Book Reviews

Review of 'The Forager's Kitchen' by Fiona Bird

V.C. Linde | Posted 20.05.2013 | UK Lifestyle
V.C. Linde

The Forager's Kitchen is a very different approach than most other cookbooks and so it can take a little time to get your head around but it is both thrifty and a lovely alternative to the usual recipes that you see.

Author Rosie Fiore: Hooking the Thread

Sara Bran | Posted 08.05.2013 | UK Entertainment
Sara Bran

Catching the Comet's Tail features author Rosie Fiore. Her second novel, Wonder Women, is a brilliantly observed, multi-layered story about three women at a crossroads in their lives. Through her engaging, realistic cast of characters, Fiore tackles important issues such as motherhood, marriage, female friendship and ambition.

Learning the New Language of Social Media For Business

Oisin Browne | Posted 02.05.2013 | UK Tech
Oisin Browne

My learning is simply keep learning. Keep reworking the plan. Your business is a work in progress that will become a masterpiece with the right online marketing strategy. Commitment to preparation, planning and promotion of your company brand online on continuous bases is fundamental to building a better business online.

Spring Books Into Action

Mark Perryman | Posted 19.04.2013 | UK Politics
Mark Perryman

As the Thatcher funeral hoopla fades away and the focus shifts to the likely rout of the Con-Dems in the 2 May local elections the political landscape outside the Westminster bubble in the next few months is likely to be further shaped by the deepening impact of the cuts.

Review of 'Cook it Raw', Edited by Alessandro Porcelli

V.C. Linde | Posted 19.04.2013 | UK Lifestyle
V.C. Linde

Cook it Raw doesn't have a set of recipes to follow through but will show you how to see ingredients differently, look at the food you are eating and the environment where it came from. The book is beautifully written and visually stunning, a lovely read and a great source of inspiration.

Review of 'The Great British Farmhouse Cookbook' by Sarah Mayor

V.C. Linde | Posted 11.04.2013 | UK Lifestyle
V.C. Linde

The introduction to The Great British Farmhouse Cookbook is a background to the Yeo Valley Farm, it's not hugely related to recipes but beautifully written and lovely to read.

Review of 'Little Leons' Cookbooks

V.C. Linde | Posted 09.04.2013 | UK Entertainment
V.C. Linde

Little Leons - Henry Dimbleby, Kay Plunkett-Hogge, Claire Ptak & John Vincent Conran - 2013 Photography: Georgia Glynn Smith The Little Leons are ...

Book Review: The Age Of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

Abigail Tarttelin | Posted 02.04.2013 | UK Entertainment
Abigail Tarttelin

As the earth slows, our protagonist, a teenage girl, falls in love for the first time. Set against the backdrop of a dying world, the story is a time capsule, the reader's reaction heightened because we know that inevitable doom awaits.

Book Review: 'Math On Trial' by Leila Schneps and Coralie Colmez

Abigail Tarttelin | Posted 02.04.2013 | UK Entertainment
Abigail Tarttelin

Math On Trial is a study of several criminal cases where flaws in mathematical and statistical calculations and their analysis led to incorrect verdicts of guilt or innocence. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book!

Book Review: Please Don't Come Back From the Moon by Dean Bakopoulos

Abigail Tarttelin | Posted 31.03.2013 | UK Entertainment
Abigail Tarttelin

Can you have a mancrush as a woman? I do. This book was a requested Christmas present. I loved Bakopoulos' first book so much I decided to dig into his second.

No ORDINARY GRACE: The Stunning New Novel From NYT Bestseller William Kent Krueger

Abigail Tarttelin | Posted 27.03.2013 | UK Entertainment
Abigail Tarttelin

A really great book with a wonderful, pitch perfect voice. I very much recommend it.

Book Review: The Trebor Story by Matthew Crampton - A Surprisingly Sweet Read

Abigail Tarttelin | Posted 27.03.2013 | UK Entertainment
Abigail Tarttelin

In this cut-throat, every-man-for-himself age, this thorough history and analysis of a respected and profitable company of the past proved excellent, timely and wise reading.

Book Review: Mohsin Hamid, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia

Claire Chambers | Posted 26.03.2013 | UK Entertainment
Claire Chambers

Read this book not to become filthy rich, nor to learn about an apparently rising Asia, but to admire the chutzpah of a gifted writer having fun with history.

