Book Reviews From The Bookbag
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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Why the Dutch are Different: A Journey into the Hidden Heart of the Netherlands by Ben Coates
I know Holland in the way everyone does. Pancakes and windmills and Pot, oh my. But it's one of the few European countries I've never lived in for any period of time, and so I was intrigued to know more. Full review...
I Used to Know That: History by Emma Marriott
I've picked up a few things over the years, most notably from English language text books while TEFLing abroad (there's nothing like an exciting lesson on Guy Fawkes to have a classroom of Mexicans wondering why we so love to celebrate a terrorist attack that didn't happen). But I have gaps, of this I am sure, and I thought to get a basic understanding of, well, the basics that we all should know, a quick read of this book wouldn't hurt. Full review...
Fusion: Volume 4 (Tesla Evolution) by Mark Lingane
(By the way there are spoilers ahead – this is definitely a series to be read in order, starting from Tesla 1 ). Alone again now that Melanie has been killed, Sebastian makes it to North America. Far from it being the land of promise it used to be, the country is now an apocalyptic ruin, full of people scavenging for their survival and the Infected forging a path of worse-than-death and destruction. Sebastian needs to focus on his ultimate challenge as foreseen in a rather scary way but there's a small matter distracting him: who's firing rockets at him? Full review...
The Hosts of Rebecca by Alexander Cordell
At the end of Rape of the Fair Country Iestyn Mortymer had been sentenced to deportation for seven years because of the part he played in the Chartist rebellion and the Newport Rising of 1839. His mother, wife, Marie, younger brother, Jethro, sister, Morfydd and the two children of the family returned to the land, living on a farm owned by Marie's grandfather. The life was hard and not just for the Mortymers, with poverty breathing over their shoulders and it was made worse by the tollgates installed by landowners, effectively adding a levy to any produce which the farmers attempted to move. Full review...
The Phantom Bully (Star Wars Jedi Academy 3) by Jeffrey Brown
Doesn't time fly? It only seems a short time ago that Roan Novachez was starting his first term at Jedi Academy Middle School, yet here he is, all grown up and ready to start his final year. As always, there are plenty of twists and turns, teen troubles and relationship issues mixed in with the force-wielding, piloting and lightsaber battles. Bullying is still a real issue for Roan this term, as it seems that someone has made a personal mission of setting him up to fail. Everything is riding on his performance this year, as flunking out will mean being held back a year and his friends moving on without him. Full review...
Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa
Jeremy, Mira and Sebby are very different people, each with their own complex and difficult issues, who find themselves inexplicably drawn together. Jeremy is an artist, painfully shy and still struggling to get over the horrible incident that ruined his last year of school. Mira is cool and fashionable, but suffers from depression, constantly fighting against a sleep that threatens to overpower her for days on end. Then there's Sebby, flamboyant, irreverent and charming, but with hurt and troubles simmering behind his façade, and no family or support network to lean on. The powerful friendship and love that forms between them could save them from their broken selves, but it could just as easily drag them all down together. Full review...
The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine by Alexander McCall Smith
Back to Botswana I go, having saved this newest outing in the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series for a delightful weekend read. I never tire of these characters, and I always look forward to seeing what is happening in their lives. This time around the story is about holidays, amongst other things, and the tricky plans to persuade Mma Ramostwe to take a holiday. But what is Mma Makutsi up to? Does she have plans to take over the agency entirely whilst Mma Ramotswe is away? Full review...
After Many A Summer by Aldous Huxley
Like many of us, I suspect, I knew nothing of Huxley other than the "required reading" of Brave New World. Naturally, on that basis alone, he was pigeon-holed in my head under the heading Sci-fi - must check out further. Full review...
Winnie's Haunted House by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul
Strange things are happening in Winnie the Witch's house – a broken vase, torn curtains, and a chandelier that suddenly crashes to the ground. There is no obvious explanation so Winnie decides her house must be haunted and reaches her spell book to solve the problem. As usual the spell only makes matters worse, at first anyway. Full review...
I Should Know That - Great Britain by Emma Marriott
I am a dreadful Brit. I'm better at the geography of Colombia than the UK (true story, I had to google where Essex was the other day). Despite 17 years of full time education in the UK, I probably wouldn't pass a simple citizenship test. Which is a little embarrassing, really. So when this book came up for review I thought I'd have it, both for interest and as a subtle way to brush up on my Britain. Full review...
