Difference between revisions of "Newest Reference Reviews"

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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Elizabeth Knowles (Editor)
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|isbn=1394159544
|title=Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
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|title=Recycling for Dummies
 +
|author=Sarah Winkler
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=I have known people to be just a little snooty about the fact that I have had a copy of the current edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations on my bookshelf for over forty years, suggesting that it was a book for people who hadn't read the original books.  I long ago accepted that I would never have the time to read all the books I (might) want - or feel I ought - to read and I've found the dictionary an invaluable work of reference and source of inspiration for half a century. Where else would you find over 20,000 quotations, covering centuries, every subject, with wit, wisdom and food for thought?  Yes - I know they're probably all there on the internet - somewhere, but I've got them in one volume on the shelf in front of me.
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|summary=''Recycling one ton of plastic can save up to 16.3 barrels of oil.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0199668701</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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''Recycling one ton of paper can save 17 trees from being cut down.''
|author=Patrick Scrivenor
 
|title=I Used to Know That: English
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|summary=I doubt that there can be anything more unnerving than reviewing a book written by someone who is an expert in written English.  I've even worried about that first sentence.  But at school I loved English Grammar and a good deal of it has stuck.  I'm conscious of being pedantic about mistakes other people make - but increasingly aware that there are gaps in my own knowledge which should be plugged. This book seemed like the ideal opportunity, but I'll confess that the subtitle 'Stuff You Forgot From School' made me nervous I was going to be back to reading a school textbook.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782432566</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{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=Chris Waring
 
|title=I Used to Know That: Maths
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|summary=Maths teacher Chris Waring starts this book with the basics and gradually works his (and our) way through to about the level of GCSE.  It's only 192 pages, so you can't expect it to be exhaustive but the great thing is that it isn't ''exhausting''.  Waring explains concepts clearly and with humour but most importantly he shows why the subject is important and how it can be applied to life, covering such subjects as winning - or failing to win - the lottery and the chances of being dealt a royal flush at pokerIt's not just the examples which are new - it's a major improvement on the 'you will learn this because I'm telling you that you have to' approach which blighted the subject for so many of us.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782432558</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 futureNEVER 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=Orin Hargraves
 
|title=It's Been Said Before: A Guide to the Use and Abuse of Cliches
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Reference
 
|summary=I don't usually start a review by telling you what a book ''isn't'', but in this case it's importantThis isn't a light-hearted look at the subject, such as we found in [[Cliches: Avoid Them Like the Plague by Nigel Fountain]] and which - laughing and blushing in equal measure -  we shelved under 'trivia'This book will be shelved under 'reference': it's a rigorous look at the problem with the clichés divided not by subject matter, but grammatically and with an introduction to each section which gives all the information you need to help in making judgements about your own writingThis isn't a book to ''amuse'' you, but to help you to improve your use of words.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0199315736</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1913750353
|author=William Poundstone
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|title=Britannica's Word of the Day
|title=How to Predict the Unpredictable: The Art of Outsmarting Almost Everyone
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|author=Patrick Kelly, Renee Kelly and Sue Macy
|rating=4
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|rating=5
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=William Poundstone believes that we are all in the business of predicting, whether it be something as minor as playing rock, paper, scissors to pay a bar bill though to anticipating how the housing or stock markets are going to move. Now, I'm not particularly competitive - if whatever it is means ''that'' much to someone else then I'd rather let them have it - so this book didn't appeal to me on the basis of doing better than someone else, but I was interested in how it might be possible to predict what is going to happenSo, care to predict how it stacked up?
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|summary=''Britannica's Word of the Day'' has a sub-title: ''366 Elevating Utterances to Stretch Your Cranium and Tickle Your Humerus'' which probably tells you all that you need to know about this brilliant book.   It starts on January 1st with ''Razzmatazz'', tells you how to pronounce it (''raz-muh-TAZ''), gives you a definition and then includes the word in a sentence so that you know how it should be used.  You also get an engaging and frequently amusing illustration tooI don't think I've ever encountered a word which uses the letter Z four times before!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780744072</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=suppl_stafl
|author=The Economist
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|title=Supply Chain 20/20: A Clear View  on the Local Multiplier Effect for Book Lovers
|title=Pocket World in Figures 2015
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|author=Kim Staflund
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary=There are people who don't understand the joy of raw data: no accompanying analysis (or spin) - just a collection of figures relevant to a particular circumstanceIf you're one of those people then this book will mean little to you, but if you want a pocket (well, certainly handbag or briefcase) work of reference then this book will be a treasure.  I once gave a copy to a diplomat and he kept his wife awake until the early hours as he came across another gem which she had to know without delayThe 2015 edition is the twenty fourth in the series - and diplomatic (and similar) spouses everywhere should prepare themselves for the onslaught.
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|summary=So, you've finished writing your book and you think the hard work is all done?  You're convinced that all you need to do now is get it published and the money will start rolling in?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781252734</amazonuk>
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Wrong and wrong again.  You presumably wrote the book because you wanted to - and you had a talent for delivering the written word.  You knew your subject back to frontNow you're going to have to get to grips with the book supply chain, which even parts of the publishing industry believe to be wrong but it's too difficult to change and no one wants to be the first to tryThen, when you ''finally'' have a copy of the book in your hands, you're going to have to work out how to sell it - because it ''is'' going to be down to you.
 
