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{{Frontpage|class-"wikitable" cellpaddingauthor="15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE-->Patti Smith|title=Year of the Monkey<!-- Walton -->|rating=4|-genre=Biography| stylesummary="width: 10%; verticalOn the coast of Santa Cruz, Patti Smith enters the lunar year of the monkey -align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Walton_Askone packed with mischief, sorrow, and unexpected moments.jpg|left|link=httpIn a stranger's words, ''Anything is possible://wwwafter all, it's the year of the monkey''.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788038053/ref=nosim?tagAs Smith wanders the coast of Santa Cruz in solitude, she reflects on a year that brings huge shifts in her life - loss and ageing are faced head on, as it the shifting political waters in America. |isbn=thebookbag-21]]1526614758}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|Walton_Ask|title===[[Ask For Blues by |author=Malcolm Walton]]=|rating=3.5|genre=Autobiography [[image:3.5star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Autobiography|Autobiography]], [[:Category:Entertainment|Entertainment]], [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]] Malcolm Malcolm Walton's book is clearly a memoir about his introduction to the Trad Jazz scene of the late 1950's 1950s and early 1960's1960s, but he has chosen to write it in the form of a novel, claiming in his prologue that this would give the book a different approach to the music memoir. His protagonist 'Martin' takes on Malcolm's mantle, and begins with his first discovery of the Salvation Army band with his grandfather. This catapults him into a love of music, initially taking piano lessons, and later delving into his true love – the trumpet. [[Ask For Blues by Malcolm Walton|Full Review]]}}{{Frontpage<!-- |isbn=Moore -->Bientot|-title=A Bientot...| styleauthor="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Roger Moore|rating=4[[image:Moore Bientot.jpg|left|linkgenre=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1782438610?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1782438610]] Entertainment| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Bientot... by The news of the death of Sir Roger Moore]]=== [[imagein May 2017 came as a great shock:4starhe was one of those people you knew would go on forever.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Autobiography|Autobiography]], [[:Category:Entertainment|Entertainment]], [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] The news There was just one small glimmer of light in the sadness - the news that a matter of the days before his death he'd delivered the finished manuscript of Sir Roger Moore in May 2017 came as a great shock: he was one of those people you knew would go on for everhis book, ''À bientôt…'', to his publishers. There was just one small glimmer of light in the sadness - the news that Just a few months later a matter of days before his death hecopy landed on my desk and I didn'd delivered the finished manuscript of his book, ''À bientôt…'', to his publishers. Just a few months later a copy landed on my desk and I didn't even t even bother to look as though I could resist reading it straight away. [[A Bientot... by Roger Moore|Full Review]]}}{{Frontpage<!-- |isbn=Maslanka -->Sherlock|-title=Sherlock: The Puzzle Book| styleauthor="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Christopher Maslanka and Steve Tribe|rating=4[[image:Maslanka Sherlock.jpg|left|linkgenre=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1785943030?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1785943030]] Entertainment| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Sherlock: The Puzzle Book by Christopher Maslanka Who doesn't love a good puzzle, especially those really fiendish ones that get the brain working extra hard? There really is nothing to compare to that buzz we get from the Aha! moment, when everything falls into place and Steve Tribe]]=== [[image:4starthe solution reveals itself.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category: Entertainment|Entertainment]] Who doesnIf puzzles are your thing then you may wish to put your grey cells to the test with ''The Sherlock Puzzle Book''t love a good puzzle, especially those really fiendish ones that get based on the brain working extra hard? There really is nothing to compare to that buzz we get from popular TV series.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Corcoran_Dylan|title=Do You Mr Jones?: Bob Dylan with the Aha! moment, when everything falls into place Poets and Professors|author=Neil Corcoran|rating=4.5|genre=Entertainment|summary=Bob Dylan's award of the solution reveals itself. If puzzles are your thing then you may wish to put your grey cells to Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016 'for having created new poetic expressions within the test with great American song tradition''The Sherlock Puzzle Book'', based on proved highly controversial. It inevitably led some people in the popular TV seriesliterary world to take stock and look at his work and reputation with a fresh eye. This volume of essays was first published in 2002, and is now reissued with a new foreword by Will Self. [[Sherlock: The Puzzle Book by Christopher Maslanka and Steve Tribe|Full Review]]<br>}}{{Frontpage<!