Book Reviews by Lynda Cookson

Tea ‘n Turps: Taking Tea with Artists

2010-02-25T03:18:00.000-08:00

By Lynda Cookson

ISBN: 0-978-1-60860-848-5

Soft Cover, 90 pages

"At first glance, you instinctively know that 'Tea 'n Turps' by Lynda Cookson will make for an interesting read. It won't be long before you're hooked! This is a book I would strongly recommend, not only to all art-lovers, but to all readers. You cannot escape Lynda's witty and anecdotal writing style."

Review by Niamh Slack, Teacher.

I know very little about art or artists but this book was given to me as a Christmas Gift and Tea ‘N Turps has been a very good read – in fact you could say I am hooked! Lynda Cookson does go ‘behind the scenes’, so to speak, and portrays the artists as persons first and then, as artists, living and working in the West of Ireland. It is very entertaining, easy to read and amusing, with beautifully presented lovely pictures and different styles of paintings. My own favourite artist is Kieran Tobin because I like paintings of nature and countryside. But being a cat lover, I also enjoyed reading about Francis Kennedy and the painting skills of Lulu his cat (who sneaks in on the cover of the book!). She is fortunate to have such a patient owner.

Review by Teresa Conroy

Tea ‘n Turps: Taking Tea with Artists

By Lynda Cookson

Explore the philosophies and marvel at the stunning works of twelve talented artists living and working in Ireland. Artist and author Lynda Cookson conducted over one hundred interviews between 2004-2008, selecting artists whose images and stories create a fascinating mix of styles, personalities and unique history for this collection of visual artist profiles.

Take a behind-the-scenes look at paintings in progress as these artists share their fears, joys and triumphs in a heartfelt and often humorous account of their lives. Filled with inspiring stories and spectacular artwork, this book will forever change the way you experience a work of art.

“Lynda's poetic style lends a mystic air to the artists she writes about. Her writing can only be described as beautiful, and always with a great sense of humour. Her artist profiles are now an integral and treasured part of the magazines.”
Jo Lavelle, Acting Group Editor, THE ‘NOW’ MAGAZINES

The above taken from the back cover of the book.

All Books brand new and in perfect condition. Protected in plastic while in stock and during shipping

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Price €20.00

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Price €55.00

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The Murder Room

2009-08-02T08:46:00.000-07:00

By P. D. James

ISBN : 0-571-21811-9
Large Softcover, 371 pages

My comment: P.D. James cannot fail to enthral.
Lynda Cookson
www.lyndacookson.com

When Commander Dalgliesh is persuaded by an old friend to visit the Dupayne, a small private museum on the edge of Hampstead Heath, he can have no idea that he will return to it one week later under very different circumstances. One of the family trustees has been horribly murdered and Dalgliesh and his team are called in to investigate a death which from the first is fraught with complications. Even before the murder, the museum was in tumult. A new lease was due to be signed and two of the trustees were determined to keep the museum open, the third passionately determined on its closure.

The museum is dedicated to the years 1919 – 1939 and one of the galleries, the Murder Room, displays exhibits from the most notorious cases of those inter-war years. And now a modern killer is at work, the crimes uncannily echoing the cases on display. All the small group of people, the trustees, staff and volunteers, who work in the Dupayne, have the means and the opportunity for murder. One of them has the ruthlessness to kill and kill again.

The investigation is complicated for Dalgliesh by his love for Emma Lavenham, but their relationship, at a sensitive stage for them both, is continually frustrated by the demands of his job. As step by step he moves closer to the murderer, is the investigation taking him further away from commitment to the woman he loves?

P. D. James once again demonstrates the truth of Orwell’s saying that murder, the unique crime, should arise only from strong emotions. No one handles them with more authority and sensitivity. This new novel has all the qualities which readers of P.D. James have come to value: psychological and emotional richness of characterisation, a keen sense of place and a credible and exciting mystery. ‘The Murder Room’ is a worthy successor to the acclaimed ‘Death in Holy Orders’.

The above taken from the back cover of the book.

In very good condition just slight tanning on edge pages of book and a small stain on side page. Protected in plastic while in stock and during shipping.

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An Outrageous Affair

2009-08-02T08:42:00.000-07:00

By Penny Vincenci

ISBN : 1-85797-425-5
Softcover, 870 pages

My comment: A novel by Penny Vincenzi can never be anything but good.
Lynda Cookson
www.lyndacookson.com

The truth often hurts. It can even kill.

