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[[Category:Lifestyle|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|Lifestyle]]__NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->
{{Frontpage
|isbn=1786495902
|title=The Natural Health Service: How Nature Can Mend Your Mind
|author=Isabel Hardman
|rating=5
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=Isabel Hardman suffered a trauma which she chooses not to share. She says that a friend who does know, burst into tears and health-care professionals' jaws have sagged in disbelief. Hardman dealt with this at the time by 'keeping going': the next day she went to work to cover the budget, next there was the EU referendum, the political party leadership contests and then it was party conference season. One night she had to be sedated and returned home to begin long-term sick leave. That was what brought me to this book: 2020 was the year when the bins went out more often than I did.
}}
{{Frontpage
|author=Lauren Martin
|title=The Book of Moods
|rating=5
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary= I was in a great mood when I first learnt of this book, and because sarcasm doesn't always translate well into writing, imagine the word ''great'' being delivered with an eye roll and a sigh, through clenched teeth. I had spent the best part of a rainy, windy weekend afternoon out on the water at our local sailing club in the rescue rib, on standby in case anyone who was racing needed support. It's a volunteer duty we all do during the year, and normally I'm happy to, but that day the weather was miserable and I was miserable, and it all came to a head that evening when I noticed on the website that we had been thanked for our time as "Dave and wife". Wow. I had never needed this book more.
|isbn=1538733625
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=0008420386
|title=Failosophy: A handbook for when things go wrong
|author=Elizabeth Day
|rating=4
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=What do Malcolm Gladwell, Alain de Botton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Lemn Sissay, Nigel Slater, Emeli Sandé, Meera Syal, Dame Kelly Holmes and Andrew Scott have in common? They've all failed and - more importantly - they've been willing to appear on Elizabeth Day's podcast to discuss their failures and how life worked out for them afterwards. You'll find the results of these discussions in ''Failosophy''
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=1504321383
|title=Single, Again, and Again, and Again
|author=Louisa Pateman
|rating=4.5
|genre=Autobiography
|summary=''You can't be happy and fulfilled on your own. You are not complete until you find a man''.
This was what Louisa Pateman was brought up to believe. It wasn't unkind: it was simply the adults in her life advising her as to what they thought would be best for her. It was reinforced by all those fairy tales where the girl (she's usually fairly young) is rescued by the handsome prince who then marries her so that they can live happily ever after. Few girls are lucky enough to be brought up ''without'' the expectation that they will marry and have children. It was a belief and it would be many years before Louisa would conclude that ''a belief is a choice''.
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=1538731738
|title=Simple Abundance: 365 Days to a Balanced and Joyful Life
|author= Sarah Ban Breathnach
|rating=5
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=Someone once said: it's not self-indulgence, it's therapy! I think they were talking about shopping, but it probably can be applied to most things. In my case, it applies to writing about things because I want to, rather than because I can sell it or because I've got something to sell.
}}
{{Frontpage
|author=Sharon Blackie
|title=If Women Rose Rooted
|rating=5
|genre= Biography
|summary= I normally say that you can tell how much a book means to me by how many pages have corners turned down. Perhaps an even greater measure of impact is setting out to buy my own copy before I've finished reading the one I've borrowed. I want to avoid clichés like 'powerful' 'inspiring' 'life-changing' – although it is definitely the first two and only time will tell about the third – but clichés exist for a reason and I'm not sure I can succinctly put it any better.
|isbn=1912836017
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=1543987877
|title=Learn to Love: Guide to Healing Your Disappointing Love Life
|author=Dr Thomas Jordan
|rating=4.5
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=''Learn to Love: Guide to Healing Your Disappointing Love Life'' is a book about love relationships rather than a book about love. The two greatest emotions are love and grief and love is the opposite of grief: ''if you love'', Dr Thomas Jordan tells us, ''you will inevitably grieve''. Your love relationships begin the moment you're born and end only when you die. Whilst we all come into the world hoping to give and receive love there are many people for whom love is not quite so simple. Some people suffer multiple disappointments - sometimes repeating the same mistakes - and this eventually becomes resignation. For people who are making the same mistakes repeatedly, self-preservation, in the form of resignation is a necessity.