-- Corcoran -->|isbn=Kyncl_Stream|-title=Stream Punks| styleauthor="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Robert Kyncl and Maany Peyvan[[image:Corcoran_Dylan.jpg|left|linkrating=https://www4.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1784706809?ie5|genre=UTF8&tagEntertainment|summary=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1784706809]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Do You Mr Jones?: Bob Dylan I watch quite a lot of YouTube. I play music videos when I want to listen to a particular song I don't already have in my collection. I use it to find out how to do things, with the Poets and Professors by Neil Corcoran]]=== [[image:4instruction videos they seem to have for pretty much anything.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category: Entertainment|Entertainment]] Bob Dylan's award of At the gym, I'll stick it on on my phone, prop it up on the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016 'for having created new poetic expressions within cross-trainer and watch some behind the scenes interviews with the great American song traditioncast of my favourite shows. And sometimes I' proved highly controversial. It inevitably led some people in the literary world ll treat it as if it is Netflix, to take stock and look at his work and reputation watch series with new episodes releasing every few days, exclusively on YouTube. Having a fresh eye. This volume of essays was first published new smart TV adds an extra, easy way to watch without having to plug in 2002my laptop or squint at a small phone screen. So yes, I like YouTube and is now reissued with a new foreword by Will SelfI use YouTube. [[Do You Mr Jones?: Bob Dylan with But I didn't know a whole lot about the Poets and Professors by Neil Corcoran|Full Review]]site it until I read this book.}}<!-- Kyncl -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=JVDK_Swing| styletitle="widthWe Can Swing Together: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Story of Lindisfarne|author=John Van der Kiste[[image:Kyncl_Stream.jpg|left|linkrating=https://www.amazon.co4.uk/gp/product/0753545926?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0753545926]] 5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Entertainment|summary===[[Stream Punks by Robert Kyncl and Maany Peyvan]]=== [[image:4It all began with a group of youngsters in North Shields.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] Rod Clements, Simon 'Si' Cowe, [[:Category: Entertainment|Entertainment]] I watch quite a lot of YouTube. I play music videos when I want Ray 'Jacka' Jackson and Ray Laidlaw formed ''The Downtown Faction'', soon changing the name to listen to a particular song I don't already have in my collection'Brethren'' when they were joined by singer-songwriter Alan Hull. I use it As a US-based group had a similar name they opted to find out how to do things, change the name again - and ''Lindisfarne'' (with the instruction videos they seem to have for pretty much anythingname taken from an island off the Northumberland coast) was born. At the gym, I'll stick it on on my phone, prop it up More than forty years on the cross trainer and watch some behind the scenes interviews with numerous changes of personnel the cast of my favourite showsband is still very much around. And sometimes I'll treat it as if it is Netflix They might not be touring or producing much in the way of new material, but they still perform, to watch series with new episodes releasing every few daysRod Clements, exclusively one of the original members on YouTubehis fourth stint with the group. Having a new smart TV adds an extra, easy way to watch without having to plug in my laptop or squint at a small phone screen}}{{Frontpage|isbn=JVDK_ELO|title=Electric Light Orchestra: Song by Song|author=John Van der Kiste|rating=4. So yes5|genre=Entertainment|summary=My memories of pop music in the early sixties revolve around guitars and drums, I like YouTube sometimes the piano with only occasional excursions into strings and I use YouTubebrass. But I didnPop music rarely stands still and it wasn't know a whole lot about long before the site it until I read this book.[[Stream Punks by Robert Kyncl basic instruments were seen as constraints and Maany Peyvan|Full Review]] <!-- JVDK -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:JVDK_SwingThe 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.