Difference between revisions of "Newest Anthologies Reviews"

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[[Category:New Reviews|Anthologies]]
 
[[Category:New Reviews|Anthologies]]
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{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author= Pete Ayrton (editor)
+
|isbn=1737030942
|title= No Pasaran: Writings from the Spanish Civil War
+
|title=Bag O'Goodies
|rating= 4
+
|author=Jolly Walker Bittick
 +
|rating=4
 
|genre= Anthologies
 
|genre= Anthologies
|summary= In ''¡No Pasarán!: Writings from the Spanish Civil War'', Pete Ayrton has chosen a majority of texts by Spanish writers, arguing that the conflict has long been written about from the point of view of the international brigades.
+
|summary=Sometimes, you deserve a treat and mine was Jolly Walker Bittick's ''Bag O'Goodies''.  I first encountered his writing about a year ago, when I read his [[Cape Henry House by Jolly Walker Bittick|Cape Henry House]], a rollicking tale of what happens when five young men find a base for their partying.  Right now, I didn't want a full-length novel, so I turned to this anthology of verse and short stories.  Bittick's writing has matured - and so have his characters.  Well... most of them!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184668997X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Martin Edwards (editor)
+
|isbn=140638853X
|title=Murder at the Manor: Country House Mysteries (British Library Crime Classics)
+
|title=Somebody Give This Heart a Pen
|rating=4.5
+
|author=Sophia Thakur
|genre=Crime (Historical)
+
|rating=5
|summary=I'm not big on short stories, but two factors nudged me towards this book. Firstly, it's broadly golden age crime, one of my weaknesses and secondly, the editor is [[:Category:Martin Edwards|Martin Edwards]], a man whose knowledge of golden age crime is probably unsurpassed and he's done us proud, not only with his selection, but with the half-page biographies of the writers, which precede each story. There's just enough there to allow you to place the author and to direct you to other works if you're tempted.  It's an elegant selection, from the well known and the less well known, all set in and around the country house.
+
|genre=Anthologies
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0712309934</amazonuk>
+
|summary=Sophia Thakur's debut anthology is a collection of poems that are all unique, whether in relation to their style, length or theme. The collection is split into four sections, titled 'grow', 'wait','break' and 'grow again', guiding you through a process which is one of the foundations that the anthology is built on. Each section begins with a foregrounded title page containing various small pieces of writing, ranging from a quote by a Nigerian playwright, to African proverbs. This provides a nice introduction to the section before you are immersed in the beautifully written and eloquent poems that Thakur has clearly put her heart and soul into.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Eoin Colfer (editor)
+
|isbn=1789016789
|title=Once Upon a Place
+
|title=You're the Froth On My Soy Cappuccino: Poems for the Present
|rating=3.5
+
|author=Don Behrend
|genre=Confident Readers
+
|rating=4
|summary=You know the bit of the blurb on every ''Artemis Fowl'' book, where Eoin Colfer had it said about how you pronounce his name?  That wasn't the intention of an up-and-coming author to be recognisable; rather, it was pride. Pride in the difference of it, of the Irishness of it.  Ireland, it seems to me, is more full than usual of people, things and ideas, and places that are different by dint of their singular nationality – and so many deserve to have pride attached to them.  The places might not be the famous ones, but they can be the source of pride, and of stories, which is where this compilation of short works for the young comes in, with the authors invited to select their chosen place and write about it.
+
|genre=Anthologies
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>191041137X</amazonuk>
+
|summary=''You're the Froth On My Soy Cappuccino'' begins with ''A Modern Love Story'':
 +
 
 +
''You’re the froth on my soy cappuccino''<br>
 +
''You’re the spread on my paleo toast''<br>
 +
''You’re the nose of my GM-free Pinot''<br>
 +
''You’re organic, my love. You’re the most!''<br>
 +
 
 +
Ha! How can you not laugh at this gently mocking take on love in the hipster world?
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Ann Cleeves (editor)
+
|isbn=PUP_Rising
|title=The Starlings and Other Stories
+
|title=Rising Stars: New Young Voices in Poetry
 +
|author=Pop Up Projects
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Crime
 
|summary=Six authors, known collectively as 'The Murder Squad', and their six accomplices were given twelve photographs of the remote landscape of Pembrokeshire by acclaimed photographer David Wilson and asked to come up with a short story inspired by what they saw.  Some of the stories will be more to your taste than others, as is only to be expected in such a varied anthology, but none are weak and if you enjoy crime short stories then this book could be a real treat.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909823740</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=A A Milne
 
|title=Love From Pooh (Winnie the Pooh)
 
|rating=5
 
 
|genre=Anthologies
 
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=For a small book, a small review – this is a quite delightful little thing, about which not a lot can be said. It is a gift book pure and simple, much in the way that Pooh Bear was a little simple at times (''Pooh… thought how wonderful it would be to have a Real Brain which could tell you things''). With it comes a simple blurb, and almost instructions that it is for giving, and there is a space for a loving dedication at the beginning, which is again only apt, as it is all about love.  Love of honey, love in friendship, love of all various kinds, but just love.  It can't help but make you most warm-hearted.
+
|summary=This collection brings together five emerging voices in poetry. And despite what the publisher says, I wouldn't personally impose an age restriction on the writing here. Each poet uses words that will appeal to many readers. I found this particularly so with Jay Hulme's poetry.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405276150</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Jo Walton
+
|isbn=Stevenson_Garden
|title=What Makes This Book So Great: Re-Reading The Classics Of Science Fiction And Fantasy
+
|title=A Child's Garden of Verses
|rating=5
+
|author=Robert Louis Stevenson
 +
|rating=2
 
