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[[Category:Reference|*]] __NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=John Sutherland1394159544|title=How Good is Your Grammar?|rating=3|genre=Reference|summary=In the preface of ''How Good is Your Grammar?'', John Sutherland suggests that the abolition of grammar schools in the 1960s coincided with a general decline in grammatical standards in the decades that followed. In our modern age of 'text-speak' and emoticons, the need Recycling for grammatical correctness seems to be rather low on our agenda, maybe even regarded as irrelevant by some. Is this gradual erosion an inevitable part of the evolution of communication, or will certain rules always remain an intrinsic part of the fabric of language? Only time will tell, but for those wishing to brush up on their grammar skills, Sutherland has compiled 100 quiz questions that he claims are the ''ultimate test'' for his readers.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780722575</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author= Lucy Adlington|title= Stitches in Time: The Story of the Clothes We Wear |rating=4|genre= History|summary=''Stitches in Time'' is a lively history of clothing. Riffling through the wardrobes of years gone by, costume historian Lucy Adlington reveals the stories underneath the clothes we wear in this tour of the history of fashion, ranging from ancient times to the present day. With beautiful illustrations and full colour photographs, ''Stitches in Time'' is a reminder of how the way we dress is inextricably bound up with considerations of aesthetics, sex, gender, class and lifestyle – and offers the reader the chance to appreciate the extraordinary qualities of the clothing we wear, and the rich history it has led. |amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847947263</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author= Jody Revenson|title= Harry Potter: The Character Vault|rating= 4|genre= Entertainment|summary= Unlock new information about your favourite characters from the Harry Potter film series. This coffeetable book profiles the good, bad, and everything in between – from Harry and Ron to Voldemort and Umbridge. Hugely detailed and filled with beautiful illustrations, images, and never before seen glimpses into the design process – this book will answer your questions about character design in the Harry Potter series.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0062407449</amazonuk>}}{{newreviewDummies|author=Steve Silberman|title=Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and How to Think Smarter about People Who Think DifferentlySarah Winkler

|genre=ReferenceLifestyle|summary=''NeurotribesRecycling one ton of plastic can save up to 16.3 barrels of oil.'' ' is is an ambitious book. It aims to challenge the widely-held perception that autism is a disability, or a developmental delay. One 'Recycling one ton of my favourite quotes paper can save 17 trees from the book is this:being cut down.''

''One way If you send an apple core to understand neurodiversity is landfill, it will take between 6 months and 2 years to think in terms of 'human operating systems' instead of diagnostic labelsdecompose. A glass bottle will take up to 1 million years.. Just because a computer is not running Windows doesn't mean that it's broken.''

This refreshing approach underpins the whole of this groundAs a just-post-breaking workWWII baby, I faced a dilemma: reducing, which reusing and recycling is essentially a potted-history part of autism from my DNA. NEVER throw away anything that might ''possibly'' come in handy now or in the distant past to future. NEVER buy anything if you can cobble together something that would serve the present daypurpose. It will fascinate Almost everything can be used one more time and enlighten anyone with an interest in any purchase must pass the test of 'Is this absolutely essential?' On the subjectother hand, or who is affected, directly or indirectly, by 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 conditionkerbside bin. For autistic people, this book represents their roots; their cultural history Yes, I could go searching on the internet - and illustrates how far the autistic community have come over the past few decadesget conflicting advice - but what I needed was a recycling bible.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1760113638</amazonuk>s

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn= Mary McDonagh Murphy1913750353|title= Scout, Atticus and BooBritannica's Word of the Day|ratingauthor= 4.5|genre= Reference|summary= First published in 1960, ‘’To Kill a Mockingbird’’ is not only a beloved classic, but a touchstone in literary and social history. ‘’Scout, Atticus & Boo’’ commorates the fifty years plus since ‘’To Kill a Mockingbird’’ was publishedPatrick Kelly, Renee Kelly and discusses its impact with contributions from Oprah Winfrey, James Patterson, Adriana Trigiani and Wally Lamb amongst others – particularly Alice Finch Lee, Harper Lee’s older sister who passed away last year. |amazonuk=<amazonuk>178475305X</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author=Stanley Gibbons|title=Great Britain Concise Stamp Catalogue 2015Sue Macy

