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|summary='Something has happened. A piece of news. We have had a diagnosis that has the status of an event. The news makes a rupture with what went before.' With these plain, unsentimental words Coutts begins her devastating yet mysteriously gorgeous account of her husband Tom Lubbock's decline and death from a brain tumour. Shortlisted for the Costa Biography award and longlisted for the ''Guardian'' First Book Award, it was also a finalist for the Samuel Johnson Prize. | |summary='Something has happened. A piece of news. We have had a diagnosis that has the status of an event. The news makes a rupture with what went before.' With these plain, unsentimental words Coutts begins her devastating yet mysteriously gorgeous account of her husband Tom Lubbock's decline and death from a brain tumour. Shortlisted for the Costa Biography award and longlisted for the ''Guardian'' First Book Award, it was also a finalist for the Samuel Johnson Prize. | ||
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Revision as of 15:22, 29 November 2014
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.
There are currently 16,120 reviews at TheBookbag.
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Bear and Hare: Snow! by Emily Gravett
Emily Gravett is, let's face it, always good. There are books upon books which are well written and well thought out for the preschool market, but I can't help but feel like very young tots are often an after thought. Gravett, however, takes her sweet and witty style and gives it to just this market, and she is repeatedly excellent at it. There is just as much thought in her work as with any picture book for a slightly older reader, but it speaks to small ones in particular and I cannot do anything other than applaud her for that. Full review...
Chop Chop by Simon Wroe
'Monocle' isn't his real name, but that's what the brigade at The Swan would call him once they knew him well enough to insult him. He has an English Literature degree, you see, and the chefs think that's what he would have worn. He'd no interest in cooking, but was two months behind on his rent and being the lowest-rung chef in a gastropub in Camden was the only job that he could get. His co-workers are deranged and borderline criminal whilst the head chef, Bob is a top-rank sadist constantly on the look out for material on which to practice. Monocle has little choice but to stay - given the situation between his parents, going home isn't really an option. Full review...
Massacre Pond by Paul Doiron
What is best for the great outdoors? Is leaving it to nature is the most sustainable option or does hunting help to protect the ecosystem? Each group has opposing viewpoints and are unlikely to reach common ground, therefore someone is going to have to stand between the two of them and make sure nothing bad happens. Something like murder. Full review...
The Lost Child by Suzanne McCourt
Sylvie lives in a small Australian fishing village with her mum, dad and elder brother, Dunc. However all that is about to change and little Sylvie finds herself in the middle of dramas she neither understands nor controls. Her world may never be the same but she tries to make sense of it, Trollop, clingy mother, moody father and all. Full review...
A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas and Peter Bailey
Christmas time growing up in a Welsh seaside town was magical for Dylan Thomas, always snowy and full of adventure. From attempting to extinguish house fires with snowballs to hippo footprints in the snow his childhood in the snow was a time of wonder and pure joy. Full review...
Girl Online by Zoe Sugg
I've been intrigued by the idea of Girl Online since I first heard about it - I love books about blogging and the internet, and obviously YouTube sensation Zoella has had the experience of becoming well known online herself. The backlash from certain quarters has intrigued me as well; the number of people who've completely dismissed this as a bad book while admitting they haven't read it seems surprisingly high. I approached it with an open mind - I've never watched any of her YouTube videos and at the time of reading, hadn't read her blog, although I've just checked out a couple of her personal posts and I'm quite impressed by them. I think that people who do the same thing will enjoy it. Full review...
Misdirected by Ali Berman
Ben's family are moving from cosmopolitan, multi-faith Boston to a small town in America's Bible Belt, much to Ben's disgust. He's not looking forward to attending a conservative Christian high school and it doesn't take more than a few days before all his fears are realised. Open about his atheism, Ben meets shock and disgust from teachers and pupils alike. When he meets a girl, Tess, her parents forbid the relationship: as a non-believer Ben, to them, is a dangerous and pernicious influence. With his brother on a tour of Iraq with the military, a sister away at college and two Boston friends who won't talk to him, Ben has only a few stolen moments with Tess to make life bearable.
