Difference between revisions of "Newest Home and Family Reviews"

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[[Category:Home and Family|*]]
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1454955546
|title=Flowerpot Farm: A First Gardening Activity Book
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|title=Sugarless
|author=Lorraine Harrison
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|author=Nicole M Avena
|rating=3.5
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|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=With the demand for us to eat seemingly more fruit and vegetables every day, the world of grow-your-own is backWhy buy from the supermarket when you can release the kids into the garden to graze like cattle?  However, before you do this, perhaps you should pick up a book like ‘Flowerpot Farm’ by Lorraine Harrison and Faye Bradley which will show them how to create their own fruit, veg and flower garden no matter how small a space they have to work with.
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|summary=''This isn't a diet bookThe last thing anyone needs is another diet book.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782400818</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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There was a time, not that long ago, when it was thought that sugary food was better for you than food with high-fat content.  Fat was the demon food which was going to elevate your cholesterol and cause heart disease.  Sugar was a carbohydrate, so good. There's a problem, though.  Sugar is addictive and can hijack your brain in much the same way as drugs like heroin and cocaine.  Does that sound over the top?  Well, it isn't.
|title=Hospice Voices: Lessons for Living at the End of Life
 
|author=Eric Lindner
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Autobiography
 
|summary=''Hospice Voices'' tells the stories of the last days of some fascinating people while it follows author Eric Lindner through his journey as a hospice volunteer and a crisis in his own daughter's health.  
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1442220597</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1635866847
|author=Jean M Twenge and W Keith Campbell
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|title=The Lavender Companion
|title=The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement
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|author=Jessica Dunham and Terry Barlin Vesci
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Politics and Society
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|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=Twenge and Campbell have been studying the rise in narcissism as a social trendThey are well-qualified to comment, having worked since 1998 with social psychologist Roy Baumeister, who pioneered research in this fieldAt more than three hundred pages it's rather weighty for the popular market at which it's aimed, but even if you only dip into this book, I think you'll take home their message.
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|summary=It's strange, the things that make you ''immediately'' feel that this is the book for you.  Before I started reading ''The Lavender Companion'', I visited the author's [https://www.pinelavenderfarm.com/ website] and there's a picture of a slice of chocolate cake on the homepageI don't eat cakes and desserts - but I wanted that cake viscerally.  (There's a recipe in the book, which I'm avoiding with some difficulty!!) Then I started reading the book and I was told to make a mess of it.  Notes in the margins are sanctionedYou get to fold down the corners of pages.  You suspect that smears of butter would not be a problem.  I ''loved'' this book already.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1416575987</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=0760381267
 +
|title=Verdura: Living a Garden Life
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|author=Perla Sofia Curbelo-Santiago
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|rating=3.5
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|genre=Lifestyle
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|summary=''The most important part of a garden is the one who enjoys it''.
  
{{newreview
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I've 'gardened' in a vague, indefinite sort of way for more than half a century. I know (most of) the basics but life has changed and I needed 'projects' rather than a general commitment to gardening.  ''Verdura'' with its promise of projects for both indoors and outdoors of varying complexity seemed like the answer. So, how did it stack up?
|author=Judy Bartkowiak
 
|title=Be a Happier Parent with NLP
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|summary=Babies, unlike new cars, don't come with a manual. There are always plenty of people, each with their own unique advice, happy to stick an oar in on whatever parenting issues you're facing, but I have often found as a mum that I'm left confused and floundering, wondering which piece of conflicting advice is least likely to permanently damage my little ones! I've watched Supernanny. I've read about how to have a contented baby. So seeing this book, with such a nice, positive title, I had to give it a go!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>144411056X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1394159544
 +
|title=Recycling for Dummies
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|author=Sarah Winkler
 +
|rating=5
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|genre=Lifestyle
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|summary=''Recycling one ton of plastic can save up to 16.3 barrels of oil.''
  
{{newreview
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''Recycling one ton of paper can save 17 trees from being cut down.''
|author=Umberto Eco and Jean-Claude Carriere
 
|title=This is Not the End of the Book;
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Entertainment
 
|summary=In many ways, the cover of my edition of this book is perfectly appropriate.  Huge, bold serif script, with nothing but the typeface; a declamatory instance of the art in the most common of fonts, and that perfect semi-colon at the end of the book's name - proving that that itself is not the be-all and end-all.  Buy this book, as you can, in electronic form, and you might see this cover for ten seconds at most, but it is so much part and parcel of what's within.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099552450</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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If you send an apple core to landfill, it will take between 6 months and 2 years to decomposeA glass bottle will take up to 1 million years.
|author=Simon Barnes
 
|title=How to be a BAD Birdwatcher
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|summary=''Look out of the window.''<br>
 
