April 2008 Newsletter

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April's News from Bookbag Towers

How many of you are parents? Are you struggling with the peculiar Easter holidays this year? Bookbag's parents feel as though there's been barely any school since Christmas. Still, one must fit one's reading where one can - even if it means burning the midnight oil. And there's some great stuff about, although Jill is still on her high horse about cliff hanger endings in children's books - some things never change.

We're still getting used to the site's new look and are adding extra functions all the time. This month you'll see we've added a "share on" section to the summary section on the review pages, so all you bloggers and Facebook members can bookmark and share information on books you like more easily. We've more improvements planned so remember to keep checking back to see what we're up to.

If there's anything you'd like to tell us, or anything you think we've left out, please drop us a line and let us know.

What we've been reading...

In fiction, Chloe thoroughly enjoyed Recipe for Disaster by Miriam Morrison, a restaurant-based chick-lit novel. Jake Goldman and Harry Hunter both want to be the best chef in Easedale, and Kate Walker is doing an undercover scoop on the restaurant business. What will become of the battle of the chefs, and is Kate going to get more than just her story from Jake's restaurant? Jill loved The Dirty South by Alex Wheatle. Crisp, clean writing with wit and humour tempers a story of the urban black experience in Britain. Lesley's pick of the month is Sulphuric Acid by Amélie Nothomb in which death camp guard Zdena becomes obsessed with a prisoner. It's a tightly controlled take on reality televsion.

In non-fiction, Sharon recommends The Self-sufficientish Bible by Andy Hamilton and Dave Hamilton, which draws together information on all aspects of a modern eco-life. It's a well-written interesting, entertaining and encouraging read, as well as being a source of guidance and information. Any budding greens amongst you would thoroughly enjoy it.

For the youngest children, Sue recommends Posy by Linda Newbery and Catherine Rayner - if you haven't got a cat then this book could convince you that you really should! Jill thinks that newly confident readers will love The Savage by David Almond and Dave McKean, a beautiful allegory of the stages of bereavement, from grief to anger to resolution. Junior fantasy fans have been eagerly awaiting Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy and Bookbag can report it's as good as the first in the series. Teenagers will enjoy Flightsend by Linda Newbery, a lyrical and confident novel of grief, self discovery and moving on.

Reviewers

We're always on the look out for people to join our panel of reviewers at Bookbag. We need people who understand that the reader wants to know what the reviewer thinks about the book and not just what's written on the back cover. If you think that you're one of these special people that we're looking for, we want to hear from you. You can find details of how to apply here on the site. Don't be shy!

Competitions

We have competitions for some great books going this month, and every month, so get entering!

And that's about it for this month.

If you're passing Bookbag Towers do pop in and see us – we're at www.thebookbag.co.uk.

All at Bookbag Towers

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