|genre=Anthologies
 
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=Jo Walton has published over ten books, several of which have been award winning. On top of that, she has a voracious appetite for books - both as a well respected writer of original fiction, but as a well respected reviewer too. Not only does she have time to do all that, but she also writes a regular column for Tor.com, on Science Fiction and Fantasy books, and it is these columns that a selection of which are collected here.
+
|summary=Robert Louis Stevenson was a very versatile writer; he delved deep into the human psyche when he wrote ''The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' but he did not restrict himself to representations of the gothic and the persecuted. He also wrote brilliant children's adventure stories such as ''Treasure Island'' and ''Kidnapped'', but, again, he did not restrict himself to prose writing because here he demonstrates his ability to write poetry.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1472111613</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Emma Tennant, Hilary Bailey and David Elliott
 
|title=Did We Meet on Grub Street?
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Entertainment
 
|summary=Essentially, the three authors (all of whom have long careers in the book industry) revel in the idea of being whining old curmudgeons who miss the good old days of publishing. This unashamed nostalgia provides the focus of the book and allows the writers to recount numerous anecdotes from their days in the publishing business. Whilst the primary audience for this book may well be students of creative writing and media studies, it also serves as an interesting exploration of an aspect of modern history: how a once-burgeoning industry is now a shell of its former self, much like a lot of manufacturing. Because of this, I was disappointed that no space was given to a consideration of how the rise of the e-book and Kindle has directly damaged both the sale of books and the potential for new books to be written (fewer real books sold = fewer financial advances paid to writers = fewer books written). Also, given the clear love of books as treasured artifacts, the dismissal of the Harry Potter phenomenon seems truculent, given the impetus the series gave to reading amongst both the young and adults.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0704372983</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Otto Penzler (editor)
 
|title=The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Crime
 
|summary=Nostalgia is a big part of the Christmas experience, and that's provided in sack-loads by this hefty tome of short stories. Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Brother Cadfael jostle Morse, Rumpole and Vic Warshawski for space on these tightly packed pages, while lesser known and long since forgotten writers furnish new and unexpected pleasures for even the most well-read of book worms.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784082252</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|title=Burnt Tongues: An Anthology of Transgressive Short Stories
+
|isbn=Esiri Poem
|author=Chuck Palahniuk, Dennis Widmyer and Richard Thomas
+
|title=A Poem for Every Day of the Year
 +
|author=Allie Esiri
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Short Stories
 
|summary=Saying certain things out loud just don’t sound right.  Some things are so disturbing or politically incorrect that you are best off leaving them inside your head, or better yet not thinking of them at all.  When these words are spoken they could lead to the sensation of Burnt Tongue; an aftereffect of knowing what you said was wrong.  Are you prepared to enter the world of Transgressive Fiction that aims to disturb, alienate, disgust and question?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178329552X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|title=Rogues
 
|author=George R R Martin and Gardner Dozois (Editors)
 
|rating=3.5
 
 
|genre=Anthologies
 
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=George R R Martin is undoubtedly the biggest name in modern day fantasy, and Gardner Dozois an American science fiction author of considerable renown. Here, the two collect twenty one stories by a list of well known and hugely loved authors.
+
|summary=For those who do not read much poetry, for those who do not know where to start, this is a fun and easy commitment to take on. Reading a poem a day does not take long, mere minutes, and with over three-hundred poems in here there's bound to be a poem that speaks to each reader directly.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783297190</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|title=While Wandering - A Walking Companion
+
|isbn=Herbertson_Wordsworth
|author=Duncan Minshull
+
|title=William and Dorothy Wordsworth: A Miscellany
 +
|author=Gavin Herbertson
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Anthologies
 
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=''While Wandering - A Walking Companion'', was first published ten years ago as ''The Vintage Book of Walking''. Reprinted and retitled with a stunning new cover by James Jones and Finn Dean, and a foreword by Robert Macfarlane, the best writer on walking in recent years (in my humble opinion).
+
|summary=William Wordsworth was a defining member of the romantic literary era. He was part of the first wave, and his poetry helped to shape a large part of it. Nature was the key: existing in nature, finding one's own true nature and becoming natural in the process were the driving forces behind it.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>009959336X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|title=A is Amazing!: Poems about Feelings
+
|isbn=Mahfouz_Muslim
|author=Wendy Cooling and Piet Grobler
+
|title=The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write
|rating=4.5
+
|author=Sabrina Mahfouz
|genre=Children's Rhymes and Verse
+
|rating=5
|summary=How do you get young children interested in poetry?  I guess you hope that you don't have to – you want them to be aware of clapping and skipping songs by nature, and of lyrics to music heard in school and at home.  Surely it's a case of making sure a child never learns to hold verse in disfavour, and carries a natural eagerness for poetry through to adulthood.  But just in case, there are books such as this wonderfully thought-through compilation, that will catch the eye and entertain those aged six or seven and up, and provide for many a read of many a different style of verse.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847805132</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|title=A Broken World: Letters, diaries and memories of the Great War
 