''See a bird''<br>
 
''Enjoy it.''<br>
 
''CongratulationsYou are now a birdwatcher.''
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780720866</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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As a just-post-WWII baby, I faced a dilemma: reducing, reusing and recycling is part of my DNA.  NEVER throw away anything that might ''possibly'' come in handy now or in the future.  NEVER buy anything if you can cobble together something that would serve the purposeAlmost everything can be used one more time and any purchase must pass the test of 'Is this absolutely essential?'  On the other hand, 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 kerbside binYes, I could go searching on the internet - and get conflicting advice - but what I needed was a recycling bible.s
|author=Brett Cohen
 
|title=Stuff Every Dad Should Know
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|summary=For an object lesson in how important the little things are, consider this book's titleThis is not one of those collections of trivia or whimsies for fathers to appear cool to their children (ten great variations on tag; 6,000 good records with which to ween your daughter off Justin Bieber), it's not that kind of knowledge on offerHere instead is practical information on rearing your own little thing, and in a quiet way this pocket diary-sized volume has the cojones to expect to stick around being useful for a generation, as it starts at budgeting for children in the first place, and goes from the actual birth to marrying them off.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1594745536</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0760378134
|author=Emma Smith
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|title=The First-Time Gardener: Container Food Gardening
|title=The Cambridge Shakespeare Guide
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|author=Pamela Farley
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=Does the world need another guide to Shakespeare's plays? There are plenty about and students these days have the added resource of the Internet to get the basics. However, if it does, then this is as good as any you will find. It's nicely written and beautifully clear and above all, succinct. In fact I'm doing a disservice to Emma Smith already by terming it a guide to his plays, because she also includes the poems and sonnets.
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|summary=If you've ever thought how good it would be to be able to pop out into the garden and pick some fruit and vegetables for a meal – but realised that you wouldn't know where to start, this is the book you need. It's comprehensive: you'll cover everything from why you should grow your own food, what you're going to grow, what you'll grow it in (both containers and soil), where you'll put these containers, how you'll water and fertilise them and you finish the main part of the book with a handy section on troubleshooting.  There's also a good glossary. So, is it any good?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>052114972X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1529149800
|author=Roman Krznaric
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|title=Things You Can Do: How to Fight Climate Change and Reduce Waste
|title=The Wonderbox: Curious Histories of How to Live
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|author=Eduardo Garcia and Sara Boccaccini Meadows
|rating=5
 
|genre=History
 
|summary='How should we live?'  asks author Roman Krznaric.  To answer this ancient question, he looks to history.  'I believe that the future of the art of living can be found by gazing into the past', he says.  Creating a book which is as full of curiosities as a Renaissance 'Wunderkammer', he has a stab at the big questions:  love, belief, money, family, death.  The result is a pot-pourri of delights which left this particular reader stimulated and invigorated.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846683939</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Susan Maushart
 
|title=The Winter of Our Disconnect: How One Family Pulled the Plug and Lived to Tell/text/Tweet the Tale
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=Back in early 2009 Susan Maushart - a single mother of three teenagers - came to the conclusion that the family plugged into their workstations, TVs, DVD players, iPods and gaming consoles at the expense of normal relationships, or what we’ll come to call Real LifeShe included herself in this - her relationship with her iPhone was about the strongest she had outside of her children - and she decided that something drastic had to be doneSo began the winter of our disconnect - six months without screens of any description, mobile phones or listening devices in the homeYou think that’s not enough of a shock to the system? Nor did Susan - she started off with two weeks without any power in the home.
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|summary=We begin with a telling story.  All the birds and animals fled when the forest fire took hold and most of them stood and watched, unable to think of anything they could doThe tiny hummingbird flew to the river and began taking tiny amounts of water and flying back to drop them into the fire.  The animals laughed: what good was that doing.  ''I'm doing the best I can'', said the hummingbirdAnd that, really, is the only way that we will solve the problem of climate change – by each of us doing what we can, however small that might be.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184668465X</amazonuk>
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1849767009
 +
|title=It Isn't Rude to be Nude
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|author=Rosie Haine
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|rating=5
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|genre=For Sharing
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|summary=This could have been one of those books which 'preaches to the choir': the only people who'll buy it are the people who know that nudity is OK and the ones who ''know'' that it's shameful will avoid it like they avoid the hot-and-bothered person in the supermarket who is coughing fit to bustBut... Rosie Haines makes it into something so much more than a book about not wearing clothes.  It's a celebration of bodies: bodies large and small and of every possible hue. Bodies with disabilities and markings.  They're fine.  In fact, they're wonderful.
 