A mysterious, tragic accident in the 1950s; an inexplicable suicide twenty years later. What was the strange link between the two – and Caroline Hunterton’s long-buried past? A secret which could not be kept for ever, especially from her two daughters, Chloe and Fleur. Fate had separated the sisters in time and distance – but bound them in mutual hatred – until journalist Magnus Phillips decided to tell the story that would tear their lives apart.

Moving from wartime Suffolk to fifties Hollywood, from glitzy Madison Avenue to London’s theatrical aristocracy and the machinations of cheque-book publishing, ‘An Outrageous Affair’ explores the extraordinary, sometimes fatal, consequences of truth.

‘An Outrageous Affair is mesmerising from start to finish’
Evening Standard

The above quotes taken from the back cover of the book.

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Career Girls

2009-08-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

By Louise Bagshawe
Top Ten bestselling author of ‘Glamour’

ISBN : 978-0-7553-4049-1
Softcover, 503 pages

I took a bit of a look inside and discovered that the quick reviews by Company, Daily Express and 19 Magazine, all apply.
Lynda Cookson
www.lyndacookson.com

All’s fair in love and war?

Blonde, beautiful, upper-class Rowena Gordon is the perfect English rose. Topaz Rossi is a feisty Italian-American red-head from Brooklyn. Both are determined and talented. And there’s nothing they wouldn’t do for each other.

Until Rowena hooks up with Topaz’s boyfriend.

Now, years later, they are star career girls at the top of their game; topaz in journalism, Rowena in the music industry. When their paths cross again, Topaz is not about to just forgive and forget. She’ll do everything in her power to shatter Rowena’s success. And Rowena will do anything to stop her …

‘A fat, sexy book that throbs with vitality from the first page’
Daily Express

‘A sexy blockbuster … racy stuff!’
19 Magazine

‘Her novels are action-packed; her heroines gorgeous; and her writing punchy … I love it.’
Daily Mail

‘One hell of a read’
Company

The above quotes taken from the back cover of the book.

In perfect condition. Protected in plastic while in stock and during shipping

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Price €9.50

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The Love of her Life

2009-08-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

By Harriet Evans
Bestselling author of ‘A Hopeless Romantic’

ISBN : 978-0-00-724382-2
Softcover, 486 pages

What did I find in the sneak peek into the pages?: As a chick-lit romance, it looks good.

Like every woman, Kate thought she’d never meet the love of her life … until she did. But are they destined to be together?

Kate Miller has lived in New York for three long years. Now, with her father ill, it’s time to come home and face everything she left behind …

Her friends: Zoe and Francesca, bound to her forever as a result of one day when life changed for them all.

Her family: her adored father and his much younger wife.

The job she abandoned, on a glossy women’s magazine.

And the man she thought was the love of her life, whose heart she has broken.

What really happened before Kate left London? And can she pick up the pieces and allow herself to love life again?

A modern day love story jam-packed with humour, hurt, hope and happiness – so unputdownable you’ll cancel your Friday night out to keep reading.

‘A lovely funny heartwarmer’
Marie Claire

‘Fabulous … I loved it’
Sophie Kinsella

‘Where’s all the passion, romance and comedy we love gone? Enter Harriet Evans and not before time.
Heat

The above quotes taken from the back cover of the book.

In perfect condition. Protected in plastic while in stock and during shipping

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Price €9.50

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Mario Puzo’s The Godfather: The Lost Years.

2009-08-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

By Mark Winegardner

ISBN : 0-09-946547-7

Softback, 656 pages

My quick peek inside revealed : Excellent. In true style.

It is 1955. Michael Corleone has won a bloody victory in the war among New York’s crime families. Now he wants to consolidate his power, save his marriage, and take his family legit. But he must also confront his most dangerous adversary yet, Nick Geraci, a lawyer, former boxer and Corleone street enforcer, who is every bit as cunning as Michael…

Sweeping from New York to Las Vegas and Cuba, ‘The Godfather: The Lost Years’ is a spellbinding story of America’s criminal underworld, a tale about what we love, yearn for, and sometimes have reason to fear: family …

‘Brilliantly recreates the vivid, pungent prose style of Puzo’s original’
Daily Express

‘Winegardner … has done an excellent job. The plotting is subtler and defter than Puzo’s, with more surprises – even jokes.’
Daily Telegraph

The above quotes taken from the back cover of the book.

