Difference between revisions of "Newest Lifestyle Reviews"

From TheBookbag
Jump to navigationJump to search
 
(115 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
[[image:WOB.png|center|link=http://www.worldofbooks.com/3for2.html?utm_source=TheBookBag&utm_medium=Banner&utm_campaign=Promo]]
 
<hr/>
 
 
[[Category:Lifestyle|*]]
 
[[Category:Lifestyle|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|Lifestyle]] __NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->
+
[[Category:New Reviews|Lifestyle]]__NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author= Merinda D'Aprano
+
|isbn=1454955546
|title= The Essential Guide to Your Prep School Journey (Head Teacher in Your Pocket)
+
|title=Sugarless
|rating= 4.5
+
|author=Nicole M Avena
|genre= Lifestyle
+
|rating=5
|summary= As you might have gathered from the title, ''The Essential Guide to Your Prep School Journey'' is pitched at parents who intend on using the private sector to educate their children. And clearly, these are the parents who will benefit most from reading the book. However, there is a great deal of general advice within its pages which will prove helpful even to parents whose children will be travelling through the state sector. So if this is you, don't discount this book immediately. Such advice includes ''Why is reading so important?'', ''How can I promote a brave learner?'' and ''Is the internet safe for my child?'' - you can see that these are universally applicable topics and topics that all parents appreciate advice about.  
+
|genre=Lifestyle
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0993550304</amazonuk>
+
|summary=''This isn't a diet book.  The last thing anyone needs is another diet book.''
 +
 
 +
There was a time, not that long ago, when it was thought that sugary food was better for you than food with high-fat content.  Fat was the demon food which was going to elevate your cholesterol and cause heart disease.   Sugar was a carbohydrate, so good. There's a problem, though. Sugar is addictive and can hijack your brain in much the same way as drugs like heroin and cocaine.  Does that sound over the top? Well, it isn't.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=A A Milne and E H Shepard
+
|isbn=1635866847
|title=Winnie-the-Pooh's Little Book Of Wisdom
+
|title=The Lavender Companion
|rating=4
+
|author=Jessica Dunham and Terry Barlin Vesci
 +
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=For a Bear of Very Little Brain Winnie-the-Pooh talks an awful lot of sense and we should be honoured that he's chosen to share with us a few of his wise wordsYou see, occasionally (well, an awful lot of the time, if we're honest) we look for wisdom in the wrong places and forget about those who have a very simple approach to life and who may well have discovered the secret of happinessPooh's take on life is very simple and none the worse for that.
+
|summary=It's strange, the things that make you ''immediately'' feel that this is the book for you.  Before I started reading ''The Lavender Companion'', I visited the author's [https://www.pinelavenderfarm.com/ website] and there's a picture of a slice of chocolate cake on the homepage.  I don't eat cakes and desserts - but I wanted that cake viscerally.  (There's a recipe in the book, which I'm avoiding with some difficulty!!) Then I started reading the book and I was told to make a mess of it.  Notes in the margins are sanctioned.  You get to fold down the corners of pagesYou suspect that smears of butter would not be a problem.  I ''loved'' this book already.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405281278</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Rasmus Hougaard, Jacqueline Carter and Gillian Coutts
+
|isbn=0760381267
|title=One Second Ahead: Enhance Your Performance at Work with Mindfulness
+
|title=Verdura: Living a Garden Life
|rating=4
+
|author=Perla Sofia Curbelo-Santiago
|genre=Business and Finance
+
|rating=3.5
|summary=Have you ever worked at a task and found your mind wandering to something else?  Do you find yourself breaking off what you're doing to answer an email?  Do you try to multitask, thinking that you're being more efficient?  Do you have far too much to attend to, to complete and nowhere near enough time to do it all?
+
|genre=Lifestyle
 +
|summary=''The most important part of a garden is the one who enjoys it''.
  
You do? Me tooYou need this book.
+
I've 'gardened' in a vague, indefinite sort of way for more than half a century. I know (most of) the basics but life has changed and I needed 'projects' rather than a general commitment to gardening''Verdura'' with its promise of projects for both indoors and outdoors of varying complexity seemed like the answer. So, how did it stack up?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1137551909</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author= Thomas W Hodgkinson and Hubert van den Bergh
+
|author=Sarah Wilson
|title= How to Sound Cultured
+
|title=This One Wild and Precious Life: the path back to connection in a fractured world
|rating= 4
+
|rating=3.5
 