}}
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschappeler
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|isbn=1504321383
|title=The Question Book
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|title=Single, Again, and Again, and Again
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|author=Louisa Pateman
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Lifestyle
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|genre=Autobiography
|summary=
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|summary=''You can't be happy and fulfilled on your own.  You are not complete until you find a man''.
Most of us have probably made at least one of those end-of-the-year lists of the best books, albums and parties we have been to in the previous twelve months. But can you, with some effort, locate the one you made in 1987? Have you ever constructed a graph of your ups and downs in a given period, and then decided to expand it by separating emotional, intellectual, sexual and financial aspects and colour coding them? Have you made a list of all your lovers, bosses or friends and then rated them from 1 to 10 on several dimensions each? Do you have one of the books that list ''100 things to do before you die'' or ''500 books to read in your life'' (and ticked off the ones you have done)? Did you ever spend a whole evening and half of a night filling in dubious 'personality' questionnaires on the Internet? Have you ever doodled something, decided that it beautifully expresses the deepest essence of your personality and then proceeded to draw such icons for all your friends?
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846685389</amazonuk>
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This was what Louisa Pateman was brought up to believe. It wasn't unkind: it was simply the adults in her life advising her as to what they thought would be best for her.  It was reinforced by all those fairy tales where the girl (she's usually fairly young) is rescued by the handsome prince who then marries her so that they can live happily ever after.  Few girls are lucky enough to be brought up ''without'' the expectation that they will marry and have children.  It was a belief and it would be many years before Louisa would conclude that ''a belief is a choice''.
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Graff_Find
|author=Patrick Cockburn and Henry Cockburn
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|title=Find Another Place
|title=Henry's Demons: Living with Schizophrenia. a Father and Son's Story
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|author=Ben Graff
|rating=4.5
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|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Autobiography
 
|genre=Autobiography
|summary=In February 2002 Patrick Cockburn was in Kabul, reporting to The Independent on the fall of the Taliban.  While he was there he called his wife Jan at home in England, and was shocked to learn that their 20-year-old elder son Henry had been rescued by fishermen after coming close to death while swimming, fully clothed, in the icy waters of the Newhaven estuary.  The police had decided that he was a danger to himself, and he was now in a mental hospital.
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|summary=When Ben Graff's grandfather Martin handed him a plastic folder of handwritten notes from his journal, he didn't take much notice of it. At the age of 24, Graff didn't realise the gravity of the pages he was holding.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847377033</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=Goodland_Worth
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|title=It's Worth a Try
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|author=Nicola Goodland
 +
|rating=4
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|genre=Home and Family
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|summary=This is how Nicola Goodland introduces her book, ''It's Worth a Try'':
  