Slight stain on page. Protected in plastic while in stock and during shipping

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A Crowded Marriage

2009-08-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

By Catherine Alliottt

ISBN : 978-0-7553-3520-6
Softback, 598 pages

My quick peek inside revealed : Well written and as ‘The Times’ commented, ‘compulsively readable’.
Lynda Cookson
www.lyndacookson.com

There are three people in Imogen Cameron’s marriage – herself, her husband, Alex, and their son, Rufus – and that’s the way she likes it. But that’s all about to change …

When the Camerons hit dire financial straits they’re forced to leave London and accept Eleanor Latimer’s offer of a rent-free cottage on her country estate. Ordinarily, a free home in the country is not to be sniffed at but, as Eleanor is Alex’s beautiful and flirtatious ex, Imogen is very sniffy indeed.

And with good reason. Once installed in Shepherd’s Cottage, Imogen’s life is suddenly full to bursting with surly locals, psychotic chickens, a maddening (if handsome) headmaster, mountains of manure, visits from the infuriatingly bossy vet, and Eleanor, who seems to be glued to Alex’s side.

As far as Imogen’s concerned, two’s a marriage, three’s a family and this … well, this is just silly, someone’s got to go. The question is who?

‘A Crowded Marriage’ is the brilliant novel from the bestselling author of The Old-Girl Network, Going Too far, The Real Thing, Rosie Meadows Regrets …, Olivia’s Luck, the Wedding Day, A Married Man and Not that Kind of Girl.

‘Compulsively readable’
The Times

‘A joy … you’re in for a treat’
Daily Express

‘Hilarious and full of surprises’
Daily Telegraph

The above quotes taken from the back cover of the book.

In good condition. Protected in plastic while in stock and during shipping

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Price €7.00

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Thanks for the Memories

2009-08-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

By Cecelia Ahern
Bestselling author of ‘PS I love You’

ISBN : 978-0-00-723369-4
Softcover, 489 pages

My quick peek inside revealed : I was kept reading at the page where I opened the book - on a scene at the luggage conveyor belt in an airport in London – and found humour, in a normal situation well written. I tried again, at a where-the-book-opens page later in the book, and was captivated in the same way. Bodes well for an entertaining read.

How can you know someone you’ve never met?

Joyce Conway remembers things she shouldn’t. She knows about tiny cobbled streets in Paris, which she has never visited. And every night she dreams about an unknown little girl with blonde hair.

Justin Hitchcock is divorced, lonely and restless. He arrives in Dublin to give a lecture on art and is persuaded to donate blood. It’s the first thing to come straight from his heart in a long time.

When Joyce leaves hospital after a terrible accident, with her life and her marriage in pieces, she moves back in with her elderly father. All the while, a strong sense of déjà vu is overwhelming her and she can’t figure out why …

‘The legendary Ahern will keep you guessing what binds these stories. A classic.’
Company

‘The key to Ahern’s success is her ability to not just tell a good story, but sprinkle it with plenty of laughs, tears, and a little bit of magic.’
Mirror

The above quotes taken from the back cover of the book.

In excellent condition. Protected in plastic while in stock and during shipping

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Price €9.95

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New Moon

2009-08-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

By Stephenie Meyer

ISBN : 978-1-904233-88-6

Softback, 594 pages

A quick peek into the pages revealed : The reason it’s made it to this blog is that it’s a different and thought-provoking read.

‘Shoot,’ I muttered when the paper sliced my finger; I pulled it out to examine the damage. A single drop of blood oozed from the tiny cut.

‘No!’ Edward roared … Dazed and disoriented, I looked up from the bright red blood pulsing out of my arm – into the fevered eyes of the six suddenly ravenous vampires.

For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella could ever have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning …

Passionate, riveting and deeply moving, ‘New Moon’, the compelling sequel to ‘Twilight’, irresistibly combines romance and suspense with a supernatural twist.

The above quotes taken from the back cover of the book.

In excellent condition. Protected in plastic while in stock and during shipping

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Price €9.50

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Eclipse

2009-08-02T08:02:00.000-07:00

By Stephenie Meyer

ISBN 978-1-904233-91-6
Softback, 628 pages plus a preview chapter of her next novel

My quick peek inside revealed : Different. Captivating.
Lynda Cookson
www.lyndacookson.com

‘Bella?’ Edward’s soft voice came from behind me. He pulled me into his arms at once, and kissed me. His kiss frightened me. There was too much tension, too strong an edge to the way his lips crushed mine – like he was afraid we had only so much time left to us.