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1781555893/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="vertical-alignWatkins_Lets|title=Let's Make Lots of Money: top; text-align: left;"My Life as the Biggest Man in Pop|author=Tom Watkins|rating=4|genre=Entertainment|summary=[[We Can Swing Together: The Story Who on earth would be a manager in the larger than life, here today gone tomorrow world of Lindisfarne by John Van der Kiste]]=== [[image:4pop? Anybody with an ego, a ruthless streak, an opportunity to embrace the chances and accept that it's not going to last, evidently.5star.jpg|link=Category:Tom Watkins is just one of several to have walked the fine line and, for part of the time, quite successfully. As his memoirs suggest, part of the time was achievement enough.}}{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:EntertainmentFrontpage|isbn=Kendrick_Scrappy|Entertainment]]title=Scrappy Little Nobody|author=Anna KendrickIt all began with a group of youngsters in North Shields|rating=3.5|genre=Entertainment|summary=Celebrity autobiographies. Rod Clements, Simon It'Sis a genre long tainted by the examples of people who clearly didn' Cowet deserve to be a celebrity, let alone have a ghost-writer create their book, Ray 'Jacka' Jackson and Ray Laidlaw formed ''The Downtown Faction'', soon changing the name by those who did so little but managed to ''Brethren'' when churn out five memoirs before they were joined by singer-songwriter Alan Hulleven thirty. As But more recently it's become a US-based group had way of staking a similar name they opted claim to change the name again - and importance for female comics. They''Lindisfarne'' (with the name taken from an island off ve not all written autobiographies, as Bridget Christie proved, but enough have to provide for a rapidly-filling shelf at the Northumberland coast) was bornbookstore. More than forty years on 2016 we had Amy Schumer winning a GoodReads award, Lena Dunham's been at it, and with numerous changes of personnel the band is still very much aroundwe've also got Anna Kendrick. They might Now she's not a strict comic – not be touring or producing much in the way all of new materialher films are designed to make you laugh, and some of them that are just don't – but they still perform, with Rod Clements, one of this has to be in the original members on his fourth stint with the group. [[We Can Swing Together: The Story of Lindisfarne by John Van der Kiste|Full Review]]same bracket.}}<!-- jvdk -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=Ropek_Tragic| styletitle="widthTragic Magic: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Life of Traffic's Chris Wood|author=Dan Ropek[[image:JVDK_ELO.jpg|linkrating=http://www.amazon.co4.uk/dp/1781556008/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Entertainment|summary===[[Electric Light Orchestra: Song Chris Wood was a member of Traffic, the group formed by Song by John Van der Kiste]]=== [[image:4Steve Winwood in 1967 after he left The Spencer Davis Group.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Entertainment|Entertainment]] My memories A gifted musician best known for his flute and saxophone work, he also played keyboards, bass guitar and contributed backing vocals as well as having a hand in writing several of pop music in the early sixties revolve around guitars songs and drums, sometimes one or two instrumentals. This biography takes its title from the piano with only occasional excursions into strings and brassname of one of his compositions for their fifth album. Pop music rarely stands still and it wasn't long before the basic instruments were seens as constraints and }}{{Frontpage|isbn=Dolby_Sound|title=The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys began Speed of Sound|author=Thomas Dolby|rating=4.5|genre=Entertainment|summary=From struggling post-punk musician to experimentpop star, with other groups following where they ledfrom Silicon Valley innovator to university professor, Thomas Dolby has had a remarkable if not unique career, often reinventing himself on the way. Amongst these groups was The Move This memoir is based on his extensive notes and their lead guitarist and songwriter, Roy Woodjournals. Wood wanted to develop the group's sound by adding more instruments but was prevented }}{{Frontpage|isbn=Morris_Legion|title=The Legion of Regrettable Supervillains: Oddball Criminals from achieving what he wanted by cost limitations and because the rest of the group didn't really share his enthusiasm.Comic Book History|author=Jon Morris<!-- Watkins -->|-| style|rating="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|5[[image:Watkins_Lets.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0753541971/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Entertainment| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Let's Make Lots of Money: My Life as As much as I like comics – and I do, whether superhero ones or not – I have to admit one thing, namely that the Biggest Man villains in Pop by Tom Watkins]]=== [[image:4starthem are a bit pants.