}}
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|title=The Bee: A Natural History
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|author=Frederic Gros
|author=Noah Wilson-Rich
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|title=A Philosophy of Walking
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Animals and Wildlife
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|genre= Politics and Society
|summary=Bees have been making a bit of a media splash of late, due to heightened concern about their declining numbers and general welfare. Governments have been urged to do more to protect these important creatures, with a recent EU ban on neonicotinoid pesticides hailed as a 'victory for bees'. There is no doubt that these prolific pollinators are a vital part of our ecosystem, and the human fascination with bees goes back to our ancient history. But just why do we find these hardworking insects so fascinating?
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|summary= I confess I picked this one up from the library in my pre-lockdown forage of random stuff.  Now I have to go out an buy my own copy so that I can turn down the pages I have marked and return to its varying wisdom when I need to.  Some books draw you in slowly.  This one had me in the first two pages, wherein Gros explains why ''walking is not a sport''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782401075</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1781688370
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1788037812
|author=Alannah Moore
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|title=The Fraternity of the Estranged: The Fight for Homosexual Rights in England, 1891-1908
|title=Create Your Own Online Store (using WordPress) in a Weekend
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|author=Brian Anderson
|rating=4.5
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|rating=5
|genre=Business and Finance
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|genre=Biography
|summary=I've run a website for over eight years now but I've always shied away from any inclusion of e-commerce on the site. It seemed like too large a subject, too much complexity and choice and the possibility of problems which could go disastrously wrong.  I first encountered Alannah Moore when I read [[The Creative Person's Website Builder by Alannah Moore|The Creative Person's Website Builder]] and was impressed by the way that she approached her subject, so when I had the opportunity to see how to create an online store in a weekend, I jumped at the chance.
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|summary=Originally passed in 1885, the law that had made homosexual relations a crime remained in place for 82 years. But during this time, restrictions on same-sex relationships did not go unchallenged. Between 1891 and 1908, three books on the nature of homosexuality appeared. They were written by two homosexual men: Edward Carpenter and John Addington Symonds, as well as the heterosexual Havelock Ellis. Exploring the margins of society and studying homosexuality was common on the European Continent, but barely talked about in the UK, so the publications of these men were hugely significant – contributing to the scientific understanding of homosexuality, and beginning the struggle for recognition and equality, leading to the milestone legalisation of same-sex relationships in 1967.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781571430</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1912242052
|author=Dan Waddell
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|title=O Joy for me!
|title=Who Do You Think You Are?: The Genealogy Handbook
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|author=Keir Davidson
|rating=4.5
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|rating=3
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Art
|summary=The celebrity genealogy programme ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.  The makers, Wall to Wall Media, were fortunate enough to ride the ripple of family tree fascination, helping to turn it into the hobbyist tidal wave that remains todayFor those not familiar with the format, each episode allows us to accompany a household name as they discover secrets, scandals and surprises about an ancestor or two.  Thus we aren't only entertained; we're encouraged to delve into our own pasts, BBC TV publications acting as tutor and motivator via this handy little reference guide.
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|summary='' Oh Joy for me!'' gives Coleridge credit for being ''the first person to walk the mountains alone, not because he had to for work, as a miner, quarryman, shepherd or pack-horse driver, but because he wanted to for pleasure and adventureHis rapturous encounters with their natural beauty, and its literary consequences, changed our view of the world''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849908249</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1072549271
|author=Michael Fogden, Marianne Taylor and Sheri L Williamson
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|title=The Simple Act of Self-Publishing With Amazon: A Simple Step by Step Guide
|title=Hummingbirds: A Life-Size Guide to Every Species
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|author=Georgianne Landy-Kordis
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=I've always been fascinated by hummingbirds - delicate, colourful, beautifully and brilliantly adapted to extract nectar from flowersPerhaps most of all for me it's their acrobatic flight - the ability to hover and manoeuvre which has me hooked: I could watch them for hours, amazed that birds whose weight can only meaningfully be given in ounces can do so much.  I was drawn to this book as soon as I saw it, for a number of reasons.
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|summary=I frequently meet authors who are struggling to be published by the traditional houses, but when I suggest self-publishing they explain that they don't have the big bucks required to go down that road with Author Solutions or Matador or their like.  I then ask if they've considered Kindle and the answer is, inevitably, that they wouldn't know where to start.  I can empathise with thatDespite having used a computer for about thirty years, running most of my life ''and'' a website online, I'm still nervous when it comes to starting something new.  I like someone to hold my hand as I go through it for the first time.  That was why I was very interested when ''The Simple Act of Self Publishing With Amazon'' came across my desk...
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782400893</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Higashida_Fall
|title=Top 10 of Everything 2015
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|title=Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight: A Young Man's Voice From the Silence of Autism
|author=Paul Terry
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|author=Naoki Higashida and David Mitchell
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=The Top 10 of Everything 2015 is, as the title implies, a compilation of 'top ten' lists covering a wide variety of topics including the natural world, pop culture, sport and technology. The style of the book will appeal to its target audience of pre-teens with its use of bright colours, vibrant images, fun facts, puzzles and quizzes.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0600628868</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Stanley Gibbons
 
