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|summary=|summary=In [[War and Love: A family's testament of anguish, endurance and devotion in occupied Amsterdam by Melanie Martin|War and Love: A family's testament of anguish, endurance and devotion in occupied Amsterdam]] Melanie Martin reconstructs what happened to her family in occupied Amsterdam in WWII. It's a highly compelling, if occasionally shocking read. Days after she finished the book Sue could not stop thinking about what she had read and was delighted when the author agreed to chat to with her.

|summary=Ever felt that you've hit a brick wall with your writing? Jessica Jarlvi has eight tipd tips yo get you writing again.

|summary=One of the finest story tellers storytellers you've never heard of, who died in September 2018 at the age of 58.

|summary= Choosing the top ten self-published books we read in 2017 was one of the toughest jobes jobs we did all year and involved a great deal of discussion. Here's our final top ten in alphabetical order by author...

The list of titles for 2018's World Book Day has [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41429806 been announced]. So good to see a [[Paddington's Finest Hour by Michael Bond |Paddington]] book on there. RIP Michael Bond and his wonderful messages about openness and inclusivity. But the 2018 list isn't universally popular. Many children's authors, among them Bookbag favourites David Almond and Anthony McGowan, have [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/oct/02/childrens-authors-slam-celebrity-heavy-world-book-day-lineup criticised it] for the number of celebrity authors it contains. Almond says '' It’s demeaning to children, because it is assuming that children don’t read properly.'' What do you think? Here at Bookbag, we are inclined to agree. World Book Day should feature quality writing, not famous names. Even so, good luck to an important event. Oh, and good luck in advance to all frazzled parents helping with costumes when the big day eventually arrives!

|summary=Very few people believe that dogs can talk so it was something of a relief when Sue met author , Annie Ingram. She has lengthy conversations with her cocker spaniel Kammie and has shared them with us in her [[Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram|book]]. There was a lot to talk about when she popped into Bookbag Towers to chat to us.

|summary=Ani was quietly moved by [[Returning Home by Stephan Santiago|Returning Home]] and there were a several points she wanted to discuss with author Stephan Santiago when he popped in to into Bookbag Towers to chat to us.

|summary=Sue laughed and cried when she read [[Surgery on the Shoulders of Giants: Letters from a doctor abroad by Saqib Noor|Surgery on the Shoulders of Giants: Letters from a doctor abroad]], touched and humbled by a man who has provided medical aid in some of the most needy neediest parts of the world. She had quite a few questions when author Saqib Noor popped into Bookbag Towers to see us.

Hello , you lovely Bookbaggers. It's been a sad and angry month since we last spoke, what with terror attacks and general elections. We hope all is well with all of you and you are all coping as best you can. But we are going to try to distract you from it all just for a minute or two by pointing you in the direction of some great books to read. When all else fails, books can comfort, right? So let's have some positivity, if only on the subject of books and reading.

|summary=Sue thought that [[Seven Days with You by Hugo Driscoll|Seven Days With You]] was a quick but suprisingly surprisingly deep read which looks sensitively at young love and terminal illness and that it's more uplifting than you might expect from that description! There was a lot to chat about when author Hugo Driscoll popped into Bookbag Towers.

First up this month, our great friend SF Said reminded us of an important campaign the other day, and we want to remind you in turn.#coverkidsbooks draws attention to the lack of representative coverage of children's books in newspapers and other media. You can read about it here.As this blogpost blog post points out, according to The Bookseller, sales of children's books overtook adult fiction for the first time in 2014, and they now account for over 30% of the UK publishing market. And yet children's books currently get just 3% of all book review space, despite accounting for that 30% of the market. That is an entire order of magnitude of under-representation. We couldn't agree more and we at Bookbag give equal priority to adult and children's books. But we know that we are preaching to the converted and we wish that newspapers would make more effort to get on board. There is more to children's fiction than Harry Potter, guys. A lot more.

|summary=Sean was impressed when he read [[Ethics for a Full World or, Can Animal-Lovers Save the World? by Tormod V Burkey|Ethics for a Full World or, Can Animal-Lovers Save the World?]]. There was a lot to chat about when author Tormod V Burkey popped in to into Bookbag Towers.

|summary= It's never an easy job picking our top ten self -published books of any year, but 2016 was particularly difficult as we've seen some exceptional books.

|summary=Luke thought that [[Kingdom's End by Charles D Blanchard]] was an adventurous take on a political thriller. It features rats but offers some facinating fascinating insights into the world of us humans. Luke had quite a few questions for the author when he popped in to into Bookbag Towers to chat to us.

Have you seen the film of [[A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness|A Monster Calls]]? It's lovely! As lovely as the book - and we rarely say that hereabouts. The cast is super superb and the film balances its emotional and fantastical elements beautifully. If you haven't seen it yet, then you really should.}}{{newfeature|category=lists|title=Top Ten Non-Fiction Books of 2016|summary= If fiction's not your bag then we've chosen some special non-fiction books for you. As always they're in alphabetical order by author.