As Seattle is ravaged by a strong of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob – knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

Following the international bestsellers ‘Twilight’ and ‘New Moon’, ‘Eclipse’ is the much-anticipated third book in Stephenie Meyer’s captivating saga of vampire romance.

‘Her story, recounted in hypnotic, dreamy prose, encapsulates perfectly the teenage feeling of sexual tension and alienation’
The Times

‘The thrilling tale of a vampire romance at high school’
Sunday Herald

The above quotes taken from the back cover of the book.

In excellent condition. Protected in plastic while in stock and during shipping

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Price €8.50

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Drop Dead Beautiful

2009-08-02T07:57:00.001-07:00

By Jackie Collins
The continuing adventures of Lucky Santangelo. The Sunday Times bestseller.

ISBN 978-1-84739-315-9

Softcover, 526 pages

My quick peek inside reveals : pretty gripping and fast-paced with plenty dialogue.

The bestselling author of ‘Lovers & Players’ returns with her twenty-fifth dynamic new novel and her best-loved character, Lucky Santangelo … so get ready for a scandalously wild ride!

Lucky is back with a vengeance – every bit as strong, sexy and seductive as ever. But Lucky is older and wiser now – and she’s hot to reclaim her power position in Las Vegas by building a magnificent billion dollar hotel complex.

Max, Lucky’s rebellious teenage daughter, is every bit as outrageous as Lucky herself. Max is hard to control, especially when she takes off to rendezvous with a stranger she meets on the internet.

While Lucky is busy building her hotel, she is unaware that a deadly enemy from her past has surfaced. A person determined to take everything from her, including the family that she holds so dear.

Internationally bestselling author Jackie Collins marks her twenty-fifth novel with another dazzling page-turner, packed with desire, sex, revenge and love.

Lucky Santangelo rules!

‘Bartender, pour us a dirty martini and keep them coming. This is vintage Jackie Collins and we’ll be here till closing’
Heat

The above quotes taken from the back cover of the book.

In excellent condition. Protected in plastic while in stock and during shipping

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Price €8.50

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Tongue In Cheek

2009-08-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

By Fiona Walker

ISBN 0-340-89579-9
Softcover, 674 pages

My quick peek inside reveals: looks like lots of fun, humour and action. I actually took three or four peeks inside – which means it drew me in enough to want to read it. A good sign.
Lynda Cookson
www.lyndacookson.com

Are you feeling cheeky?

If you’re tongue tied, kiss a stranger … a moving experience.

From the very first day that they move to the Oddlode Valley, Mo, Diana and Anke, find themselves on a relocation collision course. As inept removal men deliver furniture to the wrong houses, saucier moves are being made …

Mo’s bad boy lover takes Diana’s eye, Anke’s flirtatious husband suggests Mo hop into bed with him – and Diana’s local heart-throb brother comes joyfully face to face with his teenage crush.

As a long, hot Indian summer burns its embers into winter, new passions ignite and old flames are fanned. The heat is on, and sparks fly – but is this just a flash in the pan or is somebody fuelling the fire?

‘A rompalong tale’
Good Housekeeping

‘Fun’
Heat

The above quotes taken from the back cover of the book.

In very good condition. Protected in plastic while in stock and during shipping

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Price €9.50

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Leg The Spread

2009-07-12T07:53:00.001-07:00

By Cari Lynn
A Woman’s Adventures Inside the Trillion-Dollar Boys’ Club of Commodities Trading

ISBN 1841126640
Hardcover with dust jacket
318 pages

Here’s a book I would like to read from cover to cover …. but, it’s brand new, and I only have the one copy, so I’ll keep it that way for you, the purchaser. For those who believe in the abilities of women, you’ll love this one!! And it’s well written into the bargain.

“In the Futures market, it’s all about minimizing risk and maximising your wallet. Buying something gives you one leg, but you’ve got to sell something to get the other leg. If you can come full-circle, and you’ve got two legs to stand on, that’s your spread. This takes expertise and guts, and it shouldn’t matter whether you’re male or female – but it does. It’s a man’s world in trading and it takes a strong stomach, a thick skin and plenty of grit for a woman to get ahead.”

