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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The Tournament by Matthew Reilly
Michael Reilly is somewhat of a guilty pleasure of mine; his novels are hi-octane adventures that are often as ludicrous as they are sublime. ‘The Tournament’ is a departure from his action packed Scarecrow and Jack West thrillers; instead creating an alternative history for our own Queen Elizabeth I. Why was she such a formidable leader whose reluctance to marry and dislike of the Catholics were only part of her make-up? Reilly poses a hypothetical tale about a 13 year old Bess going to Constantinople to watch a tournament of the world’s greatest chess players. Here she will be embroiled in a murder mystery alongside her tutor Roger Ascham. Full review...
Monkey Business by Smriti Prasadam-Halls and David Wojtowycz
We’re on Noah’s Ark and all the animals are here, from the snakes to the lions to the crocodiles. There are two of everyone, of course, though randomly there only appears to be one monkey, Charlie Chatter. And uh, oh. He’s lost his potty! Now Charlie Chatter is a bit big to be going on the potty, so the other animals, and Noah, try to convince him to try the loo instead, extolling its virtues, explaining how much fun it can be. Charlie Chatter remains unconvinced though, but when his potty fails to reappear his has a troubling choice to make. Full review...
The Emergence of Judy Taylor by Angela Jackson
Judy's life had been the stuff which many others might envy: she'd grown up with friends about her whom she'd known since primary school and married the first man who asked her - but he did seem to be doing rather well. Then one day she discovered a lump. A hard lump. In her right breast. Nerve-racking test followed nerve-racking test, but eventually she was told that everything was absolutely normal. Husband Oli wanted to celebrate. So did her friends. The problem was Judy. Missing the bus home after her hospital appointment she sat in a cafe and thought. She realised that normal was not what she wanted. She wanted something more. Full review...
The Empress by Meg Clothier
It's 1179 and Agnes, daughter of King Louis VII is sent to Byzantium to marry the young son and heir of the Emperor. However the chap in question, young Alexios, is more a drip than a chip off his father's block. This leaves Agnes to work on her own strategy for survival. For this is a world where everyone is paranoid, and with good reason as everyone is a target and Agnes isn't just a woman, she's a stepping stone to power. Full review...
The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
I'm still not sure which is cheekier of the BBC – either riffing on the Conan Doyle originals for their own modern takes on Sherlock Holmes, or producing new editions of the original stories and novels with their young stars on the front, purely to tie a few sales down of what is now out of copyright. Certainly I think the latter is the greater crime, given the results on screen, for the number of young people picking up these classics for the first time on the basis of the TV and finding something quite against the grain of what they've ever read outside of school must be quite large. Still, anything to forcefeed classics to a new audience… Full review...
Dark Witch (The Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy) by Nora Roberts
American Iona Sheehan moves to Ireland in order to discover her ancestors' roots and oh so much more. Her ancestors were witches and her cousins Branna and Conor O'Dwyer have acquired the family talent. Under their care and tutelage Iona has her own skills honed as she develops the magick passed down to her in between her work at the local stables. Unfortunately magick isn't the only thing to have survived the centuries. Cabahn, the nemesis of Sorcha, the first O'Dwyer dark witch, has unfinished business with the cousins and not in a good way. Full review...
Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan
Rules of Summer is not one of those books that is ever likely to earn the blanket recommendation One for every child's bookshelf. This book is not for every child. For some it could be the stuff of nightmares. But for those children who have grown bored with the pedestrian banality of many of the books on the high street, for children with a vivid imagination who are not too easily frightened, this book can be pure magic. It is a story of friendship, of the relationship between brothers, of anger and rivalry, and also of love and redemption, told with minimal text and the beautiful surreal imagery of Tan's paintings. Full review...
The City of Strangers by Michael Russell
In the spring of 1939 The Irish Times reported that Mrs Letitia Harris, aged 53 had gone missing from her home in Dublin. Her car was found the following morning on a cliff top near Shankill. There were bloodstains in the car, and a blood-stained hatchet in the shed back in Dublin, blood too in the flowerbed. Full review...
Let Me Off at the Top!: My Classy Life and Other Musings by Ron Burgundy
This book is a testament to my giant balls. But it's also a lot more. The story we've never been able to discern from either of the Anchorman films is one of surprising hardship, unsurprising hardness, and great hair. It's a rags-to-riches tale, as Ron Burgundy comes from a Hicksville town in the middle of the outskirts of somewhere the arse end of nowhere (a town perpetually on fire due to the accidents in the mines underneath) and struggles against all the odds – and many of the evens in the shape of women's legs – to get where he is today, thrusting himself and his news at us nightly. Full review...