The Riddle-Master's Game by Patricia McKillip
IIn a realm where the wizards have long since died, but where magic and riddlry reign, no one takes much notice of the small, peaceful kingdom of Hed. That is until the young Land Ruler Morgon, wins a riddle game that sends a series events into motion that will shake the realm. Together he and the High One's harpist embark on a journey across the realm, to discover his destiny and finally marry the second most beautiful woman in the land. But Morgon has a long way to go and his journey is just the begginning of the impossible riddles before him. Full review...
Edgewater by Courtney Sheinmel
Lorrie may run with the big dogs, but right now she's more of a mutt. Her mother is AWOL and her aunt is becoming more eccentric by the day. She's politely asked to leave her sleepaway riding camp when payment fails to arrive, and so she sets off home to sort it all out. Again. It's becoming something of a habit this need to act the grown up while the real grown ups fail to make the grade. Full review...
The Things We Do For Love by Alice Peterson
January is an unusual name for a reasonably normal girl, a single mum to a daughter (and a dog). She has a few unusual characteristics, though. Her dog comes to work with her (at a property company where, before you ask, she's not the boss or even close to it). She was raised by her grandparents following the sudden death of her parents. And her daughter, though adorable, has a few issues which can make everyday life a bit tricky. None of this really matters, though. Because, as the title suggests, this is a straight up love story (or search for love story) and it's a pretty brilliant one. Full review...
Frost: That Was The Life That Was: The Authorised Biography by Neil Hegarty
Just a glance at this book is enough to make us realise, or remind us, that Sir David Frost was a towering presence in the world of television for around half a century. From the days when he stormed the barricades of cosy light entertainment at the start of the swinging sixties, to his major political interviews and his position as one of the founding fathers of TV-am, he was a cornerstone of the industry. Without him, the history of broadcasting during that period would surely have been very different. Full review...
The Grubby Feather Gang (Bigshorts) by Antony Wootten
Life is confusing for George Sanders: his father, the local vet, has refused to 'do his bit' and volunteer to fight in France. There's bad feeling in the village - with the women giving Dad white feathers - and even George's mum believes that he should go and fight. To top it all George is currently being suspended, upside down, from the rafters in the hayloft by the local bully who is determined that George is going to do his maths homework. You'd think that it couldn't get much worse, but the next day he's caned at school when he doesn't feel that he was in the wrong. There's no wonder George is confused, is there? Full review...
Heroic Measures by Jill Ciment
Ruth and Alex Cohen have to move from their beloved New York apartment. They love it, but it's five floors up and there's no elevator. Reluctantly they're having an open day for prospective purchasers - and hoping that they'll be able to buy something not too far out which has that elusive elevator. It's not just them, either. There's Dorothy. Dorothy ('Dottie' to those who know her well) is their Daschund. She's getting on in years, but then so are Ruth and Alex. Then - the day before the open house - two things happen. An unmarked petrol truck is blocking the city's main tunnel and there's no sign of the driver. You don't even need to have long memories to worry about terrorists in Manhattan. Then Dottie yelps in pain and she can't stand up. Full review...
The Truffle Mouse by Holly Webb
Alice is going through a tough time right now. Even though her mum and dad split up two years ago, she'd always hoped that they would eventually get back together. But when dad introduced his new girlfriend and her daughter and announced that they would be moving in, everything changed. School isn't any better, either. She's always getting told off in class and is jealous of her best friend Lucy, who seems to have the perfect family, but doesn't appreciate it. When mum sees how withdrawn Alice has become, she takes her to the pet shop to buy a hamster to take her mind off things. However, it's not a hamster that catches Alice's eye, but a sweet little mouse, with fur like cocoa powder. The trouble is, mum is terrified of mice! Full review...
Stuff Brits Like by Fraser McAlpine
With over 100 chapters on different aspects of Britain and Britishness, this book is both fascinating and hilarious. Just looking at the list of subjects is enough to produce a sardonic twist of that stiff upper lip: the chapters cover topics that range from offal to curry, from pedantry to banter, from conkers to rugby. There may be many chapters but this is no academic tome - each chapter is just two to three pages long, each is written with endearing affection, each is easy and satisfying - and quirkily funny - to read. Full review...