|genre=ReferenceChildren's Non-Fiction|summary=The thirtieth edition ''Britannica's Word of the Stanley Gibbons Concise Stamp catalogue lives up to expectations once again. ItDay'' has a sub-title: ''s been extensively updated and prices have been revised in line with the current market, leading 366 Elevating Utterances to thousands of price increases (particularly in varieties, errors, Machins, Post & Go stamps Stretch Your Cranium and booklets), Tickle Your Humerus'' which will please probably tells you - or not - depending on whether all that you're a seller or a buyerneed to know about this brilliant book. Itstarts on January 1st with ''s pitched at that sector of the market which has outgrown Razzmatazz'', tells you how to pronounce it (''Collect British Stampsraz-muh-TAZ''), but not yet graduated to gives you a definition and then includes the [[Stamps of the World 2011 by Stanley Gibbons|Stamps of the World series]]word in a sentence so that you know how it should be used. You also get an engaging and frequently amusing illustration too. The cover price of £34.95 is reasonable when you see the amount of work - and technology - I don't think I've ever encountered a word which has gone into uses the creation of the book.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0852599447</amazonuk>letter Z four times before!

{{newreviewplainFrontpage|isbn=suppl_stafl|title=National Geographic Kids Infopedia 2016Supply Chain 20/20: A Clear View on the Local Multiplier Effect for Book Lovers|author=Kim Staflund

|summary=AnnualsSo, 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. They are not what they used You presumably wrote the book because you wanted to be. As - and you had a child, I remember snuggling into a chair with my 1983 “Crackerjack” annual and being completely immersed by talent for delivering the facts, stories, jokes and activities insidewritten word. You knew your subject back to front. Maybe I Now you'm getting oldre going to have to get to grips with the book supply chain, which even parts of the publishing industry believe to be wrong but many of todayit's annuals seem too difficult to change and no one wants to be little more than a few flimsy sheets of colouring paper and posters sandwiched inside a hard coverthe first to try. If Then, as when you ''finally'' have a parentcopy of the book in your hands, you are aching 're going to have to work out how to sell it - because it ''is'' going to buy your children something with a little more substance and quality, then the National Geographic Infopedia 2016 may be just what down to you are looking for.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1426322445</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|author= David and Ben CrystalFrederic Gros|title= Oxford Illustrated Shakespeare DictionaryA Philosophy of Walking|rating=4.5|genre=ReferencePolitics and Society|summary= David Crystal, renowned linguist, writer, editor, lecturer and broadcaster has collaborated with his son Ben, Shakespearean actor, author, director and producer I confess I picked this one up from the library in my pre-lockdown forage of random stuff. Now I have to create go out an eye catching, exquisitely detailed, carefully colour coded buy my own copy so that I can turn down the pages I have marked and incisive reference guidereturn to its varying wisdom when I need to. Some books draw you in slowly. It This one had me in the first two pages, wherein Gros explains why ''walking is extensive and meticulously researched- not a fusion sport''.|isbn=1781688370}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1788037812|title=The Fraternity of the Crystals’ Shakespearean knowledgeEstranged: The Fight for Homosexual Rights in England, 1891-1908|author=Brian Anderson|rating=5|genre=Biography|summary=Originally passed in 1885, linguistic skill 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 theatrical enthusiasm1908, three books on the nature of homosexuality appeared. Lavishly illustrated They were written by Kate Bellamytwo homosexual men: Edward Carpenter and John Addington Symonds, who favours a brightas 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, attractive primary colour paletteso the publications of these men were hugely significant – contributing to the scientific understanding of homosexuality, this dictionary is a treasure trove and beginning the struggle for any student recognition and equality, leading to the milestone legalisation of Shakespearesame-sex relationships in 1967. This would be a five star review but }}{{Frontpage|isbn=1912242052|title=O Joy for me!|author=Keir Davidson|rating=3|genre=Art|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 minor quibbleminer, quarryman, shepherd or pack- it is missing an index of characters which would have been useful horse driver, but because he wanted to for pupils assigned character studies as they could have cross referenced the explanatory entries pleasure and adventure. His rapturous encounters with quotes or themes. It also only concentrates on Shakespeare’s twelve most performed plays so it is not an exhaustive treatment their natural beauty, and its literary consequences, changed our view of his workthe world''.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192737503</amazonuk>

{{newreviewplainFrontpage|isbn=1072549271|title=The Economist Style Simple Act of Self-Publishing With Amazon: A Simple Step by Step Guide: 11th Edition|author=Georgianne Landy-Kordis

|genre=ReferenceBusiness and Finance|summary=If you 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'writet know where to start. I can empathise with that. Despite having used a computer for about thirty years, running most of my life '' what you meanand'' a website online, how will people 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 'know'The Simple Act of Self Publishing With Amazon'' what you mean?|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781253129</amazonuk>came across my desk...

