Difference between revisions of "Book Reviews From The Bookbag"
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|summary= High-tech gadgets and gizmos, feats of daring that will have you chewing your nails down to the elbow, villains who just love to gloat, and then (because this isn't any old kids-beat-the-baddies saga) the well-established tradition of Random Acts of Kindness – New York style. This may be the third sortie for Jack and his rag-tag team, but somehow the author still manages to surprise and delight his readers by giving the characters even more complex back stories, and by ratcheting up the tension so high you'll need to nip outside and have a quick scream from time to time. | |summary= High-tech gadgets and gizmos, feats of daring that will have you chewing your nails down to the elbow, villains who just love to gloat, and then (because this isn't any old kids-beat-the-baddies saga) the well-established tradition of Random Acts of Kindness – New York style. This may be the third sortie for Jack and his rag-tag team, but somehow the author still manages to surprise and delight his readers by giving the characters even more complex back stories, and by ratcheting up the tension so high you'll need to nip outside and have a quick scream from time to time. | ||
Revision as of 11:57, 11 December 2015
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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Lockdown (Urban Outlaws) by Peter Jay Black
High-tech gadgets and gizmos, feats of daring that will have you chewing your nails down to the elbow, villains who just love to gloat, and then (because this isn't any old kids-beat-the-baddies saga) the well-established tradition of Random Acts of Kindness – New York style. This may be the third sortie for Jack and his rag-tag team, but somehow the author still manages to surprise and delight his readers by giving the characters even more complex back stories, and by ratcheting up the tension so high you'll need to nip outside and have a quick scream from time to time. Full review...
The Nutcracker by Jane Ray
There's something rather magical about Jane Ray's stories. The Doll's House Fairy continues to be one of my daughter's favourite stories, even though she's now a rather grown up nine year old, so we opened up this new story with a great deal of anticipation. It remains close to the traditional Nutcracker story, and there is a wonderful feel of Christmas throughout. I'm sure you can read it quite happily all year round (I know we will!) but it's particularly special in the run up to Christmas. Full review...
The Orchard Book of Bedtime Fairy Tales by Helen Craig
Fairy Tales have been around for centuries and reflect the tradition of oral history; stories spoken from one person's memory to another. This is why some Fairy Tales seem to have subtle differences depending upon where you were brought up. Did you hear that the three little pigs boiled the wolf alive, or perhaps you think he just walked away in frustration? Helen Craig is a talented illustrator who has decided to tackle the tricky Fairy Tale compilation. Will her retelling of classic stories match your own? Full review...
Eating Well Made Easy: Deliciously healthy recipes for everyone, every day by Lorraine Pascal
Lorraine Pascal specialises in no-nonsense, simple recipes that provide delicious results; a speciality that has afforded her a deserved space in today's crowded celeb chef culture. Lorrain's ethos in Eating Well Made Easy is to provide recipes for everyone, encompassing vegetarians, allergy sufferers and those who just want something delicious, all with a healthy spin. Full review...
Beneath The Lake by Christopher Ransom
The Mercer family are on the holiday of a lifetime at the somewhat remote Blundstone Lake in Nebraska. It is all the things a camping holiday should be; tranquillity and beautiful scenery in spades and lots of good old-fashioned family fun. When another family arrive, the Mercers try not to feel disappointed that their solitude has been encroached upon and do their best to keep out of the other family's way, but when the newcomers' family disharmony becomes violent and murderous, The Mercers have no option but to become rather more acquainted with them than they had bargained for. And so their lives are forever altered. Full review...
The Grace of Kings (The Dandelion Dynasty) by Ken Liu
Mata Zyundu is on the way down in life having been born into an aristocratic family deposed and burdened with all the resentment that goes with it. Meanwhile the charming Kuni Gara finds fame and success as a bandit leader after a lifetime surviving on the streets. The two form an unlikely friendship that's torn asunder as the Empire crumbles and they find themselves on opposite sides for better or, indeed, for worse. Full review...
