Difference between revisions of "Newest Reference Reviews"

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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1394159544
|title=Telling Lies for Fun and Profit: A Manual for Fiction Writers
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|title=Recycling for Dummies
|author=Lawrence Block
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|author=Sarah Winkler
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=If I was going to write a list of authors I admire - well, I wouldn't begin it now. There are so many that I'd still be doing it at the end of November. But if I did take it upon myself to write a list, Lawrence Block would probably be on top of it. Hugely prolific and vastly varied when it comes to thrillers and crime stories, he's someone who seems able to turn his hand to so many different types of novel or short story with excellent results every time. He's created my two favourite crime-solvers, alcoholic ex-cop Matt Scudder and gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, and the contrast between the grittiness of the former series and the cosiness of the latter would place him high on my list of favourites even without his other work. Throw in the comic capers of Evan Tanner, whose sleep-centre was destroyed by shrapnel and now works for a mysterious department going across the world and stirring up trouble, and stamp-collecting assassin Keller, and you've got four excellent series of novels. Then there's the short stories, which feature all of these characters and many others, often rivalling Roald Dahl for darkness and clever plot twists.
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|summary=''Recycling one ton of plastic can save up to 16.3 barrels of oil.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0688132286</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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''Recycling one ton of paper can save 17 trees from being cut down.''
|author=Stanley Gibbons
 
|title=Great Britain Concise Stamp Catalogue 2013
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|summary=When I began collecting GB stamps ''Collect British Stamps'' was my bible and I eagerly awaited each new edition. After a while I came to realise that I needed a little more depth, but not to the level provided by the [[Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue 2013: Commonwealth and Empire Stamps 1840 - 1970 by Hugh Jefferies|Specialised Catalogue Series]] not least because I was still at the stage of spending the money on stamps rather than books about them. There is something to fill the gap though and that's the Great Britain Concise catalogue.  It's designed to meet the needs of the dedicated amateur rather than the specialist or the casual collector.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0852598998</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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If you send an apple core to landfill, it will take between 6 months and 2 years to decomposeA glass bottle will take up to 1 million years.
|title=Sea Monsters: The Lore and Legacy of Olaus Magnus's Marine Map
 
|author=Joseph Nigg
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|summary=A confession.  When reading hardbacks I take the paper cover, if there is one, off, to keep it pristine.  Sometimes there's a second benefit, with [[Longbourn by Jo Baker]] as an example of having an embossed illustration underneath, or suchlike.  But with this book I won't be alone, for the cover folds out into an amazing artwork, such as has only two extant original copies.  It's a coloured replica of a large map of the northern seas and Scandinavia, dating from 1539, and is in a category of three major artful scientific papers from where the whole 'here be dragons' cliché about maps comes fromIts creator, Olaus Magnus, followed it up years later with a commentary of all the sea creatures he drew on it, but Magnus has waited centuries for this delicious volume to commentate on both together, in such a lovely fashion.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782400435</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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As a just-post-WWII baby, I faced a dilemma: reducing, reusing and recycling is part of my DNA.  NEVER throw away anything that might ''possibly'' come in handy now or in the future.  NEVER buy anything if you can cobble together something that would serve the purposeAlmost everything can be used one more time and any purchase must pass the test of 'Is this absolutely essential?' On the other hand, I suspected I was guilty of wishcycling: assuming that something must be recyclable (toothpaste tubes - I'm looking at you) and dropping it in the kerbside bin.  Yes, I could go searching on the internet - and get conflicting advice - but what I needed was a recycling bible.s
|author=Peter Roberts and Shelley Evans
 
|title=The Book of Fungi: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around The World
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|summary=Fungi are the fifth order of the natural kingdom and it’s estimated that there are approximately one and a half million species, found throughout the world‘’The Book of Fungi’’ looks at six hundred of the known fungi and each is pictured at its actual size in full colour and there’s a scientific explanation of its distribution, habitat, form, spore colour and edibility. The tone of the book is academic but don’t let this put you off - before I began reading my knowledge was broadly restricted to knowing that it was better to discover fungus growing outside your house than attached to the structure inside - and I found it interesting, entertaining (which I didn’t expect) and accessible.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908005858</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1913750353
|author=Naoki Higashida and David Mitchell
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|title=Britannica's Word of the Day
|title=The Reason I Jump: One Boy's Voice from the Silence of Autism
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|author=Patrick Kelly, Renee Kelly and Sue Macy
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 +
|summary=''Britannica's Word of the Day'' has a sub-title: ''366 Elevating Utterances to Stretch Your Cranium and Tickle Your Humerus'' which probably tells you all that you need to know about this brilliant book.  It starts on January 1st with ''Razzmatazz'', tells you how to pronounce it (''raz-muh-TAZ''), gives you a definition and then includes the word in a sentence so that you know how it should be used.  You also get an engaging and frequently amusing illustration too.  I don't think I've ever encountered a word which uses the letter Z four times before!
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=suppl_stafl
 +
|title=Supply Chain 20/20: A Clear View  on the Local Multiplier Effect for Book Lovers
 +
|author=Kim Staflund
 +
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary=Imagine if you will, a world where the normal laws of physics have been slightly changed. You swirl around almost weightlessly, with no control over your limbs. Sounds seem either deafeningly loud or hopelessly muffled. Sensory input floods your system, overwhelming you with bright colours, patterns and odours that attack you from every side, without warning. Communication is almost impossible. You open your mouth and the wrong words come out. People talk down to you as if you were a child.
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|summary=So, you've finished writing your book and you think the hard work is all done?  You're convinced that all you need to do now is get it published and the money will start rolling in?
  