And then even that goes wrong... Full review...
Circle, Square, Moose by Kelly L Bingham and Paul O Zelinsky
If you have children you have no doubt read loads of books about shapes; the circle, the square, the dodecahedron. They are all variations of the same things – this wheel is round like a circle, this bread reminds me of a square, what on earth is a dodecahedron? Why not spice the book up by throwing in a moose, but not just any moose. This is a moose that brings chaos to everything he touches and must be chased from the book! Full review...
Atticus Claw Learns to Draw by Jennifer Gray
Who knew how much trouble a rainy day could bring? When nothing else inspires them, children Michael and Callie and police cat sergeant Atticus all enter a draw-some-pickles competition, for the chance to win a trip to, er, the pickle factory. Atticus has been around a bit – he used to be the world's best cat burglar – and he seems to recognise one of the faces on the pickle jars as an old enemy, but at least the main baddies of the series – the Russian spy mistress and her cat, and the town magpies – are miles away and tucked up safely inside a giant shark. So lo and behold when Atticus's entry wins, and the whole family gets taken to the factory. And lo and behold when the factory owner seems rather suspicious, and lo and behold when a certain shark gets captured… Full review...
House of Ashes by Monique Roffey
There had been unrest in the Caribbean City of Silk in Sans Amen for some time with people growing increasingly belligerent about the perceived corruption of the government. Then the day came when The Leader called the Brothers together and told them that they were going to make history: they would take over the House of Power and the television studios and reclaim what was rightfully theirs. Part of this 'revolution' is Ashes, a quiet, bookish young man who seems to feel most guilty about the lie he told his wife - that he'd be back home for dinner - when he left the house. He'd been swayed by The Leader's rhetoric and finds himself a part of the rag-tag band of ill-trained but probably over-armed young men and teens who invade the House of Power. It would not go as they expected. Full review...
Listen to the Moon by Michael Morpurgo
It's May, 1915. World War I is underway and the Scillionians have already seen losses. Like the rest of Britain, they are beginning to realise that this war won't be over any time soon.
When Alfie and his father are out fishing one day, they hear a child's cries. On one of the archipelago's uninhabited islands, they find a half-starved little girl, abandoned and in a terrible state. She can only speak one word: Lucy. Who is this foundling? Is she a ghost? A mermaid? Or, more worryingly, could she be a German spy? The name Wilhelm is on the label of her blanket, after all. And why does she gaze at the moon with such longing in her eyes? Full review...
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram
I’m not an overly sentimental person on the whole, I tend to lean towards fanciful tales and humorous romps rather than mushy, squishy books. 'Guess How Much I Love You' has been very much an exception to that for a long time, and I only have to turn the first page to quickly become a sentimental wreck. This 20th anniversary edition is a wonderful addition to the collection, with a very touching little introduction from both the author, Sam McBratney, and illustrator, Anita Jeram. Full review...
Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh
We've all heard the phrase 'it's not brain surgery' but what is it really like to operate on someone's brain in the frightening knowledge that a small slip, a slight error can have the most devastating consequences for the patient, with death probably not being the worst? Henry Marsh is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and Consultant Neurosurgeon at Atkinson Morley/St George's. If anyone knows what it's like then Henry Marsh is the man to tell you. Full review...
Things We Couldn't Explain by Betsy Tobin
Jericho, Ohio - 1979.
Annemarie is a clever, funny and spirited girl. Born with sight, she turned blind as a child, but more than compensates for her disability. Living amongst the small-town folk of Jericho, she has a relatively standard, suburban life, schooled at home but more than friendly with many in the town - especially her charming neighbour Ethan.
All is calm, until one day Annemarie finds herself pregnant. Full review...
The Naughtiest Reindeer by Nicki Greenberg
If you made all of Father Christmas’s reindeer line up, you would find it pretty tricky to find the naughtiest one among them as they are so well behaved. However, there is one reindeer who is so naughty that she does not get asked to pull the sleigh very often. On certain occasions needs must and when Rudolf is ill on Christmas Eve, the only help comes in the form of his little sister Ruby – dear oh deer. Full review...
