoy came from a privileged family. He was born on 28 August 1828; unfailingly superstitious for the rest of his days, he therefore adopted 28 as his lucky number. Like most young men from a similar background, he joined the Russian army. The Crimean war proved to be the making of him in that it developed his social conscience, opened his eyes to the conditions endured by those born to a less lofty position in the social order than himself, and impressed on him the fervent belief that everybody in Russia ought to have the chance to learn to read and write. As a result he became a born-again repentant nobleman in the light of having seen how the other half (or more than half) lived, he took a long hard look at the world around him, turning into a rebel against organized religion and the authority of the state in the process. All this was exacerbated by his travels throughout Europe shortly afterwards, in which he was impressed with the comparative freedom he saw in other countries and then found the return to his homeland thoroughly depressing in the few years before the emancipation of the serfs. Full review...
Pereira Maintains by Antonio Tabucchi
The summer of 1938 was particularly hot and oppressive in Lisbon and Dr Pereira was suffering. He was overweight to start with and the situation wasn't helped by the amount of sugary lemonade which he drank. He was the cultural editor of an undistinguished newspaper and felt over-burdened by the amount of content he had to produce but this was better than the political side of the paper as he was sure that he wanted nothing to do with European politics. Something of a recluse, his closest, indeed only, confidante was a picture of his dead wife. All that was about to change when he met Francesco Monteiro Rossi - a strangely charismatic young man who would bring Pereira to the point of committing an act of reckless rebellion. Full review...
Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town by Mary Beard
The introduction does not spare the reader of the horror of a volcanic (Vesuvius) eruption in the year 79 CE. As the local residents literally ran for their lives clutching what they could easily carry ' ... a deadly, burning combination of gases, volcanic debris and molten rock travelling at huge speed ...' leaves the reader with an horrific mental image. All that last minute panicking was in vain. No one could survive such an onslaught. Nature at her very worst indeed. Full review...
The One That Got Away by Lucy Dawson
Lucy Dawson's latest novel is a cut above run-of-the-mill chick-lit pap. Molly Greene is happily married to Dan, and they live a normal twenty-first century life in a small town. She is a successful salesperson for a medical supplier. The couple struggle with the bills and hope to buy their own place. She spends time with two old girlfriends whose situations are different from hers, but who know our heroine inside out and will always be there for her for long, boozy heart-to-hearts. So far, so predictable. Full review...
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Stars by Gervase Phinn
I spent many of my teenage years reading James Herriot's books, and I found that this collection of anecdotes and poems by Gervase Phinn had a real flavour of Herriot about it. Perhaps it was just the setting, for Phinn was a school inspector in the Dales for many years, but I think he also has that knack of capturing a situation, and a character, and bringing out the humour without making the person appear ridiculous. Here he collates stories from his other books, some Christmassy and others not, and he relates them with several of his own poems interspersed between. Full review...
Just My Type: A Book About Fonts by Simon Garfield
A quality typeface is a bit like a good referee at a football match in that you only really notice them if something has gone wrong. A referee is there to facilitate the players on the pitch, not to be the star of the show (though watching Match of the Day these past few weeks you'd often beg to differ). So it is with typefaces. A good type helps the reader, enhances the flow and makes the viewing experience easy and simple. Well sort of. Full review...
Two Times Twenty by Bethan Darwin
You can tell from the beginning of this novel that you're in Wales. The young Anna (as we travel back in time) is meeting what will be long-term friends, Bob and Jane. We find Anna rather proudly introducing her two young sons and Bob butting in with 'Duw, good-sized boys for their age ... Make good rugby players one day.' But the Welsh location and all things Welsh is given a subtle touch. Full review...
Turning the Tide by Christine Stovell
We're in the seaside location of Spitmarsh. It's seen better days, frankly. And that's putting it mildly. It has ' ... a local economy so depressed it was almost suicidal'. Ms Harry Watling loves her town in spite of the negative vibes. She wouldn't change a thing. You can tell that she's an optimist because even although she's having difficulty keeping her business afloat, she's still happy with her lot. She's not afraid of hard work and seems to work almost round the clock and in all weathers to carry out her boat-building and repairs business. But it's a constant battle. Full review...
Greek Myths by Ann Turnbull and Sarah Young
One word keeps coming to mind when looking at this book: lavish. Sixteen well-known stories are presented here, in a book positively overflowing with brightly coloured illustrations. Generous use of gold makes the book feel even more special, and the only danger, if you buy it for a child, is that you may not be able to bring yourself to give it away. Full review...