|title=Great Britain Concise Stamp Catalogue 2014
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Home and Family
|summary=When I began collecting GB stamps back in the early seventies ''Collect British Stamps'' was my bible and I eagerly awaited each new edition. After a while I came to realise that I needed a little more depth, but not to the level provided by the [[Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue 2013: Commonwealth and Empire Stamps 1840 - 1970 by Hugh Jefferies|Specialised Catalogue Series]] not least because I was still at the stage of spending the money on stamps rather than books about them.  There is something to fill the gap though and that's the Great Britain Concise catalogue. It's designed to meet the needs of the dedicated amateur rather than the specialist or the casual collector and treads a very fine line between providing too much detail and too little information with elegance.
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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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0852599145</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Jenkins_100
|author=John Sutherland
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|title=Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations
|title=How to be Well Read: A guide to 500 great novels and a handful of literary curiosities
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|author=Simon Jenkins
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Art
|summary=Being well read is rather like having good manners: it's something that we all aspire to but there's always a nagging doubt that there's something lacking in what we've achieved.  That is, of course, why a book with the title ''How to be Well Read'' pulled me in so successfully with its promise of being a guide to five hundred great novels and a handful of literary curiosities. Was I going to find that ultimate list of books which I would have to read to ensure that I could think of myself as well read?  No - I was going to find something far more useful and interesting.
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|summary=In the mid-twentieth century, the railway was something which harked back to the Victorian age with trains being supplanted by cars and planes, but steam was being replaced by oil, even then and in the twenty-first-century oil is giving way to electricity. It's cleaner, more environmentally friendly and the stations which we'd all rushed through as quickly as possible, keen to escape their grime, were restored and became places to be admired, possibly even lingered in. Simon Jenkins has chosen his hundred best railway stations.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847946402</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Taylor_Owls
|title=A Sting in the Tale
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|title=Owls: A Guide to Every Species
|author=Dave Goulson
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|author=Marianne Taylor
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Animals and Wildlife
|summary=It seems that Dave Goulson, founder of the incredibly successful Bumblebee Conservation Trust, did not always have natural aptitude for helping wildlife if his early recollections are anything to go by. Despite boundless enthusiasm and a passion for the natural world, his childhood efforts to give nature a helping hand quite frequently ended in some sort of gory aftermath. For example, there was the incident with the drowned bumblebees, in which a young Goulson unwisely decided to dry the bedraggled victims out on the hotplate of the electric cooker. Then there was the time he accidentally dropped a live electrical heater into his aquarium, frying the poor fish instantly. I could go on to mention the beheading of the footless quail, the snake wrapped in sticky tape and the countless taxidermy experiments, but alas, time does not permit. Suffice to say that despite this unpromising start in life, things did eventually improve...
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|summary=I feel like I am being watched. A huge pair of piercing orange eyes are staring right at me, locking me into their gaze. In contrast with the hardness of the deep-amber eyes, soft grey feathers fan out into the surrounding area, intricate, detailed and beautiful. An enigma; harsh and gentle at the same time, the owl is beckoning the reader to turn the pages and take a closer look inside...
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099575124</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|title=Colorstrology
 
|author=Michele Bernhardt
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Reference
 
|summary=First impressions of this book left me slightly worried that I would have little to go on to write any kind of helpful review; it was basically a little book of colour swatches, resembling something of a home décor paint guide. Flicking through, I saw that each page represented a day, allowing the reader to refer to their birthday to gain information relating to their character, rather like a horoscope. So all I had to go on was, effectively, a painting guide to star signs. With this is mind (and with fairly low expectations) I began reading from the beginning, refraining from jumping straight in to analyse my birthday characteristics.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1594746915</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=JVDK_ELO
|title=The Autistic Brain
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|title=Electric Light Orchestra: Song by Song
|author=Temple Grandin and Richard Panek
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|author=John Van der Kiste
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Entertainment
|summary=Temple Grandin is a lady of many labels: professor of animal science, bestselling author, consultant, activist, engineer, public speaker and subject of an award-winning biopic. She also happens to be autistic, a label she earned at a very early age back in the days before the majority of people knew what autism was. She describes the timing of her diagnosis as fortuitous; only a few years later and the accepted ‘treatment’ for autistic children was removal from their parents and life in an institution.
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|summary=My memories of pop music in the early sixties revolve around guitars and drums, sometimes the piano with only occasional excursions into strings and brass. Pop music rarely stands still and it wasn't long before the basic instruments were seen as constraints and The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys began to experiment, with other groups following where they led. Amongst these groups was The Move and their lead guitarist and songwriter, Roy Wood. Wood wanted to develop the group's sound by adding more instruments but was prevented from achieving what he wanted by cost limitations and because the rest of the group didn't really share his enthusiasm.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846044499</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Neil Davey
 
|title=The Bluffer's Guide to Chocolate (Bluffer's Guides)
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Cookery
 
