Book review blog site, with some entertainment material from time-to-time.
Wednesday, 26 February 2020
Be That Writer: Father Brown and the commercial traveller
Be That Writer: Father Brown and the commercial traveller: (The following story is written in homage to and celebration of the G. K. Chesterton Father Brown character. It is a new work of fiction) ...
Tuesday, 25 February 2020
Oranges and Lemons
Jessifer Jordan is an outgoing teenage girl. She is known for being a loyal friend and always open and she has a love of acting.
When Adeline, a friendly but ghostly girl from the Victorian era makes an appearance in her life, naturally Jessifer confides in her best friend. But when it becomes obvious that her best friend doesn't believe her, Jess decides that secrecy is the way forward.
Before Adeline came into her life, Jess had been outgoing and sociable, but now she had turned into a far more serious girl, cutting herself off from others as she tries to establish exactly what it is that her ghostly friend wants.
Jess finds herself taken back to the 1860s where she meets with a medical doctor who seems to be of a somewhat mercurial nature and who has a somewhat obsessive relationship with the potentially fatal drug morphine.
Jess slips between the time of Adeline and her own time, and as she does, she begins to understand that Adeline is bring back memories of Jess' own deceased sister. Which means that her own, hidden, grief begins to reassert itself.
Can the help of her own and wise great aunt Ruby help her? Will she be able to confound the maniacal doctor? And what about the mysterious cat? What does the cat have to do with what is happening?
And what of the Victorian ghost child, Adeline? What does she really want? And can Jess help her achieve it?
With this novel, aimed at children, but enjoyable by adults, too, Paula F. Andrews has hit the ground running and I will state that Paula F. Yates is an author to watch for in the future.
It's published by Matador at £8.99
Monday, 24 February 2020
Dream job: Get paid to view James Bond films every day for a fortnight
CarTakeBack UK is offering one lucky applicant their dream job, who they will pay to watch the entire James Bond film collection.
The lucky successful applicant will be paid £500 for the two-week job.
The applicant will also receive the entire James Bond catalogue for free.
Finer details of the job remain top secret, but will require the winner to watch the entire collection of James Bond films!
How does getting paid to watch James Bond films sound? If you’re someone who just can’t get enough Bond, then you really are in luck; the perfect job has come up for you.
CarTakeBack UK is on a mission to find one lucky 007 fan to fulfil the dream job of watching every single James Bond film (and completing a set task, too).
They’ll earn a one-off fee of £500 for their efforts and the entire set of 24 films to date for free.
Got A Golden-Eye for Detail?
The exact details of the successful applicant’s top-secret assignment will be kept under wraps until they’re selected. The successful applicant will then be tasked with watching all 24 James Bond films over a fortnight, for a specific reason.
Applicants must be:
18 years or over
Live in the UK
Have access to a laptop to record information about each film
Oh and of course, absolutely love James Bond movies.
You don’t even need your CV up to date - applicants just need to answer questions such as, what’s your favourite Bond movie, who you think should play the next James Bond and where their next mission should be.
Applicants will need to apply here https://www.cartakeback.com/blog/just-for-fun/dream-job-get-paid-to-view-james-bond-films-every-day-for-a-fortnight by 23:59 on 27th February 2020 for their licence to watch.
Sunday, 23 February 2020
Wednesday, 19 February 2020
Mother Love
Margret is a loving mother to three adult children. Life wasn't always easy as they had, whilst growing up, had to develop coping skills to deal with the constant flashes of anger from Margaret.
But what caused these moments of anger? It wasn't the children, though they had to cope with her rages. Margaret's problem is that she is being crushed by the weight of a family secret.
Her daughter Caroline serves the role of a peacekeeper. She moves into married life and becomes a mother in her own right.
Her son Matthew strives to become independent and self-reliant, carving out a successful career in botany, enjoying life in his organic smallholding, with his family and friends gathered in close to him.
There's Chloe, a very talented violinist and the favourite of her mother. However, this favouritism comes with no small price for Chloe, as she finds it impossible to flee from Margaret's influence as her own life seems to deteriorate.
However, Margaret's actions seems to become even stranger and downright bizarre, causing even more worry to her children. All of whom had been damaged by their mother, to a greater or lesser extent.
But what does any of it matter, so long a her secret is protected at almost any cost?
Elizabeth Brown largely tells the story through the medium of family letters and journal entries.
By the time I had finished the last page, I knew all of the family members very well. But I think I had learned to hate Margaret only part way through. The sub title: a blessing or a curse? is most appropriate.
This is a very moving novel which is a very worth debut.
It's published by Matador at £8.99.
The Breaking Storm
It follows from the first novel, Gathering Clouds, telling how Killcaid, the ambitious and ruthless overseer at the Nethergate Tobacco Plantation in Kentucky, tightens his control over the community as he continues his evil vendetta against the slave called Matthew, which actually foments a rebellion, no matter how limited it was in scope.
In the next part of the story we travel to New York, home to profiteers and the exploiters of both sides of the Civil War, without any thought to the likely consequences of their actions.
The slave community are stirred by the notion that freedom from their enslavement might be on its way.
However, the times are also riven with romance, passions that run high and the thirst for revenge are interleaved with unexpected moments of hope and compassion.
The scope of the novel leaves the confines of the Continental disunited States and takes in the action on the island of Nassau, known for its hedonism and wild lifestyles.
But there's a blockade operated by the US Navy (those wicked Yankees) that must be breached if they are to have any chance of success and victory.
It's another highly readable novel in the series by Sandhurst-educated former army officer and school master Derek H. Skinner.
It's published by The Book Guild at £8.99.
13 Ancient Things that don't make sense in History
His book will make you think. He raises some very interesting points about history which tends to challenge things that we think we know.
For example, how could a boat be found atop of a hill in Britain that was found to be 10,000 years old, when this dating showed that the boat was made 7,000 years before they were even invented?
How can it be when, at a time sea levels are apparently rising, Roman ports have been found miles away from the coast?
And how could there be gigantic prehistoric canals constructed to technical standards that were even superior to Victorian engineering?
How can it be that the dragon myths are shared the world over, by civilisations that had no contact with each other?
Could ancient monuments really have been constructed with nothing more than antler picks?
If Columbus was the first European to find the Americas, how come there are artefacts and bones indicating that other Europeans actually arrived 10,000 years before him?
If Troy was located in Turkey, why did it take Jason 10 whole years to get back home to Greece?
What about the world's oldest and greatest civilisation? Where was it? What happened to it? Learn about its surprising location on page 81 of this intriguing book.
And what secrets did our ancient British forbears know about our weather?
All these and even more puzzling and bizarre facts are to be found within this amazing book.
It's illustrated by Annette Jones with editorial support by Luke Holliday.
Published by the ABC Publishing Group, this book will challenge what you think you know about history, but in a logical, compelling fashion.
It costs £20.35, though is available from Amazon at £14.99 or £5.30 in Kindle format.
Got a history buff in your family? Then this is the ideal gift for them.
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