Encouraging children to read
You probably know that I love reading; I love expanding my knowledge and getting lost in a story. I want my children to love reading as well. It will help them at school and I hope inspire their …
This is the year I’ve stopped reading
I love reading. In fact I love reading too much and when I start a good book it takes over everything. I skimp on all my other activities so I can fit in more reading time. I’ve kept a log in …
Ask Advice: How to productively use book social media sites
Social media has become part of every day web use for most people, whether it is connecting to friends, playing games or sharing photographs. I believe social media should either be fun or useful, but …
Why I didn’t choose an Amazon Kindle
There are some products that become linked to a particular brand name, in some cases the brand replaces the generic term e.g. Blu-tac, Sellotape, Biro. This appears to be occurring in the …
Ask advice – which ebook reader?
UPDATE: I bought a Sony Touch, read my thoughts after six months. An ebook reader is the latest gadget I want and I’ve been offered one for my upcoming birthday; I had the same offer last year …
My favourite books of 2008
My notes suggest I read 50 books in 2008 (13 fewer than 200) although like a lot of things towards the end of the year I let my notes slip so it is possible I’ve missed a few books. Comparing …
My favourite books of 2007
I am still working towards my goal of reading 75 books in a year; in 2007 I made it to 63 books, an average of over 5 a month, which I think is an impressive amount. I’ve read 6 books during …
Where to get free personalised book recommendations
There are many methods of choosing books, but recommendations has been a popular method for a long time. However there are limitations with recommendations because they usually only consider one book …
I have been invited to join Amazon Vine
I got an email this morning from Amazon.co.uk inviting me to join their Amazon Vine program. The same program has existed on Amazon.com for a few months. If you haven’t already read about Amazon …
The First Rider’s Call by Kristen Britain – book review
Link to Amazon This is the sequel to The Green Rider which I really enjoyed and wanted to read the sequel as soon as I discovered it and luckily was able to request this copy through bookmooch . The …
14 most popular book reviews (and how to make them better)
I have now transferred all my book reviews from my two previous websites and added a few more recent ones. I’m pleased at the number of hits I’ve had on my reviews as I haven’t …
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi – book review
Links to Amazon.com Although I found this book interesting this was despite the writing style. The book for some reason is split into four sections; Lolita, Gatsby, James and Austen, but the section …
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud – book review
Link to Amazon.com The book is set in a London where magic is commonplace; in fact the whole Government is comprised of magicians. Nathaniel is a young apprentice to one of these ministers, Arthur …
Mister Monday by Garth Nix – book review
Link to Amazon Amazon recommended this book to me after I read and enjoyed Abhorsen. I bought a copy from a local Oxfam bookshop, but forgot about it and bought a second copy on my honeymoon in …
The Green Rider by Kristen Britain – book review
Link to Amazon Amazon recommended this book to me after reading Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs. At the start of this year I was enjoying reading fantasy books so I requested this book through …
Secret life of bees by Sue Monk Kidd – book review
Link to Amazon This book came highly recommended by several people, but I’ve had this book so long that I can’t remember where I got it from, however I can tell it is definitely second …
Cane River by Lalita Tademy – book review
Link to Amazon.com Amazon recommended this book to me as I had read and enjoyed other books from Oprah’s Book Club; I didn’t know anything else about the book, but had the opportunity to …
5 websites to get cheap books
Perhaps even more than reading books I like shopping for books. There is something about an unread book that holds so much potential, particularly a brand new book. However over the last few years I …
Hunting Unicorns by Bella Pollen – book review
Link to Amazon The two main characters are Rory and Maggie. Rory is the youngest son of the Earl and Countess of Bevan who is trying to help his parents keep their house. Maggie is an American …
The Art of Murder by Jose Carlos Somoza – book review
Link to Amazon The story is based in the art world of Europe. The most popular art is hyperdramatism, where people are the canvas. The canvases are painted daily and hold their positions, without …
Pay it forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde – book review
Link to this book on Amazon Trevor McKinney undertakes an assignment from his social studies teach to think of an idea to change the world, and put it into action. Trevor’s idea is simple, do a …
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell – book review
Link to this book on Amazon This is an intriguing and interesting book. The book is skilfully written in six very different styles, from thriller to sci fi. I found the book very difficult to read for …
Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn – book review
Link to this book on Amazon Rohan becomes prince of the desert earlier than expected when a dragon kills his father. No one is sure how he will do as he so different to his father, quiet and studious …
Persuasion by Jane Austen – book review
Link to this book on Amazon I find this book harsher than Jane Austen’s other books, but that just makes it stand out from her other more popular books. The main character Anne is twenty-seven, …