The Fourth Secret (Inspector Montalbano) by Andrea Camilleri
Early one morning an Albanian construction worker - a legal resident with a work permit - fell from scaffolding and was dead when his co-workers found him. What struck Montalbano was that there had been rather a lot of what were described as tragedies in the workplace - six in the last month, in fact, although he was sure that there would be statistics to prove that this was not abnormal within the EU. Strictly it wasn't his case to deal with, but he received an anonymous letter telling him that Pashko Puka was going to be killed. Admittedly the letter arrived after the death due to a malfunction in the local postal system, but it did mean that it was difficult to think of the death as a 'tragic accident'. Full review...
The Kill by Jane Casey
I'm quite picky with crime fiction. This oversaturated market seems to teem with mediocre products. There are thrillers with excellent plots that are are badly written, some that contain masterful prose but are, well... boring, and others that are so far-fetched that I end up throwing the book away in disgust. I read Jane Casey′s highly enjoyable stand-alone The Missing several years ago. The Kill was my first foray into her Maeve Kerrigan series and I was keen to see how it would stand up. Full review...
Sir Charlie Stinky Socks: The Pirate's Curse by Kristina Stephenson
Sir Charlie Stinky Socks: the Pirate's Curse passed the grandchild test. The oldest granddaughter, aged 7, chose it for the teatime read as she'd already enjoyed another in this series. She took the lead in turning the pages, opening the giant flaps and pointing out details of the plot and jokes. The varied typefaces and sizes made it easy for her beginner reader brother to join in and the lively story line frequently attracted the attention of the third child who was sitting on the other side of the table absorbed in a project of her own. Full review...
The Squickerwonkers by Evangeline Lilly and Johnny Fraser-Allen
Selma is a young girl who finds a strange attraction on the edge of a fair – a large gypsy caravan-styled contraption, which she enters, alone but for her shiny red balloon. She appears to be alone, until nine marionette puppets suddenly appear on the stage within, and a disembodied voice introduces them all to her. They are the Squickerwonkers, and as we are about to see, they can reveal someone's entire character with the simplest of actions… Full review...
Sanctuary by Robert Edric
Everyone knows Charlotte, Emily and Anne. Not many know that this famous trio of literary sisters also had a brother, Patrick Branwell Brontë, born the year after Charlotte and a year before Emily. Like his sisters, he had literary ambitions: he wrote juvenile stories, poems and translations from the Greek; he also trained as a painter (you have most likely seen his famous painting of his sisters). Again like his sisters, however, he was destined to die young. Full review...
The Temporary Bride: A Memoir of Love and Food in Iran by Jennifer Klinec
Jennifer Klinec is the daughter of Hungarian immigrant parents who ran an automotive factory in southwest Ontario. She learned early on to be self-sufficient, even enrolling herself in boarding schools in Switzerland and Dublin. After graduation she moved to London, made a pile as an investment banker, and opened her own cookery school. At age 31, though, she decided to travel to the Iranian city of Yazd to learn Persian dishes. She met Vahid, 25, a military veteran with an engineering background, in a park and he introduced her to his mother for cooking lessons. Full review...
An African Princess: From African Orphan to Queen Victoria’s Favourite by Walter Dean Myers
This elegant edition of An African Princess tells of the life of Sarah Bonetta who is suddenly swept from the threat of a savage execution in 1848 only to face a brave new world under the patronage of the imperious Queen Victoria. Meticulously researched by the twice elected US National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Walter Dean Myers, it is a creatively imaginative account, with an historical backbone of genuine diary entries, letters, autobiographical work, contemporary newspapers, social and anthropological studies and period photographs. Full review...
The Royal Enigma by Krishna Bhatt
There is absolutely nothing wrong with books that cross genres. The best historical novels are as much history as fiction. However, it is a golden rule that a book must know who and what it is. One of the problems with The Royal Enigma is that it suffers from a serious identity crisis. Full review...