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Jen Green and Wesley RobinsHigashida_Fall|title=Oceans in 30 SecondsFall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight: A Young Man's Voice From the Silence of Autism|author=Naoki Higashida and David Mitchell

|genre=Popular ScienceHome and Family|summary=Oceans in 30 Seconds is Naoki Higashida was only 13 years old when he wrote the latest international best-seller ''The Reason I Jump''. The book in was popular because it gave a rare glimpse into the workings of the innovative series autistic mind, as told from Ivy Press, which aims to give an informative and entertaining overview the unique perspective of a given subject in biteteenager with non-sized chunksverbal autism. Each given subject has its own two-page spreadNaoki communicates by using an alphabet grid, with a concise description or by tracing letters on the left, covering all palm of a transcriber. Despite this slow and laborious method of the main pointswriting, he has published several books in his native Japan and a colourful illustration on the right hand page, complete with extra snippets manages to give public presentations to raise awareness of informationhis condition. Each chapter also has a handy 3-second sum Fall Down 7 Times Get up, which further condenses the main idea of the chapter into 8 reintroduces us to Naoki as a single sentenceyoung adult in his 20s and explains how his perspectives on life have changed since writing his first book.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178240239X</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Daniel HahnJenkins_100|title=The Oxford Companion to ChildrenBritain's Literature100 Best Railway Stations|author=Simon Jenkins

|genre=ReferenceArt|summary=When I In the mid-twentieth century, the railway was a child, some sixty something which harked back to the Victorian age with trains being supplanted by cars and more years agoplanes, there were not many books for children or, indeed, much money to buy what but steam was available. Forty years agobeing replaced by oil, when my daughter was a child there were more even then and the libraries were relatively well stocked. But in the last thirty years children's books have flourishedtwenty-first-century oil is giving way to electricity. I'm no great fan of [[J K RowlingIt's Harry Potter Books in Chronological Order|Harry Potter]] but even the most hardened cynic would have to admit that the wizard has brought a lot of children to reading - cleaner, more environmentally friendly and to enjoying it too. In the same period stations which we've seen books tackling ''difficult'' subjects become mainstream d all rushed through as quickly as possible, keen to escape their grime, were restored and the rise of young adult fiction. From near-famine we've moved became places to feastbe admired, but what we need now is guidancepossibly even lingered in. Simon Jenkins has chosen his hundred best railway stations.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0199695148</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Philip W ErringtonTaylor_Owls|title=J.K. RowlingOwls: A Bibliography 1997 - 2013Guide to Every Species|author=Marianne Taylor