|summary=I've always been a little bit nervous about the ''Bluffer'' series, on the basis that I would be sure to come out with a clever-sounding phrase, only to be found out when someone asked the follow-up question. Better, I thought to stay silent and appear ignorant than to open my mouth and prove myself a fool. But then ''The Bluffer's Guide to Chocolate'' came my way and I couldn't resist - any more than I've ever been able to resist chocolate.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909937045</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Hendrix_PBHell
|title=The Fun Stuff and Other Essays
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|title=Paperbacks from Hell: A History of Horror Fiction from the '70s and '80s
|author=James Wood
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|author=Grady Hendrix
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Horror
|summary=The ''Fun Stuff and Other Essays'' provides, as the title suggests, a panoramic sampling of James Wood’s critical writing. A popular and oft-quoted writer, the essays collected here offer stimulating insights into Wood’s chosen subjects.
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|summary=Demonic possession, murderous babies, man-eating moths… for these books, no plot was too ludicrous, no cover art too appalling, no evil too despicable. Now horror author Grady Hendrix risks his soul and his sanity (not to mention the reader's!) to relate the true, untold story of a fascinating and often forgotten era in publishing.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224097113</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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Read the synapse-shattering story summaries!<br>
|title=Winter
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See the horrific hand-painted cover imagery!<br>
|author=Adam Gopnik
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And learn the true-life tales of the writers, artists, and publishers who gleefully violated every literary law but one – never be boring.
|rating=4
 
|genre=Reference
 
|summary=In this collection of five essays, each one offering a unique and fascinating perspective on the season of winter, Adam Gopnik takes the reader on a captivating journey, exploring history, art and society, through ''Romantic Winter'', ''Radical Winter'', ''Recuperative Winter'', ''Recreational Winter'' and ''Remembering Winter''. In each essay, Gopnik focuses on one or two central themes, whilst also touching on surrounding ideas. For example, in Romantic Winter his central topics are art and poetry, however, issues such as changing society, technology, sex and culture are also explored, in relation to these pivotal notions. He also includes two sections featuring collections of artwork to illustrate his viewpoints, which add a charming, individual touch to this book.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780874472</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Browne_Many
|author=Alannah Moore
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|title=The Many Faces of Coincidence
|title=The Creative Person's Website Builder
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|author=Laurence Browne
|rating=4
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|rating=3.5
|genre=Reference
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|genre=Popular Science
|summary=Creating a website is not difficult.  Although some technical knowledge is a help - as is familiarity with your computer - you would be surprised at the speed with which you can have your own website and the sense of achievement which this will give you.  If you're running a big business then you might want to go to a web designer but it is possible to have a site for very little in the way of expenditure.  I know - we've done it and we've grown our little baby into a business.  I was lucky to have the expertise of our first tech guy when we built Bookbag, but Alanah Moore has produced a book which could give you a reasonable start and a great deal of inspiration.
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|summary=Browne does not mislead with this choice of title; he does without a doubt explore the many faces of coincidence.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781571066</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1903385679
|title=Telling Lies for Fun and Profit: A Manual for Fiction Writers
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|title=The 100 Best Novels in Translation
|author=Lawrence Block
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|author=Boyd Tonkin
|rating=5
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|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary=If I was going to write a list of authors I admire - well, I wouldn't begin it now. There are so many that I'd still be doing it at the end of November. But if I did take it upon myself to write a list, Lawrence Block would probably be on top of it. Hugely prolific and vastly varied when it comes to thrillers and crime stories, he's someone who seems able to turn his hand to so many different types of novel or short story with excellent results every time. He's created my two favourite crime-solvers, alcoholic ex-cop Matt Scudder and gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, and the contrast between the grittiness of the former series and the cosiness of the latter would place him high on my list of favourites even without his other work. Throw in the comic capers of Evan Tanner, whose sleep-centre was destroyed by shrapnel and now works for a mysterious department going across the world and stirring up trouble, and stamp-collecting assassin Keller, and you've got four excellent series of novels. Then there's the short stories, which feature all of these characters and many others, often rivalling Roald Dahl for darkness and clever plot twists.
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|summary=Consider, if you will, translated fiction. Some say it's impossible – that if a book was so good in one tongue it could never survive being put into another. Samuel Beckett must have laboured over ever syllable and ''Breath'', but he could translate his own works, and other equally complex pieces can cross borders. It's a market that has actually doubled in sales volume between 2000 and 2016 (thanks, ''Millennium Trilogy''). Novels, in particular, in translation, are – as the introduction here so smartly puts it – ''a privileged means of passing border posts, a sort of universal passport issued by that Utopian state, the Republic of Letters''. We here at the 'Bag regularly try and give equal credit to the translator, without whom we wouldn't be reading what we have in our hands. But all that said, do we really need one of those list books about the subject? I got given a book the other year detailing 1001 places to go to before I die, and I might even then have missed out a zero. It would take as long as a fortnight's holiday to wade through, and even though this is not as long as your typical Bolano housebrick, it's not a short thing. Should it take our time?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0688132286</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Fry_Mythos
|author=Stanley Gibbons
+
|title=Mythos: A Retelling of the Myths of Ancient Greece
|title=Great Britain Concise Stamp Catalogue 2013
+
|author=Stephen Fry
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary=When I began collecting GB stamps ''Collect British Stamps'' was my bible and I eagerly awaited each new edition. After a while I came to realise that I needed a little more depth, but not to the level provided by the [[Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue 2013: Commonwealth and Empire Stamps 1840 - 1970 by Hugh Jefferies|Specialised Catalogue Series]] not least because I was still at the stage of spending the money on stamps rather than books about them.  There is something to fill the gap though and that's the Great Britain Concise catalogue.  It's designed to meet the needs of the dedicated amateur rather than the specialist or the casual collector.
+
|summary=The Greek Myths are, arguably, the greatest stories ever told. So old and influential they cast a shadow over western tales and traditions, yet remain relatable and readable millennia later. Here comedian, actor, television presenter, actor and author Stephen Fry brings his considerable talent to these special stories and recreates them with a wit, warmth and humanity that brings them into the modern age whilst still giving the honour and respect that such ancient and influential stories deserve.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0852598998</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Mahnke_Lore
|title=Sea Monsters: The Lore and Legacy of Olaus Magnus's Marine Map
+
|title=The World of Lore, Volume 1: Monstrous Creatures
|author=Joseph Nigg
+
|author=Aaron Mahnke
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Popular Science
 