{{newreview
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''I wanted to write this kind of book because when I was a young woman, ladies and gents told me that they suffered from abuse of some kind as children and only found the courage to talk about it as adults. Maybe this book can deter children from becoming future abusers and stop abuse so it goes away for good.''
|author=Kate Brian
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}}
|title=Precious Babies: Pregnancy, Birth and Parenting after Infertility
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=Higashida_Fall
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|title=Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight: A Young Man's Voice From the Silence of Autism
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|author=Naoki Higashida and David Mitchell
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=
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|summary=Naoki Higashida was only 13 years old when he wrote the international best-seller ''The Reason I Jump''. The book was popular because it gave a rare glimpse into the workings of the autistic mind, as told from the unique perspective of a teenager with non-verbal autism. Naoki communicates by using an alphabet grid, or by tracing letters on the palm of a transcriber. Despite this slow and laborious method of writing, he has published several books in his native Japan and manages to give public presentations to raise awareness of his condition. Fall Down 7 Times Get up 8 reintroduces us to Naoki as a young adult in his 20s and explains how his perspectives on life have changed since writing his first book.
There are lots of avenues of support for those dealing with infertility, but what happens if you do finally get pregnant?  You're still dealing with the scars, both emotional and physical that infertility can leave behind, but it might seem callous to ask for help from other friends from your support network who themselves aren't yet pregnant. This book aims to be a helpful guide that discusses everything from pregnancy to birth to parenting after birth in the light of your history with infertility.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0749954019</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Bialik_Girling
|author=Steve Roud
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|title=Girling Up
|title=The Lore of the Playground: The Children's World - Then and Now
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|author=Mayim Bialik
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=Like many reviewers of the hardback edition, I thoroughy enjoyed reading this book, a nostalgic excursion into my own childhood games and rhymes. It's quite fun to identify the regional context of childhood lore. It cleared up for me, as a South-East Londoner, the exact nature of a hitherto mysterious game called tag. If you have already delved into the classic ''The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren'' by Iona and Peter Opie (1959), you might find this book adds little for a general readership. For the specialist, I'm sure this book will take its rightful place in the scholarly literature on childhood culture.
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|summary=This book arrived on my desk to cries of ''Amy Farrah Fowler's written a book?'' or ''No, that's Blossom'' depending on your generation. Mayim Bialik is or was both, of course, but in addition to being a well-known sitcom actress, she is also a neuroscientist (and the only PhD on The Big Bang Theory, except for the characters). Aimed at teenagers, this book focuses on growing up as a girl, or ''Girling up'' if you will, and what it means to transition from school girl to grown-up, via that hideous detour of teenage years.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099505274</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Mattinson_Puppy
|author=Judy Bartkowiak
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|title=Choosing the Perfect Puppy
|title=So You've Passed Your Driving Test... What Now? Advanced Driving Skills For Young Drivers
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|author=Pippa Mattinson
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=It's always struck me that the most difficult time for young drivers is that period just after they pass their driving testSomeone has told you that you're an OK driver, right?  ''But'' you're out there, all on your own, without anyone to explain those odd things which you still haven't come across or to be the extra pair of eyesYou've got a sense of freedom, but somehow it's a little bit ''daunting''. Judy Bartkowiak offers something a little bit differentIt's not another book about road signs, driving etiquette and stopping distances – it's some ideas for getting into the right mindset to absorb the new experiences and learning some skills which might help you in other areas of your life too.
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|summary=If you have ever, for even a fleeting moment, thought about getting a puppy, you really ought to read this bookToo many people are carried away in the heat of the moment and ''must'' have a particular breed and go ahead without any thought about the consequences.  They then have to live with the problems which ''might'' have been avoided for a decade or more.  The puppy and the adult dog also has to live with an owner who might not be able to accommodate his needs[[:Category:Pippa Mattinson|Pippa Mattinson]] is my go-to author on matters dog related: she talks sense.  She doesn't try to talk you out of getting a particular breed or any puppy: she simply presents the facts and allows you to make your own decisions.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908218371</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Raskin_Grow
|author=Anthony T DeBenedet and Lawrence Cohen
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|title=Grow: A Family Guide to Growing Fruit and Veg
|title=The Art of Roughhousing: Good Old Fashioned Horseplay and Why Every Kid Needs It
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|author=Ben Raskin
|rating=4
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|rating=5
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=Rather than running around outdoors, going for bike rides and building dens, lots of children nowadays end up spending hours watching TV or playing computer games.  Play times in school are often very regimented and in some schools certain games like 'British Bulldog' and 'Leapfrog' and even 'Tag' have even been bannedChildren are discouraged from physical play, for fear that they will hurt themselves and also through the fear that those responsible for them will find themselves facing a lawsuit if someone does get hurt. This book aims to support the thinking that very physical play is good for children; that unless they face risks in their lives and learn to assess those risks, or experience a few bumps and bruises and learn to get up and carry on, then they will lack vital life skills for their future adult lives.
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|summary=I worried when I looked at this book: ''Grow'', it said, ''A family guide to growing fruit and veg''.  Why did it worry me?  Well, it's a mere 48 pages and the cover says that it includes ''Games, stickers and MORE!'' I have weighty tomes which don't completely cover what I need to know about growing fruit and veg, so wasn't this going to fall a little short?  Well, it doesn't - not at all.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1594744874</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Mcgrath_Camping
|author=Diane Ackerman
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|title=Camping With Kids
|title=One Hundred Names For Love: A Stroke, a Marriage, and the Language of Healing
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|author=Simon McGrath
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|summary=Diane Ackerman's husband, Paul West, had been in hospital for three weeks with a kidney infection and was just rejoicing in the fact that he was to go home the next day. As Diane watched , Paul suffered a massive stroke. The effects were catastrophic, but worst of all, the man who had been a brilliant wordsmith was robbed of his power of speech and lost his extensive vocabulary. It's eight years since this happened and the intervening years have been a constant battle to improve Paul's speech and restore some joy to his life. There have been ups – and many downs – but despite a brain scan indicating that Paul might well be a vegetable he has since his stroke written books. His vocabulary will never be back to what it was, but it remains impressive and, strangely enough, many of the words which he finds easiest to use are those which he encountered a number of years ago.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>039307241X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Oliver James
 