|author=Sebastian Faulks and Hope Wolf
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=History
 
|summary=Sebastian Faulks and Dr Hope Wolf have expertly brought together this far-reaching collection of memories, diaries, letters and postcards written during and after the First World War. While Faulks is the author of novels such as ''Birdsong'' and ''Charlotte Gray'', Dr Hope Wolf is a research fellow in English at the University of Cambridge, whose doctoral research focused on archives at the Imperial War Museum. The combination of such a respected author, whose most famous (and arguably his best) novel is set in the First World War, and an academic whose expertise is the in the same area, means that this fascinating collection hits all the right notes. It's commemorative, poignant and very human.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091954223</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|title=Dead But Not Forgotten
 
|author=Charlaine Harris and Toni LP Kelner (Editors)
 
|rating=3.5
 
 
|genre=Anthologies
 
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=''Dead But Not Forgotten'' returns to Sookie Stackhouse's world, exploring the lives and misadventures of some of the more minor characters in the series. The collection features stories about Pam Ravenscroft, Adele Hale Stackhouse, Luna, Diantha, Bubba and many of the other colourful characters from Bon Temps and the wider universe of Sookie's story, written by authors such as Seanan McGuire, Rachel Caine, Nicole Peeler, Christopher Golden and many more.
+
|summary=What does it mean to be British and Muslim? This is a question these writers tackle with stunning clarity. Modern-day British society has a varied sense of cultural heritage; it is a society that is changing and moving forward as it adds more and more voices to the population, but it is also one that has an undercurrent of anxiety and fear towards those who are minorities. So this collection displays how all that fear is received; it comes in the form of stereotypical labels and racial prejudice, which are themes eloquently reproduced here.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>B00GBQXN6K</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|title=Stories of World War One
 
|author=Tony Bradman
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Teens
 
|summary=World War One, or the Great War as it was known at the time, was a cataclysmic war. Millions died and life was changed forever for the survivors - for the women of Britain, and for the working classes and ruling classes alike. 2014 is the centenary of its outbreak and the redoubtable Tony Bradman has gathered together a dozen of our best writers for young people to create an anthology of short stories to commemorate the anniversary.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408330350</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|title=Daughters of Time
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|isbn=Holland Cheap
|author=Mary Hoffman (editor)
+
|title=View from the Cheap Seats
 +
|author=Barry Holland
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Confident Readers
+
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=This is an anthology aimed at tweens and younger teens on the subject of ''some of history's most remarkable women''. It's an interesting idea, particularly as the usual suspects are perhaps avoided. No Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Victoria, or Florence Nightingale. Instead we get Boudica, Mary Seacole, Aphra Behn and Julian of Norwich, amongst others. It doesn't altogether work for me but there are enough strong stories to make it well worth a look.
+
|summary=A little bit about Barry Holland: he was born in Newport, South Wales, to working-class parents. He loves rugby and his son - his son is his favourite rugby player, which is just as it should be. He is a qualified engineer but is unable to work because of mental ill-health. All of these things feed into ''View from the Cheap Seats'', which is a collection of poems and imaginings as vivid and immediate and striking as you could hope for. Barry sounds like a thoroughly nice bloke and his book was a pleasure to read.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184877169X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|title=No Man's Land: Writings From A World At War
+
|isbn=Marshall EFT
|author=Pete Ayrton (editor)
+
|title=The Book of English Folk Tales
 +
|author=Sybil Marshall and John Lawrence
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Anthologies
 
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=July 2014 marks the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War: a war that has become imprinted on the national consciousness of Britain (and plenty of modern nation-states), partly because of the large numbers of people (mostly men) writing about it. I don't mean journalists, who had been covering wars for the Victorian public, but artists: poets, authors, memoirists and painters. The poets especially have stamped World War One on collective memory, through countless poetry anthologies, recitals at memorials, and in school classrooms.
+
|summary=From ghosts to witches, to giants and fairies, ''The Book of English Folk Tales'' is a fascinating collection of stories retold by social historian and folklorist Sybil Marshall. Out of print for over three decades, this beautiful new clothbound edition is complete with wood-engraved illustrations by John Lawrence and is sure to capture the attention of a new generation of lovers of folklore.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846689252</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|title=Of Lions and Unicorns: A Lifetime of Tales from the Master Storyteller
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|isbn=Trotman_Winter
|author=Michael Morpurgo
+
|title=Winter: A Book for the Season
 +
|author=Felicity Trotman (editor)
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Confident Readers
+
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=''Of Lions and Unicorns'' is a collection of short stories and extracts from Morpurgo’s most popular books. The book is split into five sections, which focus on recurring themes in his writing.
+
|summary=This seasonal anthology contains a nice mixture of poetry, nature and travel pieces, and excerpts from longer works of fiction. Felicity Trotman, a freelance editor and member of the English Civil War Society, has arranged the material into three sections: 'The Old Year', 'Christmas, Sacred and Secular', and 'The New Year'. This creates an appropriate sense of chronological progression and also serves to make Christmas the heart of the book. Black-and-white illustrations – maps, photographs and engravings – are interspersed throughout, and each author gets a short paragraph of biography and background.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007395353</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|title=Rags and Bones
+
|isbn=Elphinstone_Winter
|author=Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt (Editors)
+
|title=Winter Magic
|rating=4.5
+
|author=Abi Elphinstone (Editor)
 +
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Anthologies
 
