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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Ashes In The Wind by Christopher Bland
John Burke and Tomas Sullivan may go to the same primary school in Kerry but even in 1908 they're on two sides of a great divide. John is Anglo Irish protestant and comfortably off, being the heir to Derriquin Castle whereas Tomas is Irish Catholic, living in poverty and raised to feel the resentment of the oppressed. The fact that John has been brought up to believe in Home Rule tragically makes no difference as John, Tomas and their future generations live with the consequences of a centuries old struggle. Full review...
The Boleyn King (Anne Boleyn Trilogy 1) by Laura Andersen
In this alternative history, Anne Boleyn's son William has become the king known as Henry IX. As he nears the age of majority (18), he also approaches the age at which he will rule solo rather than through his regent and uncle, George Boleyn. However, he's inherited a troubled kingdom. Not only are England's enemies knocking at the door, there are enemies within Will's own household. It begins with the sudden death of one of the court's young ladies in waiting. Where will it end? Full review...
Return to Fourwinds by Elisabeth Gifford
Two families gather at Fourwinds for the wedding of Nicky and Sarah. Alice and Ralph are as proud of their son as Patricia and Peter are of their daughter. However there are secrets festering behind the celebratory facades and there's nothing like pre-wedding jitters to bring such things bubbling to the surface. Full review...
Snug by Matthew Tree
The Boy - we never do know his name - fancied Lucy something rotten, despite the fact that she was two years older than him - and that's quite a gap when you're only twelve. He was absolutely delighted when Lucy's parents wanted to take Lucy and three other kids on holiday to the Isle of Wight with them, along with Lucy's brother Simon, a teenager who was in the army. They'd rented a house in Coldwater Bay, a tiny village on the southern coast of the island. All went well, if even a little boringly, for a few days until Mrs Whitebone set off to take the children to the Needles and found the road blocked by tree trunks which had obviously been sawn for the purpose. Then it seemed that the telephone lines had been cut. Full review...
The Seafront Tea Rooms by Vanessa Greene
Charlie, Kat and Seraphine, are strangers brought together in the Seafront Tea Rooms by their mutual love of afternoon tea. Kat is a young, single mum struggling to get by while her ex provides very little help, Charlie is a heartbroken journalist writing a tea feature for her magazine while visiting her difficult sister, and French Seraphine has come across the channel to au pair, improve her English and get some perspective on a new, complicated relationship. Full review...
There Are Tittles in This Title: The Weird World of Words by Mitchell Symons
I love spending time with Mitchell Symons books. If you don't know him, he's written this book, that book, and a book actually called This Book and a book actually called That Book. He knows his trivia, he gets a lot of info on the page, and can really come across at the best of times as a convivial host. So pair him, as has happened here, with the weird and wonderful world of words and only great things could be expected. Unfortunately, then, only just above average things were expected. Full review...
The Snow Leopard (Mini Edition) by Jackie Morris
You probably haven't heard of Mergichans – although if you pronounce it correctly in your head, in connection with spirits and magic, you will work out what they are. One of them is the totem, if you like, of a hidden Himalayan valley, and she is in the form of a snow leopard, singing existence as she sees fit and protecting the Shangri-La type location. But she cannot protect it from all-comers, least of all when she's trying to sing to find a successor. Mergichans do not have it all their own way… Full review...
Mountwood School for Ghosts by Toby Ibbotson
You've met people like the Great Hagges. Broad in the beam, determined and strident, they subdue petty officials with a single look and ensure everything around them is neat and tidy and well-planned. They're often to be found in the caring professions, but don't be fooled: they are not kind, or gentle, or sensitive to other people's feelings - not even the teeniest little bit. They just don't like mess. Full review...
A Most Desirable Marriage by Hilary Boyd
Jo and Lawrence have been married for nearly forty years. It has been a good marriage and they are both looking forward to spending more time together and pursuing new interests once Lawrence has retired. However, as the time approaches Jo notices that Lawrence appears more edgy and withdrawn. She puts it down to pre-retirement nerves; nothing to really worry about. So, when Lawrence makes a confession to her immediately after his retirement party, she couldn't have been more surprised. She realises that her husband has been living a secret life and that changes everything: instead of anticipating their rosy future together, she's now looking forward to the prospect of life as a single woman. Full review...
The Parent Agency by David Baddiel
Barry likes football (especially if Lionel Messi's playing), James Bond and lists. He doesn't like his two sisters, who tease him mercilessly and get away with all sorts of meanness right under his parents' noses. All his mates have cool names and even cooler parents, and their tenth birthday parties were amazing. His family, on the other hand, just can't manage the simplest thing he asks of them. He knows they're not well off, and he doesn't blame them for that, exactly, but going up to double figures is a big deal and deep in his heart he really does feel they could make a bit more effort. Well, actually, a lot more effort. Full review...