Where my Heart Used to Beat by Sebastian Faulks
In the early 1980’s, on a small island off the South of France, a Doctor named Robert Hendricks confronts his life – memories of wars, work, loves, and losses. As his history is explored and questioned by his host, Hendricks recalls days in Scottish universities, Italian trenches, mental asylums and windswept beaches. Links to the past are uncovered, and the raw wounds they expose take Hendricks on a search for sanity and raises the question – is life comprised of events themselves, or the way in which an individual chooses to remember them? Full review...
Submission by Michel Houellebecq and Lorin Stein (translator)
What do you expect from Submission? It is after all from one of Europe's more blunt huge-sellers, one who is most forthright in his opinions, narratives and characters' sexual lives. It has become indelibly linked with a new Europe, after its reception and contents led to publicity on the cover of Charlie Hebdo, which resulted in something less savoury than literature, to say the least. Do you expect it to be about a France of the near future, where a Muslim political party provides the president? Well, don't go into this submissively following your expectations. Full review...
Front Runner by Felix Francis
Jeff Hinkley is an undercover investigator for the British Horseracing Authority, so he was in a difficult position when he was approached by his friend Dave Swinton. Dave was champion jockey and he told Hinkley that he'd deliberately lost a race and there was no way that this could be kept as some confidential words between friends. The following day Hinkley returned to Swinton's house to discuss the matter further - and ended up trapped in the blisteringly-hot sauna. He was lucky to escape with his life. Swinton was not so lucky - his charred body was found in his burning car at a deserted beauty spot in Oxfordshire. Full review...
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd
Bunny was cosily tucked up in bed. It's a big room, painted green (very green) and with lots of things scattered around. Before Bunny goes to sleep he's going to look at them all and then say goodnight to each of them. There are the pictures on the walls (from nursery rhymes and fairy tales), a couple of kittens, a pair of mittens, a doll's house and a young mouse, a comb and a brush and a bowl of mush as well as a quiet old lady who was whispering hush. You get the idea? We're moving through the objects one by one in gentle rhyme before we start to say goodnight to them all. Full review...
The Revolving Door of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
I am always happy to sit back down with old friends, to catch up on what has been happening on Scotland Street. As in the last episode Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers by Alexander McCall Smith there is plenty of Bertie throughout the whole story. Bertie is my favourite character by far, so this was very pleasing to me! Our other favourites are there too, however, so there's something to please everyone, from Bruce being, well, Bruce, and dear Angus reciting a poem at the end. Full review...
Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us by David Neiwert
'Profoundly humbling experiences are good for our souls,' Neiwert asserts in the first pages of his all-encompassing book about killer whales. For him, encountering orcas, one of the world's largest mammals, has been both humbling and inspiring, reminding him that humans are just one among many wondrous species and that it is wrong for us to exploit other creatures for our own benefit. After moving to Seattle, he tried for three years to see the whales, and finally gave up; it was only when he began spending time in the places where the orcas live, simply for the pleasure of it, that he started seeing them all the time. Full review...
Zero World by Jason M Hough
Memory is an important element of making us who we are. Do we avoid certain courses of action knowing that the memory of it would haunt us for the rest of our lives? Most of us would not kill, but what if you could forget that you just ended someone's life? Then you may be a sociopath, but a useful sociopath that can be trained to be an assassin who kills, forgets and kills again. This type of person may even forget that they have visited new worlds. Full review...
Whispers Through A Megaphone by Rachel Elliott
Miriam doesn’t speak. Well, that’s not strictly true. She does speak, but nothing above a whisper which makes it hard to have a conversation with her. Particularly as she hasn’t left her house in three years. But today is the day. She’s going to open that door and walk outside. She really is. Ralph has finally twigged (and with no small amount of surprise) that his wife Sadie doesn’t actually love him. And now he’s not sure if she ever really did. Having spent so much time regurgitating his every moment onto Social Media, Ralph hasn’t really had a chance to think about it. But now he has, it is so shockingly awful that he has decided to run away. And of all the places he could run away to, he has chosen the same woods that Miriam has picked to be the first place she will visit out-of-doors. And Sadie? Well, she’s had enough of reading Tweets and living vicariously through the posts of others. Sadie is going to have an adventure of her own. Full review...