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Entertainment|Entertainment]] Who on earth would be What is The Penguin but the world's worst Mafioso, with a manager in the larger than life, here today gone tomorrow world of pophobby of waddling along like his pet birds? Anybody with Where else do you win an ego, Oscar of all things by playing a ruthless streak, an opportunity to embrace the chances two-bit killer who just fell in a vat of random chemicals and changed colour, and accept that itgot mardier as a result (although recently he's become a nanotech genius – but let's not going to last, evidently. Tom Watkins go there)? And what is it with the gimp in the see-through plant pot because he is the embodiment of cold? And that's just one some of several to have walked the fine linebetter-known enemies of ''Batman'', and for part one of the time, quite successfullybetter goodies. As his memoirs suggest, part of You can imagine how awful the time was achievement enough. [[Letbaddies related to the bad goodies can be. And if you can's Make Lots of Money: My Life as t, this is the Biggest Man in Pop by Tom Watkins|Full Review]]perfect primer.}} <!-- Mourby -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=Fletcher_Midnight| styletitle="widthIn the Midnight Hour: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|The Life & Soul of Wilson Pickett[[image:Mourby_Rooms.jpg|left|linkauthor=https://www.amazonTony Fletcher|rating=4.co.uk/gp/product/1785782754?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1785782754]] 5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Entertainment|summary===[[Rooms with Tamla Motown groups and singers apart, in the mid-sixties there were three major names in the soul music field who mattered above all. James Brown was something of a View: The Secret Life of Great Hotels by Adrian Mourby]]=== [[image:4starcult name who rarely bothered about or troubled the singles charts, and Otis Redding was on the verge of shooting into the stratosphere when he died in an aeroplane crash.jpg|link=Category:The other was the man from Alabama, 'the wicked Pickett'.}}{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:TravelFrontpage|isbn=Paling_Reading|Travel]], [[title=Reading Allowed:Category:HistoryTrue Stories and Curious Incidents from a Provincial Library|author=Chris Paling|History]]rating=4.5|genre=EntertainmentAdrian Mourby has given us |summary=I once made a flying visit to each of fifty grand hotels, from fourteen regions of the world, with the hotels comical faux pas in each section being arranged chronologically rather than by regiona library when I was younger, which helps to give something of an overall picture. So what makes a hotel but it certainly didn'grand'? The first hotel to call itself 'grand' was in covent Garden in 1774 and it ushered t put me off returning. I once declared in a self-important way that I would start at the beginning of a period when a hotel would be a lifestyle choice rather than a refuge the books for those without friends young children and family conveniently nearby. The hotels we visit all began life in different circumstances and each faced a different set of challenges. We begin in not stop til the Americasend, move to then do the same for those for the United Kingdom, circumnavigate Europe, briefly visit Russia older children – ''and Turkey then northern Africa, India and Asia. Australiado it all over again with them'', it seemsI said, does not go for pointing at the grandlarge-print shelves. [[Rooms with a View: The Secret Life of Great Hotels by Adrian Mourby|Full Review]] <!-- Kendrick -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Kendrick_Scrappy ''I hope not'', was the response – but little me was only aware of a need for large font for my fellow whippersnappers, and not for any other reason.jpg|link=http://www Since then I've needed libraries, and going to them has been second nature.amazon.co.uk/dp/1471156834/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top On the dole I made sure I could use the free Internet they provided to pay me back for my council tax; text-align: left;"|===[[Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick]]=== [[image:3later I was intent on finding out if a Senior Library Assistant girl was worthy of her title, and of course, it saved a fortune on books for study and fun.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Autobiography|Autobiography]] I'm not alone in sharing the warmth of both their heating system and the very thing they were born to provide – books, [[:Category:Entertainment|Entertainment]] Celebrity autobiographies. It's a genre long tainted by the examples but there was still a huge step up between my level of use and knowledge of people who clearly didn't deserve them to be a celebrity, let alone have a ghost-writer create their book, and by those who did so little but managed to churn out five memoirs before they were even thirtyactually working in one. Which is where Chris Paling comes in. But more recently it's become a way of staking a claim }}{{Frontpage|isbn=Springsteen_Born|title=Born to importance for female comics. TheyRun|author=Bruce Springsteen|rating=5|genre=Entertainment|summary=No, you haven've not all written autobiographiest stumbled into a music review from the 1970s, as Bridget Christie proved, but enough have to provide for a rapidly-filling shelf at the bookstore. 