}}
{{Frontpage
|author=Michael Harris
|title=Solitude: In Pursuit of a Singular Life in a Crowded World
|rating=5
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary= This is not the book I was expecting it to be. For some reason I expected it to be another self-help manual on how to find calm, how to step outside the mainstream, but it is not that at all. Instead of telling us how, it is more about the ''why''. Harries examines how we're eroding solitude, which used to be a natural part of our human life, and why that matters. Of course he talks about how some people have found solitude and what has come of that, and eventually in the final chapter he talks about his own experience of having deliberately sought it out, but mostly he wanders down the alleys and by-ways that his thinking about this lost art led him.
|isbn=1847947662
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=0753553236
|summary=Go on, admit it - you're not quite perfect. You still have those odd, quirky even loveable (to you) habits which seem to annoy other people. Other people, of course, are sorely afflicted with some dreadful flaws which they could so easily correct, if only they would make just a little bit of effort. Or put another way, I get cross with myself because I forget to do things or do some actions more than I should and no matter how I try to make what seem to be quite monumental changes I never quite seem to get to grips with the concepts. I constantly fail and then I get cross with myself for failing. Lack of willpower is another burden to add to the list.
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=1785785516
|summary=Manners maketh man, they say. It certainly makes life easier if everybody abides by a set of conventions, some of which are ages old and other which have evolved over time. Manners are not about how much to tip or how you should behave if you get an invitation to Buckingham Palace, they have nothing to do with class or financial status: they're about getting the basics right before we try to deal with more difficult matters. Of course we all have more relaxed manners when we're with family and friends, but it's best if we learn to distinguish between our public and private lives and to act appropriately. ''Fucking Good Manners'' aims to help us on the way.
}}
{{Frontpage|class-"wikitable" cellpaddingisbn="15" <!-- Rob Walker -->1999811402|-title=Painting Snails| styleauthor="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Stephen John Hartley[[image:1529104432X.jpg|linkrating=http://www4.amazon.co.uk/dp/1529104432X/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Autobiography| stylesummary="vertical-alignIt's very difficult to classify ''Painting Snails'': top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Art of Noticing: Rediscover What Really Matters originally I thought that as it's loosely based around a year on an allotment it would be a lifestyle book, but you're not going to You by Rob Walker]]=== [[image:4starget advice on what to plant when and where for the best results.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] The curse put on reviewers is that we get to read through a book which is really better dipped into, or read gradually answer would be something along the lines of 'try it and thoughts allowed to be provokedsee'. And so it was with ''The Art of Noticing''. It's Then I considered popular science as Stephen Hartley failed his A levels, did an engineering apprenticeship, became a simple premise: the pace of modern life busker, finally got into medical school and rapidity of technological advances means that we are constantly overwhelmed and distractedis now an A&E consultant (part-time). Rob Walker wants us I found out that there's an awful lot more to be able to steal our attention back. He gives us his thoughts what goes on various areas of our lives and then provides 131 exercises to help us recover our attentionin a Major Trauma Centre than you'll ever glean from ''Casualty'', but that isn't really what the book's about. [[The Art There's a lot about rock & roll, which seems to be the real passion of Noticing: Rediscover What Really Matters to You by Rob Walker|Full Review]] <!Hartley's life, but it didn't actually fit into the entertainment genre either. Did we have a category for 'doing the impossible the hard way'? Yep -- Leah Hazard -->that's the one. It's an autobiography.}}|-{{Frontpage| styleisbn="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|1848993609[[image:1786331608.jpg|linktitle=httpGood Mood Food://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786331608/refUnlock the Power of Diet to Think and Feel Well|author=nosim?tagCharlotte Watts and Natalie Savona|rating=thebookbag-21]] 4.5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Cookery|summary===[[Hard PushedI thought I was getting a cookbook: A MidwifeI liked the idea of a series of recipes which would make me feel happy. For once this isn's Story by Leah Hazard]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]]t a case of 'if it sounds too good to be true, [[:Category:Politics and Society|Politics and Society]] Over the past few years weit probably is' - it've had s a rash (sorry - no pun intended) case of books by medical practitioners. Doctors have been at getting something which could change your life for the forefront, but ''Hard Pushed'' is the first book I've seen by better - for good - rather than a midwifequick fix. It's an unusual profession in that it's one of the few callings