Welcome to Naoki’s world.
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Wrong and wrong again.  You presumably wrote the book because you wanted to - and you had a talent for delivering the written word.  You knew your subject back to front.  Now you're going to have to get to grips with the book supply chain, which even parts of the publishing industry believe to be wrong but it's too difficult to change and no one wants to be the first to try.  Then, when you ''finally'' have a copy of the book in your hands, you're going to have to work out how to sell it - because it ''is'' going to be down to you.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444776754</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Richard Mabey
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|author=Frederic Gros
|title=The Ash and the Beech
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|title=A Philosophy of Walking
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Reference
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|genre= Politics and Society
|summary=''The Ash and The Beech'' is an updated version of Mabey’s popular ''Beechcombings'', which has been given a new foreword and afterword by the author in light of the recent issues concerning ash die-back, which currently threatens Britain’s ash population. Mabey expands on this topic by examining the history of British trees, particularly the Beech and how it has managed to survive and adapt over the centuries despite threats from war, felling, disease and storms. He raises some important and thought-provoking ideas and questions whether our constant intervention in such cases serves to do more harm than good.
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|summary= I confess I picked this one up from the library in my pre-lockdown forage of random stuff. Now I have to go out an buy my own copy so that I can turn down the pages I have marked and return to its varying wisdom when I need to.  Some books draw you in slowly.  This one had me in the first two pages, wherein Gros explains why ''walking is not a sport''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099587238</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1781688370
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1788037812
|author=Gavin Mortimer
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|title=The Fraternity of the Estranged: The Fight for Homosexual Rights in England, 1891-1908
|title=A History of Cricket in 100 Objects
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|author=Brian Anderson
|rating=4
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|rating=5
|genre=Sport
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|genre=Biography
|summary=[[A History of Football in 100 Objects by Gavin Mortimer|A History of Football in 100 Objects]] was a brave attempt, but was slightly let down by being a little too clinical. Being a game imbued with passion, the book lacked this which took some of the edge off it. Cricket, whilst inspiring passion amongst devotees, has a slightly more laid back following; one that may work better in this format.  That said, being a game that has been played for five centuries, narrowing it down to just 100 objects is no less an undertaking than for football.
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|summary=Originally passed in 1885, the law that had made homosexual relations a crime remained in place for 82 years. But during this time, restrictions on same-sex relationships did not go unchallenged. Between 1891 and 1908, three books on the nature of homosexuality appeared. They were written by two homosexual men: Edward Carpenter and John Addington Symonds, as well as the heterosexual Havelock Ellis. Exploring the margins of society and studying homosexuality was common on the European Continent, but barely talked about in the UK, so the publications of these men were hugely significant – contributing to the scientific understanding of homosexuality, and beginning the struggle for recognition and equality, leading to the milestone legalisation of same-sex relationships in 1967.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846689406</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1912242052
|author=Polly Morland
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|title=O Joy for me!
|title=The Society of Timid Souls: Or, How to be Brave
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|author=Keir Davidson
|rating=3.5
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|rating=3
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Art
|summary='I see no reason why the shy and timid in any community couldn’t get together and help each other.'
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|summary='' Oh Joy for me!'' gives Coleridge credit for being ''the first person to walk the mountains alone, not because he had to for work, as a miner, quarryman, shepherd or pack-horse driver, but because he wanted to for pleasure and adventure. His rapturous encounters with their natural beauty, and its literary consequences, changed our view of the world''.
 