The Adventures of Mr Toad by Tom Moorhouse and David Roberts
Poop poop! Here comes Mr. Toad! The irrepressible Mr. Toad returns, accompanied, of course, by Ratty, Mole and Badger in this cheerful picture book version of The Wind in the Willows. The well-known highlights of the classic tale; the yellow caravan, the beautiful car, the shame of Toad's prison stay and his daring escape plus The Weasels and The Stoats are all included and, accompanied by charming illustrations, this is a wonderful way to introduce young children to a classic. Full review...
Unmanned by Dan Fesperman
Unmanned, the title of Fesperman's latest thriller, refers to the drones, the Predators, that Captain Darwin Cole flew over Afghanistan, from a shed somewhere in Nevada.
It also refers to the state that those missions left Cole in, after one of them went badly wrong. A poor call-down led to a misidentified target, a house destroyed, civilians killed, including two kids lying out in the open running away, and a girl, not dead but wounded. Cole could see her from his thousands of miles away, moving, agonising, separated by a considerable distance from the arm she would never use again.
A one-armed girl would haunt his dreams for a long time to follow. Full review...
Question Everything: 132 science questions - and their unexpected answers by New Scientist
For years now the New Scientist magazine has had a column whereby people submit questions they want the answer to, and it's up to correspondents from all walks of life to submit the answer and explain the solution. It's nothing new – the Guardian had it for years, then the Daily Mail probably had Britain's most popular variant, what with it being daily, but none were purely science-based such as that under perusal. It's a simple format for a book – not only does it create a fun kick-back at the close of an at-times hard-going science read, it generates a book full of fun and intriguing Q&As almost every year. Chances are that, by relying on the interests of their audience, the editors have allowed themselves to publish books that will appeal to many people who have never looked at their weekly edition – certainly they have been incredibly popular, and massively boosted the magazine's public recognition. And this volume will not be any different. Full review...
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
I know that some publishers send packs of tissues with seriously emotional books. I believe I'm right in saying Bloomsbury did it with Sarah Crossan's heartbreaking Apple And Rain. As far as I'm aware, Scholastic didn't send them with this, unless they got lost in the post between the Bookbag and me. Really, Scholastic? You think that's fair? You send a book that had me crying by page 40 and utterly destroyed before the page numbers hit triple digits, and you can't at least throw in a pack of tissues? Good grief! Full review...
Rupert Brooke: Life, Death and Myth by Nigel Jones
Rupert Chawner Brooke’s reputation as one of the greatest or at least best-remembered war poets rests largely on his sonnet The Soldier. Perhaps it was English literature’s abiding loss that his output was so slender, as his career was cut short so suddenly. Had he lived longer he would surely have developed into a notable writer. Full review...
The Kennedy Wives: Triumph and Tragedy in America's Most Public Family by Amber Hunt and David Batcher
The Kennedy dynasty is mainly known for the men who have come to political prominence: Jack Kennedy, the president who was assassinated in November 1963, his brother, Bobby, Jack's Attorney General who would be assassinated in June 1968 and Senator Edward Kennedy the youngest of the nine children - the only one of the brothers who would, as they say, live to comb grey hair. Not quite so much is known about the women who were brave enough to marry into the family and Amber Hunt and David Batcher have set out to give us some background on five of these women: Rose Kennedy the matriarch of the family and wife of Joe Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of Jack, Ethel, wife of Bobby and Joan and Vicki, the first and second wives of Teddy Kennedy. Full review...
The Iceberg: A Memoir by Marion Coutts
'Something has happened. A piece of news. We have had a diagnosis that has the status of an event. The news makes a rupture with what went before.' With these plain, unsentimental words Coutts begins her devastating yet mysteriously gorgeous account of her husband Tom Lubbock's decline and death from a brain tumour. Shortlisted for the Costa Biography award and longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, it was also a finalist for the Samuel Johnson Prize. Full review...