within the medical system where most of the patients are healthy }}{{Frontpage|isbn=Kyncl_Stream|title=Stream Punks|author=Robert Kyncl and the only one where one person comes into the system and (for the most part) more than one goes outMaany Peyvan|rating=4.5|genre=Entertainment|summary=I watch quite a lot of YouTube. It's an amazing thing I play music videos when I want to be able listen to do - a particular song I don't already have in my collection. I use it to find out how to escort new life into do things, with the world - and an enormous responsibility. Leah Hazard came instruction videos they seem to have for pretty much anything. At the gym, I'll stick it on on my phone, prop it after a career in television up on the cross-trainer and ''Hard Pushed'' is watch some behind the scenes interviews with the story cast of her career my favourite shows. And sometimes I'll treat it as a midwife - and the title tells more than one storyif it is Netflix, to watch series with new episodes releasing every few days, exclusively on YouTube. [[Hard Pushed: A Midwife's Story by Leah Hazard|Full Review]] <!-- James Wallman -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0753552655Having a new smart TV adds an extra, easy way to watch without having to plug in my laptop or squint at a small phone screen. So yes, I like YouTube and I use YouTube.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0753552655/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]But I didn't know a whole lot about the site it until I read this book.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Omeiza_Parenting| styletitle="vertical-alignParenting through the Eyes of a Child: top; text-align: left;"Memoirs of My Childhood|author=Tabitha Ochekpe Omeiza|rating=4|genre=[[Time Autobiography|summary=Tabitha Ochekpe Omeiza was brought up in Nigeria and How came to Britain to Spend It: The 7 Rules study for Richer, Happier Days by James Wallman]]=== [[image:4starher A levels when she was 18.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] Most things you can replaceHer parents used their savings to give her this opportunity and called it an investment in her future. Now a qualified pharmacist, but one married and with a child of the things which you simply can't replace is timeher own, Tabitha looks back at her childhood and reflects on the way her mother and father raised her. And she gives their parenting top marks. Even though we know this, we fail to use what we have wisely. We have more leisure time, but that's not how it feels: a high value is put on how we spend our working hours, but there}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Mackay_Trials|title=Trials and Tribulations of a Travelling Prostitute|author=Andrew Mackay|rating=3.5|genre=Business and Finance|summary=Just chance you think that you's re picking up a low value on leisure. Unfortunately we now know how to work and not how to book about what can go wrong in life for an itinerant sex worker I''live'': we need to ''learn'' how d better explain exactly what it was that author Andrew Mackay did for thirty-three years. A travelling prostitute is a worker who is employed by one company but his services are sold out to spend our leisure time wisely and James Wallman has taken on the onerous task of teaching us how other countries, usually at a substantial profit to do this. [[Time the employing company and How a lot of inconvenience to Spend It: The 7 Rules for Richerthe employee. Mackay was an engineer who knew all that there was to be know about turbines and generators, Happier Days by James Wallman|Full Review]] <!-- James Atkinson -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:B07ML4Q55Jor if he didn't could soon be up to speed to the extent of being able to teach other people.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.coOccasionally his skills were used in the UK, but frequently he was abroad.uk/dp/B07ML4Q55J/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Just every now and again he would be in those parts of the world which has the rest of us green with envy, but then there were those areas which feature heavily in the news and not in a good way.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529104432X|title===[[Home Workout for BeginnersThe Art of Noticing: 6 Week Fitness Program with Fat Burning Workouts for Long Term Weight Loss by James Atkinson]]===Rediscover What Really Matters to You|author=Rob Walker [[image:4star.jpg|linkrating=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle4|genre=Lifestyle]] James Atkinson has all the qualifications |summary=The curse put on reviewers is that we get to read through a book which you need in a workout instructor is really better dipped into or read gradually and he looks the partthoughts allowed to be provoked. HeAnd so it was with ''The Art of Noticing''. It's been actively involved in a simple premise: the health pace of modern life and fitness arena for more than twenty years and he spent nine years as a member of 9 Parachute Regiment, Royal Engineersrapidity of technological advances means that we are constantly overwhelmed and distracted. He has another qualification which means a lot Rob Walker wants us to be able to me: he's been on the other sidesteal our attention back. There was a time when he was overweight He gives us his thoughts on various areas of our lives and not particularly strong. As a child he was slow to developthen provides 131 exercises to help us recover our attention. This means that he ''understands'' what it}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1786331608|title=Hard Pushed: A Midwife's like and he knows how his clients feel: it's much more helpful than Story|author=Leah Hazard|rating=4|genre=Lifestyle|summary=Over the twentypast few years, we've had a rash (sorry -something who was born super-fit and with no pun intended) of books by medical practitioners. Doctors have been at the forefront, but ''Hard Pushed'' is the first book I've seen by a midwife. It's an attitude problem. [[Home Workout for Beginners: 6 Week Fitness Program with Fat Burning Workouts for Long Term Weight Loss by James Atkinson|Full Review]] <!