|genre=ReferenceAnimals and Wildlife|summary=Just occasionally it's necessary to begin by saying what a book ''isn't'': ''JI feel like I am being watched.KA huge pair of piercing orange eyes are staring right at me, locking me into their gaze. Rowling: A Bibliography 1997 - 2013'' isn't the latest book ''by'' J K Rowling - she had no part in In contrast with the writing hardness of the book and doesn't profit from it financially. It isn'tdeep-amber eyes, actuallysoft grey feathers fan out into the surrounding area, ''about'' J K Rowling other than indirectly. It ''is'' a book about her writings, bibliographic details of each edition of ALL her books, pamphletsintricate, detailed and contributions to published worksbeautiful. It An enigma; harsh and gentle at the same time, the owl is ''not'' a book for beckoning the reader who loved to turn the [[J K Rowling's Harry Potter Books in Chronological Order|Harry Potter books]] pages and wishes that Rowling had written many more, but rather the definitive text about the books which will be consulted by scholars, book dealers and collectors, auction houses and researcherstake a closer look inside. The most obvious comparison for me is [[Stamps of the World 2013 by Stanley Gibbons|Stamps of the World by Stanley Gibbons]]. It is of that class.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849669740</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Kjartan PoskittJVDK_ELO|title=Everyday Maths for Grown-UpsElectric Light Orchestra: Getting to Grips with the BasicsSong by Song|author=John Van der Kiste|rating=4.5|genre=ReferenceEntertainment|summary=We all need maths - or so it says on My memories of pop music in the early sixties revolve around guitars and drums, sometimes the back of ''Everyday Maths for Grown Ups'' piano with only occasional excursions into strings and brass. Pop music rarely stands still and whilst you could it wasn''exist'' without a t long before the basic knowledgeinstruments were seen as constraints and The Beatles, life is going The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys began to be so much easier if you can check receiptsexperiment, do 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 calculations for that spot rest of DIY or work out if the group didn'bargain' you've been offered t really is oneshare his enthusiasm. Kjartan Poskitt reckons that very few people are really confident with figures, but hopes that he can offer some help.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178243335X</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Michelle FinlayHendrix_PBHell|title=Everyday English for Grown-UpsPaperbacks from Hell: Getting to Grips with A History of Horror Fiction from the Basics'70s and '80s|author=Grady Hendrix|rating=4.5|genre=ReferenceHorror|summary=It can seem a long time since we learned the nuts and bolts of the English language when we were at schoolDemonic possession, murderous babies, man-eating moths… for these books, no plot was too ludicrous, no cover art too appalling, no evil too despicable. At the time the niceties of colons Now horror author Grady Hendrix risks his soul and intricacies of apostrophes weren't really that relevant his sanity (not to our lives and itmention the reader's only when we miss out on a good job because our English isn't up !) to scratch or someone makes relate the true, untold story of a scathing remark about our abuse of the language that we realise that we could do with an urgent fascinating and discreet brushupoften forgotten era in publishing. Step forward ''Everyday English for Grown-ups''  Read the synapse- and it's aimed at native and non-native English speakers.|amazonuk=shattering story summaries!<amazonukbr>1782433341See the horrific hand-painted cover imagery!</amazonukbr>And learn the true-life tales of the writers, artists, and publishers who gleefully violated every literary law but one – never be boring.

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=June AndrewsBrowne_Many|title=Dementia: The One-Stop Guide: Practical advice for families, professionals, and people living with dementia and Alzheimer's Disease|rating=5|genre=Reference|summary=Worldwide there are probably as many as 44.4 million people who suffer from dementia and many times that number Many Faces of family, friends, carers and relatives who are affected by what is happening to the sufferer. There's no cure, but it's not terminal and the symptoms (memory loss would seem to be the most common, but in some cases there are hallucinations, sexual or verbal disinhibition, not being able to work things out, difficulty in learning something new, finding your way about, or coping with the normal symptoms of aging) affect everyone involved. If you talk to people who are aging then it's not uncommon for them to say that they'd rather have cancer than dementia as you're unlikely to be an endless burden on other people.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781251711</amazonuk>}}{{newreviewCoincidence|author=Dee Blick|title=The Ultimate Guide to Writing and Marketing a Bestselling Book - on a Shoestring BudgetLaurence Browne|rating=3.5|genre=ReferencePopular Science|summary=I've always thought that [http://nanowrimo.org/ NANOWRIMO] is a brilliant idea. The nights are longer, the weather uninspiring: what better time to get the first draft Browne does not mislead with this choice of your novel written with support from title; he does without a lot of other people who are all trying to do doubt explore the same thing? There is a downside for reviewers though: far too many people think that this is the end faces of their labours and the fledgling manuscript is uploaded onto Kindle and there's disappointment when the book is either not well received or doesn't sell - or sometimes bothcoincidence. Knowing which book it is that you have in you is a great start - but after that you need a structured plan of action and sound advice as to what you need to do to turn your work into a bestseller.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1910125040</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Julia Cresswell (Editor)1903385679|title=Little Oxford Dictionary of Word OriginsThe 100 Best Novels in Translation|author=Boyd Tonkin|rating=43.5