|title=How Not To F*** Them Up
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=Child psychologist Oliver James can be relied on to fight his corner, whether it's about affluent society or toxic parents. Now he puts the first three years of life under the microscope and argues equally vehemently that parents need to identify their own needs accurately and build their children's care into a 'good enough' framework, in order for the whole family to flourish. He's a controversial figure whose interest in parenting goes back to his own childhood (yes, you've guessed it, his parents where psychoanalysts). He argues the case for modifying childcare decisions to accord with parenting styles while avoiding working mums' guilt trips: “'Why embracing your own parenting style is best for you and your child,' as the cover has it.
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|summary=When my daughter was young it used to be joked that if a child asked on his fifth birthday to go camping and you told him that he could in five years' time, he'd be there on his tenth birthday, all kitted up and ready to go. These days the discussions - and delaying tactics - are more likely to be about technology - and mobiles in particular. Whilst it's wonderful that children do embrace technology, it shouldn't be at the expense of getting out in the fresh air, being free of screens and having an adventure - preferably with all the family doing it ''together''.  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>009192393X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Williams_Son
|author=Eleanor Birne
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|title=My Son's Not Rainman: One Man, One Autistic Boy, A Million Adventures
|title=When Will I Sleep Through the Night? An A - Z of Babyhood
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|author=John Williams
|rating=4.5
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|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=When it comes to parenting, I have discovered that a lot of people lie.  They lie about sleep, about tantrums, about feeding and nappies and the effects of a screaming newborn on your marriage. There are books galore, and Mummy blogs, and tweeters all happily proclaiming how marvellous it all is, first of all being pregnant, then giving birth, and then raising the baby.  It's all glowing skin and sunshine smiles and meeting friends for coffee. I quickly stopped reading anything baby-related when I was pregnant because I was sick as a dog for 5 months, I had an awful labour and that first year with my little girl was almost impossibly difficult and totally consumed with the horror of a non-sleeping baby. Now, four and a half years on from giving birth and (mostly) sleeping all night long I felt able to open up this latest baby book, mainly because the title roused such familiar feelings in me.
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|summary=In 2012, stand-up comedian John Williams was encouraged by his work colleagues to write a show charting his experiences as the parent of an autistic boy. After registering the domain name: ''My Son's Not Rainman,'' he also decided to write a blog to share his funny anecdotes and experiences. After a shaky start (''I had a handful of followers. Three of them were my brothers''), the blog eventually went viral as it increased in popularity with parents who felt a connection with John and 'The Boy'. This book fills in some of the gaps in the story, starting with 'The Boy's' early childhood and ending, appropriately, on his thirteenth birthday when he suddenly became 'The Teen'.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846684862</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Mbaya_Brain
|author=Judy Bartkowiak
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|title=My Brain Is Out Of Control
|title=NLP For Teens
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|author=Patrick Mbaya
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=
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|summary=Dr Patrick Mbaya was enjoying life as a consultant psychiatrist, husband and father. His career was going well and he enjoyed making ill people better. His marriage was solid and fulfilling and his two children were exploring their potential, often through the uplifting power of music. Life was good. But then...
NLP For Teens is part of the Engaging NLP series and is a follow-on from NLP for Children. Many a parent has been tempted to leave home when their children are teenagers; difficult as it is for the parents it's a traumatic time for the teens and anything which makes it a little easier is to be applauded particularly when the changes will come from the teens rather than being imposed by the parent.  
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1907685901</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Allingham_Beloved
|author=Guy Andrews
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|title=Beloved Old Age and What to Do About it: Margery Allingham's the Relay
|title=The Ultimate Guide to Bicycle Maintenance
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|author=Margery Allingham and Julia Jones
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=This book seemed like the answer to my husband's prayers. I've had a beautiful Gary Fisher urban bike for about ten years, but shamefully, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've even cleaned it. Well-used it certainly is, but I must confess to leaving all the maintenance to aforementioned husband. Having conceded that in this day and age I ought to be more independent that that, I dived into this book with great expectations for a fairer future …
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|summary=We remember [[:Category:Margery Allingham|Margery Allingham]] as a novelist from the golden age of crime, perhaps not as famous as Agatha Christie or Dorothy L Sayers but certainly well regarded by those who appreciate good writing and excellent plotting.  Her last completed book was not a novel but ''The Relay'', a combined account of caring for three elderly relatives, (Em, Maud and Grace) between 1959 and 1961 and suggestions as to how other people might achieve a good old age for their relatives. Margery died in 1966 and ''The Relay'' was never published in the form in which it was written.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1907232362</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Rodgers_Peace
|author=Daniel Lezano
+
|title=Peace of Mind: A Book of Calm for Busy Mums
|title=Getting Started in DSLR Photography
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|author=Georgina Rodgers
|rating=4.5
+
|rating=3
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=The magazine-style layout of this 'magbook' (an ugly, but apt, term for the format) lends itself particularly well to the subject in hand, not least as the glossy pages beautifully illustrate the effects on the photographs that the publishers are showing. It's published by the team at 'Digital SLR Photography' magazine and it reads like a collection of the most useful articles published therein, particularly for the novice to SLR photography.
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|summary=The promise of a book bringing me calm was too much to resist! There it is, in the title, my job description (busy mum...well, that's just one of my jobs!) and that elusive state that many mums seem to be trying to find, peace of mind. I have to say, I was looking forward to some insightful revelations into changing my life. I think the problem, however, was quickly apparent in that like a busy mum, who is trying to wear a hundred masks at the same time, and carry out a multitude of roles, this book isn't entirely sure what it's trying to be, with everything from poetry and colouring to mindfulness and recipes.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1907232877</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Ehrlin_Rabbit
|author=Judy Bartkowiak and Carolyn Fitzpatrick
+
|title=The Rabbit Who Wants To Fall Asleep
|title=Passing the 11+ with NLP: NLP Strategies for Supporting Your 11 Plus Student
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|author=Carl-Johan Forssen Ehrlin
|rating=4
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|rating=5
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=The 11+ process is nerve-wracking for parents and children alike and many parents find it difficult to know how best to help their child.  Over-enthusiastic intervention can make a child more nervous and conscious that there's a lot at stake, whilst leaving the child to get on with it can well make the child feel that their success or failure doesn't matter to you. It's also important that any preparation is built up in a steady way and that it leaves the child feeling confident of their success. 'Passing the 11+ with NLP' is a dual purpose book: there are the strategies for giving your child self-esteem, focus and concentration along with the other skills needed to pass and then there are details of the type of questions your child will face in the exam.
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|summary=Roger the Rabbit wanted to fall asleep, but somehow he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried. It wasn't that he didn't do much during the day, because he did but sometimes he was so tired that he could fall asleep on the swings. One night Mummy Rabbit took Roger to see Uncle Yawn, who had a notice outside his house saying I can make anyone fall asleep and once Roger went home (it was actually quite difficult for him to get there as his eyes kept closing) he went straight to bed and fell asleep.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1907685731</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{newreview
+
Move on to [[Newest Horror Reviews]]
|author=Barbara Warmsley
 