|genre= Lifestyle
 
|genre= Lifestyle
|summary= Sometimes it can be hard to run with the big dogs, and while I know the names to drop in my field of work, some wider cultural references can pass me by. This is especially true for those from before my time and so I was delighted to find icons from all decades and centuries featured in this book. Badged as ''the 250 names that intellectuals love to drop into conversation'' this book features quotes and biographical titbits covering big names from every sector – science, the arts, philosophy.
+
|summary= My favourite Mary Oliver line is the one in which she asks ''What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?''  I get to love that line so much because my answer is ''This!  Precisely this.''  I'm lucky enough to be living my one wild and precious life the way I want to.  Sarah Wilson is equally lucky.  In her book that takes Oliver's words as her title (though I can't see that she acknowledges the source) she pushes us to think about whether we really ''are'' living the life we want – the best life that we could be living.  Her answer is an unequivocal ''no, we are not''.  Don't care what you're doing, she thinks you (we, I) could be doing more…And she's effing furious about the fact that we are not.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848319304</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1785633848
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Tony Crabbe
+
|isbn=1394159544
|title=Busy: How to Thrive in a World of Too Much
+
|title=Recycling for Dummies
 +
|author=Sarah Winkler
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=Serendipity often brings you to the important booksRecently I heard myself say to a friend: ''I'm far too busy to do some of the important stuff''It pulled me up short: there was definitely something wrong here - and then I had the opportunity to listen to an audio download of ''Busy'' and I knew that it was something I ''had'' to do and take notice of if I was to stop going ''backwards''Because that was what I was doing.
+
|summary=''Recycling one ton of plastic can save up to 16.3 barrels of oil.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>B01727ER84</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
''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 decomposeA 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 futureNEVER 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 binYes, I could go searching on the internet - and get conflicting advice - but what I needed was a recycling bible.s
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Rachel Kelly and Jonathan Pugh
+
|isbn=0760378134
|title=Walking on Sunshine: 52 Small Steps to Happiness
+
|title=The First-Time Gardener: Container Food Gardening
|rating=4
+
|author=Pamela Farley
|genre=Lifestyle
+
|rating=5
|summary=How would you like 52 tips on how to be happier?  No this isn't an offer to sign up to a dodgy website - it's a small book which you could pop into a bag and which will give you tips, tools and positive idea about how you can make your life happier, less complicated and more fulfillingOpen it at random, if that's what you feel like doing, or work your way through it reading one tip per week - they're helpfully divided into the four seasons - and savour just a couple of pages of elegant writing which will give you something to think about or something positive to do (or not do - if you see what I mean).
+
|genre=Home and Family
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780722524</amazonuk>
+
|summary=If you've ever thought how good it would be to be able to pop out into the garden and pick some fruit and vegetables for a meal – but realised that you wouldn't know where to start, this is the book you needIt's comprehensive: you'll cover everything from why you should grow your own food, what you're going to grow, what you'll grow it in (both containers and soil), where you'll put these containers, how you'll water and fertilise them and you finish the main part of the book with a handy section on troubleshooting.  There's also a good glossary. So, is it any good?
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author= Ilka Heinemann
+
|isbn=1398508632
|title=101 Things to do Instead of Playing on Your Phone
+
|title=The Wilderness Cure
|rating= 5
+
|author=Mo Wilde
|genre= Lifestyle
+
|rating=5
|summary= There's a great joke I saw online recently. One cartoon person says to the other, ''What's your favourite position in bed?'' and the other replies ''Closest to the plug so I can still use my phone while it's charging''. It's funny because it's true.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178072246X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Brene Brown
 
|title=Rising Strong
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=This is Brené Brown's fourth book. Like Elizabeth Gilbert, she is well known for her TED talk. As a professor at the University of Houston, she has spent the last 13 years working with people's stories. Such a qualitative approach, based on anecdote and experience, is relatively rare in the social sciences but certainly makes her work more accessible to laymen. Her books fall into the 'self-help' arena, but without any of the negative connotations of that term. Here she makes her research relevant to everyday life by weaving in pop culture references and telling stories from her family and professional life.
+
|summary=It had been on the cards for a while but it was the week-long consumer binge which pushed Mo Wilde into beginning her year of eating only wild food. The end of November, particularly in Central Scotland was perhaps not the best time to start, in a world where the normal sores had been exacerbated by climate change, Brexit and a pandemic.  Wilde had a few advantages: the area around her was a known habitat with a variety of terrains. She had electricity which allowed her to run a fridge, freezer and dehydrator.  She had a car - and fuel.  Most importantly, she had shelter: this was not a plan to ''live'' wild just to live off its produce.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091955033</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Lee Crutchley
+
|author=Bjorn Natthiko Lindeblad, Caroline Bankeler, Navid Modiiri and  Agnes Bromme (Translator)
|title=How to Be Happy (or at least less sad): A Creative Workbook
+
|title=I May Be Wrong
|rating=4
+
|rating=5
|genre=Lifestyle
+
|genre= Autobiography
|summary=I gave up hoping for happiness many years ago and settled instead for enjoying contentment when it arrived and trying to make the most of it.  'Happiness' seemed to be rather like 'privileges' - something which you shouldn't expect as of rightMost of the time it works well, but just occasionally an extra boost - a new approach - is neededLee Crutchley has suffered from depression and he knows that this book is not going to help when you're clinically depressed, but those of us who have been down that road know that there are certain laybys where you stop and possibly turn around.
+
|summary= When the Dalai Lama adds his words to your frontispiece, I'm inclined to think it doesn't really matter how the rest of the world responds to your bookI know, having read the book in question, that Lindeblad would disagree with that thoughtHe knows (and at core so do I) that it matters very much how the rest of the world responds to this book, because it tells the truth as it is, in the early 21st century.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241201950</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1526644827
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Simon Dawson
+
|isbn=1732898731
|title=The Sty's the Limit: When Middle Age Gets Mucky
+
|title=The Boy Who Loved Boxes: A Children's Book for Adults
 +
|author=Michael Albanese
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=Simon Dawson has met something he cannot beat.  He can't come to terms with it either. It's called Getting Older: not the 'getting older' which we all do day by day, but that moment when you realise that you've moved on to an entirely different stage in your life - and no one actually asked you if you wanted to go on the journeyFor Simon it's Middle Age that's taken him by surprise: bits of the body have stopped working as they ought to and he's realised that if he's going to look in the mirror, bare-chested, then he shouldn't do it when he's standing next to a fit teenage boy.
+
|summary=There was a Boy who loved boxes.  He had a box for everything and he was meticulous about storage: his parents probably couldn't believe their luck! It began with art supplies, stuffed toys and the like: all the things which most children have in abundanceThe Boy's delight was in the sense of order in his room: it made him feel happyAs he grew up and became a Man, his life became more complicated and he dealt with this by getting bigger and better boxesLook carefully at the pictures and you'll see that one of them has a padlock...
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1409160858</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Elizabeth Swados
 