Opal Plumstead by Jacqueline Wilson
Living in Edwardian England, Opal Plumstead is a fiercely intelligent girl. She has already won a scholarship to a public school and dreams of going to university. But all her ambitions are snatched away when her father is sent to prison and Opal is forced to abandon her education for a job in the Fairy Glen sweet factory. The other workers there find Opal snobby and arrogant but the factory's owner, Mrs Roberts, notices her artistic talent and treats Opal as a protege. Through Mrs Roberts, Opal learns about the suffragette movement and even meets the legendary Mrs Pankhurst. Full review...
What Will I Be? by Richard Sinclair and Jon Lycett-Smith
When your children are very little, it can be incredibly difficult to sum up to them what it is you want for their future. It can also be incredibly difficult to sum up to them just how much you want them to go to sleep of an evening; this book ties up the two nicely, in what I believe to be a really good bedtime story. Full review...
Something About a Bear by Jackie Morris
I'm partial to a book about bears, as I've mentioned in previous reviews, so I jumped at the chance to read this book. I could give you a couple of paragraphs just on the cover art if you like! I'm not fussy about my bears in bear books...I'm not a purist, requiring that they all look like real bears, but in this book the illustrations are really wonderfully done. Mr Bear on the cover is a delightfully serious brown bear. I have a friend who declares picture books for children with artwork like this are wasted on small children, but I'd beg to disagree. I think that it's wonderful to be able to provide your child with a range of artistic styles to enjoy and appreciate. There's a place for the Gruffalo style, or Richard Scarry, but I think there's also a place for these books that are made of beautiful paintings. Full review...
The Cat, the Dog, Little Red, the Exploding Eggs, the Wolf and Grandma's Wardrobe by Diane Fox and Christyan Fox
Have you ever sat down to read a story aloud to someone and found that they interrupt at every given opportunity, asking questions, making comments, and generally fidgeting with anything and everything? I'm sure if you've spent any time with a toddler then this will be a familiar experience. This story plays on that, with a cat trying, very hard, to tell a dog the story of Little Red Riding Hood. But dog can't sit still, and he wants to know what Red's superpower is, because if she has a cape she must be a superhero, and he's pretty sure that Red must have zapped the wolf with her kindness ray when she met him... Full review...
A Day at the Police Station by Richard Scarry
We like Richard Scarry books in our house. My 2 year old son has brought me the Busiest People Ever book to read more times than I'd care to think about, but actually I always enjoy it too because there are so many things to see and discuss and look for. The funny illustrations are usually the key selling point for me but actually, in this particular book, it was the story I liked. Full review...
Falling Freely, As If In A Dream by Leif G W Persson
In 2007 Lars Martin Johansson, the head of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Sweden, was approaching retirement and he had one unsolved case which he would dearly love to clear: the murder of Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986. Palme, without bodyguards, had left a cinema in central Stockholm with his wife and was walking home when he was shot in the back. He died almost instantly and his wife suffered a minor injury, whilst the assassin sprinted away into the people milling around in the city. There were witnesses to the killing and people who saw the killer as he escaped. Some time after the death a man was convicted of the murder, but he was later cleared and more than twenty years later the identity of the killer is still a mystery. Full review...
Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald
1850s India: Laura Hewitt accompanies her newly married cousin Emily Flood and Emily's husband Charles to the exotic sub-continent for a visit to Charles' half-brother Oliver Erskine. Although none of the travellers have ever met Oliver, many of the people they encounter have heard of him and the way he rules his small fiefdom as its Zemindar. These stories tantalise Laura as the information conflicts and she's unable to develop a mental picture of the man. That's not all that's conflicting: there's an increasing feeling of unrest in this furthest outpost of Queen Victoria's empire which will eventually lead to one of the bloodiest episodes in Indo-British history. Laura, Emily and Charles are naïve, but that won't save them from what's to come – something beyond their worst nightmares. Full review...
The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee
SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2014 Many generations of the Ghosh family live together in a single house in 1960's Calcutta, albeit a very big single house. Life may be materially comfortable but not easy. Jealousy, in-fighting, the struggle to keep the family business going (and, for the younger family members, the struggle to lead the life they'd like) causes more than the odd sleepless night. Son Supratik has succeeded in choosing a different path though. He's tired of the endless consumption and acquisition and leaves home to follow his Marxist beliefs, exchanging family living for discomfort and danger. Full review...
The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy - The Nearly Definitive Edition by Douglas Adams
There are few series that have garnered such a cult following as 'The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'. Whether the fans have come from the radio series, the (impossibly hard) computer game, or the (well intentioned but not particularly good) film, they are everywhere. Ask a room of people what the meaning of life is, and you can be pretty sure a good few will pipe up with '42' as the answer. Full review...