|title=Make, Mend, Bake, Save and Shine!
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|summary=A slim, slither of a book with a big title. ''Green'' is the mantra on most pages, as well as tips on how to waste less - whether it's food, clothes or water from the tap. This book has a universal message. How to waste less. There is a nice introduction by seventysomething Barbara Walmsley, aka the charity [http://www.oxfam.org.uk/ Oxfam's] ''Green Granny.'' Certainly catchy but will it catch on? When I was delving inside the first couple of pages looking for the writer's name (it's not on the front cover) I discovered the phrase ''Printed And Bound In China.'' Defeating the message?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846013674</amazonuk>
 
}}
 

Latest revision as of 09:32, 12 December 2023

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Review of

Sugarless by Nicole M Avena

5star.jpg Lifestyle

This isn't a diet book. The last thing anyone needs is another diet book.

There was a time, not that long ago, when it was thought that sugary food was better for you than food with high-fat content. Fat was the demon food which was going to elevate your cholesterol and cause heart disease. Sugar was a carbohydrate, so good. There's a problem, though. Sugar is addictive and can hijack your brain in much the same way as drugs like heroin and cocaine. Does that sound over the top? Well, it isn't. Full Review

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Review of

The Lavender Companion by Jessica Dunham and Terry Barlin Vesci

4.5star.jpg Lifestyle

It's strange, the things that make you immediately feel that this is the book for you. Before I started reading The Lavender Companion, I visited the author's website and there's a picture of a slice of chocolate cake on the homepage. I don't eat cakes and desserts - but I wanted that cake viscerally. (There's a recipe in the book, which I'm avoiding with some difficulty!!) Then I started reading the book and I was told to make a mess of it. Notes in the margins are sanctioned. You get to fold down the corners of pages. You suspect that smears of butter would not be a problem. I loved this book already. Full Review

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Review of

Verdura: Living a Garden Life by Perla Sofia Curbelo-Santiago

3.5star.jpg Lifestyle

The most important part of a garden is the one who enjoys it.

I've 'gardened' in a vague, indefinite sort of way for more than half a century. I know (most of) the basics but life has changed and I needed 'projects' rather than a general commitment to gardening. Verdura with its promise of projects for both indoors and outdoors of varying complexity seemed like the answer. So, how did it stack up? Full Review

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Review of

Recycling for Dummies by Sarah Winkler

5star.jpg Lifestyle

Recycling one ton of plastic can save up to 16.3 barrels of oil.

Recycling one ton of paper can save 17 trees from being cut down.

If you send an apple core to landfill, it will take between 6 months and 2 years to decompose. A glass bottle will take up to 1 million years.

