Difference between revisions of "Newest Home and Family Reviews"

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[[Category:Home and Family|*]]
 
[[Category:Home and Family|*]]
 
[[Category:New Reviews|Home and Family]]__NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->
 
[[Category:New Reviews|Home and Family]]__NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->
{|class-"wikitable" cellpadding="15"
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{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=1454955546
 +
|title=Sugarless
 +
|author=Nicole M Avena
 +
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Lifestyle
 +
|summary=''This isn't a diet book.  The last thing anyone needs is another diet book.''
  
<!-- Graff -->
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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.
|-
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}}
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
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{{Frontpage
[[image:Graff_Find.jpg|left|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788034546/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
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|isbn=1635866847
 +
|title=The Lavender Companion
 +
|author=Jessica Dunham and Terry Barlin Vesci
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Lifestyle
 +
|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 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.
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=0760381267
 +
|title=Verdura: Living a Garden Life
 +
|author=Perla Sofia Curbelo-Santiago
 +
|rating=3.5
 +
|genre=Lifestyle
 +
|summary=''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?
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=1394159544
 +
|title=Recycling for Dummies
 +
|author=Sarah Winkler
 +
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Lifestyle
 +
|summary=''Recycling one ton of plastic can save up to 16.3 barrels of oil.''
  
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
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''Recycling one ton of paper can save 17 trees from being cut down.''
===[[Find Another Place by Ben Graff]]===
 
  
[[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Biography|Biography]], [[:Category:Autobiography|Autobiography]], [[:Category:Home and Family|Home and Family]]
+
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.
  
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. [[Find Another Place by Ben Graff|Full Review]]
+
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
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=0760378134
 +
|title=The First-Time Gardener: Container Food Gardening
 +
|author=Pamela Farley
 +
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Home and Family
 +
|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?
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=1529149800
 +
|title=Things You Can Do: How to Fight Climate Change and Reduce Waste
 +
|author=Eduardo Garcia and Sara Boccaccini Meadows
 +
|rating=4
 +
|genre=Home and Family
 +
|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 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.
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=1849767009
 +
|title=It Isn't Rude to be Nude
 +
|author=Rosie Haine
 +
|rating=5
 +
|genre=For Sharing
 +
|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 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.
 +
}}
  
<!-- Goodland -->|-
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{{Frontpage
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
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|isbn=1504321383
[[image:Goodland_Worth.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1546281398?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1546281398]]
+
|title=Single, Again, and Again, and Again
 +
|author=Louisa Pateman
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Autobiography
 +
|summary=''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''.
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=Graff_Find
 +
|title=Find Another Place
 +
|author=Ben Graff
 +
|rating=3.5
 +
|genre=Autobiography
 +
|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.
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=Goodland_Worth
 +
|title=It's Worth a Try
 +
|author=Nicola Goodland
 +
|rating=4
 +
|genre=Home and Family
 +
|summary=This is how Nicola Goodland introduces her book, ''It's Worth a Try'':
  
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
+
''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.''
===[[It's Worth a Try by Nicola Goodland]]===
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Home and Family|Home and Family]]
+
|isbn=Higashida_Fall
 
+
|title=Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight: A Young Man's Voice From the Silence of Autism
This is how Nicola Goodland introduces her book, ''It's Worth a Try'':
+
|author=Naoki Higashida and David Mitchell
 
+
|rating=5
''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.'' [[It's Worth a Try by Nicola Goodland|Full Review]]
+
|genre=Home and Family
 
+
|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.
<!-- Higashida -->
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}}
|-
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{{Frontpage
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
+
|isbn=Bialik_Girling
[[image:Higashida_Fall.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1444799088?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1444799088]]
+
|title=Girling Up
 
+
|author=Mayim Bialik
 
+
|rating=4.5
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
+
|genre=Home and Family
===[[Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight: A Young Man's Voice From the Silence of Autism by Naoki Higashida and David Mitchell]]===
+
|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.
 
+
}}
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Reference|Reference]], [[:Category:Home and Family|Home and Family]]
+
{{Frontpage
 
+
|isbn=Mattinson_Puppy
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. [[Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight: A Young Man's Voice From the Silence of Autism by Naoki Higashida and David Mitchell|Full Review]]
+
|title=Choosing the Perfect Puppy
 
+
|author=Pippa Mattinson
<!-- Bialik -->
+
|rating=4.5
|-
+
|genre=Home and Family
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
+
|summary=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.  [[: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.
[[image:Bialik_Girling.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0399548602?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0399548602]]
+
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
 
+
|isbn=Raskin_Grow
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
+
|title=Grow: A Family Guide to Growing Fruit and Veg
===[[Girling Up by Mayim Bialik]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]], [[:Category:Home and Family|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. [[Girling Up by Mayim Bialik|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Mattinson -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:Mattinson_Puppy.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1785034375?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1785034375]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[Choosing the Perfect Puppy by Pippa Mattinson]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Pets|Pets]], [[:Category:Home and Family|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.  [[: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. [[Choosing the Perfect Puppy by Pippa Mattinson|Full Review]]
 