 
The above words were uttered in 1943 by a gentleman called Bernard Gabriel. Mr Gabriel was a piano player who founded a unique club, ''The Society of Timid Souls'' that encouraged timid performers and fear-wracked musicians to come in out of the cold 'to play, to criticise and be criticised in order to conquer that old bogey of stage fright.' The method evidently worked, as many a timid soul claimed to be cured by these unorthodox methods and club membership grew considerably in the years that followed.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781251908</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1072549271
|author=Mary Beard
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|title=The Simple Act of Self-Publishing With Amazon: A Simple Step by Step Guide
|title=Confronting the Classics: Traditions, Adventures and Innovations
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|author=Georgianne Landy-Kordis
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=For a lot of us, the idea of learning Classics conjures up images – or memories – of rows of (usually public) schoolboys endlessly repeating different conjugations of Latin verbs. 'Amo, amas, amat...' and so on. It's an idea imprinted on the popular imagination by countless books, films and TV shows, and indeed by anecdotal memory. I'm pretty sure my dad would have been one of those schoolboys in the 1960s.
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|summary=I frequently meet authors who are struggling to be published by the traditional houses, but when I suggest self-publishing they explain that they don't have the big bucks required to go down that road with Author Solutions or Matador or their like. I then ask if they've considered Kindle and the answer is, inevitably, that they wouldn't know where to start. I can empathise with that. Despite having used a computer for about thirty years, running most of my life ''and'' a website online, I'm still nervous when it comes to starting something new.  I like someone to hold my hand as I go through it for the first time.  That was why I was very interested when ''The Simple Act of Self Publishing With Amazon'' came across my desk...
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781250480</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Higashida_Fall
|author=Stanley Gibbons
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|title=Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight: A Young Man's Voice From the Silence of Autism
|title=Stamps of the World 2013
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|author=Naoki Higashida and David Mitchell
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Home and Family
|summary=Philatelists have long come to rely on the annual publication of Stanley Gibbons’ Stamps of the World simplified catalogue. For years it has had an unrivalled reputation for accuracy and usability for both dealers and collectors. Commemoratives, definitives, airmail stamps, postage dues, official stamps and miniature sheets are all listed (both mint and used), using the internationally recognised Stanley Gibbons catalogue number and set out according to date of issue and by country. Indeed, it’s difficult to imagine that any serious dealer or collector could be without the six volume set but many must wonder if it’s entirely necessary to make  what is a substantial investment on an annual basis.
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|summary=Naoki Higashida was only 13 years old when he wrote the international best-seller ''The Reason I Jump''. The book was popular because it gave a rare glimpse into the workings of the autistic mind, as told from the unique perspective of a teenager with non-verbal autism. Naoki communicates by using an alphabet grid, or by tracing letters on the palm of a transcriber. Despite this slow and laborious method of writing, he has published several books in his native Japan and manages to give public presentations to raise awareness of his condition. Fall Down 7 Times Get up 8 reintroduces us to Naoki as a young adult in his 20s and explains how his perspectives on life have changed since writing his first book.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0852598610</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Jenkins_100
|author=A L Kennedy
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|title=Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations
|title=On Writing
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|author=Simon Jenkins
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Art
|summary=How do you even begin to write a review of a book which expresses trenchant, no-holds-barred opinions on reviewers and the process of being reviewed? But the task is there, so there's nothing for it but to roll up your sleeves, gather your courage and mutter the word with which A L Kennedy regularly signs off from her blog: Onwards.
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|summary=In the mid-twentieth century, the railway was something which harked back to the Victorian age with trains being supplanted by cars and planes, but steam was being replaced by oil, even then and in the twenty-first-century oil is giving way to electricity. It's cleaner, more environmentally friendly and the stations which we'd all rushed through as quickly as possible, keen to escape their grime, were restored and became places to be admired, possibly even lingered in. Simon Jenkins has chosen his hundred best railway stations.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224096974</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Taylor_Owls
|author=Hugh Jefferies
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|title=Owls: A Guide to Every Species
|title=Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue 2013: Commonwealth and Empire Stamps 1840 - 1970
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|author=Marianne Taylor
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Animals and Wildlife
|summary=You might think that as all the stamps in this catalogue have been in existence for at least forty years there can be little more to be said about them but this 115th edition is acknowledged to be the most significant in many years.  Most exciting (but probably more so to sellers than buyers)  is the fact that in a time of economic downturn there are thousands of price increases and evidence of a very lively market. Demand for good stamps is greater than it has been at any time in the last thirty years according to editor Hugh Jefferies, although he does add that prices are rising faster in some areas than others. It's difficult to see how a serious collector - or seller - can be without an up-to-date copy of the catalogue for this reason alone.
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|summary=I feel like I am being watched. A huge pair of piercing orange eyes are staring right at me, locking me into their gaze. In contrast with the hardness of the deep-amber eyes, soft grey feathers fan out into the surrounding area, intricate, detailed and beautiful. An enigma; harsh and gentle at the same time, the owl is beckoning the reader to turn the pages and take a closer look inside...
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0852598513</amazonuk>
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=JVDK_ELO
 +
|title=Electric Light Orchestra: Song by Song
 +
|author=John Van der Kiste
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Entertainment
 +
|summary=My memories of pop music in the early sixties revolve around guitars and drums, sometimes the piano with only occasional excursions into strings and brass. Pop music rarely stands still and it wasn't long before the basic instruments were seen as constraints and The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys began to experiment, with other groups following where they led. Amongst these groups was The Move and their lead guitarist and songwriter, Roy Wood. Wood wanted to develop the group's sound by adding more instruments but was prevented from achieving what he wanted by cost limitations and because the rest of the group didn't really share his enthusiasm.
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=Hendrix_PBHell
 +
|title=Paperbacks from Hell: A History of Horror Fiction from the '70s and '80s
 +
|author=Grady Hendrix
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Horror
 +
|summary=Demonic possession, murderous babies, man-eating moths… for these books, no plot was too ludicrous, no cover art too appalling, no evil too despicable. Now horror author Grady Hendrix risks his soul and his sanity (not to mention the reader's!) to relate the true, untold story of a fascinating and often forgotten era in publishing.
  