“Raucous”
- The Daily Telegraph

“Rip-roaring … larger-than-life characters, high-stakes risk-taking, and excess in all its forms.”
- The Economist

“ … nowhere is quite like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The Merc is capitalism’s rottweiler, … the motto is kill or be killed … By Lynn’s telling each trading session resembles a boisterous night out – with routine punch-ups, awful language, gambling and illicit sex.”
- The Daily Telegraph

“Funny, fast-paced … a thrill ride …exhilarating and addictive … like reliving those experiences.”
- Elle Readers

“A sexy, adrenalized, very cool book that is a lesson as well as a pleasure”
- James McManus, author of ‘Positively Fifth Street’

“A swashbuckling adventure in the heart of Chicago that should not be missed … Cari Lynn takes you inside the crash-and-burn world of ‘the Merc’, a baptism by fire where the good old boys’ club is invaded by girls who – with humour, guts, and acumen – get even by getting rich.”
- Gail Evans, author of ‘Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman’ and ‘She Wins, You Win’

“Cari Lynn’s vivid descriptions make you feel as if you’re right there with her in the frenzied mélange of the trading pits. If you’re a woman considering a career anywhere near stocks and trading, this is one book you have to read first.”
- Lois P. Frankel, author of ‘Nice Girls don’t Get The Corner Office’

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The True Francine

2009-07-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

By Marc Brown

ISBN 0237456354
Pepper Press, 1982,
Hardcover, 29 pages

Lively, colourful and large illustrations of the text on each page. A bright, cheerful and active story for youngsters who have learnt to read or who like to have a bedtime story read to them.

“Francine has a reputation for mischief and is falsely accused of cheating. What should she do? Should she tell Mr Ratburn the truth? Will her best friend, Muffy, tell him? A light-hearted look at the problems of growing up packed with insight and silly fun, ‘The True Francine’ also says something about honesty and friendship.”

Quote taken from back cover of book.

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Group Portrait

2009-07-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

By Nicholas Delbanco

ISBN 0881845841
Softcover
205 pages; plus notes 11 pages; and index 5 pages
There is a small section of black and white plates of old photographs included.

“In our century there have been some rare and rich occasions when writers have clustered together – such as Paris in the 1920s and the outpouring of creativity from the Bloomsbury Group. What few people know is that a galaxy of literary talent could be found in South East England in 1900. Here, such writers as Joseph Conrad, Henry James, H.G. Wells, Stephen Crane and Ford Madox Ford came to live, feud and collaborate in a singularly productive manner. ‘Group Portrait’ is a provocative account of how this “community” came to affect the entire course of writing in the twentieth century.”

“Mr Delbanco has a firm sense of place and a graceful style. He ends this intelligent, lovely book of criticism and biography with a reference to (Henry) James. According to James, ‘the best things come from the talents that are members of a group …’”
- New York Times

“What is inspiring about Delbanco’s consideration of these novelists is how unfamiliar the details seem and how much has been overlooked. His book is scrupulously composed. The freshness of his insights owes much to the original light cast upon his subjects.”
- Boston Globe

“This gathering of literary masters in Southern England forged a creative community the equal of Bloomsbury or Paris in the 1920s.”
- The Times

“The small world of Edwardian novelists and how well they knew each other is the subject of Nicholas Delbanco’s ‘Group Portrait’ … The book is well worth reading … Delbanco shares James’ and Ford’s conviction that writers flourish better in a group than as hermits.”
- Arts and Letters

All quotes taken from cover and frontispiece of book.

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Interview

2009-07-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

By Claudia Dreifus

“In Claudia Dreifus’s hands – or word processor – the interview is an art form. And the product is representational art of the highest order, portraying her subjects in an insightful manner that is both accurate and imaginative.” – Congressman Barney Frank

As’ The New York times Magazine’s’ interviewer of choice, Claudia Dreifus criss-crosses the globe to encounter some of the world’s most interesting women and men. Dreifus’s interviews – by her choice of subjects, the questions she asks, and the answers she gets – always surprise.

The subjects in ‘Interview’ are those whom Dreifus calls “Saints” (the Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi, Andrew Young), “Philosophers” (futurists Alvin and Heidi Toffler, medical ethicist Arthur Caplan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), “Citizens” (Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman John Shalikashvili, Benazir Bhutto, ACLU president Nadine Strossen, gay congressman Barney Frank, civil rights widow Myrlie Evers, Hanan M. Ashrawi) “Media Phreaks” (Esther Dyson; NPR’s Cokie, Nina, and Linda; Dan Rather; Richard Dreyfuss; Samuel L Jackson; John Sayles), and “Poets” (Toni Morrison, Arthur Miller).