Tommy Tickletail: A Tall Tale by Dom Conlon and Carl Pugh
Sophie and Sam are on a midnight mission. It's a long time since supper and they're both hungry. Obviously a trip to see what's in the fridge (they've got high expectations) is essential but there are dangers to overcome. It's dark. They really shouldn't be raiding the fridge and - most frightening of all - there's Tommy Tickletail who has a body twelve feet long and sleeps under the kitchen table. They've got to get to the fridge without waking the monster - or who knows what the consequences will be? Full review...
I Am A Giant (Tiny the Giant) by Dom Conlon and Nicola Anderson
Tiny knew that he was a giant. In fact you couldn't help thinking that he was a little bit cross about the fact that he had to keep telling people. He'd shake his fists and roar I AM A GIANT. Proof was important, of course and the first step was to measure his shadow, which he did when the sun was low - but it wasn't just one step. It was many and his shadow still ran on ahead of him. Off he went to tell the world, but the mountains were, well, dismissive and the tall trees whispered about it amongst themselves before they rejected what he had to say. The wind didn't agree either - and went on and on about it until Tiny ran away to the sea. Full review...
Sherlock: His Last Bow by Arthur Conan Doyle
The End. I got told off for writing those two simple words at the end of a short story I wrote at school, aged about eleven. If it is the end, I think the teacher was saying, it should be obvious. If it isn't, there's still no way the words are necessary. But at least I'm not alone. Conan Doyle, the south coast Doctor turned entertainer extraordinaire with all his output, was told off for the way he finished things. Holmes dead? Sorry, not allowed, Mr Doyle. Holmes retired to keep bees near Eastbourne? Beyond the pale, Sir – bring him back. You don't like the labour of proving your genius invention to be such a genius? Tough. And so we come to 'His Last Bow', which Watson tells us is the final, final, ending story with which to conclude, and a few others. He wasn't exactly correct about it being the last ones, though. Full review...
Max and the Won't Go To Bed Show by Mark Sperring and Sarah Warburton
Prepare to unleash your inner Barnum with ‘Max and the Won’t Go To Bed Show’. You don’t read this book – you perform it. So, what’s it all about? Well, if you give me a drum roll (PLEASE!) … I will tell you. Full review...
Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life by Hermione Lee
Penelope Fitzgerald came from an earnest and renowned academic family, the Knoxes, which included several prominent clerics; her grandfather was the Bishop of Manchester. A considerable biographer herself, she wrote a book on the Knox brothers, these included two Oxford pastors (one of whom, Ronald Knox, converted to Catholicism, was famous as a biblical translator and whilst chaplain at Trinity College became a mentor to the future prime minister, Harold Macmillan), a top Bletchley cryptographic analyst and Penelope's own eminent father, 'Evoe' who was editor of Punch. Fitzgerald wrote prolifically from childhood and fulfilled some of these high expectations by gaining a brilliant First at Somerville. Graduating in 1938, she was already known for her membership of the smart set, for her student journalism and a reticent, indeed peremptory manner. Women could not actually graduate at Oxford until a statute was passed in 1920. Hence she was amongst Oxford's early women graduates. Her striking appearance within the smart set earned her the nickname of the blonde bombshell. Full review...
Fin and Lady by Cathleen Schine
In 1964 eleven-year-old Fin Hadley met his half sister again. His first contact with Lady had been some years before when Lady had left her bridegroom at the altar and run away to Capri. Fin's mother and father took Fin with them as they went to Capri to bring Lady home. Fin's father had died a while ago but it was at his mother's funeral, six years later, that he and Lady met again - she was his only surviving relative and would be his guardian. Lady, Fin and Fin's dog Gus left rural Connecticut for New York. The snag about this is that Lady's well, not exactly parent material. Full review...
The Bones of Paris by Laurie R King
It is 1929 and Harris Stuyvesant has now left the Bureau of Investigation and England behind him and is working as a Private Investigator in Europe. An American, whom Stuyvesant had met, has gone missing and Stuyvesant is approached by her Uncle and her Mother to find her. The missing girl, Pip Crosby, was involved with a group of artists in the Montparnasse and Montmartre areas of the city. Many of them seem to have known her, but few have seen her in some time. Full review...