The Bear with Sticky Paws and the New Baby by Clara Vulliamy
When Pearl's new baby brother arrives, she resents the fact that he is the baby and that she is supposed to be the grown-up sister. She tries to persuade her mum that she is still a baby too but with no success. It is at this time that the Bear with Sticky Paws arrives and they decide to play at being babies. The bear excels at making a mess while eating without a spoon, getting Pearl to dress him and scribbling all over her pictures. It is through all of these activities that Pearl comes to realise that she can do so much more than any baby and perhaps she is quite happy being that little bit more grown up after all. By the time the bear leaves, she has completely revised her opinion of her little brother and presents him with a beautifully drawn picture that has no scribbles at all. Full review...
Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni: The True Story by Valerie Benaim and Yves Azeroual
In November 2007 the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy was newly divorced from his second wife and, despite his position and busy life, feeling rather lonely. He accepted an invitation to a dinner party from a friend and met supermodel and recording artist, Carla Bruni. The attraction between them was instant – she had already said that she wanted a man with nuclear power and he was smitten by the attentions of a beautiful, famous and intelligent woman. Within months they were married. Full review...
The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan
Sam's just moved to a new school yet again, but this time he's made a good friend really quickly. He and Lloyd get on so well together that they're spending time with each other after school a lot - until they make one horrible mistake and end up trapped in a car speeding far away from their hometown, with a strange and creepy driver. Once they reach a big house, Sam is quickly separated from Lloyd - can he figure out a way to escape alive? Full review...
Logic of Demons: The Quest for Nadine's Soul by H A Goodman
Devin is in pieces. His pregnant wife has been raped and murdered and revenge is all he can think about. He listens to the advice of his worried father-in-law - who counsels against doing anything rash - but listening is not the same as hearing. And Devin doesn't truly hear his father-in-law's wise words at all. Instead, he focuses on the angry voice in his head, which tells him such an evil murderer has no right to live. Full review...
Frozen Out by Quentin Bates
When a body was washed up on the beach of a rural Icelandic fishing village the powers-that-be were rather keen that the death should be written off as an accident. After all, falling into the water when you've had far too much to drink is not unusual. Hvalvick's police sargeant, Gunnhildur, isn't convinced though. The 'drinking too much' was done in the bars of Reykjavik, some hundred kilometres away. If the man was too drunk to walk he was certainly in no position to drive a car – so who brought him to his death – and why? Full review...
Bob Servant: Hero of Dundee by Bob Servant and Neil Forsyth
After bursting into public consciousness as the scourge of email spammers, Broughty Ferry's resident polymath Bob Servant has returned. This time, he expands upon the colourful life only hinted at in his previous oeuvre, Delete this at Your Peril. And what a life it has been. He steers us from his humble beginnings, his broken family and traumatic schooldays, through the rise and fall of his window cleaning empire, and his role in Dundee's brutal cheeseburger wars. Along the way, we witness his struggles with, respectively, women ('skirt'), his simpleton sidekick Frank, and the demon drink. Full review...
The Dark (The Dead 2) by David Gatward
We pick up exactly where we left off in this second book in David Gatward's The Dead series. Lazarus Stone has been killed (twice), resurrected (twice), been to the world of the Dead (don't ask), become a Keeper (dangerous job), got himself a personal guardian angel (Arielle, alcoholic), a Dead guide (Red, whose skin's fallen off), and has gone some way to locating his father (prisoner of the Dark and seriously not having a good time of it). Along with best mate Craig and ex-possessed nurse Clair, Lazarus has a mission. Full review...
Race for the South Pole: The Expedition Diaries of Scott and Amundsen by Roland Huntford
In 1910 two European ships set out for the Antarctic. 'Terra Nova' was carrying British explorers under the leadership of Captain Robert Scott, while 'Fram' sailed with a rival Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen. The basic facts can be briefly summarized. Amundsen arrived at the South Pole on 14 December 1911 and returned home to a hero's welcome, while Scott reached the same destination 35 days later, only to perish with his men on the return journey. Their bodies were found by a search party some eight months after they had died. Full review...
The Silver Locket by Margaret James
It is the eve of the First World War and Rose Courtenay's parents are keen to marry her off to well-bred Michael Easton. But Rose is certain a life of domesticity in Dorset is not for her and so instead she takes the bold step of running away to London where she volunteers as a nurse for the war effort. Posted to France, Rose meets injured soldier Alex Denham who she has known since childhood, and is the only man who has ever made her blush. Romance soon blossoms between Rose and Alex, despite Rose fighting against her feelings as Alex is already married, and also disapproved of by her parents due to his dubious background. Full review...
In The Beginning by Jan Pienkowski and David Walser
Using a modified text, based on the King James bible, this book collects some of the best-loved stories from the Old Testament and they are portrayed in full page, gloriously vibrant pictures. With everything from the Creation through to Noah, Joseph and David and Goliath this is an extensive collection of stories to share with children. My daughter and I love Pienkowski's funny illustrations throughout the Meg and Mog stories, so I was hopeful that this would be another lovely book to share with her. Full review...