|summary=Derived from the 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 ''Oxford Dictionary of Word OriginsBreath'', the Little Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins tells the stories behind but he could translate his own works, and other equally complex pieces can cross borders. It's a thousand wordsmarket that has actually doubled in sales volume between 2000 and 2016 (thanks, divided into a hundred themes from ''Adventure'' through to ''WritingMillennium Trilogy'' by way of the rest of the alphabet). For each word within a theme we're told Novels, in particular, in which language translation, are – as the introduction here so smartly puts it originated and its original meaning - thus for – ''Infant'' we find a privileged means of passing border posts, a sort of universal passport issued by that it comes from Utopian state, the Latin Republic of Letters''in'' meaning ''not'. We here at the ' Bag regularly try and give equal credit to the translator, without whom we wouldn''fari'' for ''speaking''t be reading what we have in our hands. The two parts put together tell But all that said, do we really need one of someone who has not yet reached legal majority rather than those list books about the subject? I got given a child who has not yet learned book the value of the word 'Why?' In Italian ''infante'' means ''youth'' 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 well long as a fortnight''foot soldier''. From s holiday to wade through, and even though this came ''infanteria''is not as long as your typical Bolano housebrick, which English adopted as it''infantry'' in the sixteenth centurys not a short thing.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0199683638</amazonuk>Should it take our time?

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Elizabeth Knowles (Editor)Fry_Mythos|title=Oxford Dictionary Mythos: A Retelling of Quotationsthe Myths of Ancient Greece|author=Stephen Fry

|summary=I have known people to be just a little snooty about the fact that I have had a copy of the current edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations on my bookshelf for over forty yearsThe Greek Myths are, arguably, suggesting that it was a book for people who hadn't read the original booksgreatest stories ever told. I long ago accepted that I would never have the time to read all the books I (might) want - or feel I ought - to read So old and I've found the dictionary an invaluable work of reference and source of inspiration for half influential they cast a century. Where else would you find shadow over 20western tales and traditions,000 quotationsyet remain relatable and readable millennia later. Here comedian, covering centuriesactor, every subjecttelevision presenter, actor and author Stephen Fry brings his considerable talent to these special stories and recreates them with a wit, wisdom warmth and food for thought? Yes - I know they're probably all there on humanity that brings them into the internet - somewhere, but I've got them in one volume on modern age whilst still giving the shelf in front of mehonour and respect that such ancient and influential stories deserve.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0199668701</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Patrick ScrivenorMahnke_Lore|title=I Used to Know That: English|rating=5|genre=Reference|summary=I doubt that there can be anything more unnerving than reviewing a book written by someone who is an expert in written English. I've even worried about that first sentence. But at school I loved English Grammar and a good deal The World of it has stuck. I'm conscious of being pedantic about mistakes other people make - but increasingly aware that there are gaps in my own knowledge which should be plugged. This book seemed like the ideal opportunityLore, but I'll confess that the subtitle 'Stuff You Forgot From School' made me nervous I was going to be back to reading a school textbook.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782432566</amazonuk>}}{{newreviewVolume 1: Monstrous Creatures|author=Chris Waring|title=I Used to Know That: MathsAaron Mahnke

|summary=Maths teacher Chris Waring starts this book with Every country, every town, every village has a folktale – a story passed down through generations that often focuses on the basics dark and gradually works his (and our) way through to about unexplained. No matter how the level of GCSE. Itmodern world moves on, there's only 192 pages, so you can't expect it a still a part of everyone that is vulnerable to be exhaustive but the great thing is that it isn't ''exhausting''a good tale. Waring explains concepts clearly and with humour but most importantly he shows why the subject is important and how it can be applied From ghosts to lifewerewolves, covering such subjects as winning - or failing to win - the lottery by way of wendigos and elves, author Aaron Mahnke delivers the chances of being dealt a royal flush at poker. It's not just the examples which are new - it's a major improvement on reader legends from all over the world, whilst examining how they'you will learn this because I'm telling you that you have to' approach which blighted ve become part of our collective imaginations, still striking fear into the subject for so hearts of many of ustoday.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782432558</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Orin HargravesFowler_Forgotten|title=It's Been Said Before: A Guide to the Use and Abuse The Book of ClichesForgotten Authors|author=Christopher Fowler|rating=45

|summary=I don''Absence doesn't usually start a review by telling you what a book make the heart grow fonder''isn't. It makes people think you're dead. There's truth in that statement, you know, but in this case there's a conundrum when it's importantapplied to authors. This isn't a light-hearted look at the subjectShakespeare is dead: Dickens is dead, such as but we found in [[Cliches: Avoid Them Like the Plague by Nigel Fountain]] and which - laughing and blushing in equal measure - we shelved under haven'triviat buried what they've written: that lives on until... This book will when? Is it until fashion decrees that they should be shelved under 'reference': no more? Or is it, as in the case of some children's a rigorous look at the problem with the clichés divided not by subject matterauthors 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 grammatically and with an introduction to each section which gives all the information you need to help in making judgements about your own writing. This isn't a book to ''amuse'' youwhose works have disappeared, but to help you to improve your use of wordssometimes quite literally.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0199315736</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=William PoundstoneAngell_Triang|title=How to Predict the Unpredictable: The Art of Outsmarting Almost EveryoneTri-ang Collectables|author=Dave Angell|rating=43.5