|title=My Depression : A Picture Book
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Autobiography
 
|summary=If you have ever suffered from depression you'll find it very difficult to explain to other people how you're feelingYou're not feeling ''just a little bit down''A treat or a dollop of positive thinking will not miraculously cure you.  You're definitely not swinging the lead, but suffering from a legitimate illness which deserves to be recognised. Elizabeth Swados is a long-term sufferer from severe depression: she's also a talented storyteller and has told her the story of how depression feels for her - complete with drawings, which fill in those gaps which words can never fill for any sufferer from depression.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1609806042</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=William Alexander
+
|isbn=1846276772
|title=Flirting With French
+
|title=The End of Bias: How We Change Our Minds
 +
|author=Jessica Nordell
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Lifestyle
+
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=I am not a bad linguist. I don’t tend to struggle with languages too much, especially when the goal is communicative fluency rather than precise grammatical accuracy, and I’ve taught English as a foreign language in a handful of countries too, so I have some ideas of what does and doesn’t work with language acquisition in adults. William Alexander is, perhaps, not so lucky. An American with a longing to be a Frenchman, he is devoting himself to learning the lingo and much more, and chronicles his efforts in this book.
+
|summary=Anyone who is not an able, white man understands bias in that they may no longer even recognise the extent to which they suffer from it: it's simply a part of everyday life.  White men will always come first.  The able will come before the disabled. Jobs, promotions, higher salaries are the preserve of the white man.  Even when those who wouldn't pass the medical become a part of an organisation it's rare that their views are heard, that their concerns are acknowledged.  It's personally appalling and degrading for the individuals on the receiving end of the bias but it's not just the individuals who are negatively impacted.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0715649957</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Amy Morin
+
|author=Erling Kagge
|title=13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do
+
|title=Walking: One Step At A Time
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Popular Science
+
|genre= Lifestyle
|summary=When Amy Morin was just 26 and working as a psychologist and therapist her husband died suddenly, but even whilst she was reeling from the shock she realised that there were things which she must ''not'' do. She knew that she must not develop a sense of entitlement, feel resentment or succumb to self-pity.  That was ten years ago: since then Morin has remarried and worked with numerous patients using the principles which she applied to herself. She's found 13 common habits which hold us back in life and developed strategies to combat them.  But the best thing which she makes clear is that mental strength is not about acting tough - for instance, if you've suffered a bereavement, you need to grieve -  it's about having the mental wherewithal to overcome life's challenges.
+
|summary= Those who have read my reviews before will know that how much I loved a book is evidenced by the number of pages with corners turned, so let me start this one with an apology to the Norfolk Library Service: sorry! I forgot it was your book not mine. In my defence, I will say that as a reader of this type of book there is something connective about noting where prior readers were inspired (provided it is subtle – I'll allow creased corners, but not scribbles – for the latter we must buy our own copy – which I am about to do as soon as I have finished telling you why).
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0008105936</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
Erligg Kagge is a Norwegian explorer who has walked to the South Pole, the North Pole and the summit of Everest. He knows a thing or two about walking. However, this isn't a travelogue about any of those epic journeys, it is instead a thoughtful exploration of what it means to walk. It is a plenitude of unnumbered essays about walking. There is no 'contents' page and I haven't counted. In small format paperback, each essay is only a few pages long. Perhaps then, better thought of as a meditation rather than an essay.
 +
|isbn=0241357705
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=John Kemp
+
|author=Richard Brook
|title=Caring for Shirley
+
|title=Understanding Human Nature: A User's Guide to Life
|rating=4
+
|rating=4.5
|genre=Autobiography
 