{{newreview
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Read the synapse-shattering story summaries!<br>
|author=Kindle Direct Publishing
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See the horrific hand-painted cover imagery!<br>
|title=Publish on Amazon Kindle with Kindle Direct Publishing
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And learn the true-life tales of the writers, artists, and publishers who gleefully violated every literary law but one – never be boring.
|rating=2
 
|genre=Reference
 
|summary=If you're thinking of going down the road of self-publishing your book but are unwilling or unable to fund the services offered by some of the leaders in the field then publishing on Kindle is the obvious place to look first.  It's a big step though and you want to get it right - not least because what you publish could be out there to haunt you for a very long time.  This book comes, as it were, from the horse's mouth and I was expecting explanations, guidance, advice and, well, something which would leave me with the feeling that I ''could'' do this successfully. How did it square up?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>B004LX069M</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Browne_Many
|author=Theodore Dalrymple
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|title=The Many Faces of Coincidence
|title=The Pleasure of Thinking: A Journey Through the Sideways Leaps of Ideas
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|author=Laurence Browne
|rating=4
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|rating=3.5
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Popular Science
|summary=Having recently read [[Pieces of Light: the New Science of Memory by Charles Fernyhough]], I expected something similar, judging only from the title of Theodore Dalrymple's ''The Pleasure of Thinking: a Journey Through the Sideways Leaps of Ideas''. Instead of being a book about how people think laterally, as I thought it might be, it turned out to be something rather different, but ultimately equally interesting.
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|summary=Browne does not mislead with this choice of title; he does without a doubt explore the many faces of coincidence.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>190809608X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1903385679
|author=IBPA Contributors
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|title=The 100 Best Novels in Translation
|title=The Book Publishers Toolkit: 10 Practical Pointers for Independent and Self Publishers Vol. 1
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|author=Boyd Tonkin
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary=Ten articles originally published in the Independent Book Publishers Association magazine have been gathered together to provide useful advice to the small independent publisher or anyone looking to self-publish. The authors of the articles - Kate Bandos, Kimberley Edwards, Joel Friedlander, Steve Gillen, Abigail Goben, Tanya Hall, Brian Jud, Stacey Miller, Kathleen Welton, and David Wogahn are all acknowledged experts in their own fields and whilst much of it is more relevant in the USA it's all thought-provoking and worth consideration.  Each piece is short, snappy and to the point and reading the entire book took me less than an hour.
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|summary=Consider, if you will, translated fiction. Some say it's impossible – that if a book was so good in one tongue it could never survive being put into another. Samuel Beckett must have laboured over ever syllable and ''Breath'', but he could translate his own works, and other equally complex pieces can cross borders. It's a market that has actually doubled in sales volume between 2000 and 2016 (thanks, ''Millennium Trilogy''). Novels, in particular, in translation, are – as the introduction here so smartly puts it – ''a privileged means of passing border posts, a sort of universal passport issued by that Utopian state, the Republic of Letters''. We here at the 'Bag regularly try and give equal credit to the translator, without whom we wouldn't be reading what we have in our hands. But all that said, do we really need one of those list books about the subject? I got given a book the other year detailing 1001 places to go to before I die, and I might even then have missed out a zero. It would take as long as a fortnight's holiday to wade through, and even though this is not as long as your typical Bolano housebrick, it's not a short thing. Should it take our time?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>B00AAY8M7O</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Fry_Mythos
|author=Daniel J Barrett
+
|title=Mythos: A Retelling of the Myths of Ancient Greece
|title=MediaWiki (Wikipedia and Beyond)
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|author=Stephen Fry
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary=I don't usually open reviews by explaining how I came to read a particular book, but on this occasion it will help you to judge whether or not this book is suitable for you if you know where I'm coming from. Back in 2006 three people got together and between them they built a site - let's call it [http://www.thebookbag.co.uk The Bookbag].  In the early days Bookbag was for fun: it was rather like Everest.  We did it because it ''could'' be there and we wanted to see if what we (loosely) had in mind could be done.  It was a simple HTML site and I had no problems in mastering the technicalities. I'd built the site under instruction and I knew it inside out.
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|summary=The Greek Myths are, arguably, the greatest stories ever told. So old and influential they cast a shadow over western tales and traditions, yet remain relatable and readable millennia later. Here comedian, actor, television presenter, actor and author Stephen Fry brings his considerable talent to these special stories and recreates them with a wit, warmth and humanity that brings them into the modern age whilst still giving the honour and respect that such ancient and influential stories deserve.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0596519796</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschappeler
 