|summary=A confession.  When reading hardbacks I take the paper cover, if there is one, off, to keep it pristine.  Sometimes there's a second benefit, with [[Longbourn by Jo Baker]] as an example of having an embossed illustration underneath, or suchlike.  But with this book I won't be alone, for the cover folds out into an amazing artwork, such as has only two extant original copies.  It's a coloured replica of a large map of the northern seas and Scandinavia, dating from 1539, and is in a category of three major artful scientific papers from where the whole 'here be dragons' cliché about maps comes from.  Its creator, Olaus Magnus, followed it up years later with a commentary of all the sea creatures he drew on it, but Magnus has waited centuries for this delicious volume to commentate on both together, in such a lovely fashion.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782400435</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Peter Roberts and Shelley Evans
 
|title=The Book of Fungi: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around The World
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|summary=Fungi are the fifth order of the natural kingdom and it’s estimated that there are approximately one and a half million species, found throughout the world.  ‘’The Book of Fungi’’ looks at six hundred of the known fungi and each is pictured at its actual size in full colour and there’s a scientific explanation of its distribution, habitat, form, spore colour and edibility.  The tone of the book is academic but don’t let this put you off - before I began reading my knowledge was broadly restricted to knowing that it was better to discover fungus growing outside your house than attached to the structure inside - and I found it interesting, entertaining (which I didn’t expect) and accessible.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908005858</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Naoki Higashida and David Mitchell
 
|title=The Reason I Jump: One Boy's Voice from the Silence of Autism
 
|rating=5
 
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary=Imagine if you will, a world where the normal laws of physics have been slightly changed. You swirl around almost weightlessly, with no control over your limbs. Sounds seem either deafeningly loud or hopelessly muffled. Sensory input floods your system, overwhelming you with bright colours, patterns and odours that attack you from every side, without warning. Communication is almost impossible. You open your mouth and the wrong words come out. People talk down to you as if you were a child.
+
|summary=Every country, every town, every village has a folktale – a story passed down through generations that often focuses on the dark and unexplained. No matter how the modern world moves on, there's a still a part of everyone that is vulnerable to a good tale. From ghosts to werewolves, by way of wendigos and elves, author Aaron Mahnke delivers the reader legends from all over the world, whilst examining how they've become part of our collective imaginations, still striking fear into the hearts of many of us today.
 
 
Welcome to Naoki’s world.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444776754</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Fowler_Forgotten
|author=Richard Mabey
+
|title=The Book of Forgotten Authors
|title=The Ash and the Beech
+
|author=Christopher Fowler
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary=''The Ash and The Beech'' is an updated version of Mabey’s popular ''Beechcombings'', which has been given a new foreword and afterword by the author in light of the recent issues concerning ash die-back, which currently threatens Britain’s ash population. Mabey expands on this topic by examining the history of British trees, particularly the Beech and how it has managed to survive and adapt over the centuries despite threats from war, felling, disease and storms. He raises some important and thought-provoking ideas and questions whether our constant intervention in such cases serves to do more harm than good.
+
|summary=''Absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder''. It makes people think you're dead.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099587238</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
There's truth in that statement, you know, but there's a conundrum when it's applied to authors. Shakespeare is dead: Dickens is dead, but we haven't buried what they've written: that lives on until... when? Is it until fashion decrees that they should be no more? Or is it, as in the case of some children's authors that they are on life support through licensing deals and astute marketing? Christopher Fowler has unearthed (exhumed?) ninety-nine authors who were once hugely popular, but whose works have disappeared, sometimes quite literally.
|author=Gavin Mortimer
 
|title=A History of Cricket in 100 Objects
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Sport
 
|summary=[[A History of Football in 100 Objects by Gavin Mortimer|A History of Football in 100 Objects]] was a brave attempt, but was slightly let down by being a little too clinical.  Being a game imbued with passion, the book lacked this which took some of the edge off it. Cricket, whilst inspiring passion amongst devotees, has a slightly more laid back following; one that may work better in this format.   That said, being a game that has been played for five centuries, narrowing it down to just 100 objects is no less an undertaking than for football.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846689406</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Angell_Triang
|author=Polly Morland
+
|title=Tri-ang Collectables
|title=The Society of Timid Souls: Or, How to be Brave
+
|author=Dave Angell
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary='I see no reason why the shy and timid in any community couldn’t get together and help each other.'
+
|summary=A guide to the trains produced by the Tri-ang company from its inception until the company became Hornby. A very personal guide to the collecting of model trains.
 