|summary=John Kemp's wife, Shirley, suffered from dementia and loss of coordination and for eight years he was her full-time carer as she was unable to walk unaided (well, she ''could'' - but it was likely to result in a serious fall) and took care of all her most personal needs.  Probably the most heart-breaking part of this is that Shirley didn't recognise John as her husband - apart from 'give us a kiss', the question 'where's John?' was usually the first which sprang to her lips in any situation.  Although she could often have quite an affable disposition she was capable of kicking and biting when she was being 'encouraged' to do something which she didn't want to do.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1479374245</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Dr William Davis
 
|title=Wheat Belly: The effortless health and weight-loss solution - no exercise, no calorie counting, no denial
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=Dr William Davis poses an interesting question: why is it that people who are leading an active life and eating a healthy diet are putting on weight despite all their best efforts? He has a simple and worrying answer: wheat, which he argues increases blood sugar more than table sugar. The problem isn't restricted to weight gain, either: there's evidence to suggest that wheat affects psychosis and autism too. In fact - the more that you read, the more you'll wonder if there's an organ in the body which ''isn't'' adversely affected by wheat.
+
|summary= I am a firm believer that sometimes we choose books, and sometimes books choose us. In my case, this is one of the latter. Not so very long ago, if I had come across this book I'd have skimmed it, found some of it interesting, but it would not have 'hit home' in the way that it does now.  I believe it came to me not just because I was likely to give it a favourable review [ ''full disclosure The Bookbag's u.s.p. is that people chose their own books rather than getting them randomly, so there is a predisposition towards expecting to like the book, even if it doesn't always turn out that way'' ] – but also because it is a book I needed to read, right now.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0008118922</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1800461682
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Holly Baxter and Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
+
|isbn=0753558378
|title=The Vagenda: A Zero Tolerance Guide to the Media
+
|title=Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters
|rating=3
+
|author=Greg McKeown
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|summary=I love magazines more than is socially acceptable, and I invariably read the women’s ones, or the fitness ones, but yes, mainly those ones for females which insist on telling me how to dress and act, how to style hair in some areas and remove it in others, how to have it all but still let men open doors for me. I don’t really object to any of this – after all, I choose to keep subscribing – but I was still keen to read this book. And not just to check I hadn’t been indoctrinated into forgetting it was all a ruse to make me buy stuff.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784700436</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Madsen Pirie
 
|title=How to Win Every Argument
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=When a book makes a promise on its cover, call me old fashioned but I’m kinda expecting it to deliver on this. So ''How to Win Every Argument'' has me thinking that I would read it and become an expert in proving I’m right all the time (even when I’m not).  I was expecting the sort of hints and tips one could use to argue successfully that the Earth is flat, chocolate is a vegetable (cocoa is a plant) and Cheerleaders should rule the world. Simples.
+
|summary=''The marginal return of working harder was, in fact, negative.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>147252912X</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
That's what happened to Patrick McGinnis.  It's no exaggeration to say that he devoted his life to the company he worked for, struggling through, even when he was ill, only to find that he was working for a bankrupt company.  His stock had fallen by 97%, he had lost his health and his job had little value.  He made a bargain with God; if he survived, he would make some changes.  He did survive and came through stronger - and richer.  There is, you see, a different way: ''great things are not reserved for those who bleed, for those who almost break.''
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Dr Gareth Moore
+
|isbn=1523092734
|title=Clever Commuter: Puzzles, Tests and Problems to Solve on Your Journey
+
|title=A Women's Guide to Claiming Space
|rating=3.5
+
|author=Eliza Van Cort
|genre=Entertainment
+
|rating=5
|summary=The week before I reviewed this book I saw a newspaper article that said that so-called brain-training apps are a waste of time, that they merely replace what we should be doing anyway to keep our grey cells active (multi-tasking, observing, REAL LIFE etc). This is the puzzle book version of a brain training app, and so with all those electronic titles on the market it already had opposition, even before that news came in. But let's face it – who on earth would risk the science being wrong on this occasion? Surely this kind of book should be an inherently essential purchase?
+
|genre=Politics and Society
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782433953</amazonuk>
+
|summary=''She brings a hug-kick-thunderclap that every woman needs in her life. Again and again and again.'' (Alma Derricks, former CMO, Cirque du Soleil RSD)
 +
 
 +
''To claim space is to live the life of choosing unapologetically and bravely. It is to live the life you've always wanted.''
 +
 