|title=The Change Book: Fifty models to explain how things happen
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|summary=''The Change Book' is a pocket-sized publication with lofty ambitions. Small enough to slip into a handbag, and a mere 167 pages long, it makes the following claim:
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178125009X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Mahnke_Lore
|author=Marina Warner
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|title=The World of Lore, Volume 1: Monstrous Creatures
|title=Stranger Magic: Charmed States and the Arabian Nights
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|author=Aaron Mahnke
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary='Arabesque' is, these days, a term little used outside ballet. However, in its original meaning it conveyed the idea of an intricate pattern, constantly and exuberantly multiplying in countless new twists and turns, like the interlinked curves on a Middle Eastern carpet. That notion of arabesque – things spreading and connecting gorgeously – is pretty much crucial to both the theory and the design of Marina Warner's fantastical and fantastic new exploration of the rich intercultural history of the ''Arabian Nights'', ''Stranger Magic''.
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|summary=Every country, every town, every village has a folktale – a story passed down through generations that often focuses on the dark and unexplained. No matter how the modern world moves on, there's a still a part of everyone that is vulnerable to a good tale. From ghosts to werewolves, by way of wendigos and elves, author Aaron Mahnke delivers the reader legends from all over the world, whilst examining how they've become part of our collective imaginations, still striking fear into the hearts of many of us today.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099437694</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Fowler_Forgotten
|author=Christopher Johnson
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|title=The Book of Forgotten Authors
|title=Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little
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|author=Christopher Fowler
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary=Language changes and evolves all the time, but since the dawn of the internet that change seems to have accelerated. Not only that, the pervasion of the web into nearly every aspect of our daily lives means the written word has more power and relevance than perhaps at any other time in human history. Given its influence over us, it seems only prudent that we should try to understand something of how this new vernacular of the internet works. In ''Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little'' naming and verbal branding expert Christopher Johnson seeks to do just that, presenting us with 'a field guide to everyday verbal ingenuity'.
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|summary=''Absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder''. It makes people think you're dead.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>039334181X</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
There's truth in that statement, you know, but there's a conundrum when it's applied to authors. Shakespeare is dead: Dickens is dead, but we haven't buried what they've written: that lives on until... when? Is it until fashion decrees that they should be no more? Or is it, as in the case of some children's authors that they are on life support through licensing deals and astute marketing? Christopher Fowler has unearthed (exhumed?) ninety-nine authors who were once hugely popular, but whose works have disappeared, sometimes quite literally.
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Angell_Triang
|author=Scarlett Thomas
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|title=Tri-ang Collectables
|title=Monkeys with Typewriters: How to Write Fiction and Unlock the Secret Power of Stories
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|author=Dave Angell
|rating=4
+
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary=I really wasn't expecting a book about how to write fiction to change my TV viewing habits. Alter my reading? Possibly. Improve my writing? Hopefully. But watching Grand Designs in a completely different light?
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|summary=A guide to the trains produced by the Tri-ang company from its inception until the company became Hornby. A very personal guide to the collecting of model trains.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857863789</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Chase_Orchids
|author=Phil Daoust (editor)
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|title=The Book of Orchids: A life-size guide to six hundred species from around the world
|title=Write.
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|author=Mark Chase, Maarten Christenhusz and Tom Mirenda
|rating=4.5
+
|rating=5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary=The Guardian newspaper has for some years now been publishing articles and interviews on how to write. Successful authors, agents and publishers have offered pearls of wisdom in the Guardian Masterclasses for genres as wide-ranging as travel writing, picture books and screenplays. Now their wisdom and their insights have been collected together in this slim volume which will intrigue both the readers and the writers among us.
+
|summary=One in seven flowering plants on earth is an orchid: there are 26,000 species in 749 genera. They flourish in remarkable habitats such as deserts and the Arctic circle, in fact, all areas but the most inhospitable.  There's a wide range of colours, shapes and scents: they're dramatic, delicate and ingenious in the ways that they've developed not just to survive but to thrive. Tom Mirenda describes them as ''masters of manipulation'' and ''famous for lying and cheating their way to their many evolutionary successes'', yet his love of them is as obvious as his respect for the insight they give us into the processes which shaped our world.  He hopes that understanding how that has come about will inspire us to conserve what we have.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>085265328X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Edwards_Story
|author=Dr Keith Souter
+
|title=The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books (British Library Crime Classics)
|title=The Classic Guide to King Arthur (Classic Guides)
+
|author=Martin Edwards
|rating=3.5
+
|rating=5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary=This is a comprehensive guide to the Arthurian legend, with the first half taking readers through the tale from Merlin helping Uther Pendragon to sleep with Gorlois - thus giving birth to King Arthur - right up to the deaths of all of the principal players in the story. The final section gives details of literary sources used for the legend, Arthurian poetry, folklore, the real people who may have inspired the legend, and depictions of King Arthur in popular culture. In between, there's a fairly short but useful guide to 'Who, What, Where and When In Arthur's Realm'.
+
|summary=It's easy to be confused by the various 'ages' of crime writing: if you have an interest in the genre you'll almost certainly have heard of the Golden Age of Crime, generally acknowledged as being the period between the first and second world wars. 'Classic Crime' on the other hand extends the time frame at either end and covers books published in the first half of the twentieth century. Throughout my adult life, there's been just one genre of books which has fascinated me, and that's crime, so I could hardly resist the chance of reading ''The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books'' particularly as the author, Martin Edwards is an accomplished author within the crime genre and an acknowledged expert on the subject.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780950063</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=DK_Childrens
|author=The Economist
+
|title=Children's Illustrated Thesaurus
|title=Pocket World in Figures 2013
+
|author=DK
|rating=4
+
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary=Pocket World in Figures 2013 is the twenty-second edition of the annual bestseller and once again it follows the tried and tested format.  It opens with world rankings and is straight into natural facts - the largest this, the longest that and the highest of the other.  The facts are largely incontrovertible, mostly unsurprising and they're going to be the same year after yearPopulations do change though as do their rate of growth.  India looks set to overtake China as the largest population by 2025 but even India doesn't have the fastest growing population - that's Niger, with an average annual growth of 3.52%. By contrast, Russia which currently has the ninth largest population, is declining at 0.1% annually. If you're looking for the place with the densest population (as in people per square kilometre rather than in terms of intelligence!) then that's Macau.
+
|summary=One of the most valuable literary skills which children can learn is how to use reference booksAs a child every question which I began with ''how do you spell...?'' would be answered with ''EXACTLY as it says in the dictionary''. This was fine, but the family's Collins Little Gem Dictionary didn't encourage exploration, not least because the font was small and difficult to read.  Fortunately, those times have now changed and reference book for children are now much more inviting. Not every book comes with a set of instructions but it's worth studying the ''How to...'' section, not least because similar systems are used in other reference books.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846685990</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Various
 