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=Some of today's top authors have come together to retell classic tales - from fairy stories to Victorian-era fiction. As usual with this kind of anthology, it's a fairly hit-or-miss affair, but the hits here are so strong that they're well worth picking up the book for.  
+
|summary=With everything from dragons to mysterious crimes, voice-stealing witches to time travel, and magical worlds to first performances of world-famous ballets, this is a collection of short stories that delights from start to finish. Anthologies of short stories can sometimes fall flat, with one or two good ones and then a bunch of mediocre fillers, but this collection has no weak links...all the stories are good, and most of them are brilliant. I felt entirely caught up in each individual world as I read, loving the varied and extremely likeable heroines throughout.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1472210522</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Chris Moss
+
|isbn=Phinn_Virgin
|title=Smoothly From Harrow: A Compendium for the London Commuter
+
|title=The Virgin Mary's Got Nits
|rating=4
+
|author=Gervase Phinn
 +
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Anthologies
 
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=If you want to get ''behind'' what commuting is really like - not in an academic or a political way, but from the perspective of having your hand through a strap and wishing that the man next to you wasn't ''quite'' so enamoured of Brut aftershave - then you need a travel journalist. Step forward (but mind the gap), Chris Moss, who writes regularly for the ''Daily Telegraph'' and has done the same for the ''Guardian'', ''Independent'' and various magazines. Most importantly, he's commuted from Camberwell, Camden, Hackney, Harrow, Herne Hill, Surbiton and Tooting.  Personally, I think he deserves a medal.
+
|summary=Christmas in our house is the time we tend to get on a plane and head to either sun or snow, anywhere that is far, far away from the madness at home, last-minute dashes to the shops on Christmas Eve and food cupboard stockpiles that would imply supermarkets are shutting for a month, nor a mere 36 hours. But I do remember the feeling of Christmas when I was younger, back when it was magical, and back when you knew exactly what the season would bring with carol concerts and school nativities and Christmas parties. This book is an anthology of those moments, and it took me right back to the wonder of Christmas as a child.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1905131623</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|title=The Time Traveller's Almanac
+
|isbn=Ayrton_Pasaran
|author=Anne VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer
+
|title=No Pasaran: Writings from the Spanish Civil War
 +
|author=Pete Ayrton (editor)
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Anthologies
 
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=From H.G Wells to ''Doctor Who'', there is something about a good time-travel story that has the power to ignite the imagination in a way unique to the genre. Perhaps it is due to the fact that when dealing with the subject of time travel, literally ''anything is possible''. Well, almost anything...apart from going back in time and killing your Grandfather, which we know would cause an almighty paradox and probably destroy the universe.
+
|summary=In ''¡No Pasarán!: Writings from the Spanish Civil War'', Pete Ayrton has chosen a majority of texts by Spanish writers, arguing that the conflict has long been written about from the point of view of the international brigades.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781853908</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|title=Stuff I've Been Reading
+
|isbn=Edwards_Manor
|author=Nick Hornby
+
|title=Murder at the Manor: Country House Mysteries (British Library Crime Classics)
 +
|author=Martin Edwards (editor)
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Anthologies
 
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=I am lucky enough to be typing this while sitting on the fifth floor of the magnificent new Library of Birmingham. Coming in at a whopping £189 million the burghers of the second city certainly haven't skimped in trying to create a 21st century centre of learning. Amongst all the interactive learning zones, digital galleries and coffee shops there are of course books. Many, many books. Over one million in fact. And this in an era when some critics have said that the book in its current form is dead.
+
|summary=I'm not big on short stories, but two factors nudged me towards this book.  Firstly, it's broadly golden age crime, one of my weaknesses and secondly, the editor is [[:Category:Martin Edwards|Martin Edwards]], a man whose knowledge of golden age crime is probably unsurpassed and he's done us proud, not only with his selection but with the half-page biographies of the writers, which precede each story.  There's just enough there to allow you to place the author and to direct you to other works if you're tempted. It's an elegant selection, from the well known and the less well known, all set in and around the country house.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241003334</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|title=Beyond Rue Morgue: Further Tales of Edgar Allan Poe's 1st Detective
+
|isbn=Colfer_Place
|author=Paul Kane and Charles Prepolec (Editors)
+
|title=Once Upon a Place
 +
|author=Eoin Colfer (editor)
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Anthologies
 