 +
Sometimes the reviewing gods are generous: at a time when violence against women is much in the news, ''A Women's Guide to Claiming Space'' by Eliza Van Cort dropped onto my desk.  Now - to be clear - this book is not a 'how to disable your attacker with two simple jabs' manual: it's something far more effective, but discussion at the moment seems to be about how women can be ''protected''.  I've always thought that women need to rise above this, to be people who don't need protection, people who claim their own space. If all women did this, those few men who are violent to women would realise that we are not just an easy target to be used to prove that they are big men.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Amelia Freer
+
|isbn=1529109116
|title=Eat. Nourish. Glow.: 10 easy steps for losing weight, looking younger and feeling healthier
+
|title=Call Me Red: A Shepherd's Journey
|rating=4
+
|author=Hannah Jackson
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|summary=Amelia Freer had struggled with her own health for a while and it reached a stage where she was waking up feeling tired and groggy, relying on ten cups a day of sugary tea to perk her up and her food was mainly processed convenience foods.  At the time she was working as a PA to Prince Charles and loved the job but her busy life meant that she made automatic food choices without consideration of what they were doing to her health.  It wasn't until she went to see a nutritionist that she realised what she had been doing and made the decision not only to change her diet, but to train to be a nutritionist.  The result is a busy practice - and this book.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>000757990X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschappeler
 
|title=The Test Book: 64 Tools to Lead You to Success
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=The title of the book intrigued me: ''The Test Book'' and the offer of sixty four tools which would lead me to success.  I'm happy with where my life is but it struck me that only a fool doesn't see room for improvement - and besides, it's a slim book, ideal for popping into a bag or pocket for those waiting room moments.  It was only the reputation of the authors - and the value of their earlier books - which made me realise that this wasn't going to be a light-hearted series of 'tests' such as those favoured by some magazines and newspapersFor the most part these are serious, well-established tests used by professionals.
+
|summary=''I want the image of a British farmer to simply be that of a person who is proudly employed in feeding the nation.  I don't think that is too much to ask.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178125320X</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
The stereotypical farmer was probably born on the land where ''his'' family have farmed for generations.  He's probably grown up without giving much thought as to what he really wants to do: he knows that he'll be a farmer.  It's not always the case though.  Hannah Jackson was born and brought up on the Wirral: she'd never set foot on a commercial farm until she was twenty although she'd always had a deep love of animals.  Her original intention was that she would become 'Dr Jackson, whale scientist' and she was well on her way to achieving this when her life changed on a family holiday to the Lake District.  She saw a lamb being born and, although 'Hannah Jackson, farmer' lacked the kudos of her original intention, she knew that she wanted to be a shepherdWith the determination that you'll soon realise is an essential part of her, she set about achieving her ambition.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|title=Digital Inferno
+
|isbn=1786495902
|author=Paul Levy
+
|title=The Natural Health Service: How Nature Can Mend Your Mind
|rating=4
+
|author=Isabel Hardman
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=You know how it goes. You have a pressing job that requires your immediate attention, but decide to treat yourself to a five minute tea break surfing the internet. One link leads to another and before you know it, your short tea break has swallowed up a whole hour. Or maybe you are at an important meeting and you feel the phone vibrate in your pocket, signalling an incoming text. Is it rude to check your messages when your full attention should really be elsewhere? If you feel that meaningful communication with the family has been replaced with a glut of hastily-typed x's, LOLs and emoticons, this book may be just what you need. ''Digital Inferno'' aims to help its readers reclaim their place in the digital world and gain mastery over all of those pieces of tech that seem to demand so much of us.
+
|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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1905570740</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|title=The Making of Home
+
|author=Lauren Martin
|author=Judith Flanders
+
|title=The Book of Moods
|rating=4.5
+
|rating=5
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=In 1900 a young girl in a strange land told the people around her that she had decided she no longer wanted to live in their lovely country, but would much rather return to the ‘dry, grey’ place she had come from, because there was ‘no place like home’.  The girl was Dorothy, while the people around her were the citizens of Oz – and, yes, it was all fiction, the creation of author L. Frank Baum. Nevertheless he had put into words something which many people deeply felt but had not yet expressed.
+
|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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848877986</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1538733625
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|title=The Bookshop Book
+
|isbn=0008420386
|author=Jen Campbell
+
|title=Failosophy: A handbook for when things go wrong
|rating=4.5
+
|author=Elizabeth Day
 +
|rating=4
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=I love a good bookshop. The smell, the feel of an old bookshop, and the wonderful feeling when you chance upon a book that appeals to you. They may be a dying breed in some places, but Jen Campbell has written a fantastic book that celebrates the bookshop and those who love them.
+
|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''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1472116666</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=William Poundstone
+
|isbn=1504321383
|title=How to Predict the Unpredictable: The Art of Outsmarting Almost Everyone
+
|title=Single, Again, and Again, and Again
|rating=4
+
|author=Louisa Pateman
|genre=Reference
 
|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 happen.  So, care to predict how it stacked up?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780744072</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Dan Waddell
 
|title=Who Do You Think You Are?: The Genealogy Handbook
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Reference
+
|genre=Autobiography
|summary=The celebrity genealogy programme ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' celebrates its 10th anniversary this yearThe 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 today.  For 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.
+
|summary=''You can't be happy and fulfilled on your ownYou are not complete until you find a man''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849908249</amazonuk>
+
 