|title=Hello Kitty Dictionary
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=The Hello Kitty Dictionary takes a concept that many young students might not find too interesting (me, on the other hand, I love books full of words) and puts a colourful and fun spin on it. Because if you’re having to look up how to spell a word, or what something means, it helps to have pages with lemon and violet and aquamarine borders, dotted with presents and hearts and stars. That’s not to say the dictionary isn’t clear and easy to read because it certainly is: the decorations don’t extend into the centre of the pages, and the entries themselves are bold fuchsia followed by neat black explanations, all neatly formatted on crisp white pages.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007457197</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{newreview
+
Move on to [[Newest Science Fiction Reviews]]
|author=Simon Heffer
 
|title=Strictly English: The correct way to write ... and why it matters
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Business and Finance
 
|summary=As a child I was taught English grammar.  I began by resenting it but gradually I appreciated the subtlety and nuances of expression that could be achieved by the correct use of language.  I loved the fact that I could say something precisely and convey exactly what I meant in a few words. And then I was stunned to find that there was no longer the same emphasis on grammar in schools, that freedom of expression was encouraged without worrying about the form it took – and now I regularly encounter official letters, even books where the English language is subjected to grievous bodily harm.  It isn't difficult to get right – it just requires a little knowledge, a logical mind and practice.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099537931</amazonuk>
 
}}
 

Latest revision as of 10:30, 9 September 2023

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Review of

Recycling for Dummies by Sarah Winkler

5star.jpg Lifestyle

Recycling one ton of plastic can save up to 16.3 barrels of oil.

Recycling one ton of paper can save 17 trees from being cut down.

If you send an apple core to landfill, it will take between 6 months and 2 years to decompose. A glass bottle will take up to 1 million years.

As a just-post-WWII baby, I faced a dilemma: reducing, reusing and recycling is part of my DNA. NEVER throw away anything that might possibly come in handy now or in the future. NEVER buy anything if you can cobble together something that would serve the purpose. Almost everything can be used one more time and any purchase must pass the test of 'Is this absolutely essential?' On the other hand, I suspected I was guilty of wishcycling: assuming that something must be recyclable (toothpaste tubes - I'm looking at you) and dropping it in the kerbside bin. Yes, I could go searching on the internet - and get conflicting advice - but what I needed was a recycling bible.s Full Review

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Review of

Britannica's Word of the Day by Patrick Kelly, Renee Kelly and Sue Macy

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

Britannica's Word of the Day has a sub-title: 366 Elevating Utterances to Stretch Your Cranium and Tickle Your Humerus which probably tells you all that you need to know about this brilliant book. It starts on January 1st with Razzmatazz, tells you how to pronounce it (raz-muh-TAZ), gives you a definition and then includes the word in a sentence so that you know how it should be used. You also get an engaging and frequently amusing illustration too. I don't think I've ever encountered a word which uses the letter Z four times before! Full Review

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Review of

Supply Chain 20/20: A Clear View on the Local Multiplier Effect for Book Lovers by Kim Staflund

4.5star.jpg Reference

So, you've finished writing your book and you think the hard work is all done? You're convinced that all you need to do now is get it published and the money will start rolling in?