2016 we had Amy Schumer winning a GoodReads award, Lena DunhamI'm talking about The Boss's autobiography. Lots of books have been at it, written about Springsteen by folk who knew him, worked with him and we've also got Anna Kendrickby others who have only read the cuttings. Now she's Over the last seven years he has been going about – not a strict comic – not all of her films are designed to make you laughputting the record straight, and some of them that are just don't exactly – but this has to be in the same brackettelling it from his own perspective. [[Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick|Full Review]] <!-- Dolby -->|-| style="width As he puts it: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Dolby_Sound''Writing about yourself is a funny business''.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785781952/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Speed of Sound by Thomas Dolby]]=== [[image:4 By his own admission, it isn't the whole truth, discretion holds him back but ''in a project like this, the writer has made one promise, to show the reader his mind.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating'' ''In these pages, I've tried to do this.''}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Entertainment{{Frontpage|Entertainment]]isbn=JVDK_Beatles From struggling post-punk musician |title=A Beatles Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to pop star, from Silicon Valley innovator Know About the Beatles but Were Afraid to university professor, Thomas Dolby has had a remarkable if not unique career, often reinventing himself on the way. This memoir is based on his extensive notes and journals. [[The Speed of Sound by Thomas DolbyAsk|author=John Van der Kiste|Full Review]]rating=5 <!-- Ropek -->|-| style|genre="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Entertainment[[image:Ropek_Tragic.jpg|linksummary=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1910773190/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Tragic Magic: The Life You might have thought that just about everything which could be said about the Beatles had been said and certainly, there's been no shortage of Trafficbooks about what went wrong, what happened to the money and even what went right. But what I's Chris Wood by Dan Ropek]]=== [[imageve never seen before is a 'miscellany' - all those little facts which are so hard to track down and this is where historian John Van der Kiste comes into his own:4he's a man with an eye for detail and the ability to bring everything together into a very readable whole.5starIt's a wonderful collection of the small facts.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Entertainment|Entertainment]] Chris Wood was a member of Traffic, the group formed by Steve Winwood in 1967 after he left The Spencer Davis Group. A gifted musician best known for his flute and saxophone work, he also played keyboards, bass guitar and contributed backing vocals as well as having a hand in writing several of the songs and one or two instrumentals. This biography takes its title from the name of one of his compositions for their fifth album. [[Tragic Magic: The Life of Traffic's Chris Wood by Dan Ropek|Full Review]] <!-- Morris -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Morris_Legion.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1594749329/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Legion of Regrettable Supervillains: Oddball Criminals from Comic Book History by Jon Morris]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Graphic Novels|Graphic Novels]], [[:Category:Entertainment|Entertainment]] s much as I like comics – and I do, whether superhero ones or not – I have to admit one thing, namely that the villains in them are a bit pants. What is The Penguin but the world's worst Mafioso, with a hobby of waddling along like his pet birds? Where else do you win an Oscar of all things by playing a two-bit killer who just fell in a vat of random chemicals and changed colour, and got mardier as a result (although recently he's become a nanotech genius – but let's not go there)? And what is it with the gimp in the see-through plant pot because he is the embodiment of cold? And that's just some of the better-known enemies of ''Batman'', one of the better goodies. You can imagine how awful the baddies related to the bad goodies can be. And if you can't, this is the perfect primer.[[The Legion of Regrettable Supervillains: Oddball Criminals from Comic Book History by Jon Morris|Full Review]] <!-- Fletcher -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Fletcher_Midnight.