}}
+
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 herIt 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''.
{{newreview
 
|author=Lynne Martin
 
|title=Home Sweet Anywhere: How We Sold Our House, Created a New Life, and Saw the World
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Travel
 
|summary=Lynne and Tim Martin had known each other decades ago but when we meet them they've only been married for a short timeThere's just one thing though - they're not ready to settle down, despite the fact that they're what might be called 'upper middle aged'. Their roots are in the US - both have adult children there and the Martins have a house in California - but they want to travel and not just as touristsThey want to see the world as the locals see it and to experience what it's like to live there.  Lynne describes them as not being wealthy, but they decide to sell their home, invest the money and become 'home-free'.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>B00J0CRNKE</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|title=The Conversations
+
|isbn=1538731738
|author=Olivia Fane
+
|title=Simple Abundance: 365 Days to a Balanced and Joyful Life
 +
|author= Sarah Ban Breathnach
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=I need no encouragement to start talking. Leave me alone with someone and I will find something to talk to them about, in whatever language. I’ve dated people I’ve met by talking to them on aeroplanes, hablaring español with them in evening classes, chatting to them online. I’ve made friends at the gym, on the shop floor, during a day’s IT system training, people I still keep in touch with. So you might think the last thing I need is a book of conversation starters, and yet in a way that’s what this is.
+
|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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099581981</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|title=Flowerpot Farm: A First Gardening Activity Book
+
|author=Sharon Blackie
|author=Lorraine Harrison
+
|title=If Women Rose Rooted
|rating=3.5
+
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
+
|genre= Biography
|summary=With the demand for us to eat seemingly more fruit and vegetables every day, the world of grow-your-own is backWhy buy from the supermarket when you can release the kids into the garden to graze like cattle?  However, before you do this, perhaps you should pick up a book like ‘Flowerpot Farm’ by Lorraine Harrison and Faye Bradley which will show them how to create their own fruit, veg and flower garden no matter how small a space they have to work with.
+
|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 borrowedI 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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782400818</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1912836017
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|title=He Texted: The Ultimate Guide to Decoding Guys
+
|isbn=1543987877
|author=Lisa Winning and Carrie Henderson-McDermott
+
|title=Learn to Love: Guide to Healing Your Disappointing Love Life
|rating=4
+
|author=Dr Thomas Jordan
 +
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=This book, despite the title, is about more than texting. It is about the whole digital world and how guys and gals interact within it (Companies’ House stalkerage aside). From how long to wait to text back, to how to respond to friend requests and what to do with the power when you’re unleashed on his Facebook wall, this book promises to provide hilarious and essential advice on how to navigate the perplexing world that is trouser-shaped.
+
|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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780892071</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=William Hanson
+
|author=Michael Harris
|title=The Bluffer's Guide to Etiquette (Bluffer's Guides)
+
|title=Solitude: In Pursuit of a Singular Life in a Crowded World
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=If you ask people what they fear most in any social situation most will tell you that it's not knowing how to behave. They'll be fine about the basics, but it's those little niceties - how to introduce yourself, what to ask for as an aperitif, how to address someone, for instance which can suddenly reveal you as a parvenuWilliam Hanson gives us a quick trip through the essentials in a book which is very readable and - in places - hilariously funny.
+
|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 allInstead 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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909937002</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1847947662
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=John Jackson
+
|isbn=0753553236
|title=A Little Piece of England: A tale of self-sufficiency
+
|title=Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything
 +
|author=B J Fogg
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=Here at Bookbag we're great fans of John JacksonWe loved his [[Tales for Great Grandchildren by John Jackson and Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini|Tales for Great Grandchildren]] ''and'' [[Brahma Dreaming: Legends from Hindu Mythology by John Jackson and Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini|Brahma Dreaming: Legends from Hindu Mythology]] so it was something of a treat to meet the author on his own ground, so to speakOriginally published as ''A Bucket of Nuts and a Herring Net: The Birth of a Spare-Time Farm'' this is actually Jackson's first book and thirty-five years later we're delighted that it's been republished in hardback complete with the original black-and-white illustrations by Val Biro.
+
|summary=Go on, admit it - you're not quite perfectYou still have those odd, quirky even loveable (to you) habits which seem to annoy other peopleOther 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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909661031</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|title=Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes
+
|isbn=1785785516
|author=Maria Konnikova
+
|title=Fucking Good Manners
|rating=3.5
+
|author=Simon Griffin
 +
|rating=4
 
|genre=Lifestyle
 
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=Psychologist Maria Konnikova seems to have rather ambitious aims regarding her new book, ''Mastermind'' . She plans to teach her readers how to think like Sherlock Holmes. Anyone who has read the adventures of the world’s most famous detective will have no doubt marvelled at his uncanny powers of analysis and observation. Can a book really unlock the power of the mind and turn average-Joe into a master of deduction?
+
|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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>085786727X</amazonuk>
+
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=1999811402
 +
|title=Painting Snails
 +
|author=Stephen John Hartley
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Autobiography
 +
|summary=It's very difficult to classify ''Painting Snails'': 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 get advice on what to plant when and where for the best results. The answer would be something along the lines of 'try it and see'.  Then I considered popular science as Stephen Hartley failed his A levels, did an engineering apprenticeship, became a busker, finally got into medical school and is now an A&E consultant (part-time). I found out that there's an awful lot more to what goes on in a Major Trauma Centre than you'll ever glean from ''Casualty'', but that isn't really what the book's about.  There's a lot about rock & roll, which seems to be the real passion of 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 - that's the one.  It's an autobiography.
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
Move on to [[Newest Literary Fiction Reviews]]