Wrong and wrong again. You presumably wrote the book because you wanted to - and you had a talent for delivering the written word. You knew your subject back to front. Now you're going to have to get to grips with the book supply chain, which even parts of the publishing industry believe to be wrong but it's too difficult to change and no one wants to be the first to try. Then, when you finally have a copy of the book in your hands, you're going to have to work out how to sell it - because it is going to be down to you. Full Review

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Review of

A Philosophy of Walking by Frederic Gros

5star.jpg Politics and Society

I confess I picked this one up from the library in my pre-lockdown forage of random stuff. Now I have to go out an buy my own copy so that I can turn down the pages I have marked and return to its varying wisdom when I need to. Some books draw you in slowly. This one had me in the first two pages, wherein Gros explains why walking is not a sport. Full Review

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Review of

The Fraternity of the Estranged: The Fight for Homosexual Rights in England, 1891-1908 by Brian Anderson

5star.jpg Biography

Originally passed in 1885, the law that had made homosexual relations a crime remained in place for 82 years. But during this time, restrictions on same-sex relationships did not go unchallenged. Between 1891 and 1908, three books on the nature of homosexuality appeared. They were written by two homosexual men: Edward Carpenter and John Addington Symonds, as well as the heterosexual Havelock Ellis. Exploring the margins of society and studying homosexuality was common on the European Continent, but barely talked about in the UK, so the publications of these men were hugely significant – contributing to the scientific understanding of homosexuality, and beginning the struggle for recognition and equality, leading to the milestone legalisation of same-sex relationships in 1967. Full Review

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Review of

O Joy for me! by Keir Davidson

3star.jpg Art

Oh Joy for me! gives Coleridge credit for being the first person to walk the mountains alone, not because he had to for work, as a miner, quarryman, shepherd or pack-horse driver, but because he wanted to for pleasure and adventure. His rapturous encounters with their natural beauty, and its literary consequences, changed our view of the world. Full Review

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Review of

The Simple Act of Self-Publishing With Amazon: A Simple Step by Step Guide by Georgianne Landy-Kordis

4.5star.jpg Business and Finance

I frequently meet authors who are struggling to be published by the traditional houses, but when I suggest self-publishing they explain that they don't have the big bucks required to go down that road with Author Solutions or Matador or their like. I then ask if they've considered Kindle and the answer is, inevitably, that they wouldn't know where to start. I can empathise with that. Despite having used a computer for about thirty years, running most of my life and a website online, I'm still nervous when it comes to starting something new. I like someone to hold my hand as I go through it for the first time. That was why I was very interested when The Simple Act of Self Publishing With Amazon came across my desk... Full Review

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Review of

Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight: A Young Man's Voice From the Silence of Autism by Naoki Higashida and David Mitchell

5star.jpg Home and Family

Naoki Higashida was only 13 years old when he wrote the international best-seller The Reason I Jump. The book was popular because it gave a rare glimpse into the workings of the autistic mind, as told from the unique perspective of a teenager with non-verbal autism. Naoki communicates by using an alphabet grid, or by tracing letters on the palm of a transcriber. Despite this slow and laborious method of writing, he has published several books in his native Japan and manages to give public presentations to raise awareness of his condition. Fall Down 7 Times Get up 8 reintroduces us to Naoki as a young adult in his 20s and explains how his perspectives on life have changed since writing his first book. Full Review

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Review of

Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins

5star.jpg Art

In the mid-twentieth century, the railway was something which harked back to the Victorian age with trains being supplanted by cars and planes, but steam was being replaced by oil, even then and in the twenty-first-century oil is giving way to electricity. It's cleaner, more environmentally friendly and the stations which we'd all rushed through as quickly as possible, keen to escape their grime, were restored and became places to be admired, possibly even lingered in. Simon Jenkins has chosen his hundred best railway stations. Full Review

Taylor Owls.jpg

Review of

Owls: A Guide to Every Species by Marianne Taylor

5star.jpg Animals and Wildlife

I feel like I am being watched. A huge pair of piercing orange eyes are staring right at me, locking me into their gaze. In contrast with the hardness of the deep-amber eyes, soft grey feathers fan out into the surrounding area, intricate, detailed and beautiful. An enigma; harsh and gentle at the same time, the owl is beckoning the reader to turn the pages and take a closer look inside... Full Review

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Review of

Electric Light Orchestra: Song by Song by John Van der Kiste

4.5star.jpg Entertainment

My memories of pop music in the early sixties revolve around guitars and drums, sometimes the piano with only occasional excursions into strings and brass. Pop music rarely stands still and it wasn't long before the basic instruments were seen as constraints and The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys began to experiment, with other groups following where they led. Amongst these groups was The Move and their lead guitarist and songwriter, Roy Wood. Wood wanted to develop the group's sound by adding more instruments but was prevented from achieving what he wanted by cost limitations and because the rest of the group didn't really share his enthusiasm. Full Review

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Review of

Paperbacks from Hell: A History of Horror Fiction from the '70s and '80s by Grady Hendrix

4.5star.jpg Horror

Demonic possession, murderous babies, man-eating moths… for these books, no plot was too ludicrous, no cover art too appalling, no evil too despicable. Now horror author Grady Hendrix risks his soul and his sanity (not to mention the reader's!) to relate the true, untold story of a fascinating and often forgotten era in publishing.