-- Adrian Cull -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1999308719unusual profession in that it's one of the few callings within the medical system where most of the patients are healthy and the only one where one person comes into the system and (for the most part) more than one goes out.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1999308719/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag It's an amazing thing to be able to do -21]] | style="verticalto escort new life into the world -align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Live Forever Manual: Science, ethics and companies behind the new anti-aging treatments by Adrian Cull]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{ratingan enormous responsibility. Leah Hazard came to it after a career in television and ''Hard Pushed'' is the story of her career as a midwife - and the title tells more than one story.}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle{{Frontpage|Lifestyle]], [[:Category:Popular Scienceisbn=0753552655|Popular Science]] For many years now I've (half) joked that I intended title=Time and How to live forever and that so farSpend It: The 7 Rules for Richer, it was working out OK. Time has passed though and although I'm a great deal fitter and healthier than most people Happier Days|author=James Wallman|rating=4|genre=Lifestyle|summary=Most things you can replace, but one of my age there were a few nagging health problems the things which were tipping my life out of balanceyou simply can't replace is time. It was time Even though we know this, we fail to look for a new approach and as so often happens, the reviewing gods brought me the book I neededuse what we have wisely. We have more leisure time, but that''Live Forever Manuals not how it feels: Sciencea high value is put on how we spend our working hours, ethics and companies behind the new anti-aging treatmentsbut there's a low value on leisure. Unfortunately, we now know how to work and not how to ''live'' seemed like the answer : we need to my problems - only you get so much more than just 101 tips. [[Live Forever Manual: Science, ethics ''learn'' how to spend our leisure time wisely and companies behind James Wallman has taken on the new anti-aging treatments by Adrian Cull|Full Review]]onerous task of teaching us how to do this.}}<!-- Stephen John Hartley -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=B07ML4Q55J| styletitle="widthHome Workout for Beginners: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"6 Week Fitness Program with Fat Burning Workouts for Long Term Weight Loss|author=James Atkinson[[image:1999811402.jpg|linkrating=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1999811402/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 4| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Painting Snails by Stephen John Hartley]]===Lifestyle[[image:4.5star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] James Atkinson has all the qualifications which you need in a workout instructor and he looks the part. [[:Category:Autobiography|Autobiography]], [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] ItHe's very difficult to classify ''Painting Snails'': originally I thought that been actively involved in the health and fitness arena for more than twenty years and he spent nine years as it's loosely based around a year on an allotment it would be a lifestyle bookmember of 9 Parachute Regiment, but you're not going to get advice on what to plant when and where for the best resultsRoyal Engineers. The answer would be something along He has another qualification which means a lot to me: he's been on the lines of 'try it other side. There was a time when he was overweight and see'not particularly strong. Then I considered popular science as Stephen Hartley failed his A levelsAs a child, did an engineering apprenticeship, became a busker, finally got into medical school he was slow to develop. This means that he ''understands'' what it's like and is now an A&E consultant (part time). I found out that therehe knows how his clients feel: it's an awful lot much more to what goes on in a Major Trauma Centre helpful than you'll ever glean from ''Casualty'', but that isn't really what the book's abouttwenty-something who was born super-fit and with an attitude problem. There's a lot about rock & roll, which seems to be the real passion of Hartley's life}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1999308719|title=Live Forever Manual: Science, but it didn't actually fit into ethics and companies behind the entertainment genre either. Did we have a category for 'doing the impossible the hard way'? Yep - that's the onenew anti-aging treatments|author=Adrian Cull|rating=4. It's autobiography. [[Painting Snails by Stephen John Hartley|Full Review]] <!