Book Review - Gone Girl

Annie McMonagle | Posted 19.05.2013 | UK Entertainment
Annie McMonagle

In a nutshell, this is a book that resonates as it asks the unknowable question - how well can one person really know another? *Suspiciously looks over at boyfriend*

Review of 'Food Glorious Food'

V.C. Linde | Posted 18.05.2013 | UK Lifestyle
V.C. Linde

Food Glorious Food Mitchell Beazley - 2013 Photography: William Shaw & Isabel De Cordova Based on a television programme, Food Glorious Food is de...

Book Review of 'Commons People: MPs Are Human Too'

Michael Dugher | Posted 19.05.2013 | UK Politics
Michael Dugher

But in an era of continued cynicism about politicians, whose reputations nose-dived further after the MPs' expenses scandal of the last parliament, and at a time of falling participation in our democracy, Russell's book has a bigger objective than just trying to show politicians in a 'human' light.

Review of 'Le Cookie' by Mickael Benichou

V.C. Linde | Posted 30.04.2013 | UK Lifestyle
V.C. Linde

A combination of American sweet treats with French flair forms the basis of a fantastic collection of cookies, cupcakes, brownies, macarons and whoopee pies. Although a short cookbook it contains a really good range of recipes and all of them are very different so there is plenty of choice.

The 12-Year-Old Who Brought Down the Mafia

Sue Thomason | Posted 28.04.2013 | UK Entertainment
Sue Thomason

On the surface, The Prince of Naples is a simple David and Goliath story of a boy who seeks revenge on a power much greater than he is (which is always exciting in itself) but on a deeper level it's a picture of inside the mind of a child forced by tragedy to grow up too fast.

Review of 'The Medicinal Chef' by Dale Pinnock

V.C. Linde | Posted 28.04.2013 | UK Lifestyle
V.C. Linde

The Medicinal Chef has some really tasty recipes and the ideas behind Pinnock's way of eating is both exciting and easy to use. The idea is not to replace medicine but to help the body, make you stronger and compliment any pharmacological medication. A balance of diet, lifestyle and medication rather than going for all-or-nothing.

Reputation in the Age of Social Media

Toby Lichtig | Posted 27.04.2013 | UK Entertainment
Toby Lichtig

Lasdun is a poet as well as a novelist, and his prose is filled with arresting observations and elegant turns of phrase.

Review of 'At Home' by Mary Berry & Lucy Young

V.C. Linde | Posted 17.04.2013 | UK Lifestyle
V.C. Linde

As expected from the title this is not a ground-breaking selection of recipes - these are family styled dishes mostly, with a few exceptions. Quite a lot of the recipes are too simple to really need instruction.

People Who Don't Like Me: What the Hell is Their Problem?

Paul Bassett Davies | Posted 08.04.2013 | Home
Paul Bassett Davies

Writers are needy, insecure and desperate for approval. Just like everyone else, in other words, but because writers don't get out much they believe these challenges are unique to them, and tend to over-dramatize them. There's nothing new in all this; what's changed is that online reviews are reminding writers of something that, in the end, is probably good for us: everyone is different.

"What's in a name?" - Maguire's Brave Journey Across Shakespeare's Names

Annie Martirosyan | Posted 05.04.2013 | Home
Annie Martirosyan

No lover of Shakespeare - on page or on stage - will fail to recognise the wordplay or pun on the proper names of Shakespeare's characters.

Review: Tenth of December by George Saunders

Alice Charles | Posted 26.02.2013 | UK Entertainment
Alice Charles

Saunders is a great one for internal reverie. We see directly into his characters' minds - their secret dreams and fantasies - before he reveals these reveries for what they are: delusions. If I have any criticism it is this: he has a habit of revisiting characters, themes and ideas, which in a collection of just ten stories, feels like a bit of a cheat. Nevertheless, this is an absorbing read.

Review: Without Warning - John Birmingham

Alice Charles | Posted 20.02.2013 | UK Entertainment
Alice Charles

Birmingham quickly establishes his high-concept premise - and then goes precisely nowhere with it. Lots of questions are raised but never fully explored nor answered. Indeed, Without Warning feels very much like a six-hundred page set-up for the other two books in the trilogy.