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=C. Auguste Dupin is often regarded as the first fictional detective and at the very least Edgar Allan Poe’s character was the blueprint for many sleuths to come, most notably Sherlock Holmes. Dupin is an eccentric genius from Paris whose use of logic and deduction aid the police on their most baffling cases. The characters literary debut was in the short story ''The Murders in the Rue Morgue'' in 1841 and between 1842 and 1844 Poe wrote two more short stories about Dupin and his exploits. ''Beyond Rue Morgue'' contains nine stories (in addition to the original Poe tale) by various authors and gives many different takes on the same character or influenced by him. From samurai assassins and the apocalypse to an agoraphobic distant relative of Dupin attempting to solve a murder without even leaving her home; the different writers all take the intriguing character to places we wouldn’t expect and the creativity of all keeps the character fresh from story to story.
+
|summary=You know the bit of the blurb on every ''Artemis Fowl'' book, where Eoin Colfer had it said about how you pronounce his name?  That wasn't the intention of an up-and-coming author to be recognisable; rather, it was pride. Pride in the difference of it, of the Irishness of it.  Ireland, it seems to me, is more full than usual of people, things and ideas, and places that are different by dint of their singular nationality – and so many deserve to have pride attached to them.  The places might not be the famous ones, but they can be the source of pride, and of stories, which is where this compilation of short works for the young comes in, with the authors invited to select their chosen place and write about it.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781161755</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|title=Best British Short Stories 2013
+
|isbn=Cleeves_Murder
|author=Nicholas Royle (editor)
+
|title=The Starlings and Other Stories
|rating=5
+
|author=Ann Cleeves (editor)
|genre=Short Stories
+
|rating=4
|summary=Expect to read some quality work in ''Best British Short Stories 2013'', sourced from a number of short story magazines; 'Granta', 'Shadows and Tall Trees', 'Unthology' and  'The Edinburgh Review' are just some of the publications in which these pieces were to be seen first. If asked to identify a red thread between the components of Nicholas Royle’s anthology, I would say that in each short story, everything is left to simmer under the surface. There is a frustration brought about by the lack of clarity in every short story, which to me is a reflection of just how unclear the most seismic of situations may be to any individual involved.
+
|genre=Anthologies
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1907773479</amazonuk>
+
|summary=Six authors, known collectively as 'Murder Squad', and their six accomplices were each given photographs of the remote landscape of Pembrokeshire by acclaimed photographer David Wilson and asked to come up with a short story inspired by what they saw. Some of the stories will be more to your taste than others, as is only to be expected in such a varied anthology, but none are weak and if you enjoy crime short stories then this book could be a real treat.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Malcolm Gladwell
+
|isbn=Milne_Love
|title=The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs with Foreword
+
|title=Love From Pooh (Winnie the Pooh)
 +
|author=A A Milne
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Pets
+
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=I think it's fair to say that you're not even going to pick this book up unless you're a dog loverIf you've always yearned for a cat and shudder at the thought of early morning walks in the rain then this is definitely no the book for you.  But - if you know, or are known by a dog then it's the equivalent of that massive hamper of chocolate delights to a chocoholicOnly a magazine like the ''New Yorker'' could raid its archives and produce such a massive compendium of humour, illustrations, essays, fiction, poems and cartoons about dogs, or have a cast of writers which could put many a bookshop to shame.
+
|summary=For a small book, a small review – this is a quite delightful little thing, about which not a lot can be saidIt is a gift book pure and simple, much in the way that Pooh Bear was a little simple at times (''Pooh… thought how wonderful it would be to have a Real Brain which could tell you things'')With it comes a simple blurb, and almost instructions that it is for giving, and there is a space for a loving dedication at the beginning, which is again only apt, as it is all about love.  Love of honey, love in friendship, love of all various kinds, but just love.  It can't help but make you most warm-hearted.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>043402239X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Angela Macmillan
+
|isbn=Walton_Scifi
|title=A Little, Aloud for Children
+
|title=What Makes This Book So Great: Re-Reading The Classics Of Science Fiction And Fantasy
 +
|author=Jo Walton
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=This very special anthology of story extracts and poems to share aloud is a wonderful idea from The Reader Organisation to encourage reading aloud to children by parents, teachers, grandparents, librarians, friends or even other children. The terrific and very varied selection includes something to appeal to all tastes. It should tempt the reader to seek out the original books from which the extracts are taken and maybe to try children’s fiction that they have not considered before. The book includes classics, tried and tested old favourites and newer titles too. Dipping into this anthology for the first time feels a little like meeting old and maybe long forgotten friends and making new ones along the way.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857560425</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Stephanie Tillotson and Penny Thomas
 