‘Interview’ contains wide-ranging, informative conversations from diverse points of view on race, cyber-technology, self-expression, celebrity, privacy, sexuality, AIDS, war. At the same time, Dreifus’s questioning offers the reader a human side of these larger-than-life personalities.”

Quote taken from dust jacket of book.

As well as transcripts, or part transcripts, of the interviews, the author has included her own notes and stories, where relevant, of how the interviews came about and what happened either before or after. Not dry reading at all, with small black and white portrait shots of the interviewees. A highly recommended and interesting read.

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Private Passions

2009-07-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

By Michael Berkeley

Private Passions is one of BBC Radio 3’s most successful radio programmes of recent years. Presented by the distinguished composer Michael Berkeley, and recorded in a spare bedroom in his house, the programme brings out the very best in a fascinating mix of guests not necessarily known for their love of music, from Joanna Lumley to George Steiner and from Elvis Costello to Isaiah Berlin.

This is an indispensable bible of the show’s first decade, and once opened it becomes an intriguing Pandora’s Box of delights. Who are the most frequently requested composers? What did Dennis Healey choose and what happened to his private parts as he was recording the programme? How did England fast bowler, Bob Willis recreate his long run-up in music and what did Dame Edna find in Percy Grainer’s private museum? You could easily build an entire and wonderful record collection from this extraordinary volume.”

Above quotes taken from dust jacket of book.

With reviews featured on the back dust jacket by Stephen Fry, Jon Snow, Dr Jonathan Miller and Joanna Lumley.

Lists of the music chosen with personal notes written by Michael Berkeley at the end of selected interviews.

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The Cat Who Covered The World

2009-07-11T20:19:00.000-07:00

The adventures of Henrietta and her foreign correspondent
By Christopher S Wren

ISBN 0297607715
Hardcover, 190 pages

Henrietta was just a city cat until she ventured overseas with foreign correspondent Christopher S Wren, his wife and two children. Over seventeen years and tens of thousands of miles she became a plucky, indispensable companion for the reporter as he covered world events in Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, Ottawa and Johannesburg.

Wren’s often hilarious, and sometimes poignant account of his family’s adventures criss-crossing the globe shows them coping with chaos in faraway places – always with the help of their ever-resourceful cat.

In Russia, Henrietta cadged fish and cabbage at Moscow’s Central Market, acquired a taste for caviar, befriended Nobel laureate Andrei Sakharov, disrupted a diplomatic dinner to present a Mouse to the guest of honour, and fended off Rasputin – her tomcat nemesis. Lost for weeks in Egypt, Henrietta survived on the unforgiving streets of Cairo, vied with Nile River rats for food scraps, and miraculously found her way back to her distraught family after they had given her up for dead……”

Part-quote taken from dust jacket of book.

Absolutely delightful – as the image on the cover suggests.

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Desire Lines

2009-07-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

By Annie McCartney
“Sometimes the rules have to be broken …”

ISBN 085640702X
Softback, 247 pages

“Eventually she said, ‘do you want to come to bed?’ and that was that … If she thought of her motive, and she had chosen not to, she was doing something wrong to stop herself from doing something even more wrong. This was as far from sleeping with a priest as she could get.”

“Clare Murphy has come home to a terrace house in west Belfast to lick her wounds. Her glamorous acting career in London is faltering, and her long-term lover Tim has ditched her for a younger actress with more useful theatrical connections.

With time on her hands – acting jobs are hard to come by even in a newly vibrant Belfast – she agrees to help a local drama group led by Lorcan O’Carroll. Father Lorcan O’Carroll, that is. The immediate attraction she feels to the priest is not only strongly sexual but, it appears, disturbingly mutual.

In flight from her emotions yet again, she succumbs to the approaches of Robert, a much younger actor. Their ‘sheer physical workout’ is passionate but brief – or so Clare intends. After all, men have no-strings affairs with younger women all the time and no harm done, surely?

But deep harm has indeed been done, and Clare finds that love – in any of its manifestations – is not a thing of to be handled lightly.

Intimate and honest, this compelling first novel from playwright Annie McCartney heralds the debut of an exciting new voice in Irish fiction.”

Quotes taken from back of book cover.

The cover image more than hints at the desire and passion of the book, which keeps the reader enthralled with the cliff-hanger anticipation of what is going to happen next. I doubt you’ll want to read this one in anything but one full sitting, from start to end.