 
The above words were uttered in 1943 by a gentleman called Bernard Gabriel. Mr Gabriel was a piano player who founded a unique club, ''The Society of Timid Souls'' that encouraged timid performers and fear-wracked musicians to come in out of the cold 'to play, to criticise and be criticised in order to conquer that old bogey of stage fright.' The method evidently worked, as many a timid soul claimed to be cured by these unorthodox methods and club membership grew considerably in the years that followed.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781251908</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Chase_Orchids
|author=Mary Beard
+
|title=The Book of Orchids: A life-size guide to six hundred species from around the world
|title=Confronting the Classics: Traditions, Adventures and Innovations
+
|author=Mark Chase, Maarten Christenhusz and Tom Mirenda
|rating=4
+
|rating=5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary=For a lot of us, the idea of learning Classics conjures up images – or memories – of rows of (usually public) schoolboys endlessly repeating different conjugations of Latin verbs. 'Amo, amas, amat...' and so on. It's an idea imprinted on the popular imagination by countless books, films and TV shows, and indeed by anecdotal memory. I'm pretty sure my dad would have been one of those schoolboys in the 1960s.
+
|summary=One in seven flowering plants on earth is an orchid: there are 26,000 species in 749 genera.  They flourish in remarkable habitats such as deserts and the Arctic circle, in fact, all areas but the most inhospitable. There's a wide range of colours, shapes and scents: they're dramatic, delicate and ingenious in the ways that they've developed not just to survive but to thrive. Tom Mirenda describes them as ''masters of manipulation'' and ''famous for lying and cheating their way to their many evolutionary successes'', yet his love of them is as obvious as his respect for the insight they give us into the processes which shaped our world.  He hopes that understanding how that has come about will inspire us to conserve what we have.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781250480</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Edwards_Story
|author=Stanley Gibbons
+
|title=The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books (British Library Crime Classics)
|title=Stamps of the World 2013
+
|author=Martin Edwards
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|genre=Reference
|summary=Philatelists have long come to rely on the annual publication of Stanley Gibbons’ Stamps of the World simplified catalogue. For years it has had an unrivalled reputation for accuracy and usability for both dealers and collectors. Commemoratives, definitives, airmail stamps, postage dues, official stamps and miniature sheets are all listed (both mint and used), using the internationally recognised Stanley Gibbons catalogue number and set out according to date of issue and by country. Indeed, it’s difficult to imagine that any serious dealer or collector could be without the six volume set but many must wonder if it’s entirely necessary to make  what is a substantial investment on an annual basis.
+
|summary=It's easy to be confused by the various 'ages' of crime writing: if you have an interest in the genre you'll almost certainly have heard of the Golden Age of Crime, generally acknowledged as being the period between the first and second world wars. 'Classic Crime' on the other hand extends the time frame at either end and covers books published in the first half of the twentieth century. Throughout my adult life, there's been just one genre of books which has fascinated me, and that's crime, so I could hardly resist the chance of reading ''The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books'' particularly as the author, Martin Edwards is an accomplished author within the crime genre and an acknowledged expert on the subject.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0852598610</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=DK_Childrens
 +
|title=Children's Illustrated Thesaurus
 +
|author=DK
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Reference
 +
|summary=One of the most valuable literary skills which children can learn is how to use reference books.  As a child every question which I began with ''how do you spell...?'' would be answered with ''EXACTLY as it says in the dictionary''.  This was fine, but the family's Collins Little Gem Dictionary didn't encourage exploration, not least because the font was small and difficult to read.  Fortunately, those times have now changed and reference book for children are now much more inviting.  Not every book comes with a set of instructions but it's worth studying the ''How to...'' section, not least because similar systems are used in other reference books.
 +
}}
 +
 +
Move on to [[Newest Science Fiction Reviews]]

Latest revision as of 10:30, 9 September 2023

1394159544.jpg

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

1913750353.jpg

Review of

Britannica's Word of the Day by Patrick Kelly, Renee Kelly and Sue Macy

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

Britannica's Word of the Day has a sub-title: 366 Elevating Utterances to Stretch Your Cranium and Tickle Your Humerus which probably tells you all that you need to know about this brilliant book. It starts on January 1st with Razzmatazz, tells you how to pronounce it (raz-muh-TAZ), gives you a definition and then includes the word in a sentence so that you know how it should be used. You also get an engaging and frequently amusing illustration too. I don't think I've ever encountered a word which uses the letter Z four times before! Full Review

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Review of

Supply Chain 20/20: A Clear View on the Local Multiplier Effect for Book Lovers by Kim Staflund

4.5star.jpg Reference

So, you've finished writing your book and you think the hard work is all done? You're convinced that all you need to do now is get it published and the money will start rolling in?