The Web and the Wing by Teresa Raftery
I love a good family saga, don't you? The Web and the Wing begins at the end of World War I. Claire returns to her pre-war job as a maid at Ardleagh Hall, home of the Earl of Eglinton. But Claire wants more than a life in service. She wants education and independence. And she wants away from Ardleagh for another reason too - rigid social rules mean that she can never declare her love for James, heir to the Eglinton title. James feels the same about Claire but he too has personal reasons for wanting to escape - his father will not countenance his musical ambitions. After the disastrous miners' strike of 1926, James leaves for Berlin to become a concert pianist. From here, he observes the rise of Hitler with mounting concern. Full review...
Fred's War by Andrew Davidson
Fred's War is the story of the 1st Cameronians actions in the 1st world war from 1914 -1915. The pictures themselves tell their own story. They show the happy young and carefree faces become gaunt, lined and battle-worn as the war progresses, although there is still laughter at times. The simple warmth of a roaring fire brings such obvious pleasure, that in a way the joy itself is heart-breaking. Photos like this make one wonder however they ever coined the name The Great War. This looks anything but great. It shows the desolation of ploughed fields which should have been planted to provide nourishment, instead yielding only a harvest of death and despair. It shows men wading in water nearly to their knees or scurrying like animals in the muck. The pictures show the true horror of trench warfare in a way words can not, but thankfully they show only the lulls between battles. There are no scenes of horror as men are blown to bits. I think the men of this time had too much respect to photograph comrades in the throes of death, or in agony with wounds. This is not the horror of the battlefield or the immediate aftermath, but instead of mind-numbing cold, hunger and filth - of living conditions so bleak death itself might not seem such a bad option. But it isn't all doom and gloom. There are happier scenes as Fred is an officer and billeted comfortably at times. There is also the delight of a death narrowly missed and simple scenes of camaraderie. Full review...
Colossus by Alexander Cole
I would not want to be in the front line of any army, but one that is facing a row of battle worn elephants must be the worst These huge beasts, that don’t smell particularly nice, are charging towards you, their tusks tipped in armour. You’ll find me cowering somewhere near the baggage train. Not Gajendra, he is an ambitious young man in Alexander’s all conquering army. He has a special relationship with the largest elephant in Alex’s army, Colossus. This close relationship between man and beast will lead Gajendra to a higher level than he could ever have imagined for a poor boy from India. Full review...
This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
Elise is a fragile girl who's never felt like she fitted in anywhere. Shuttled between her divorced parents, she's desperate to be popular at school but can't work out how. Then a chance event leads to her DJ'ing in Start, a hot underground nightclub and her life suddenly improves dramatically - but can she really leave behind her old self, or are the bullies who make her feel like there's nothing worthwhile about her life right all along? Full review...
When The Guns Fall Silent by James Riordan
In 1964, Perry visits a foreign cemetery with his grandfather Jack, a hero of World War I. Jack doesn't like to talk about the war, much to Perry's disappointment, but on this trip he finds himself thinking back 50 years to a time when he signed up full of enthusiasm only to be confronted by the harsh realities of war, and looking back on those of his friends - English and German - who didn't make it. Full review...
Last to Rise by Francis Knight
Rojan has spent his life running from any sort of responsibility, but it's all catching up with him now. With the Mishans and Storads both knocking on Mahala's door, war seems inevitable. The inhabitants of Mahala are starving as trade dries up, the natural resources of the city all used. And the paltry amount of Glow the few pain mages can generate isn't enough to protect them. Full review...
A Deal's a Deal by Stephanie Blake
There is always that stage, with children, where they always seem to want whatever someone else has got. I think it lasts until they are, well, about thirty seven?! Here we see the beginnings of envy with Simon, our little rabbit friend from Stupid Baby. He's off to play with his friend Ferdinand, and he takes along three cars - a yellow car, a green car and a blue car. But then, of course, Ferdinand has a red car... Full review...
It's Time to Say Goodnight by Harriet Ziefert and Barroux
When a little boy wakes up happy and decides to say 'Good morning' to everything he sees he probably doesn't realise the task he has set himself. Indeed, after saying 'Good morning' to twenty-plus things around him it seems it's now time to say 'Good night'! Full review...