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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Of Lions and Unicorns: A Lifetime of Tales from the Master Storyteller by Michael Morpurgo
Of Lions and Unicorns is a collection of short stories and extracts from Morpurgo’s most popular books. The book is split into five sections, which focus on recurring themes in his writing. Full review...
Inside The Centre: The Life of J Robert Oppenheimer by Ray Monk
Thinking back to the early 1960s, Bertrand Russell, the subject of another prize winning biography by Ray Monk, was frequently seen on black and white television declaring his concerns over Nuclear Weapons. He stated, 'Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear.' For nearly seventy years, mankind has wondered in the words of Sting, 'How can I save my boy from Oppenheimer's deadly toy?' As concerns about nuclear proliferation in relation to Iraq, Pakistan and North Korea escalate it is salutary to return to a thorough biography of the man, known as the father of the bomb, that felt a deep and urgent need to be at the centre and to belong, J Robert Oppenheimer. Full review...
Monument to Murder by Mari Hannah
DCI Kate Daniels is working in Northumberland, following the discovery of two bodies buried on a beach, overlooking a beautiful vista. With no knowledge of the local community, Daniels and her loyal team have an overwhelming amount of work to do, as well as a strong sense of justice powering them on. Meanwhile, recently widowed Emily McCann is struggling to cope with a return to her prison work, as well as the added complication of a prisoner who has taken a shine to her. And the two situations are about to collide with one hell of an impact… Full review...
The Children of Green Knowe and The River at Green Knowe by Lucy M Boston
I vaguely remember the ‘Green Knowe books from my childhood. They were an unusual mix of adventure and fantasy with some history thrown in, written in the middle of the last century. There are six books in the series, all based in a large house called 'Green Noah' or 'Green Knowe', based on the author’s own home. Full review...
The Girl With All the Gifts by M R Carey
Meet Melanie. Not something that's likely to happen, but it's a standard introduction and I'll run with it. If you do find her, it's either in a subterranean cell, or a classroom. Or the shower-room, where she and the other children get disinfected, and get to eat a bowl of maggots – the only nutrition they have all week. All this is on a military base so secure they've only seen a few members of staff – either military or mostly lacklustre teachers – and they've certainly no real hope of seeing sunlight. They are there because of the Breakdown, when most of the world got turned into ravenous, mindless hungries. But these children did not turn all the way. And as unlikely as it is, as implausible a heroine as she is, young Melanie might just be the saviour of mankind. Full review...
The Best of Wonder Wart-Hog by Gilbert Shelton
For those people who think a man fixated with bats and fighting crime is too extreme… For those who find the alter-ego of a super-powered alien far too ridiculous when it's the thin disguise of a mild-mannered reporter… For those for whom the do-goodie morals of all the super-heroes and crime-fighters in comics are just too unrealistic – welcome, one and all, to Wonder Wart-Hog. Sent to Earth from a dying planet, and living as a very put-upon journalist, Philbert Desanex is merely the public character that the smelly, ugly creature has to live as. But deep inside that humble frame and visage is a huge, beer-guzzling, road-hogging, violent character just bursting to get out (quite literally, if he can afford to replace Philbert's suits at the time) and thump people. And thump people he has done for decades now, as this huge testimony suggests. Full review...
Skulk by Rosie Best
All Meg wanted to do was go out and create a real work of graffiti art. Then she sees a dying fox transform into a man, and pass onto her a mysterious gem, and all of a sudden she's inherited a whole new world of problems. Skulk sees its heroine plunged into a secret London, where raggedy groups of people transform into animals. The shapechangers have never got on with each other, but with a mysterious stranger trying to claim the strange gemstone Meg's forced to try to unite this ragtag bunch. Full review...
The Suicide Exhibition: The Never War by Justin Richards
Guy Pentecross, has been transferred from active duty to the Foreign Office after an injury at Dunkirk, a move which seems to bring him both relief and frustration. On the one hand Dunkirk has obviously affected him, on the other he feels guilty doing a desk job while others fight the war. When chance events lead him to the fringes of a conspiracy, Guy is unable to resist the urge to be more actively involved in the war, but he is about to uncover a conspiracy beyond his wildest imagination. Very soon Guy will be fighting not only for Britain, but for the fate of the earth itself. Full review...
Hilda and the Bird Parade by Luke Pearson
Hilda is a young girl who has just moved from the mountainous countryside to the town of Trolberg; a major upheaval in the life of a girl who likes nothing better than to go exploring the woods and mountains and discovering magical creatures. Since moving into town Hilda’s mother is not so keen to allow Hilda out exploring believing a town to be a potentially dangerous place for a child. Soon though Hilda and her new friends manage to convince her mother to allow her out and the new friends give her a guided tour of the area and all the best places in town. Hilda seems to prefer animals to other children though and early on becomes separated from her friends and instead goes exploring with an injured bird she has befriended. Full review...
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...