Wrong and wrong again. You presumably wrote the book because you wanted to - and you had a talent for delivering the written word. You knew your subject back to front. Now you're going to have to get to grips with the book supply chain, which even parts of the publishing industry believe to be wrong but it's too difficult to change and no one wants to be the first to try. Then, when you finally have a copy of the book in your hands, you're going to have to work out how to sell it - because it is going to be down to you. Full Review

1781688370.jpg

Review of

A Philosophy of Walking by Frederic Gros

5star.jpg Politics and Society

I confess I picked this one up from the library in my pre-lockdown forage of random stuff. Now I have to go out an buy my own copy so that I can turn down the pages I have marked and return to its varying wisdom when I need to. Some books draw you in slowly. This one had me in the first two pages, wherein Gros explains why walking is not a sport. Full Review

1788037812.jpg

Review of

The Fraternity of the Estranged: The Fight for Homosexual Rights in England, 1891-1908 by Brian Anderson

5star.jpg Biography

Originally passed in 1885, the law that had made homosexual relations a crime remained in place for 82 years. But during this time, restrictions on same-sex relationships did not go unchallenged. Between 1891 and 1908, three books on the nature of homosexuality appeared. They were written by two homosexual men: Edward Carpenter and John Addington Symonds, as well as the heterosexual Havelock Ellis. Exploring the margins of society and studying homosexuality was common on the European Continent, but barely talked about in the UK, so the publications of these men were hugely significant – contributing to the scientific understanding of homosexuality, and beginning the struggle for recognition and equality, leading to the milestone legalisation of same-sex relationships in 1967. Full Review

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Review of

O Joy for me! by Keir Davidson

3star.jpg Art

Oh Joy for me! gives Coleridge credit for being the first person to walk the mountains alone, not because he had to for work, as a miner, quarryman, shepherd or pack-horse driver, but because he wanted to for pleasure and adventure. His rapturous encounters with their natural beauty, and its literary consequences, changed our view of the world. Full Review

1072549271.jpg

Review of

The Simple Act of Self-Publishing With Amazon: A Simple Step by Step Guide by Georgianne Landy-Kordis

4.5star.jpg Business and Finance

I frequently meet authors who are struggling to be published by the traditional houses, but when I suggest self-publishing they explain that they don't have the big bucks required to go down that road with Author Solutions or Matador or their like. I then ask if they've considered Kindle and the answer is, inevitably, that they wouldn't know where to start. I can empathise with that. Despite having used a computer for about thirty years, running most of my life and a website online, I'm still nervous when it comes to starting something new. I like someone to hold my hand as I go through it for the first time. That was why I was very interested when The Simple Act of Self Publishing With Amazon came across my desk... Full Review

Higashida Fall.jpg

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

Jenkins 100.jpg

Review of

Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins

5star.jpg Art

In the mid-twentieth century, the railway was something which harked back to the Victorian age with trains being supplanted by cars and planes, but steam was being replaced by oil, even then and in the twenty-first-century oil is giving way to electricity. It's cleaner, more environmentally friendly and the stations which we'd all rushed through as quickly as possible, keen to escape their grime, were restored and became places to be admired, possibly even lingered in. Simon Jenkins has chosen his hundred best railway stations. Full Review

Taylor Owls.jpg

Review of

Owls: A Guide to Every Species by Marianne Taylor

5star.jpg Animals and Wildlife

I feel like I am being watched. A huge pair of piercing orange eyes are staring right at me, locking me into their gaze. In contrast with the hardness of the deep-amber eyes, soft grey feathers fan out into the surrounding area, intricate, detailed and beautiful. An enigma; harsh and gentle at the same time, the owl is beckoning the reader to turn the pages and take a closer look inside... Full Review

JVDK ELO.jpg

Review of

Electric Light Orchestra: Song by Song by John Van der Kiste

4.5star.jpg Entertainment

My memories of pop music in the early sixties revolve around guitars and drums, sometimes the piano with only occasional excursions into strings and brass. Pop music rarely stands still and it wasn't long before the basic instruments were seen as constraints and The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys began to experiment, with other groups following where they led. Amongst these groups was The Move and their lead guitarist and songwriter, Roy Wood. Wood wanted to develop the group's sound by adding more instruments but was prevented from achieving what he wanted by cost limitations and because the rest of the group didn't really share his enthusiasm. Full Review

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Review of

Paperbacks from Hell: A History of Horror Fiction from the '70s and '80s by Grady Hendrix

4.5star.jpg Horror

Demonic possession, murderous babies, man-eating moths… for these books, no plot was too ludicrous, no cover art too appalling, no evil too despicable. Now horror author Grady Hendrix risks his soul and his sanity (not to mention the reader's!) to relate the true, untold story of a fascinating and often forgotten era in publishing.