Read the synapse-shattering story summaries!
See the horrific hand-painted cover imagery!
And learn the true-life tales of the writers, artists, and publishers who gleefully violated every literary law but one – never be boring. Full Review

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Review of

The Many Faces of Coincidence by Laurence Browne

3.5star.jpg Popular Science

Browne does not mislead with this choice of title; he does without a doubt explore the many faces of coincidence. Full Review

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Review of

The 100 Best Novels in Translation by Boyd Tonkin

3.5star.jpg Reference

Consider, if you will, translated fiction. Some say it's impossible – that if a book was so good in one tongue it could never survive being put into another. Samuel Beckett must have laboured over ever syllable and Breath, but he could translate his own works, and other equally complex pieces can cross borders. It's a market that has actually doubled in sales volume between 2000 and 2016 (thanks, Millennium Trilogy). Novels, in particular, in translation, are – as the introduction here so smartly puts it – a privileged means of passing border posts, a sort of universal passport issued by that Utopian state, the Republic of Letters. We here at the 'Bag regularly try and give equal credit to the translator, without whom we wouldn't be reading what we have in our hands. But all that said, do we really need one of those list books about the subject? I got given a book the other year detailing 1001 places to go to before I die, and I might even then have missed out a zero. It would take as long as a fortnight's holiday to wade through, and even though this is not as long as your typical Bolano housebrick, it's not a short thing. Should it take our time? Full Review

Fry Mythos.jpg

Review of

Mythos: A Retelling of the Myths of Ancient Greece by Stephen Fry

5star.jpg Reference

The Greek Myths are, arguably, the greatest stories ever told. So old and influential they cast a shadow over western tales and traditions, yet remain relatable and readable millennia later. Here comedian, actor, television presenter, actor and author Stephen Fry brings his considerable talent to these special stories and recreates them with a wit, warmth and humanity that brings them into the modern age whilst still giving the honour and respect that such ancient and influential stories deserve. Full Review

Mahnke Lore.jpg

Review of

The World of Lore, Volume 1: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke

4.5star.jpg Reference

Every country, every town, every village has a folktale – a story passed down through generations that often focuses on the dark and unexplained. No matter how the modern world moves on, there's a still a part of everyone that is vulnerable to a good tale. From ghosts to werewolves, by way of wendigos and elves, author Aaron Mahnke delivers the reader legends from all over the world, whilst examining how they've become part of our collective imaginations, still striking fear into the hearts of many of us today. Full Review

Fowler Forgotten.jpg

Review of

The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler

5star.jpg Reference

Absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder. It makes people think you're dead.

There's truth in that statement, you know, but there's a conundrum when it's applied to authors. Shakespeare is dead: Dickens is dead, but we haven't buried what they've written: that lives on until... when? Is it until fashion decrees that they should be no more? Or is it, as in the case of some children's authors that they are on life support through licensing deals and astute marketing? Christopher Fowler has unearthed (exhumed?) ninety-nine authors who were once hugely popular, but whose works have disappeared, sometimes quite literally. Full Review

Angell Triang.jpg

Review of

Tri-ang Collectables by Dave Angell

3.5star.jpg Reference

A guide to the trains produced by the Tri-ang company from its inception until the company became Hornby. A very personal guide to the collecting of model trains. Full Review

Chase Orchids.jpg

Review of

The Book of Orchids: A life-size guide to six hundred species from around the world by Mark Chase, Maarten Christenhusz and Tom Mirenda

5star.jpg Reference

One in seven flowering plants on earth is an orchid: there are 26,000 species in 749 genera. They flourish in remarkable habitats such as deserts and the Arctic circle, in fact, all areas but the most inhospitable. There's a wide range of colours, shapes and scents: they're dramatic, delicate and ingenious in the ways that they've developed not just to survive but to thrive. Tom Mirenda describes them as masters of manipulation and famous for lying and cheating their way to their many evolutionary successes, yet his love of them is as obvious as his respect for the insight they give us into the processes which shaped our world. He hopes that understanding how that has come about will inspire us to conserve what we have. Full Review

Edwards Story.jpg

Review of

The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books (British Library Crime Classics) by Martin Edwards

5star.jpg Reference

It's easy to be confused by the various 'ages' of crime writing: if you have an interest in the genre you'll almost certainly have heard of the Golden Age of Crime, generally acknowledged as being the period between the first and second world wars. 'Classic Crime' on the other hand extends the time frame at either end and covers books published in the first half of the twentieth century. Throughout my adult life, there's been just one genre of books which has fascinated me, and that's crime, so I could hardly resist the chance of reading The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books particularly as the author, Martin Edwards is an accomplished author within the crime genre and an acknowledged expert on the subject. Full Review

DK Childrens.jpg

Review of

Children's Illustrated Thesaurus by DK

4.5star.jpg Reference

One of the most valuable literary skills which children can learn is how to use reference books. As a child every question which I began with how do you spell...? would be answered with EXACTLY as it says in the dictionary. This was fine, but the family's Collins Little Gem Dictionary didn't encourage exploration, not least because the font was small and difficult to read. Fortunately, those times have now changed and reference book for children are now much more inviting. Not every book comes with a set of instructions but it's worth studying the How to... section, not least because similar systems are used in other reference books. Full Review

Move on to Newest Science Fiction Reviews