|summary=William Poundstone believes that we are all in A guide to the trains produced by the business of predicting, whether it be something as minor as playing rock, paper, scissors to pay a bar bill though to anticipating how Tri-ang company from its inception until the housing or stock markets are going to movecompany became Hornby. Now, I'm not particularly competitive - if whatever it is means ''that'' much to someone else then I'd rather let them have it - so this book didn't appeal A very personal guide to me on the basis collecting of doing better than someone else, but I was interested in how it might be possible to predict what is going to happenmodel trains. So, care to predict how it stacked up?|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780744072</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Chase_Orchids|title=The EconomistBook of Orchids: A life-size guide to six hundred species from around the world|titleauthor=Pocket World in Figures 2015Mark Chase, Maarten Christenhusz and Tom Mirenda|rating=4.5

|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 are people who don't understand the joy s a wide range of raw datacolours, shapes and scents: no accompanying analysis (or spin) - they're dramatic, delicate and ingenious in the ways that they've developed not just a collection of figures relevant to a particular circumstancesurvive but to thrive. If youTom Mirenda describes them as ''re one masters of those people then this book will mean little manipulation'' and ''famous for lying and cheating their way to youtheir many evolutionary successes'', but if you want a pocket (well, certainly handbag or briefcase) work yet his love of reference then this book will be a treasure. I once gave a copy to a diplomat and he kept them is as obvious as his wife awake until respect for the early hours as he came across another gem insight they give us into the processes which she had to know without delayshaped our world. The 2015 edition is the twenty fourth in the series - and diplomatic (and similar) spouses everywhere should prepare themselves for the onslaughtHe hopes that understanding how that has come about will inspire us to conserve what we have.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781252734</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|isbn=Edwards_Story|title=The Bee: A Natural History Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books (British Library Crime Classics)|author=Noah Wilson-RichMartin Edwards

|summary=The celebrity genealogy programme It's easy to be confused by the various 'Who Do You Think You Are?ages'of crime writing: if you have an interest in the genre you' celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The makers, Wall to Wall Media, were fortunate enough to ride ll almost certainly have heard of the ripple Golden Age of family tree fascinationCrime, helping to turn it into generally acknowledged as being the period between the hobbyist tidal wave that remains todayfirst and second world wars. For those not familiar with 'Classic Crime' on the other hand extends the time frame at either end and covers books published in the formatfirst half of the twentieth century. Throughout my adult life, each episode allows us to accompany a household name as they discover secretsthere's been just one genre of books which has fascinated me, scandals and surprises about an ancestor or two. Thus we arenthat's crime, so I could hardly resist the chance of reading ''The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books't only entertained; we're encouraged to delve into our own pastsparticularly as the author, BBC TV publications acting as tutor Martin Edwards is an accomplished author within the crime genre and motivator via this handy little reference guidean acknowledged expert on the subject.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849908249</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Michael Fogden, Marianne Taylor and Sheri L WilliamsonDK_Childrens|title=Hummingbirds: A Life-Size Guide to Every SpeciesChildren's Illustrated Thesaurus|author=DK

|summary=One of the most valuable literary skills which children can learn is how to use reference books. As a child every question which Ibegan with ''how do you spell...?'' would be answered with ''EXACTLY as it says in the dictionary've always been fascinated by hummingbirds - delicate'. This was fine, colourfulbut the family's Collins Little Gem Dictionary didn't encourage exploration, beautifully not least because the font was small and brilliantly adapted difficult to extract nectar from flowersread. Fortunately, those times have now changed and reference book for children are now much more inviting. Perhaps most Not every book comes with a set of all for me instructions but it's their acrobatic flight - worth studying the ability ''How to hover and manoeuvre which has me hooked: I could watch them for hours...'' section, amazed that birds whose weight can only meaningfully be given not least because similar systems are used in ounces can do so much. I was drawn to this book as soon as I saw it, for a number of reasonsother reference books.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782400893</amazonuk>