 
 
|}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
 
|author=Ben Raskin
 
|author=Ben Raskin
|title=Grow: A Family Guide to Growing Fruit and Veg
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
+
|genre=Home and Family
 
|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.
 
|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>1782404511</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=Mcgrath_Camping
 +
|title=Camping With Kids
 
|author=Simon McGrath
 
|author=Simon McGrath
|title=Camping With Kids
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|genre=Home and Family
|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''.
+
|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>0749576979</amazonuk>
+
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=Williams_Son
 +
|title=My Son's Not Rainman: One Man, One Autistic Boy, A Million Adventures
 +
|author=John Williams
 +
|rating=3.5
 +
|genre=Home and Family
 +
|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'.
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Mbaya_Brain
 +
|title=My Brain Is Out Of Control
 
|author=Patrick Mbaya
 
|author=Patrick Mbaya
|title= My Brain Is Out Of Control
+
|rating=4
|rating= 4
+
|genre=Home and Family
|genre= Home and Family
 
 
|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...
 
|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...
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1524636649</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author= John Williams
+
|isbn=Allingham_Beloved
|title= My Son's Not Rainman: One Man, One Autistic Boy, A Million Adventures
+
|title=Beloved Old Age and What to Do About it: Margery Allingham's the Relay
|rating= 3.5
 
|genre= Autobiography
 
|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>1782433880</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
 
|author=Margery Allingham and Julia Jones
 
|author=Margery Allingham and Julia Jones
|title=Beloved Old Age and What to Do About it: Margery Allingham's the Relay
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|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.
 
|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>1899262296</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=Rodgers_Peace
 +
|title=Peace of Mind: A Book of Calm for Busy Mums
 
|author=Georgina Rodgers
 
|author=Georgina Rodgers
|title=Peace of Mind: A Book of Calm for Busy Mums
 
 
|rating=3
 
|rating=3
|genre=Lifestyle
+
|genre=Home and Family
|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.
+
|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>1473635519</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=Ehrlin_Rabbit
 +
|title=The Rabbit Who Wants To Fall Asleep
 
|author=Carl-Johan Forssen Ehrlin
 
|author=Carl-Johan Forssen Ehrlin
|title=The Rabbit Who Wants To Fall Asleep
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=For Sharing
 
|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>0241255163</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Jessica Lahey
 
|title=The Gift of Failure: How to step back and let your child succeed
 
|rating= 4
 
|genre= Home and Family
 
|summary= Lahey's introduction claims ''today's over-protective failure-avoidant parenting style'' is responsible for the caution and fear she witnesses in young people every day in her job as a secondary school teacher, causing them to dislike learning.  She goes on to claim that, through this parenting style, we have inadvertently taught our kids to fear failure at all costs.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780722443</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=John Kemp
 
|title=Caring for Shirley
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Autobiography
 
|summary=John Kemp's wife, Shirley, suffered from dementia and loss of coordination and for eight years he was her full-time carer as she was unable to walk unaided (well, she ''could'' - but it was likely to result in a serious fall) and took care of all her most personal needs.  Probably the most heart-breaking part of this is that Shirley didn't recognise John as her husband - apart from 'give us a kiss', the question 'where's John?' was usually the first which sprang to her lips in any situation.  Although she could often have quite an affable disposition she was capable of kicking and biting when she was being 'encouraged' to do something which she didn't want to do.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1479374245</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Jan Robinson
 
|title=Tips From Widows
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=Home and Family
 
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=I'm not a widow and I secretly hope that I never will be, but I picked up ''Tips From Widows'' when a close friend (who is supporting someone who knows that becoming a widow is frighteningly close) mentioned the need to plan what to do.  The death of a husband must be devastating, even terrifying, but as next of kin you have certain responsibilities and there are some things which you must do.  Who better to give advice than other women who have experienced what must be the worst thing that life can throw at them?
+
|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>140886553X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=June Andrews
 
|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 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>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|title=The Art of Making Shadows
 
|author=Sophie Collins
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Entertainment
 
|summary=Winter is almost upon us and the evenings are getting darker. However, rather than bemoaning the lack of sunshine, how about putting a positive spin on the situation and viewing those long, dark evenings as the perfect opportunity to hone your shadow-casting skills? Shadow-play is an art form that has endured through the ages and yet still has the power to enchant and entertain. So grab a lamp, gather round and get ready to create barking dogs, flying birds and a whole menagerie of shadow characters...
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1905695454</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|title=Flowerpot Farm: A First Gardening Activity Book
 
|author=Lorraine Harrison
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=With the demand for us to eat seemingly more fruit and vegetables every day, the world of grow-your-own is back.  Why 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.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782400818</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|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>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Jean M Twenge and W Keith Campbell
 
|title=The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Politics and Society
 
|summary=Twenge and Campbell have been studying the rise in narcissism as a social trend.  They are well-qualified to comment, having worked since 1998 with social psychologist Roy Baumeister, who pioneered research in this field.  At 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.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1416575987</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
Move on to [[Newest Horror Reviews]]

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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