Why DO We Have to Live with Men? by Bernadette Strachan
Cat and her friends often meet up for a drink and a chat, and regularly fantasise about giving up on men, sharing a house and looking after each other. Then one night Germaine calls their bluff – she’s found a house, and wants to know who is going to join her in it. Initially, the answer is no one. Shortly afterwards, though, Cat’s life as she has known it falls apart, as her landlord gives her notice to leave her flat and she loses her job. There is nothing now to keep her in London and moving into Germaine’s commune doesn’t seem like such a mad option. Full review...
Mr Aesop's Story Shop by Bob Hartman and Jago
Aesop's fables have been known for centuries all around the world, and here is a new edition where a selection of the fables have been given some new embellishments. Aesop features in the stories himself, as a teller of tales himself with a stall in the market where people, especially children, gather to listen and hear him. His stories are often set within the context of an understandable situation, making it easier for children to see parallels between the animals in the tales and the real life action. Full review...
Matched by Ally Condie
When the Society Matches Cassia to her best friend Xander, she couldn't be more thrilled. Unlike the other girls, she knows her Match – doesn't need to read his details, go through the motions of dating as dictated by the Society, doesn't need to worry they won't get along. Full review...
The Christmas Eve Ghost by Shirley Hughes
Bronwen and Dylan live in the poor part of 1930s Liverpool. Their mam takes in washing to make ends meet, and often has to leave them alone whilst she's pushing the big old pram full of washing to the part of the city where the well-off people live. They're under strict instructions to have nothing to do with their neighbours, the O'Rileys. Then, on Christmas Eve, when they're alone, Bronwen and Dylan hear a plonk, plonk, plonk and are sure it's a ghost... Full review...
Pop-Up: A Paper Engineering Masterclass by Ruth Wickings and Frances Castle
With its subtitle of A Paper Engineering Masterclass, you know exactly what you're getting from Pop-Up. You'll see how pop-up books are made, learn the tips of the trade, and make four elaborate 3D models yourself. If you're not rushing out to buy it immediately, there's something wrong with you! Full review...
The Legion (Roman Legion 9) by Simon Scarrow
Ajax and his crew of fellow renegade gladiators have been stirring things up in Egypt. Attacking small naval bases, merchant ships and villages along the coast, they're successfully stirring some unrest. Because Ajax isn't silly. Not only is he a skilled fighter and capable commander, he's also full of guile. The band pose as Roman soldiers when raiding, so their victims are left with anti-Roman sentiment in addition to their losses. Full review...
CODEX by Adrian Dawson
When I read the resume on the back cover I immediately thought that it was going to be one of those high-octane, action every second paragraph, type of thrillers. All action and perhaps very little substance. I was happily proved wrong. And very early on in the novel, as well, which was good. Full review...
The Oxford Virus by Adam Kolczynski
When Dr Olembé discovers a potential cure for cancer and is given the go-ahead to begin human trials, the potential rewards are huge. Sadly, his first human patient dies shortly afterwards. Medical neglect? Is Dr Olembé's reputation finished? Well, before we have much time to consider these things, a second body is discovered. This time it's a career academic at the university. Was this suicide? Are the two deaths linked? Part medical crime story, part academic satire, part speculative fiction, The Oxford Virus addresses this case. Full review...
Redeeming Features by Nicky Haslam
Nicholas Haslam, interior designer, columnist, reviewer, the man whom it was said would attend a lighted candle, let alone a party, socialite and name dropper - this is your life. Full review...
Jake and Dixie: Super Magic Lightning Boy by Scott McIntyre and Laura Raine
Meet Jake, Super Magic Lightning Boy, the fastest kid in town, and his sidekick Dixie Thunder Paws, the meanest cat around! Full review...
The Wychwood Fairies by Faye Durston
There are some books that manage to be something more than a story and become, instead, an experience. Sometimes they're pop-up stories, sometimes they're simple lift the flap books like Dear Zoo (which I have read to my daughter again and again and again!) Then there are extra special books like The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg which, if you haven't read yet then you really ought to, but I have now discovered the delightful Wychwood Fairies which is another utterly delightful reading experience. Full review...
Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn
I have to admit to both skepticism and curiosity when I realised that this novel is narrated by a dog. It's crime fiction, which isn't my usual genre of choice; I don't like anything gorier or more suspenseful than Agatha Christie's relatively tame works. But the pun in the book's title suggested that there might be an element of humour, so I succumbed to my instincts and requested this book. Full review...