The Drop in My Drink by Meredith Hooper and Chris Coady
This brilliant book tells the story of where water comes from in a wonderfully captivating way. In full colour picture book style, it does far more than explain scientific facts about our planet, the way life has evolved and where our water comes from. It takes the reader on an inspiring, exciting and eye-opening journey through millions of years – the same journey one little drop of water in one child' cup may have taken! Full review...
Number 11 by Jonathan Coe
There's a great deal of significance in the title of Number 11. It's the common abbreviation for the home of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as well as a bus route around the outskirts of Birmingham which provides a useful haven for those who can't afford to put the heating on at home. It's also Jonathan Coe's eleventh novel. On a level more personal to the characters in the book it's also the number of floors below ground which are being added to a house in Chelsea owned by an obscenely-rich family. Even more obscene is the fact that the owner of the house doesn't know what she wants that floor for - everything that could possibly be added (swimming pool with palm trees, wine cellar, bank vault, staff quarters...) is on the other floors or in the house itself. But Mrs Gunn wants it because she can have it. Full review...
Dark Sky by Mike Brooks
Making money is not easy, especially if you live life on the edges of known space scraping a living doing odd jobs with your crew; some legal, some not so legal. You may not have much money, a good ship or even adequate washing facilities, but what you do have is the friendship and comradery of your fellow crewmates. That is unless you have all just discovered that the captain used to be a space pirate who once suffocated his entire crew so that he could escape. Welcome to the jolly ship Keiko. Full review...
Time Travelling Toby and the Battle of Britain by Graham Jones and Neil Parkinson
Toby lives in an unremarkable village and goes to an unremarkable school - just like millions of other boys - but he has a secret. We're told it's humongous and I think that's right. You see, Toby has (wait for it...) two brother, a Mum and a Dad, a Nanma, two dogs, three fish and two rabbits as well as...
... a time machine that looks just like a sports car. Full review...
Murder at the Old Vicarage by Jill McGown
The vicar's daughter, Joanna, had mixed feelings when her husband called at the vicarage. The last time she'd seen him his violence had put her in hospital and she'd been living with her parents ever since. She had her reasons for deciding to see him, even though her parents would have preferred just to send him packing. George Wheeler had more problems than his daughter's marriage to worry about: he was strangely attracted to a young widow who had recently come to the parish and also had serious doubts about his vocation. It was only his wife, Marian who stopped the wheels from falling off his life. But Marian was always that sort of woman. Then - on Christmas Eve - his son in law was battered to death with a poker in his daughter's bedroom at the vicarage. Full review...
Lucerin: Identity by Dan Corns
Aiden Chase seems, on the face of it, to be a normal teenage schoolboy facing real-world issues like bullies, homework and girls. He has no idea that he has Lucerin blood; the key to unlocking uncanny abilities like stopping time and even materialising solid items from thin air. This legacy has made Aiden very desirable to one person in particular: Lukas Voorman. Voorman is head of a group of powerful Lucerin who 'pull the strings' behind the world scenes. Initially a force for peace, the Lucerin mission has been slowly corrupted in the last few years. Could a boy like Aiden have the power to change all of that and bring harmony to the Lucerin once more? Full review...
Nova by Samuel R Delany
In the 31st century the rare element Illyrion is a crucial energy source, and naturally enough a whole lot of politics and power are bound up with whoever controls the supply. Lorq Von Ray, daring spaceship captain, has this mad idea that flying into an imploding star will – as long as he can get out again – allow him to gather Illyrion in unimaginable quantities. Luckily his rag-bag crew don't know about this when they sign on. Full review...
Showman Killer: Heartless Hero by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Nicolas Fructus and Ivanka Hahnenberger (translator)
A long way away, in terms of both time and space, the most perfect assassin is formed – genetically bred, adept at magical transformations, with the most athletic and deadly abilities, and with the complete lack of emotion needed. All he will ever seek is the highest price for the best job – a job that will, now and again, force him to meet with the most unusual people… Full review...
Fools, Frauds and Firebrands: Thinkers of the New Left by Roger Scruton
Thinkers of the New Left first came out in 1985, under Thatcher's government. British left-wing intellectuals gave it savage reviews. The publisher was threatened with a boycott and the book was withdrawn from bookshops. Roger Scruton feels this caused his university career to decline. In the introduction, he says he is reluctant to return to the scene of such a disaster. However, this is a subject he is clearly passionate about, having worked with underground networks in communist Europe and seen the destructive reality behind the fashionable leftist ways of thinking. Full review...