Quick Pint After Work by Luke Lewis
BuzzFeed is one of the world’s best time sucks, and I’m regularly directed to the site by links from Facebook and Twitter, in between browsing the app on my phone. According to the author bio on this book, BuzzFeed is 'a social news and entertainment company', which is a fancy way of describing lots of fun lists that speak to the readership (20 words that have a completely different meaning in Manchester, 30 Things all ex-gymnasts know to be true, 40 Very British problems, yadda yadda yadda). These list work well on line when you want a quick distraction, and they’re easy to flip through, looking at the attached photos or video clips. The question then, is whether or not BuzzFeed the book will have the same appeal. Full review...
Dead or Alive? by Clive Gifford and Sarah Horne
Animals do the most amazing things, but dying is not one of them. In fact, animals dislike dying so much that over the millennia they have evolved many ingenious ways of not being dead – or as scientists like to call this not dead state; alive. What better way to avoid death than to act dead or smell so bad that no one would possibly want to eat you? Full review...
Atlas of Adventures by Lucy Letherland
The world is full of adventures.
With this inviting opening line, the Atlas of Adventures encourages young readers to travel the world from the comfort of their own sofa. Bold, bright illustrations show defining landmarks and celebrations from all around the world and each double-page spread is filled with bite-sized facts incorporated into the artwork. Full review...
The Making of Home by Judith Flanders
In 1900 a young girl in a strange land told the people around her that she had decided she no longer wanted to live in their lovely country, but would much rather return to the ‘dry, grey’ place she had come from, because there was ‘no place like home’. The girl was Dorothy, while the people around her were the citizens of Oz – and, yes, it was all fiction, the creation of author L. Frank Baum. Nevertheless he had put into words something which many people deeply felt but had not yet expressed. Full review...
Knightley and Son: K9 by Rohan Gavin
Young fans of Sherlock Holmes will be happy to see this, the second in the series devoted to the tweed-wearing teenage detective. Together with his father (well, more or less: the poor man slips into a semi-coma whenever he gets stressed), his clever and resourceful sister and his beloved dog Wilbur, Darkus is soon hot on the trail of the mysterious dogs, which hunt in pairs and are strong enough to tear a man's throat out. If the creatures are indeed just dogs, that is . . . Full review...
Two Player Big Fun Book by Lydia Crook
My house is full of technology designed to inspire and entertain: computers, iPads, games consoles, mobile devices...yet despite this, the kids seem to constantly complain that they are bored. Maybe the problem is that we are so used to being entertained, that perhaps we have forgotten how to entertain ourselves. Lydia Crook, paper engineer, aims to change all of that by bringing out our creative and playful side in the excellent (and completely absorbing) Two Player Big Fun Book. Full review...
The Human Body in 30 Seconds by Anna Claybourne
Our body is an amazing machine, capable of performing a myriad of tasks simultaneously. Even when we are sleeping, our body is busy processing information, pumping blood, regulating temperature and filtering waste. When we are hurt, a host of repair systems jump into operation to sort out the damage. When we are invaded by a foreign body, our immune system works to repel the invaders. We are constantly making new discoveries about the wonderful way that our body works. Full review...
Sherlock Holmes: The Man Who Never Lived and Will Never Die by Alex Werner
It has been over 125 years since the first Sherlock Holmes story was written and since then, the character has been subject to countless interpretations on stage, screen and in literature. Such was the popularity of the famous detective, that his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, attempted on more than one occasion to 'free himself' from Holmes, the most notable example being his 'death' at Reichenbach Falls. Readers were most upset and Doyle eventually bowed to public pressure, reviving the eponymous hero for further adventures. In the years that followed, Holmes took on a life independent of his author, as his stories were adapted for stage and film. An unconcerned Doyle allowed free rein with the character, famously saying: 'You may marry or murder or do whatever you like with him.' Full review...
Jampires by Sarah McIntyre and David O'Connell
Jampires is a great book explaining why some of your doughnuts might not be as jammy as you’d perhaps like. This is a really funny premise for a children’s book and I really did enjoy reading it, on the whole. Full review...
The Further Adventures of the Owl and the Pussy-cat by Julia Donaldson and Charlotte Voake
I was utterly intrigued by the idea of a follow up to the wonderful Edward Lear poem, The Owl and the Pussy-cat. I thought it might have the feel that some follow ups by different authors might have, but I was very pleasantly surprised. If anybody was going to be able to write verse that could live up to the original, Julia Donaldson was, and she did. Full review...
Winter Siege by Ariana Franklin and Samantha Norman
In the autumn of 1180 the Abbott of Perton Abbey is dying, and like any man who has lived through tumultuous times, particularly one who might have had a close-up view of those times, he decides to set down his own version of events. To this end he calls a scribe to him. Full review...
Life on Air by David Attenborough
I was one of the generation who grew up when David Attenborough was a giant among presenters of wildlife programmes on television, and anything with his name attached was a must-watch. At the time, I had no idea that he was also one of the pivotal characters in the development of broadcasting, having been controller of BBC2 and director of programming for BBC TV for several years. These days, he is probably best remembered for writing and presenting the nine ‘Life’ series, a comprehensive survey of all life on the planet. Full review...