|title=All Shall be Well
 
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=Anthologies
 
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=Twenty five years - a quarter of a century - is a long time. It's an incredible length of time as an independent publisher, particularly one which specialises in publishing the best in Welsh women's writing, but that's exactly what Honno have achieved. To celebrate the occasion they've published this anthology of twenty five short stories and non-fiction pieces.  They've previously been seen in the numerous anthologies published by Honno but when combined they give an interesting and enlightening insight into the work of these great writers.
+
|summary=Jo Walton has published over ten books, several of which have been award-winning. On top of that, she has a voracious appetite for books - both as a well-respected writer of original fiction, but as a well-respected reviewer too. Not only does she have time to do all that, but she also writes a regular column for Tor.com, on Science Fiction and Fantasy books, and it is these columns that a selection of which are collected here.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1906784337</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Mary Beard
+
|isbn=Tennant_Grub
|title=All in a Don's Day
+
|title=Did We Meet on Grub Street?
|rating=4
+
|author=Emma Tennant, Hilary Bailey and David Elliott
|genre=Autobiography
+
|rating=3.5
|summary=Mary Beard's latest collection, 'All in a Don's Day', of her assembled blog pieces from 2009 until the end of 2011, covers similar concerns to her previous selection, [[It's A Don's Life by Mary Beard|It's a Don's Life]]. Professor Beard is a fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge and became Classics Professor at there in 2004. She is also an expert in Roman laughter, an interest which she fully indulges in the pages of her TLS blog. In her latest collection she bemoans the parlous current state of both Education and the Academy, and makes witty observations on matters as various as television chefs, what and how to visit in Rome and the art and worth of completing references in an age when only positive things may be said about postgraduate job-seekers.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846685362</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Adele Geras, Anne Fine, Henrietta Branford, Jacqueline Wilson, Malorie Blackman, Philip Pullman, Tony Mitton, Alan Garner, Berlie Doherty, Gillian Cross, Kit Wright, Michael Morpurgo, Susan Gates and Linda Newbery
 
|title=Magic Beans
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=I was attracted to this book because it features stories from [[:Category:Jacqueline Wilson|Jacqueline Wilson]], [[:Category:Philip Pullman|Philip Pullman]], [[:Category:Michael Morpurgo|Michael Morpurgo]], [[:Category:Alan Garner|Alan Garner]] and many other prominent children's writers.  I thought it might make a great Christmas or birthday present (and it would).  There's a selection of stories from traditional sources such as Hans Christian Andersen, and Aesop, and I imagine that the authors were inveigled into writing for publisher David Fickling with a free choice of original stories.  So don't expect a collection or compendium, but rather an anthology of tales that have entranced and inspired these writers in their own childhoods  – magic beans indeed.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857560433</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Christopher Golden (Editor)
 
|title=Monster's Corner
 
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=Anthologies
 
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=''The Monster's Corner'' is a collection of tales that are told from the monster's perspective. It takes the idea that we are all the heroes of our own story and has a gloriously good time with it. Ranging from the thought-provoking to the strange, to the shocking and gory – they're a great selection of stories from the likes of [[:Category:Kelley Armstrong|Kelley Armstrong]], [[:Category:Kevin J Anderson|Kevin J. Anderson]], Sarah Pinborough and many others.
+
|summary=Essentially, the three authors (all of whom have long careers in the book industry) revel in the idea of being whining old curmudgeons who miss the good old days of publishing. This unashamed nostalgia provides the focus of the book and allows the writers to recount numerous anecdotes from their days in the publishing business. Whilst the primary audience for this book may well be students of creative writing and media studies, it also serves as an interesting exploration of an aspect of modern history: how a once-burgeoning industry is now a shell of its former self, much like a lot of manufacturing. Because of this, I was disappointed that no space was given to a consideration of how the rise of the e-book and Kindle has directly damaged both the sale of books and the potential for new books to be written (fewer real books sold = fewer financial advances paid to writers = fewer books written). Also, given the clear love of books as treasured artefacts, the dismissal of the Harry Potter phenomenon seems truculent, given the impetus the series gave to reading amongst both the young and adults.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0749957859</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Michael Palin
+
|isbn=Penzler_Big
|title=Ox Travels
+
|title=The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries
|rating=4
+
|author=Otto Penzler (editor)
|genre=Travel
+
|rating=5
|summary=Ox Travels is an anthology of travel writing compiled to raise funds for Oxfam, but it is well worth buying and reading in its own right. Its generous 432 pages offer the chance to meet 36 writers, including travel writers, journalists and novelists, with an introduction by Michael Palin and an afterword by Barbara Stocking, Oxfam's Chief Executive.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184668496X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=David Lodge
 
|title=The Art of Fiction
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=Anthologies
 
|genre=Anthologies
|summary=Some academics produce streams of fantastic concepts and ideas but their attempts at articulating them to a wider reading public stumble into jargon and complexity. Thankfully David Lodge has no such troubles. As a mighty fine novelist ([[Nice Work by David Lodge|Nice Work]], [[Thinks... by David Lodge|Thinks...]], Deaf Sentence and many more) who also has a day job as a professor of English, Lodge is perfectly qualified to deliver a book on the craft of writing an in The Art of Fiction he has delivered one that is informative and enlightening as well as highly entertaining.
+
|summary=Nostalgia is a big part of the Christmas experience, and that's provided in sack-loads by this hefty tome of short stories. Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Brother Cadfael jostle Morse, Rumpole and Vic Warshawski for space on these tightly packed pages, while lesser-known and long since forgotten writers furnish new and unexpected pleasures for even the most well-read of book worms.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099554240</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 +
Move on to [[Newest Art Reviews]]

Latest revision as of 15:49, 16 May 2022

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Review of

Bag O'Goodies by Jolly Walker Bittick

4star.jpg Anthologies

Sometimes, you deserve a treat and mine was Jolly Walker Bittick's Bag O'Goodies. I first encountered his writing about a year ago, when I read his Cape Henry House, a rollicking tale of what happens when five young men find a base for their partying. Right now, I didn't want a full-length novel, so I turned to this anthology of verse and short stories. Bittick's writing has matured - and so have his characters. Well... most of them! Full Review