I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
She's a phenomenon is my OH's response to any mention of Malala. I can't disagree on some level, but what this book proves is that on another she is just a girl. One voice among many. It's just that she decided to speak louder than most. We know about Malala because she got lucky. She got lucky because when she got shot by the Taliban there were people nearby, doctors who got her to a hospital, and then luckier still because when her condition worsened, nearby there were western doctors with access to western facilities and she was flown to the UK for treatment. Full review...
Asterix and the Missing Scroll (Album 36) by Jean-Yves Ferri
Asterix is those rarest of book series; one designed for kids which is actually even funnier when you are an adult. I used to love Asterix as a child, but now that I reread them I can't help but wonder why, because they are so full of hilarious jokes that I definitely wouldn't have understood when I was younger. I laughed loud and hard to myself twice within the first two pages of Asterix and the Missing Scroll, so I'd definitely say that this was a hit. Full review...
How to Sound Cultured by Thomas W Hodgkinson and Hubert van den Bergh
Sometimes it can be hard to run with the big dogs, and while I know the names to drop in my field of work, some wider cultural references can pass me by. This is especially true for those from before my time and so I was delighted to find icons from all decades and centuries featured in this book. Badged as the 250 names that intellectuals love to drop into conversation this book features quotes and biographical titbits covering big names from every sector – science, the arts, philosophy. Full review...
From Skedaddle to Selfie: Words of the Generation by Allan Metcalf
I have to go a roundabout way to introducing this book, so bear with me. It stems partly from dictionaries and the etymology of the language we use, but more so if anything from a different couple of books, and their ideas of generations. The authors of those posited the idea that all those archetypical generations – the Baby Boomers, the Millennials, and those before, in between and since – have their own cyclical pattern, and the history of humanity has been and will be formed by the interplay of just four different kinds, running (with only one exception) in regular order. I don't really hold much store by that, and I certainly didn't know we'd started one since the Millennials – who the heck decides such things, for one? Somebody must have put out an order, as someone here says of something else. But in the same way as generations get defined by collective persons unknown, so do words – and those words are certainly a clue to what was important, predominant and of course spoken in each decade. Full review...
When You Dead, You Dead by Guy Martin
It's a little depressing when a 34 year old is publishing his second autobiography, but that's what this book is, and Martin proves he's certainly not short on material. The author, for those of you who don't know, is a mechanic who dabbles in TV presenting and motorcycle racing, though it's the latter for which we he will be most well-known. Full review...
Lily and the Christmas Wish by Keris Stainton
In the small town of Pinewood the people are busy preparing for Christmas. This year they are doing something special to celebrate. Each person will write down a secret wish and tie it to the Christmas tree in the town square. Although nine year old Lily likes this idea she is more than a little sceptical that wishes can come true, no matter how much you may want them to. Then a strange storm blows in and scatters all the wishes across the town. Lily wakes up the following morning to discover that Bug, her pug puppy, can talk! That was not what Lily had wished for but maybe it was someone else's wish? The Christmas magic has definitely gone wrong. Can Lily, her younger brother Jimmy and, of course, Bug put things right before Christmas Day? Full review...
Campaigns that Shook the World: The Evolution of Public Relations by Danny Rogers
I dithered about how to begin this review. On one hand I thought I should probably start by saying that I have a work related interest in marketing and communications. On the other hand, Danny Rogers has written a book which appealed to me on several levels. Campaigns are about psychology and storytelling – which of course leads us into branding but also feature critical issues around concept delivery. In short, I was looking forward to reading this for many reasons – and it didn’t disappoint. Full review...