-- Charlotte Watts and Natalie Savona -->5|genre=Lifestyle|-| stylesummary="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1848993609For many years now I've (half) joked that I intended to live forever and that so far, it was working out OK.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co Time has passed though and although I'm a great deal fitter and healthier than most people of my age there were a few nagging health problems which were tipping my life out of balance.uk/dp/1848993609/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Good Mood Food: Unlock the Power of Diet It was time to Think look for a new approach and Feel Well by Charlotte Watts and Natalie Savona]]=== [[image:4as so often happens, the reviewing gods brought me the book I needed.5star.jpg|link=Category ''Live Forever Manual:{{{ratingScience, ethics and companies behind the new anti-ageing treatments'' seemed like the answer to my problems - only you get so much more than just 101 tips.}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle{{Frontpage|isbn=1847941834|title=Atomic Habits|Lifestyle]], [[:Category:Cookeryauthor=James Clear|Cookery]]rating=4.5|genre=Lifestyle|summary=I thought I was getting a cookbook: I liked the idea of a series of recipes which would make me feel happy. For once 've said this isn't a case of 'if it sounds too good to be truebefore but there are some books that you seek out, it probably is' - it's a case of getting something which could change your life for some books that you stumble across and some books that drop into your life because you really MUST read them, like, right now! ''Atomic Habits'' is in the better - for good - rather than a quick fix. [[Good Mood Food: Unlock the Power of Diet to Think and Feel Well by Charlotte Watts and Natalie Savona|Full Review]]last category.}} <!-- Clear -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=1527230783| styletitle=''widthKeep Your Health and Fitness For Life: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;'Don't Let Age Be A Barrier|author=Stuart Roberts[[image:1847941834.jpg|linkrating=http://www4.amazon.co.uk/dp/1847941834/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| stylegenre=''vertical-align: top; text-align: left;''|Lifestyle===[[Atomic Habits by James Clear]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]]My birth certificate might suggest a higher figure, [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] but I know that I've said this before but there are some books m only 42. I learned a long time ago that you seek out, some books I could retain that you stumble across and some books that drop into your feeling by keeping my life because you really MUST read themin balance. This meant eating sensibly, like, right now! getting quality sleep and having regular exercise which I enjoyed. ''Atomic Habits'' is There was an added bonus too: I was juggling four chronic conditions and living this way meant that I could keep three of them in the last categorybackground. [[Atomic Habits by James Clear|Full Review]] <!-- Stuart Roberts -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1527230783 Then a silly misstep meant that the hip problem flared up.jpg|link=http://www.amazon The only way I could get more than an hour or two asleep was to take pain relief and the duodenal ulcer started to complain.co.uk/dp/1527230783/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Because I was masking symptoms I didn't dare to exercise - and the black dog of depression prowled along behind me.}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"1720812675|title=Beyond Thought|author=Chris Dhladhla|rating=4|genre=[[Keep Your Health and Fitness For Life: Don't Let Age Be A Barrier by Stuart Roberts]]===Lifestyle [[image:4.5star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] My birth certificate might suggest a higher figure, but I know Have you ever felt trapped by your own thoughts? That your mind is so busy processing what's going on in the world around you that Iyou just can'm only 42. I learned t catch a long time ago that I could retain moment and simply ''be''? Or that feeling by keeping my the outside world just won't stop pressing in upon an inner life in balance. This meant eating sensibly, getting quality sleep and having regular exercise which I enjoyed. There was an added bonus too: I was juggling four chronic conditions and living this way meant that I could keep three of them in the background. Then a silly mis-step meant that the hip problem flared up. The only way I could get more than an hour or two asleep was to take pain relief and the duodenal ulcer started to complain. Because I was masking symptoms I didn't dare to exercise - and the black dog of depression prowled along behind me. [[Keep Your Health and Fitness For Life: Don't Let Age Be A Barrier by Stuart Roberts|Full Review]] <!-- Dhladhla -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1720812675.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1720812675/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[Beyond Thought by Chris Dhladhla]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] Have you ever felt trapped by your own thoughts? That your mind is so busy processing what's going on in the world around you that you just can't catch a moment and simply ''be''? Or that the outside world just won't stop pressing in upon an inner life that you'd like to be more peaceful? [[Beyond Thought by Chris Dhladhla|Full Review]] <!-- Watson -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0993454682.