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Review of

Somebody Give This Heart a Pen by Sophia Thakur

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Sophia Thakur's debut anthology is a collection of poems that are all unique, whether in relation to their style, length or theme. The collection is split into four sections, titled 'grow', 'wait','break' and 'grow again', guiding you through a process which is one of the foundations that the anthology is built on. Each section begins with a foregrounded title page containing various small pieces of writing, ranging from a quote by a Nigerian playwright, to African proverbs. This provides a nice introduction to the section before you are immersed in the beautifully written and eloquent poems that Thakur has clearly put her heart and soul into. Full Review

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Review of

You're the Froth On My Soy Cappuccino: Poems for the Present by Don Behrend

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You're the Froth On My Soy Cappuccino begins with A Modern Love Story:

You’re the froth on my soy cappuccino
You’re the spread on my paleo toast
You’re the nose of my GM-free Pinot
You’re organic, my love. You’re the most!

Ha! How can you not laugh at this gently mocking take on love in the hipster world? Full Review

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Review of

Rising Stars: New Young Voices in Poetry by Pop Up Projects

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This collection brings together five emerging voices in poetry. And despite what the publisher says, I wouldn't personally impose an age restriction on the writing here. Each poet uses words that will appeal to many readers. I found this particularly so with Jay Hulme's poetry. Full Review

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Review of

A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson

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Robert Louis Stevenson was a very versatile writer; he delved deep into the human psyche when he wrote The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde but he did not restrict himself to representations of the gothic and the persecuted. He also wrote brilliant children's adventure stories such as Treasure Island and Kidnapped, but, again, he did not restrict himself to prose writing because here he demonstrates his ability to write poetry. Full Review

link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/Esiri Poem/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21

Review of

A Poem for Every Day of the Year by Allie Esiri

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For those who do not read much poetry, for those who do not know where to start, this is a fun and easy commitment to take on. Reading a poem a day does not take long, mere minutes, and with over three-hundred poems in here there's bound to be a poem that speaks to each reader directly. Full Review

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Review of

William and Dorothy Wordsworth: A Miscellany by Gavin Herbertson

5star.jpg Anthologies

William Wordsworth was a defining member of the romantic literary era. He was part of the first wave, and his poetry helped to shape a large part of it. Nature was the key: existing in nature, finding one's own true nature and becoming natural in the process were the driving forces behind it. Full Review

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Review of

The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write by Sabrina Mahfouz

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What does it mean to be British and Muslim? This is a question these writers tackle with stunning clarity. Modern-day British society has a varied sense of cultural heritage; it is a society that is changing and moving forward as it adds more and more voices to the population, but it is also one that has an undercurrent of anxiety and fear towards those who are minorities. So this collection displays how all that fear is received; it comes in the form of stereotypical labels and racial prejudice, which are themes eloquently reproduced here. Full Review

link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/Holland Cheap/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21

Review of

View from the Cheap Seats by Barry Holland

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A little bit about Barry Holland: he was born in Newport, South Wales, to working-class parents. He loves rugby and his son - his son is his favourite rugby player, which is just as it should be. He is a qualified engineer but is unable to work because of mental ill-health. All of these things feed into View from the Cheap Seats, which is a collection of poems and imaginings as vivid and immediate and striking as you could hope for. Barry sounds like a thoroughly nice bloke and his book was a pleasure to read. Full Review

link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/Marshall EFT/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21

Review of

The Book of English Folk Tales by Sybil Marshall and John Lawrence

4star.jpg Anthologies

From ghosts to witches, to giants and fairies, The Book of English Folk Tales is a fascinating collection of stories retold by social historian and folklorist Sybil Marshall. Out of print for over three decades, this beautiful new clothbound edition is complete with wood-engraved illustrations by John Lawrence and is sure to capture the attention of a new generation of lovers of folklore. Full Review

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Review of

Winter: A Book for the Season by Felicity Trotman (editor)

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This seasonal anthology contains a nice mixture of poetry, nature and travel pieces, and excerpts from longer works of fiction. Felicity Trotman, a freelance editor and member of the English Civil War Society, has arranged the material into three sections: 'The Old Year', 'Christmas, Sacred and Secular', and 'The New Year'. This creates an appropriate sense of chronological progression and also serves to make Christmas the heart of the book. Black-and-white illustrations – maps, photographs and engravings – are interspersed throughout, and each author gets a short paragraph of biography and background. Full Review

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Review of

Winter Magic by Abi Elphinstone (Editor)

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With everything from dragons to mysterious crimes, voice-stealing witches to time travel, and magical worlds to first performances of world-famous ballets, this is a collection of short stories that delights from start to finish. Anthologies of short stories can sometimes fall flat, with one or two good ones and then a bunch of mediocre fillers, but this collection has no weak links...all the stories are good, and most of them are brilliant. I felt entirely caught up in each individual world as I read, loving the varied and extremely likeable heroines throughout. Full Review