As a just-post-WWII baby, I faced a dilemma: reducing, reusing and recycling is part of my DNA. NEVER throw away anything that might possibly come in handy now or in the future. NEVER buy anything if you can cobble together something that would serve the purpose. Almost everything can be used one more time and any purchase must pass the test of 'Is this absolutely essential?' On the other hand, 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 kerbside bin. Yes, I could go searching on the internet - and get conflicting advice - but what I needed was a recycling bible.s Full Review

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Review of

The First-Time Gardener: Container Food Gardening by Pamela Farley

5star.jpg Home and Family

If you've ever thought how good it would be to be able to pop out into the garden and pick some fruit and vegetables for a meal – but realised that you wouldn't know where to start, this is the book you need. It's comprehensive: you'll cover everything from why you should grow your own food, what you're going to grow, what you'll grow it in (both containers and soil), where you'll put these containers, how you'll water and fertilise them and you finish the main part of the book with a handy section on troubleshooting. There's also a good glossary. So, is it any good? Full Review

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Review of

Things You Can Do: How to Fight Climate Change and Reduce Waste by Eduardo Garcia and Sara Boccaccini Meadows

4star.jpg Home and Family

We begin with a telling story. All the birds and animals fled when the forest fire took hold and most of them stood and watched, unable to think of anything they could do. The tiny hummingbird flew to the river and began taking tiny amounts of water and flying back to drop them into the fire. The animals laughed: what good was that doing. I'm doing the best I can, said the hummingbird. And that, really, is the only way that we will solve the problem of climate change – by each of us doing what we can, however small that might be. Full Review

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Review of

It Isn't Rude to be Nude by Rosie Haine

5star.jpg For Sharing

This could have been one of those books which 'preaches to the choir': the only people who'll buy it are the people who know that nudity is OK and the ones who know that it's shameful will avoid it like they avoid the hot-and-bothered person in the supermarket who is coughing fit to bust. But... Rosie Haines makes it into something so much more than a book about not wearing clothes. It's a celebration of bodies: bodies large and small and of every possible hue. Bodies with disabilities and markings. They're fine. In fact, they're wonderful. Full Review

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Review of

Single, Again, and Again, and Again by Louisa Pateman

4.5star.jpg Autobiography

You can't be happy and fulfilled on your own. You are not complete until you find a man.

This was what Louisa Pateman was brought up to believe. It wasn't unkind: it was simply the adults in her life advising her as to what they thought would be best for her. It was reinforced by all those fairy tales where the girl (she's usually fairly young) is rescued by the handsome prince who then marries her so that they can live happily ever after. Few girls are lucky enough to be brought up without the expectation that they will marry and have children. It was a belief and it would be many years before Louisa would conclude that a belief is a choice. Full Review

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Review of

Find Another Place by Ben Graff

3.5star.jpg Autobiography

When Ben Graff's grandfather Martin handed him a plastic folder of handwritten notes from his journal, he didn't take much notice of it. At the age of 24, Graff didn't realise the gravity of the pages he was holding. Full Review

Goodland Worth.jpg

Review of

It's Worth a Try by Nicola Goodland

4star.jpg Home and Family

This is how Nicola Goodland introduces her book, It's Worth a Try:

I wanted to write this kind of book because when I was a young woman, ladies and gents told me that they suffered from abuse of some kind as children and only found the courage to talk about it as adults. Maybe this book can deter children from becoming future abusers and stop abuse so it goes away for good. Full Review

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Review of

Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight: A Young Man's Voice From the Silence of Autism by Naoki Higashida and David Mitchell

5star.jpg Home and Family

Naoki Higashida was only 13 years old when he wrote the international best-seller The Reason I Jump. The book was popular because it gave a rare glimpse into the workings of the autistic mind, as told from the unique perspective of a teenager with non-verbal autism. Naoki communicates by using an alphabet grid, or by tracing letters on the palm of a transcriber. Despite this slow and laborious method of writing, he has published several books in his native Japan and manages to give public presentations to raise awareness of his condition. Fall Down 7 Times Get up 8 reintroduces us to Naoki as a young adult in his 20s and explains how his perspectives on life have changed since writing his first book. Full Review

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Review of

Girling Up by Mayim Bialik

4.5star.jpg Home and Family

This book arrived on my desk to cries of Amy Farrah Fowler's written a book? or No, that's Blossom depending on your generation. Mayim Bialik is or was both, of course, but in addition to being a well-known sitcom actress, she is also a neuroscientist (and the only PhD on The Big Bang Theory, except for the characters). Aimed at teenagers, this book focuses on growing up as a girl, or Girling up if you will, and what it means to transition from school girl to grown-up, via that hideous detour of teenage years. Full Review