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0993454682/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Rockstar Retirement Programme: How to retire like a rockstar by Dominic Watson]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] Even with a birthday fast approaching, I'm still a bit young to be reading about retirement. My next life change in the pipeline will be a big one, and it does involve leaving the 9 to 5 behind for a yacht and the silky blue waters of the Caribbean, but only for a year, and then I will be back, tanned and refreshed but barely 40 and with many working years still to come. Also, I like work. My job is interesting, I get to travel, what we do matters and it's not badly rewarded. So no, I'm not planning to retire just yet. But as the premise of this book is about planning (and if not now, then when?) I was still intrigued. [[Rockstar Retirement Programme: How to retire like a rockstar by Dominic Watson|Full Review]] <!-- Jankel -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1999731506.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1999731506/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Spiritual Atheist by Nick Seneca Jankel]]=== [[image:2star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]], [[:Category:Spirituality and Religion|Spirituality and Religion]] ''Spiritual Atheist'' is a new 'bible' for the spiritual not the religious, according to the tagline. This is a taboo smashing book which solves the problem of modernity and explains how to be a 'spiritual technologist' who can live and love freely in 'spiritual fullness' without relying on a belief in god. Touching on everything from 'brain science' to AI, Jankel offers a 'path to meaning', allowing us to move beyond consumerism towards an ethical life. [[Spiritual Atheist by Nick Seneca Jankel|Full Review]] <!-- Mackay -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Mackay_Trials.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1524683094?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1524683094]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Trials and Tribulations of a Travelling Prostitute by Andrew Mackay]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]], [[:Category:Business and Finance|Business and Finance]] Just chance you think that you're picking up a book about what can go wrong in life for an itinerant sex worker I'd better explain exactly what it was that author Andrew Mackay did for thirty three years. A travelling prostitute is a worker who is employed by one company but his services are sold out to other countries, usually at a substantial profit to the employing company and a lot of inconvenience to the employee. Mackay was an engineer who knew all that there was to be know about turbines and generators, or if he didn't could soon be up to speed to the extent of being able to teach other people. Occasionally his skills were used in the UK, but frequently he was abroad. Just every now and again he would be in those parts of the world which has the rest of us green with envy, but then there were those areas which feature heavily in the news and not in a good way. [[Trials and Tribulations of a Travelling Prostitute by Andrew Mackay|Full Review]] <!-- Omeiza -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Omeiza_Parenting.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1524682853?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1524682853]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Parenting through the Eyes of a Child: Memoirs of My Childhood by Tabitha Ochekpe Omeiza]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Autobiography|Autobiography]], [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] Tabitha Ochekpe Omeiza was brought up in Nigeria and came to Britain to study for her A levels when she was 18. Her parents used their savings to give her this opportunity and called it an investment in her future. Now a qualified pharmacist, married and with a child of her own, Tabitha looks back at her childhood and reflects on the way her mother and father raised her. And she gives their parenting top marks. [[Parenting through the Eyes of a Child: Memoirs of My Childhood by Tabitha Ochekpe Omeiza|Full Review]] <!-- Kyncl -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Kyncl_Stream.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0753545926?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0753545926]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Stream Punks by Robert Kyncl and Maany Peyvan]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]], [[:Category: Entertainment|Entertainment]] I watch quite a lot of YouTube. I play music videos when I want to listen to a particular song I don't already have in my collection. I use it to find out how to do things, with the instruction videos they seem to have for pretty much anything. At the gym, I'll stick it on on my phone, prop it up on the cross trainer and watch some behind the scenes interviews with the cast of my favourite shows. And sometimes I'll treat it as if it is Netflix, to watch series with new episodes releasing every few days, exclusively on YouTube. Having a new smart TV adds an extra, easy way to watch without having to plug in my laptop or squint at a small phone screen. So yes, I like YouTube and I use YouTube. But I didn't know a whole lot about the site it until I read this book.[[Stream Punks by Robert Kyncl and Maany Peyvan|Full Review]] <!