Beautiful You by Chuck Palahniuk
Meet Penny Harrigan. And let's hope your introduction to her is more gentle than that we have on the first page of this book, where she is being raped in front of a full court house, who – male to the bone – sit back and say nothing, if not whip out their camera phone. Once people take her out on a gurney and recognise her, we can start from the beginning, where she is a lowly underling at a law firm, having failed too many exams to progress satisfactorily. The company is where the world's richest man is in legal negotiations having left the world's best and most beautiful actress, and lo and behold he just happens to pick Penny to replace her with, even if she doesn't think of herself as the most beautiful girl around. But what exactly is it she is wanted for, and can her apolitical style of feminism and aspirations be met? Full review...
Planetfall by Emma Newman
Ren believed in Lee Suh-Mi's vision of a world far beyond our one, calling to humanity. A planet promising to reveal the truth about our place in the cosmos, and untainted by overpopulation, pollution and war. Ren believed in that vision enough to give up everything, and followed the pathfinder Suh-Mi into the unknown. Twenty two years later, the new colony still functions – based around a mysterious alien structure into which Suh-Mi has resided in isolation. Ren works hard alone, generating the tools needed for survival – and harbouring a secret that could destroy everything they have worked to build. When a stranger appears, bearing a strong resemblance to the hidden Suh-Mi, secrets can no longer be hidden – secrets that may just destroy the colony… Full review...
Quarry's List by Max Allan Collins
The Quarry series is classic pulp fiction from Max Allan Collins that has spanned almost 50 years. The newest books in the series may be set in the past, but where actually written recently. The success of the newer books, has revitalised interest in the original 1970s run of books. Once known as The Broker's Daughter, Quarry's List is the second book in the series that may not introduce you to the character, but it does introduce you to why Quarry became a killer of killers. Full review...
Blade of Light by Andrea Camilleri
When Mr di Marta arrived at Montalbano's station to report an armed robbery on his wife the night before the most surprising point was not the robbery itself, but the fact that it had ended with a kiss. The Inspector's suspicions were aroused and he was convinced that he was not being told the full story. None of the witnesses' stories added up and it was difficult not to come to the conclusion that they were not meant to. Then a body turned up in a burnt-out car which had all the hallmarks of a Mafia hit. This isn't Montalbano's only problem though - there's another case which keeps sneaking its way back into his attention even though he should have nothing to do with it. Full review...
Braver Than Britain, Occasionally by Spadge Whittaker
In which Spadge researches Britain's top ten fears and faces them all over the course of a year. We're quite a fearful society, you know. And the things we fear most are, in order: heights (acrophobia), snakes (ophidiophobia), public speaking (glossophobia), spiders (arachnophobia), small spaces (claustrophobia), mice (musophobia), needles (trypanophobia), flying (pteromerhanophobia), crowds (agoraphobia) and clowns (coulrophobia). Full review...
21st Century Tank Girl by Jamie Hewlett, Alan Martin and others
I sometimes wonder, when keying in book reviews, if ISBNs are not constructed by design instead of the formal accident that is supposed to create them. Surely it's intentional that this book has 666 in its code – it's the most devilishly brash, ugly and foul-mouthed comic around, and people who like that kind of thing will like this. Especially as this book is a return to waaay distant form, and waaay distant creative partnerships, with the original artist Jamie Hewlett back on board. It's time to cuss and roll once more… Full review...
The Hotel on Mulberry Bay by Melissa Hill
Penny and Elle Harte are sisters, but they couldn't be more different. The two had an idyllic childhood, brought up in the family hotel in the scenic Irish coastal town of Mulberry Bay. Ambitious Elle always had the urge to spread her wings and fly, whereas her dreamy younger sister was content to stay at home and help her parents out in the hotel. As time passed, the sisters no longer had the close bond they once shared, especially with Elle living in London, enjoying her successful and demanding role as an architect. A family tragedy brings the sisters together once more; however, and family loyalties are tested as never before. Full review...
My Dog Daisy by Jean Ure
Lily did not want a goldfish. Nor did she want a hamster or a cat. She wanted a DOG and whilst she understood what Mum said about not being able to have a dog in the 5th floor flat without a garden she still thought it was unfair. After all, when they lived at Gran's house there was a garden and she could have had a dog, but then Mum and Gran had a row and they moved out. She hadn't even seen Gran for three months and she missed her. And the dog which she couldn't have. Even Keri, her best friend, though that she was going on a bit about the whole thing. Full review...