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Review of

Choosing the Perfect Puppy by Pippa Mattinson

4.5star.jpg Home and Family

If you have ever, for even a fleeting moment, thought about getting a puppy, you really ought to read this book. Too many people are carried away in the heat of the moment and must have a particular breed and go ahead without any thought about the consequences. They then have to live with the problems which might have been avoided for a decade or more. The puppy and the adult dog also has to live with an owner who might not be able to accommodate his needs. Pippa Mattinson is my go-to author on matters dog related: she talks sense. She doesn't try to talk you out of getting a particular breed or any puppy: she simply presents the facts and allows you to make your own decisions. Full Review

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Review of

Grow: A Family Guide to Growing Fruit and Veg by Ben Raskin

5star.jpg Home and Family

I worried when I looked at this book: Grow, it said, A family guide to growing fruit and veg. Why did it worry me? Well, it's a mere 48 pages and the cover says that it includes Games, stickers and MORE! I have weighty tomes which don't completely cover what I need to know about growing fruit and veg, so wasn't this going to fall a little short? Well, it doesn't - not at all. Full Review

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Review of

Camping With Kids by Simon McGrath

4.5star.jpg Home and Family

When my daughter was young it used to be joked that if a child asked on his fifth birthday to go camping and you told him that he could in five years' time, he'd be there on his tenth birthday, all kitted up and ready to go. These days the discussions - and delaying tactics - are more likely to be about technology - and mobiles in particular. Whilst it's wonderful that children do embrace technology, it shouldn't be at the expense of getting out in the fresh air, being free of screens and having an adventure - preferably with all the family doing it together. Full Review

Williams Son.jpg

Review of

My Son's Not Rainman: One Man, One Autistic Boy, A Million Adventures by John Williams

3.5star.jpg Home and Family

In 2012, stand-up comedian John Williams was encouraged by his work colleagues to write a show charting his experiences as the parent of an autistic boy. After registering the domain name: My Son's Not Rainman, he also decided to write a blog to share his funny anecdotes and experiences. After a shaky start (I had a handful of followers. Three of them were my brothers), the blog eventually went viral as it increased in popularity with parents who felt a connection with John and 'The Boy'. This book fills in some of the gaps in the story, starting with 'The Boy's' early childhood and ending, appropriately, on his thirteenth birthday when he suddenly became 'The Teen'. Full Review

Mbaya Brain.jpg

Review of

My Brain Is Out Of Control by Patrick Mbaya

4star.jpg Home and Family

Dr Patrick Mbaya was enjoying life as a consultant psychiatrist, husband and father. His career was going well and he enjoyed making ill people better. His marriage was solid and fulfilling and his two children were exploring their potential, often through the uplifting power of music. Life was good. But then... Full Review

Allingham Beloved.jpg

Review of

Beloved Old Age and What to Do About it: Margery Allingham's the Relay by Margery Allingham and Julia Jones

4.5star.jpg Home and Family

We remember Margery Allingham as a novelist from the golden age of crime, perhaps not as famous as Agatha Christie or Dorothy L Sayers but certainly well regarded by those who appreciate good writing and excellent plotting. Her last completed book was not a novel but The Relay, a combined account of caring for three elderly relatives, (Em, Maud and Grace) between 1959 and 1961 and suggestions as to how other people might achieve a good old age for their relatives. Margery died in 1966 and The Relay was never published in the form in which it was written. Full Review

Rodgers Peace.jpg

Review of

Peace of Mind: A Book of Calm for Busy Mums by Georgina Rodgers

3star.jpg Home and Family

The promise of a book bringing me calm was too much to resist! There it is, in the title, my job description (busy mum...well, that's just one of my jobs!) and that elusive state that many mums seem to be trying to find, peace of mind. I have to say, I was looking forward to some insightful revelations into changing my life. I think the problem, however, was quickly apparent in that like a busy mum, who is trying to wear a hundred masks at the same time, and carry out a multitude of roles, this book isn't entirely sure what it's trying to be, with everything from poetry and colouring to mindfulness and recipes. Full Review

Ehrlin Rabbit.jpg

Review of

The Rabbit Who Wants To Fall Asleep by Carl-Johan Forssen Ehrlin

5star.jpg Home and Family

Roger the Rabbit wanted to fall asleep, but somehow he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried. It wasn't that he didn't do much during the day, because he did but sometimes he was so tired that he could fall asleep on the swings. One night Mummy Rabbit took Roger to see Uncle Yawn, who had a notice outside his house saying I can make anyone fall asleep and once Roger went home (it was actually quite difficult for him to get there as his eyes kept closing) he went straight to bed and fell asleep. Full Review

Move on to Newest Horror Reviews