-- Way -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Way_Tea.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1445670011?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1445670011]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Tea Gardens (Britain's Heritage Series) by Twigs Way]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]], [[:Category:History|History]] Tea Gardens really began in London in the late 18th century: a trip to Kings Cross or St Pancras was effectively a trip to the country in those days. Men had their coffee houses, but they were not places where women could or would be seen. Tea was introduced to England in the 17th century but it was not until 1784 that the high duty was reduced from 119% to 12½% and tea became the drink of choice for the nation. Until then the working classes had been fuelled largely by cheap gin. Only, where would this beverage be drunk? One answer was the pleasure gardens where the fashionable went to see and be seen: by the mid 1600s tea was also being served in places such as Ranelagh Gardens. [[Tea Gardens (Britain's Heritage Series) by Twigs Way|Full Review]] <!-- Nicholson -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Nicholson_Tambourine.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1524681822?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1524681822]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Mr Tambourine Man by Nicholson]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]], [[:Category:Travel|Travel]] Back in 1965 we heard ''Mr Tambourine Man'' by the Byrds on the radio very regularly. Nicholson was thirteen and saw the 45rpm recording of the song in the window of the local music store and would have loved to be able to buy it but didn't have the money. Thirteen-year olds didn't in those days unless it was a birthday or Christmas and you couldn't get a part-time job until you were fifteen. There would be a few of those badly-paid jobs before he finished his A levels and went to New York for three months. It's this trip which Nicholson feels turned him from being a boy into a man and allowed him to see the bigger picture.<br> <!-- Tuhus-Dubrow -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Dubrow_Stereo.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1501322818/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Personal Stereo by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] These tiny 'Object Lessons', a range of books which are more like a long-form essay, explore often seemingly mundane items. Personal Stereo packs a lot of information into a small space. Split into three distinct sections: Novelty, Norm, and Nostalgia, 'Novelty' traces the origin of the Sony Walkman, from its conception by two Japanese business men to it becoming a recognised entity on the streets of America. 'Norm' follows on from the universal success of the personal stereo, relating this to the technology which it set the groundwork for, such as the ubiquitous proliferation of MP3s, the iPod, and Smartphones, leading to the eventual downfall in the popularity of the Walkman. Finally, in 'Nostalgia', Tuhus-Dubrow examines our need to hark back to a simpler time, when the personal stereo seemed the height of freedom. [[Personal Stereo by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow|Full Review]] <!-- Moore -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Moore Bientot.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1782438610?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1782438610]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Bientot... by Roger Moore]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Autobiography|Autobiography]], [[:Category:Entertainment|Entertainment]], [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] The news of the death of Sir Roger Moore in May 2017 came as a great shock: he was one of those people you knew would go on for ever. There was just one small glimmer of light in the sadness - the news that a matter of days before his death he'd delivered the finished manuscript of his book, ''À bientôt…'', to his publishers. Just a few months later a copy landed on my desk and I didn't even bother to look as though I could resist reading it straight away. [[A Bientot... by Roger Moore|Full Review]] <!-- Dubey -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Dubey_21.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1999838912/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[21 Doors to Happiness: Life Through Travel Experiences and Meditation by Chit Dubey]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] I know that I'm not alone in having been brought up to ''achieve'', to look down on those who had different (''lesser'', it would have been said) aims, but there comes a point in life when you wonder about the point of it all. Do you need to keep on ''achieving'', and if so, ''why''? Many years ago I had a light-bulb moment when I realised that achieving more, having more money, more material possessions didn't make me happy - and surely the point of it all was to be ''happy''? Superficially that sounds very simple: live a life doing only what you want that you'd like to do and pleasing yourself, but that doesn't bring happiness either. Chit Dubey believes that happiness is inside you and you just need to delve a little deeper to find it. [[21 Doors to Happiness: Life Through Travel Experiences and Meditation by Chit Dubey|Full Review]]be more peaceful?}}