Latest revision as of 09:32, 12 December 2023

1454955546.jpg

Review of

Sugarless by Nicole M Avena

5star.jpg Lifestyle

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

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

1635866847.jpg

Review of

The Lavender Companion by Jessica Dunham and Terry Barlin Vesci

4.5star.jpg Lifestyle

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

0760381267.jpg

Review of

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

3.5star.jpg Lifestyle

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

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

1785633848.jpg

Review of

This One Wild and Precious Life: the path back to connection in a fractured world by Sarah Wilson

3.5star.jpg Lifestyle

My favourite Mary Oliver line is the one in which she asks What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? I get to love that line so much because my answer is This! Precisely this. I'm lucky enough to be living my one wild and precious life the way I want to. Sarah Wilson is equally lucky. In her book that takes Oliver's words as her title (though I can't see that she acknowledges the source) she pushes us to think about whether we really are living the life we want – the best life that we could be living. Her answer is an unequivocal no, we are not. Don't care what you're doing, she thinks you (we, I) could be doing more…And she's effing furious about the fact that we are not. Full Review

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

0760378134.jpg

Review of

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

5star.jpg Home and Family

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

1398508632.jpg

Review of

The Wilderness Cure by Mo Wilde

5star.jpg Lifestyle

It had been on the cards for a while but it was the week-long consumer binge which pushed Mo Wilde into beginning her year of eating only wild food. The end of November, particularly in Central Scotland was perhaps not the best time to start, in a world where the normal sores had been exacerbated by climate change, Brexit and a pandemic. Wilde had a few advantages: the area around her was a known habitat with a variety of terrains. She had electricity which allowed her to run a fridge, freezer and dehydrator. She had a car - and fuel. Most importantly, she had shelter: this was not a plan to live wild just to live off its produce. Full Review

1526644827.jpg

Review of

I May Be Wrong by Bjorn Natthiko Lindeblad, Caroline Bankeler, Navid Modiiri and Agnes Bromme (Translator)

5star.jpg Autobiography

When the Dalai Lama adds his words to your frontispiece, I'm inclined to think it doesn't really matter how the rest of the world responds to your book. I know, having read the book in question, that Lindeblad would disagree with that thought. He knows (and at core so do I) that it matters very much how the rest of the world responds to this book, because it tells the truth as it is, in the early 21st century. Full Review

1732898731.jpg

Review of

The Boy Who Loved Boxes: A Children's Book for Adults by Michael Albanese

4.5star.jpg Lifestyle

There was a Boy who loved boxes. He had a box for everything and he was meticulous about storage: his parents probably couldn't believe their luck! It began with art supplies, stuffed toys and the like: all the things which most children have in abundance. The Boy's delight was in the sense of order in his room: it made him feel happy. As he grew up and became a Man, his life became more complicated and he dealt with this by getting bigger and better boxes. Look carefully at the pictures and you'll see that one of them has a padlock... Full Review

1846276772.jpg

Review of

The End of Bias: How We Change Our Minds by Jessica Nordell

4.5star.jpg Politics and Society

Anyone who is not an able, white man understands bias in that they may no longer even recognise the extent to which they suffer from it: it's simply a part of everyday life. White men will always come first. The able will come before the disabled. Jobs, promotions, higher salaries are the preserve of the white man. Even when those who wouldn't pass the medical become a part of an organisation it's rare that their views are heard, that their concerns are acknowledged. It's personally appalling and degrading for the individuals on the receiving end of the bias but it's not just the individuals who are negatively impacted. Full Review

0241357705.jpg

Review of

Walking: One Step At A Time by Erling Kagge

5star.jpg Lifestyle

Those who have read my reviews before will know that how much I loved a book is evidenced by the number of pages with corners turned, so let me start this one with an apology to the Norfolk Library Service: sorry! I forgot it was your book not mine. In my defence, I will say that as a reader of this type of book there is something connective about noting where prior readers were inspired (provided it is subtle – I'll allow creased corners, but not scribbles – for the latter we must buy our own copy – which I am about to do as soon as I have finished telling you why).