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Review of

The Virgin Mary's Got Nits by Gervase Phinn

4.5star.jpg Anthologies

Christmas in our house is the time we tend to get on a plane and head to either sun or snow, anywhere that is far, far away from the madness at home, last-minute dashes to the shops on Christmas Eve and food cupboard stockpiles that would imply supermarkets are shutting for a month, nor a mere 36 hours. But I do remember the feeling of Christmas when I was younger, back when it was magical, and back when you knew exactly what the season would bring with carol concerts and school nativities and Christmas parties. This book is an anthology of those moments, and it took me right back to the wonder of Christmas as a child. Full Review

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Review of

No Pasaran: Writings from the Spanish Civil War by Pete Ayrton (editor)

4star.jpg Anthologies

In ¡No Pasarán!: Writings from the Spanish Civil War, Pete Ayrton has chosen a majority of texts by Spanish writers, arguing that the conflict has long been written about from the point of view of the international brigades. Full Review

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Review of

Murder at the Manor: Country House Mysteries (British Library Crime Classics) by Martin Edwards (editor)

4.5star.jpg Anthologies

I'm not big on short stories, but two factors nudged me towards this book. Firstly, it's broadly golden age crime, one of my weaknesses and secondly, the editor is Martin Edwards, a man whose knowledge of golden age crime is probably unsurpassed and he's done us proud, not only with his selection but with the half-page biographies of the writers, which precede each story. There's just enough there to allow you to place the author and to direct you to other works if you're tempted. It's an elegant selection, from the well known and the less well known, all set in and around the country house. Full Review

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Review of

Once Upon a Place by Eoin Colfer (editor)

3.5star.jpg Anthologies

You know the bit of the blurb on every Artemis Fowl book, where Eoin Colfer had it said about how you pronounce his name? That wasn't the intention of an up-and-coming author to be recognisable; rather, it was pride. Pride in the difference of it, of the Irishness of it. Ireland, it seems to me, is more full than usual of people, things and ideas, and places that are different by dint of their singular nationality – and so many deserve to have pride attached to them. The places might not be the famous ones, but they can be the source of pride, and of stories, which is where this compilation of short works for the young comes in, with the authors invited to select their chosen place and write about it. Full Review

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Review of

The Starlings and Other Stories by Ann Cleeves (editor)

4star.jpg Anthologies

Six authors, known collectively as 'Murder Squad', and their six accomplices were each given photographs of the remote landscape of Pembrokeshire by acclaimed photographer David Wilson and asked to come up with a short story inspired by what they saw. Some of the stories will be more to your taste than others, as is only to be expected in such a varied anthology, but none are weak and if you enjoy crime short stories then this book could be a real treat. Full Review

Milne Love.jpg

Review of

Love From Pooh (Winnie the Pooh) by A A Milne

5star.jpg Anthologies

For a small book, a small review – this is a quite delightful little thing, about which not a lot can be said. It is a gift book pure and simple, much in the way that Pooh Bear was a little simple at times (Pooh… thought how wonderful it would be to have a Real Brain which could tell you things). With it comes a simple blurb, and almost instructions that it is for giving, and there is a space for a loving dedication at the beginning, which is again only apt, as it is all about love. Love of honey, love in friendship, love of all various kinds, but just love. It can't help but make you most warm-hearted. Full Review

Walton Scifi.jpg

Review of

What Makes This Book So Great: Re-Reading The Classics Of Science Fiction And Fantasy by Jo Walton

5star.jpg Anthologies

Jo Walton has published over ten books, several of which have been award-winning. On top of that, she has a voracious appetite for books - both as a well-respected writer of original fiction, but as a well-respected reviewer too. Not only does she have time to do all that, but she also writes a regular column for Tor.com, on Science Fiction and Fantasy books, and it is these columns that a selection of which are collected here. Full Review

Tennant Grub.jpg

Review of

Did We Meet on Grub Street? by Emma Tennant, Hilary Bailey and David Elliott

3.5star.jpg Anthologies

Essentially, the three authors (all of whom have long careers in the book industry) revel in the idea of being whining old curmudgeons who miss the good old days of publishing. This unashamed nostalgia provides the focus of the book and allows the writers to recount numerous anecdotes from their days in the publishing business. Whilst the primary audience for this book may well be students of creative writing and media studies, it also serves as an interesting exploration of an aspect of modern history: how a once-burgeoning industry is now a shell of its former self, much like a lot of manufacturing. Because of this, I was disappointed that no space was given to a consideration of how the rise of the e-book and Kindle has directly damaged both the sale of books and the potential for new books to be written (fewer real books sold = fewer financial advances paid to writers = fewer books written). Also, given the clear love of books as treasured artefacts, the dismissal of the Harry Potter phenomenon seems truculent, given the impetus the series gave to reading amongst both the young and adults. Full Review

Penzler Big.jpg

Review of

The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries by Otto Penzler (editor)

5star.jpg Anthologies

Nostalgia is a big part of the Christmas experience, and that's provided in sack-loads by this hefty tome of short stories. Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Brother Cadfael jostle Morse, Rumpole and Vic Warshawski for space on these tightly packed pages, while lesser-known and long since forgotten writers furnish new and unexpected pleasures for even the most well-read of book worms. Full Review

Move on to Newest Art Reviews