'''Read [[Features|new features]].'''
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{{newreview
|author=Cathleen Schine
|title=The Three Weissmanns of Westport
|rating=4
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=The novel begins with Joseph Weissmann, or Josie as he is known, deciding at the age of 78 that he no longer wants to be married to Betty after 48 years together. In an attempt to save Betty's feelings he cites irreconcilable differences, but the truth is he has fallen head over heels in love. Betty is devastated, her life in tatters, with even the beautiful Central Park apartment she adores soon lost to her.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849015716</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=John Irving
|summary=I am a big fan of Jo Brand and I love her inimitable droll style of comedy. I always enjoy her stand up performances as well as her appearances on my favourite panel programme QI. As a consequence I was really interested to read her second autobiographical book – Can't Stand Up for Sitting Down. As she states at the beginning though, this is not really an autobiography but a collection of thoughts and experiences that have resulted due to her life as a stand up comedian. The book covers the period from her first professional gig up to the present day. Her early life and career in psychiatric nursing are covered in her earlier book [[Look Back in Hunger by Jo Brand|Look Back in Hunger]].
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755355261</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Peter Carey
|title=Parrot and Olivier in America
|rating=4.5
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=Olivier de Garmont is a young, French aristocrat who is drugged by the enigmatic Marquis de Tilbot, a close friend of Olivier's monarchist mother, and dispatched to the safety of the emerging United States to avoid the 1830 July Revolution, and the threat of the dreaded guillotine, in his native France. At least nominally his task while there is to prepare a report on the American penal system on behalf of the French government, a task for which he has little interest or indeed talent. Tilbot also dispatches his servant, an older British man, John Larrit, known to everyone as Parrot, to act as Oliver's secretary, servant, translator and to spy on Olivier for both his mother and Tilbot. They are an ill-matched pair, from opposite sides of the social spectrum but in democratic America, this relationship develops in ways that neither of them would expect. The story is told in alternating voices of these two main characters.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571253296</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Beth Pattillo
|title=Jane Austen Ruined My Life
|rating=3.5
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=I blame Bridget Jones.
Jane Austen's six novels have inspired a huge number of novels about the romantic dilemmas facing bright, educated middle class women. Does adding literary references to chicklit somehow make for better novels? I don't think so, but I do find these books fun, escapist reading, and the title of this one was irresistible.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857210106</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Marisa Laycock
|title=Santa's Delight
|rating=4
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=There's only one more night to go before Christmas Eve and Santa knows that his preparations are going well. The reindeer are fed and strong and the elves were just finishing wrapping all the presents. He's done the planning and was grateful for the different time zones. But Mrs Santa knew that there was something worrying her husband and gently she persuaded him to talk about it. He was worried about all the people in our communities who help so much, from the doctors and nurses, rescue services and the armed forces who are on duty over Christmas.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848762682</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Robert Temple
|title=Egyptian Dawn: Exposing the Real Truth Behind Ancient Egypt
|rating=3.5
|genre=History
|summary=This is latest book from Robert Temple in which he documents new theories on the Ancient Egyptians. There are some startling claims in the book, not least regarding the Pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid and the proposal that there were in fact two Egyptian civilisations that existed alongside each other in different parts of Egypt. If the author is correct in all of his assertions then it would certainly point to the location of amazing new archaeological discoveries and shine a new perspective on how we view the Ancient Egyptians and the Pyramids.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>071268414X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Emmanuel Carrere
|title=A Russian Novel
|rating=4
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=We meet Carrere as part of a small film crew. One minute they're in France, the next they're in the midst of poverty, freezing temperatures and the utter desolation of a Russian town, miles from anywhere. Carrere back-pedals for the sake of his readers, explaining that he has family connections with Russia. But, as an intelligent and educated man, he also wonders what the hell he's doing here. He's relinquished the comforts of his life in France for what - grey sheets and terrible food. He must be mad.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846680859</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Jane Ray
|title=The Dolls' House Fairy
|rating=5
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Rosy has a beautiful dolls' house that she enjoys playing with every Saturday with her dad. However, one Saturday she wakes up to find her dad is ill and has gone to hospital, so she is left to play alone. When she goes to the dolls' house, however, she discovers that a messy little fairy named Thistle has moved in!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846169097</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Ann Bonwill and Russell Julian
|title=Pocket's Christmas Wish
|rating=3.5
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=It's Christmas morning and Pocket the rabbit sees a snow angel on the ground. He decides to follow the angel's tracks to discover the true meaning of Christmas. He leaves his brothers and sisters playing in the snow, and off he hops on an adventure, taking in a variety of sights and sounds.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192728202</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Anthea Simmons and Georgie Birkett
|title=Share!
|rating=4
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Ah, sharing! Perhaps one of the hardest lessons to teach a toddler is how to let go of a chosen toy and share it with someone else. My weekly playgroup is always full of loud parental demands of 'share!' followed by wails of distress from small children being forced to part with the one thing they absolutely, positively must have...until they spot something else they want! This promising-looking story deals with just such an issue, and in this case it is an older sister learning to share everything, from favourite blankets to tea-time food with her baby brother.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849390096</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Roy Vickery
|title=Garlands, Conkers and Mother-Die: British and Irish Plant-Lore
|rating=5
|genre=History
|summary=For many centuries, plants have not only had practical uses as food, remedies, textiles and dyes, but have also symbolic and folkloric meaning in many different cultures. The term ''plant-lore'' has been coined to describe the profusion of the customs and beliefs associated with plants, and this book gathers together many of the plant-lore traditions of Britain and Ireland.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1441101950</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Sally Bibb
|title=The Right Thing: An Everyday Guide to Ethics in Business
|rating=4
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=Bibb wastes no time in highlighting key areas of the whole ethics debate. What, exactly, does the word mean ... and why should it matter to us anyway? She starts by informing the reader that ethics (which is a branch of philosophy) is usually the poor Cinderella. Overlooked in favour of the more glamorous areas ie: big, fat, profits for the business or businesses concerned. Bibb wants us to think more about the ethical side of things and perhaps less about the balance sheet. She gives an example most of us will be aware of. Two words. Fred Goodwin. Bibb comments that had he applied his moral compass in his leadership role, perhaps, just perhaps, the Royal Bank of Scotland may not have fallen so far from grace. I'm aware that many will now be foaming at the mouth at the mention of FG (myself included).
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>047068853X</amazonuk>
}}