Erligg Kagge is a Norwegian explorer who has walked to the South Pole, the North Pole and the summit of Everest. He knows a thing or two about walking. However, this isn't a travelogue about any of those epic journeys, it is instead a thoughtful exploration of what it means to walk. It is a plenitude of unnumbered essays about walking. There is no 'contents' page and I haven't counted. In small format paperback, each essay is only a few pages long. Perhaps then, better thought of as a meditation rather than an essay. Full Review

1800461682.jpg

Review of

Understanding Human Nature: A User's Guide to Life by Richard Brook

4.5star.jpg Lifestyle

I am a firm believer that sometimes we choose books, and sometimes books choose us. In my case, this is one of the latter. Not so very long ago, if I had come across this book I'd have skimmed it, found some of it interesting, but it would not have 'hit home' in the way that it does now. I believe it came to me not just because I was likely to give it a favourable review [ full disclosure The Bookbag's u.s.p. is that people chose their own books rather than getting them randomly, so there is a predisposition towards expecting to like the book, even if it doesn't always turn out that way ] – but also because it is a book I needed to read, right now. Full Review

0753558378.jpg

Review of

Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters by Greg McKeown

4.5star.jpg Lifestyle

The marginal return of working harder was, in fact, negative.

That's what happened to Patrick McGinnis. It's no exaggeration to say that he devoted his life to the company he worked for, struggling through, even when he was ill, only to find that he was working for a bankrupt company. His stock had fallen by 97%, he had lost his health and his job had little value. He made a bargain with God; if he survived, he would make some changes. He did survive and came through stronger - and richer. There is, you see, a different way: great things are not reserved for those who bleed, for those who almost break. Full Review

1523092734.jpg

Review of

A Women's Guide to Claiming Space by Eliza Van Cort

5star.jpg Politics and Society

She brings a hug-kick-thunderclap that every woman needs in her life. Again and again and again. (Alma Derricks, former CMO, Cirque du Soleil RSD)

To claim space is to live the life of choosing unapologetically and bravely. It is to live the life you've always wanted.

Sometimes the reviewing gods are generous: at a time when violence against women is much in the news, A Women's Guide to Claiming Space by Eliza Van Cort dropped onto my desk. Now - to be clear - this book is not a 'how to disable your attacker with two simple jabs' manual: it's something far more effective, but discussion at the moment seems to be about how women can be protected. I've always thought that women need to rise above this, to be people who don't need protection, people who claim their own space. If all women did this, those few men who are violent to women would realise that we are not just an easy target to be used to prove that they are big men. Full Review

1529109116.jpg

Review of

Call Me Red: A Shepherd's Journey by Hannah Jackson

4.5star.jpg Lifestyle

I want the image of a British farmer to simply be that of a person who is proudly employed in feeding the nation. I don't think that is too much to ask.

The stereotypical farmer was probably born on the land where his family have farmed for generations. He's probably grown up without giving much thought as to what he really wants to do: he knows that he'll be a farmer. It's not always the case though. Hannah Jackson was born and brought up on the Wirral: she'd never set foot on a commercial farm until she was twenty although she'd always had a deep love of animals. Her original intention was that she would become 'Dr Jackson, whale scientist' and she was well on her way to achieving this when her life changed on a family holiday to the Lake District. She saw a lamb being born and, although 'Hannah Jackson, farmer' lacked the kudos of her original intention, she knew that she wanted to be a shepherd. With the determination that you'll soon realise is an essential part of her, she set about achieving her ambition. Full Review

1786495902.jpg

Review of

The Natural Health Service: How Nature Can Mend Your Mind by Isabel Hardman

5star.jpg Lifestyle

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. Full Review

1538733625.jpg

Review of

The Book of Moods by Lauren Martin

5star.jpg Lifestyle

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. Full Review

0008420386.jpg

Review of

Failosophy: A handbook for when things go wrong by Elizabeth Day

4star.jpg Lifestyle

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 Full Review

1504321383.jpg

Review of

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

4.5star.jpg Autobiography

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

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

1538731738.jpg

Review of

Simple Abundance: 365 Days to a Balanced and Joyful Life by Sarah Ban Breathnach

5star.jpg Lifestyle

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. Full Review

1912836017.jpg

Review of

If Women Rose Rooted by Sharon Blackie

5star.jpg Biography

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. Full Review

1543987877.jpg

Review of

Learn to Love: Guide to Healing Your Disappointing Love Life by Dr Thomas Jordan

4.5star.jpg Lifestyle

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. Full Review

1847947662.jpg

Review of

Solitude: In Pursuit of a Singular Life in a Crowded World by Michael Harris

5star.jpg Lifestyle

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. Full Review

0753553236.jpg

Review of

Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by B J Fogg

5star.jpg Lifestyle

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. Full Review

1785785516.jpg

Review of

Fucking Good Manners by Simon Griffin

4star.jpg Lifestyle

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. Full Review

1999811402.jpg

Review of

Painting Snails by Stephen John Hartley

4.5star.jpg Autobiography

It's very difficult to classify Painting Snails: 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 get advice on what to plant when and where for the best results. The answer would be something along the lines of 'try it and see'. Then I considered popular science as Stephen Hartley failed his A levels, did an engineering apprenticeship, became a busker, finally got into medical school and is now an A&E consultant (part-time). I found out that there's an awful lot more to what goes on in a Major Trauma Centre than you'll ever glean from Casualty, but that isn't really what the book's about. There's a lot about rock & roll, which seems to be the real passion of 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 - that's the one. It's an autobiography. Full Review

Move on to Newest Literary Fiction Reviews