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Almost Heaven

2009-07-11T20:08:00.000-07:00

Travels through the Backwoods of America
By Martin Fletcher

ISBN 0349109354
Softback, 304 pages

“An enthralling, addictive book to compare with John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley or Bill Bryson’s Lost Continent” DAILY EXPRESS

“Filled with the sort of wonderful detail and lively dialogue that graces the best of 19th-century British travel writings.” TIME

“After seven years as Washington correspondent of ‘The Times’, Martin Fletcher set off to explore the great American ‘boondocks’ – the raw and untamed land that exists far from the famous cities and national parks. His extraordinary journey takes him to amazing communities preparing for Armageddon; goes bear-hunting and gold-prospecting; meets truckstop preachers and Death Row inmates. From the eccentric but friendly to the frankly unhinged, the inhabitants of backwater America and their preoccupations, prejudices and traditions are brought vividly to life.”

Quotes taken from cover of book.

Insightful and eye-opening … a travel book with a difference and packed with the characters of the boondocks. Helpful maps at the beginning of each chapter make sure you know where’s he at.

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Get Dutch!

2009-07-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

A Biography of Elmore Leonard
By Paul Challen

ISBN 1550224220
Softback, Pages 170 plus 12 pages of Chronology and Sources

“For six decades now, American crime novelist Elmore “Dutch” Leonard has been entertaining readers around the world with his unique style, gritty dialogue and quirky characters. Beginning as a writer of Western stories in the 1950s and moving into the crime genre in the 1960s, Leonard has published 36 novels, and many of these – including the recent hits ‘Out of Sight’, ‘Get Shorty’, and ‘Jackie Brown’ – have also been made into successful movies. Through it all, Leonard has won legions of crime fiction fans who can’t get enough of his dialogue-driven narratives and intricate plots.

“Get Dutch! A Biography of Elmore Leonard” is the first full-length biography of Leonard in over a decade. Author Paul Challen has mined a number of key sources in the search to uncover the story of this remarkable writer, including in-depth interviews with Leonard himself, his personal research assistant, the screenwriter responsible for bringing ‘Out of Sight’ and ‘Get Shorty’ to the big screen, academics who have studied Leonard and his place in the literary world, and crime fiction experts who have analyzed the impact of Leonard’s novels on the reading public.

“Get Dutch!” presents the life of Leonard from the perspective of a long-time fan, and gives the reader an up-to-date look at how this genre-defying author went from advertising copywriter to best-selling novelist over the course of his long career.”

The above quotes taken from the cover of the book.

There are a few relevant black and white plates within the pages of the book.

Well, who wouldn’t want to read about the guy who brought John Travolta and “Get Shorty” together?

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The Understanding of Jenner Ransfield

2009-07-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

By Imogen de la Bere

Published by Vintage
ISBN 009928944X
Softback, 329 pages

“A rich black comedy of lust and longing from the author of “The Last Deception of Palliser Wentwood.”

“Jenner Ransfield is a tormented, brilliant academic with great personal magnetism but no self-control. He teaches at a lowly agricultural college and lives on a farm in Somerset where he sporadically tyrannises his sad, suppressed wife and two extraordinary children.

Into this dark world enters Theodora Potts, a pretty, neat, American veterinary scientist who knows it all and intends to study the harvesting of bull semen with Dr Ransfield. But nothing seems to go according to plan from the moment she meets Fergal, an urban warrior whose protests involve hanging naked in tree-tops.

A black comedy that is as original as it is delightful. ‘The Understanding of Jenner Ransfield’ confirms Imogen de la Bere as an exceptionally gifted novelist.”

The above quotes taken from the cover of the book.

From my cursory peek into the pages of the book, I’d sum it up as a cocooned look at relationship interactions which could so easily be your own. Lots of emotion, lots of understandable misunderstandings … following the course of the characters’ needs and expectations.

I’d recommend it.

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The Tournament

2009-07-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

by John Clarke

ISBN 1841197815
Softback, 261 pages
Plus extra 15 pages of the fictional tennis results

“Take your seats for the most unusual tennis tournament in the history of the world. Paris has gone crazy, flags and banners are everywhere. Every hotel is booked out. Queues at the stadium are huge, and the worldwide television audience is tipped to be in the billions.