Read the synapse-shattering story summaries!
See the horrific hand-painted cover imagery!
And learn the true-life tales of the writers, artists, and publishers who gleefully violated every literary law but one – never be boring. Full Review

Browne Many.jpg

Review of

The Many Faces of Coincidence by Laurence Browne

3.5star.jpg Popular Science

Browne does not mislead with this choice of title; he does without a doubt explore the many faces of coincidence. Full Review

1903385679.jpg

Review of

The 100 Best Novels in Translation by Boyd Tonkin

3.5star.jpg Reference

Consider, if you will, translated fiction. Some say it's impossible – that if a book was so good in one tongue it could never survive being put into another. Samuel Beckett must have laboured over ever syllable and Breath, but he could translate his own works, and other equally complex pieces can cross borders. It's a market that has actually doubled in sales volume between 2000 and 2016 (thanks, Millennium Trilogy). Novels, in particular, in translation, are – as the introduction here so smartly puts it – a privileged means of passing border posts, a sort of universal passport issued by that Utopian state, the Republic of Letters. We here at the 'Bag regularly try and give equal credit to the translator, without whom we wouldn't be reading what we have in our hands. But all that said, do we really need one of those list books about the subject? I got given a book the other year detailing 1001 places to go to before I die, and I might even then have missed out a zero. It would take as long as a fortnight's holiday to wade through, and even though this is not as long as your typical Bolano housebrick, it's not a short thing. Should it take our time? Full Review

Fry Mythos.jpg

Review of

Mythos: A Retelling of the Myths of Ancient Greece by Stephen Fry

5star.jpg Reference

The Greek Myths are, arguably, the greatest stories ever told. So old and influential they cast a shadow over western tales and traditions, yet remain relatable and readable millennia later. Here comedian, actor, television presenter, actor and author Stephen Fry brings his considerable talent to these special stories and recreates them with a wit, warmth and humanity that brings them into the modern age whilst still giving the honour and respect that such ancient and influential stories deserve. Full Review

Mahnke Lore.jpg

Review of

The World of Lore, Volume 1: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke

4.5star.jpg Reference

Every country, every town, every village has a folktale – a story passed down through generations that often focuses on the dark and unexplained. No matter how the modern world moves on, there's a still a part of everyone that is vulnerable to a good tale. From ghosts to werewolves, by way of wendigos and elves, author Aaron Mahnke delivers the reader legends from all over the world, whilst examining how they've become part of our collective imaginations, still striking fear into the hearts of many of us today. Full Review

Fowler Forgotten.jpg

Review of

The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler

5star.jpg Reference

Absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder. It makes people think you're dead.

There's truth in that statement, you know, but there's a conundrum when it's applied to authors. Shakespeare is dead: Dickens is dead, but we haven't buried what they've written: that lives on until... when? Is it until fashion decrees that they should be no more? Or is it, as in the case of some children's authors that they are on life support through licensing deals and astute marketing? Christopher Fowler has unearthed (exhumed?) ninety-nine authors who were once hugely popular, but whose works have disappeared, sometimes quite literally. Full Review

Angell Triang.jpg

Review of

Tri-ang Collectables by Dave Angell

3.5star.jpg Reference

A guide to the trains produced by the Tri-ang company from its inception until the company became Hornby. A very personal guide to the collecting of model trains. Full Review

Chase Orchids.jpg

Review of

The Book of Orchids: A life-size guide to six hundred species from around the world by Mark Chase, Maarten Christenhusz and Tom Mirenda

5star.jpg Reference

One in seven flowering plants on earth is an orchid: there are 26,000 species in 749 genera. They flourish in remarkable habitats such as deserts and the Arctic circle, in fact, all areas but the most inhospitable. There's a wide range of colours, shapes and scents: they're dramatic, delicate and ingenious in the ways that they've developed not just to survive but to thrive. Tom Mirenda describes them as masters of manipulation and famous for lying and cheating their way to their many evolutionary successes, yet his love of them is as obvious as his respect for the insight they give us into the processes which shaped our world. He hopes that understanding how that has come about will inspire us to conserve what we have. Full Review

Edwards Story.jpg

Review of

The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books (British Library Crime Classics) by Martin Edwards

5star.jpg Reference

It's easy to be confused by the various 'ages' of crime writing: if you have an interest in the genre you'll almost certainly have heard of the Golden Age of Crime, generally acknowledged as being the period between the first and second world wars. 'Classic Crime' on the other hand extends the time frame at either end and covers books published in the first half of the twentieth century. Throughout my adult life, there's been just one genre of books which has fascinated me, and that's crime, so I could hardly resist the chance of reading The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books particularly as the author, Martin Edwards is an accomplished author within the crime genre and an acknowledged expert on the subject. Full Review

DK Childrens.jpg

Review of

Children's Illustrated Thesaurus by DK

4.5star.jpg Reference

One of the most valuable literary skills which children can learn is how to use reference books. As a child every question which I began with how do you spell...? would be answered with EXACTLY as it says in the dictionary. This was fine, but the family's Collins Little Gem Dictionary didn't encourage exploration, not least because the font was small and difficult to read. Fortunately, those times have now changed and reference book for children are now much more inviting. Not every book comes with a set of instructions but it's worth studying the How to... section, not least because similar systems are used in other reference books. Full Review

Move on to Newest Science Fiction Reviews