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0190252944/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[In the Midnight Hour: The Life & Soul of Wilson Pickett by Tony Fletcher]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Entertainment|Entertainment]] Tamla Motown groups and singers apart, in the mid-sixties there were three major names in the soul music field who mattered above all. James Brown was something of a cult name who rarely bothered about or troubled the singles charts, and Otis Redding was on the verge of shooting into the stratosphere when he died in an aeroplane crash. The other was the man from Alabama, 'the wicked Pickett'.[[In the Midnight Hour: The Life & Soul of Wilson Pickett by Tony Fletcher|Full Review]] <!-- Paling-->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Paling_Reading.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1472124715/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Reading Allowed: True Stories and Curious Incidents from a Provincial Library by Chris Paling]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Entertainment|Entertainment]] I once made a comical faux pas in a library when I was younger, but it certainly didn't put me off returning. I once declared in a self-important way that I would start at the beginning of the books for young children and not stop til the end, then do the same for those for the older children – ''and then do it all over again with them'', I said, pointing at the large-print shelves. ''I hope not'', was the response – but little me was only aware of a need for large font for my fellow whippersnappers, and not for any other reason. Since then I've needed libraries, and going to them has been second nature. On the dole I made sure I could use the free Internet they provided to pay me back for my council tax; later I was intent on finding out if a Senior Library Assistant girl was worthy of her title; and of course it saved a fortune on books for study and fun. I'm not alone in sharing the warmth of both their heating system and the very thing they were born to provide – books, but there was still a huge step up between my level of use and knowledge of them to actually working in one. Which is where Chris Paling comes in. [[Reading Allowed: True Stories and Curious Incidents from a Provincial Library by Chris Paling|Full Review]] <!-- Springsteen -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Springsteen_Born.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1471157792/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Autobiography|Autobiography]], [[:Category:Entertainment|Entertainment]] No you haven't stumbled into a music review from the 1970s, I'm talking about The Boss's autobiography. Lots of books have been written about Springsteen by folk who knew him, worked with him and by others who have only read the cuttings. Over the last seven years he has been going about – not putting the record straight, exactly – but telling it from his own perspective. As he puts it: ''Writing about yourself is a funny business''. By his own admission, it isn't the whole truth, discretion holds him back but ''in a project like this, the writer has made one promise, to show the reader his mind.'' ''In these pages, I've tried to do this.'' [[Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen|Full Review]] <!-- JVDK -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:JVDK_Beatles.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1781555826/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Beatles Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Beatles but Were Afraid to Ask by John Van der Kiste]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Reference|Reference]], [[:Category:Entertainment|Entertainment]] You might have thought that just about everything which could be said about the Beatles had been said and certainly there's been no shortage of books about what went wrong, what happened to the money and even what went right. But what I've never seen before is a 'miscellany' - all those little facts which are so hard to track down and this is where historian John Van der Kiste comes into his own: he's a man with an eye for detail and the ability to bring everything together into a very readable whole. It's a wonderful collection of the small facts. [[A Beatles Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Beatles but Were Afraid to Ask by John Van der Kiste|Full Review]] <!-- Palacios -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:JVDK_Syd.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0859655482/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd: Dark Globe by Julian Palacios]]===  Move on to [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Newest Fantasy Reviews]] [[:Category:Entertainment|Entertainment]] There were few sadder casualties of the sixties music scene than Syd (real name Roger) Barrett. The original songwriting genius and front man of Pink Floyd, he burnt out all too soon. A few months in the spotlight were soon followed by a pathetic postscript of a stuttering solo career, and over three decades as a largely housebound recluse. [[Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd: Dark Globe by Julian Palacios|Full Review]] <!-- DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE --> |}