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.
There are currently 16,117 reviews at TheBookbag.
Want to find out more about us?
New Reviews
Read new reviews by genre.
Read new features.
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...
At Night We Walk In Circles by Daniel Alarcon
Peruvian-born Daniel Alarcón returns to South America in this story of one man's downfall and the twists and turns of fate that not only contributed to this but also which compelled the narrator of this story to seek to understand what happened. The main character, a young man named Nelson whose plans to follow his older brother to the US are halted when his father dies forcing him to care for his mother, has trained to be an actor but his career is going nowhere. Then he lands a part in a notorious three person play that is going to tour the provinces. One of the trio is the play's writer, Henry, a man who was imprisoned under terrorist charges when the play was first produced. With Nelson's ex girlfriend now pregnant with another man's child, the temptation to get away from his life in his home city is too tempting. No one could have forecast what the impact this tour would have on his life though. Full review...
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
Being childless, I've never had reason to read books out loud to youngsters. I've never faced the challenge of having to pace the story verbally, find the very easily understood stress of the sentence for the young mind, or more importantly find the voice for each and every main character. There are a host of people who would have read this book and its sequels to their children however, and they never had to find the voice to read it out at all – for my generation, the TV version of Paddington is still firmly fixed in our minds after many a decade. But I can also remember reading a copy of this opening collection of short stories at that age as well – and everything associated with Paddington Bear is only going to bring back the firmest of warm memories. This lovely new volume will only create a host more too. Full review...
The Fourteenth Day: JFK and the Aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis by David G Coleman
The commonly-held view of history would have us believe that the Cuban Missile Crisis began in mid-October 1962 and concluded on 28 October, with the world heaving a collective sigh of relief and moving on to think of other things. The truth is, of course, rather different and the crisis rumbled on for weeks and months to come, occasionally almost bubbling to the boil again as Kennedy and Krushchev fenced with each other. Historian David G Coleman has used the secret White House recordings to take us into the Oval Office and listen to what really went on. Full review...
Pongo by Jesse Hodgson
The rainforest is not all it’s cracked up to be. It may be a beautiful and important eco system but one of the residents is not a happy ape. Pongo the orangutan is wet and lonely. He lives in the depths of the forest and yearns for the warmth of the sun. He’s heard it’s bright and orange, just like him, so he sets out to find it. Full review...
Ruby Redfort: Catch Your Death by Lauren Child
It's the life thousands of young girls dream of: kindly but improbably vague parents who rarely (if ever) ask what you're up to, a completely trustworthy best friend who would die rather than betray your secrets, and, of course, a place in the top-secret spy agency which just happens to be situated below your town. Oh, and a few super-cool spy devices to get you out of trouble, of course. What more could a girl ask for? Full review...
Morning Frost by James Henry
In 1982 DS Jack Frost - not yet forty years old - is burying his wife, Mary. There's a good turnout for the funeral from the police force and the local Masons, which might be the reason why the local ne'er-do-wells seem to be rather more active than usual. Superintendent Mullett makes a day (and rather a lot of the night) of it, whilst Jack finds himself back at the police station and taking a call about a foot found in a field. ('We're looking for someone with a very bad limp...') Add in a rape at the local comprehensive school (hot on the heels of one near a pub) and a new computer system which seems designed to confuse and it's obvious that Jack isn't going to get much chance to grieve for his wife - not that she was at the top of his list of priorities before she died. Full review...
The House by Sebastiana Randone
A woman wakes to find herself alone in a dark forest. She sees a man and calls out to him but he ignores her. Eventually, she finds her way to a house and takes shelter. With no idea of how she came to be there - or recall of her own name, even - the woman explores this dilipidated mansion and discovers a portal that transports her back to Regency England. Here, a dreadful thing happens before she is transported back in time again. Full review...
The Blood of Heaven by Kent Wascom
1799 in America and Angel Woolsack is the son of an itinerant preacher, travelling around Louisiana. Life isn't easy as Angel is torn between the puritanical fire and brimstone upbringing of Preacher-Father and his desire to be a normal young man within the confines of a religious community. Eventually Angel's desire to express himself leads to tragedy and, with his only friend Samuel Kemper for company, he is cast out by those he loves. Angel and Samuel decide to search for Samuel's elder brother, Reuben, and thus begins the adventure that will take them to Florida, bring Angel a feisty bride and provide a place in the history books for the Kemper brothers as they grapple for land against the Spanish. Full review...
Red Sledge by Lita Judge
In the middle of a snowy winter, a child leaves his red sledge leaning against the wall of his house overnight. Little does he know that the woodland creatures have their eye on it for some midnight fun. Full review...
Tinder by Sally Gardner
Sally Gardner has followed her wonderful and haunting Maggot Moon with another story about a world at war, but although death and violence abound once again, the atmosphere here is very different. This time we are not in some alternate nineteen fifties Britain where the bad guys have won, but instead in the eerie, mist-filled world of the fairy tale. In this place wonders and magic lead the hero to his destiny, and love, power and greed are the catalysts for both joy and despair. Full review...
Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe
When I began reading this book I wasn't entirely sure that I liked it. I didn't quite know how to take the Nina from the title. She's a twenty year old Nanny, employed by the editor of the London Review of Books and living near Regent's Park in North London. The book contains her letters to her sister, Victoria living at home in Leicestershire, and tell of the events and happenings in her life as a Nanny and then, going on, in her life as a student at Thames Polytechnic. Initially it felt like she was name dropping - Alan Bennett lives over the road and drops in for dinner most days; the father of Will and Sam, the two boys she is nannying, is Stephen Frears; down the road lives Claire Tomalin and her partner Michael Frayn...and yet, given chance, you begin to see that she isn't awed by the notoriety of these people (indeed, she tells her sister that Alan Bennett was in Coronation Street!) and actually they are just the neighbours and so it is less important that Alan Bennett (AB as he's referred to in the book) comes around for dinner every night since he isn't there for fame value but rather for his own unique place in this rather crazy family life memoir! Full review...
Barbapapa's Voyage by Annette Tison and Talus Taylor
In Barbapapa, we were introduced to a friendly, pink, shape-shifting blob who used his special talents to help the local townsfolk, who hailed him as the new town hero. However, despite having lots of human friends, our pink protagonist is looking decidedly off-colour at the beginning of this sequel. It seems that being the only one of your species is a pretty lonely affair and poor Barbapapa is longing for a Barbamama to share his life with. Full review...
Fractured by Dani Atkins
Rachel is not living a life most people would covet. Her job is dull, she lives alone in a grotty flat, she has a scarred face that makes people stop and squirm, and she still hasn’t come to terms with the death of her best friend – who lost his life saving hers. She has to drag herself out of London and back to her hometown for the wedding of a close friend, and she goes so reluctantly because it’s the first time the whole gang will have been back together since the accident, five years ago. It’s really not a life to hold on to. Surely she’d rather anything else? Full review...
The Facebook Diet: 50 Funny Signs of Facebook Addiction and Ways to Unplug With a Digital Detox by Gemini Adams
Everywhere you look and question this book, it is a success – more or less. Does it do what it purports to – show evidence of a Facebook addiction and provide a dietary way out? Yes, more or less. Does it engage with its combination of cartoon images and captions? Yes, more or less. Does it have some cult Internet pedigree to make it a hit gift book for the techie? Yes, more or less – it might not have been borne from a webpage somewhere online, but the Kindle version was launched several months before the paperback. Is it then a worthwhile addition to your comedy book shelves? Yes – more or less. Full review...
The Luck of the Vails by E F Benson
'The sequestered village of Vail lies in a wrinkle of the great Wiltshire downs, and is traversed by the Bath Road.' Of course the big inn is called 'The Vail Arms' and about a mile from the village is 'the big house'. Benson doesn't name the house – indeed it wouldn't have needed a name. Locally it would just be known as the big house, and any local delivery person would know where to deposit any attached to Lord Vail. Full review...
Nor Will He Sleep by David Ashton
Two opposing Edinburgh university student gangs are full of high jinks the night that Agnes Carnegie is found dead. Daniel Drummond, one of the merry-makers, is a prime suspect as he had an altercation with her and uses a silver cane that matches the murder weapon. Nothing is a foregone conclusion though and so dour, wily Inspector James McLevy of the Leith police is determined to uncover the truth. Meanwhile Robert Louis Stevenson is in town for his father's funeral and renews his acquaintance with McLevy which is rather fortuitous when we consider what lies ahead. Full review...
The Jade Boy by Cate Cain
Jem Green is taken from his boring life as a servant to a duke to make the acquaintance of the duke’s new friend, Count Cazalon. Cazalon takes a worrying interest in twelve-year-old Jem, and the unease he initially feels is made even worse when he meets two children in Cazalon’s household and starts to find out just how evil the man is. Can Jem save himself, and the city of London, from Cazalon’s evil plans? Full review...
If I Never Went Home by Ingrid Persaud
Bea is a practising psychologist. It's her second career - she was once an ambitious academic, a professor of history, but a longstanding depression led to a breakdown and recovery meant a search for pastures new and more fulfilling. But even now, she can't cast off the family crises that led to her illness. Tina is a young girl living in Trinidad with her mother. One question preoccupies Tina - who is her father? Her mother won't say and her grandmother and aunt claim not to know. Tina feels lonely a lot of the time and she is sure that finding her father would put an end to her unhappiness. Full review...
I Love You Too by Michael Foreman
It’s bedtime and you know what that means. Little Bear is tucked up cozy in bed and Dad’s just finishing reading his story. It’s time to sleep… or is it? Little Bear seems a bit too awake and every time Dad makes a move to go, Little Bear tells him how much he loves him. And it’s A Lot. He loves him more than all the toys, more than all the birds in the trees and the stars in the sky. More than… well, you get the picture. It’s very sweet, but it is bedtime and, you know, Dad’s looking rather tired himself. Full review...
When You Walked Back into My Life by Hilary Boyd
Hilary Boyd wrote best-selling 'Thursdays in the Park', which I enjoyed immensely, so I was delighted to be given the opportunity to read her latest novel. With the stalwarts of a white-coat hospital romance as the major characters, and a sub-plot involving a dying old lady and her money-grabbing nephew, there's plenty to hook lovers of an easy-read romantic novel. Hilary Boyd writes straightforwardly, and the story flies across the pages. Full review...
Odes and Prose for Older Women by Diana Wells
I am, of course, not an older woman and nether is Diana Wells. We were born in the same year and we are what is best described as 'upper middle aged', but - perhaps in anticipation of what is to come - Diana has collected together her writings on the subject and I read through them in two sittings (the break was enforced) and I laughed and cried, but the wry smile of recognition never left my face from beginning to end. There are about eighty five short stories and odes - with none more than a few pages long - written, we are told, from observation, experience or imagination and I can only conclude that Wells has led a very rich life. Full review...