Each nation is fielding its great names: the American team boasts Ernest Hemingway, F Scott Fitzgerald, Amelia Earhardt and many others, while British stars include PG Wodehouse, Enid Blyton and James Joyce. ‘Supertom’ Eliot is on sadly indifferent form ‘Because I did not serve too well./ Because I did not serve’. Groucho Marx confuses Heidegger – ‘By the third set Marx was running around his accountant. He was trying to get his accountant to run around his backhand when the match finished.’ You’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Clarke has created a convincing alternative universe. At the beginning, the reader wonders how good Einstein would have been on his backhand side. By the end, the reader wonders whether Lleyton Hewitt would be any good at relativity.’ Clive James.

Above quotes taken from back of book.

Review written by Brian Matthews in Australian Book Review, February 2003 – and found on the inside cover of the book:

“This device, a tournament that pits some of the great creative artists, thinkers, wits, polemicists and celebrities of roughly the past hundred years against each other at the notionally sporting, but sometimes bruising, art of tennis, allows Clarke marvellous latitude for his brilliant satirical wit, his love of the one-liner and his unerring nose for literary parody …

It’s true, of course, that there’s no character development and no plot beyond the progress of the tournament as it gets down to ‘the business end’. But what the hell, really.

An immense, continuous and renewing energy flows from these various dimensions of wit, allusiveness, gags and uncomfortable historical reference; not to mention the fixtures themselves, which throw up new diversions just when the joke might have lagged (in doubles: Sartre and Camus v. Magritte and Dali, which begins with tortuous argument about whether the game should take place at all. Dali’s contribution is, ‘My cock is a wealthy man … it has made an attractive offer for my hand in marriage’) …

In the end, the winner is certainly not tennis. But game, set, match and championship: J. Clarke.

Amusing, fast, name dropping! Certainly good for a laugh.

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The Pool of Memory

2009-07-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

The Autobiography of an Unwilling Intuitive
By Michal Levin

SOLD

Published by Gill and Macmillan Ltd, Dublin
ISBN 0717127575
Hardcover, 269 pages

“An acclaimed intuitive tells the compelling story of her conversion – unsought, unwanted – from a mainstream media professional to become a spiritual teacher. It is also the story of how, using her intuition, she identified a near-fatal brain tumour and saved her own life.

In January 1990, troubled by an incomprehensible inner disquiet, Michal Levin left her career as a current affairs television reporter and took a sabbatical. By chance, she took up meditation – an unusual pursuit for someone so logical and analytical. A new world, a spirit world, opened. Over a period of months, she was first given the ability to see energy and then, transformed by a series of spiritual teachings, she was forced to accept that she was a healer, an intuitive and a teacher. Clients flocked to see her.” Quote taken from book dust jacket.

A quick look, and a where-the eyes-land read, indicate that there’s a good flow to the way this book is written and in the way the story unfolds, with good use of direct speech. Rich in human interest stories and her encounters with the people she meets, the author’s tale takes the reader from the UK to her birthplace in Cape Town, South Africa.

Children’s Reading : The “Puppy’s” Series by Gerald Durrell

2009-07-11T19:05:00.000-07:00

There are four books in this series, inspired by the Andrex™ puppy, and produced to promote the Save Animals From Extinction, Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust. Gerald Durrell, himself living in Jersey, has written the stories in his usual warm and kind, animals-first style, I’d say suitable for two-year-olds and upwards. The books are image-rich with watercolour illustrations by Cliff Wright, and with twelve or thirteen leaves to the book.

They’re great “feel good” tales, very suitable, in length and subject matter, as bedtime stories.

The first in the series is “Puppy’s Wild Time”, introducing Puppy and his family, describing his visit to the zoo, and giving character to all the usual zoo animals.

“As a special treat, Puppy is taken to the zoo. He meets the tallest, the largest and the most beautiful animals in the world. Enjoy his adventures in this first book in the Puppy Tales Series.” Quote taken from back of book.

ISBN 0952208431
Hard cover

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SOLD

The second in the series is “Puppy’s Beach Adventure”. “Puppy’s first visit to the seaside nearly ends in disaster. Read about his adventure, the animals he meets and how he helps a friend in trouble.” Quote taken from back of book.

ISBN 0952208482
Hard cover

SOLD

The third book in the series is “Puppy’s Pet Pals”. “Nick and Susan take Puppy to school where he meets other children’s pets. Unfortunately, he gets himself in a tangle with two dogs and the Headmaster. But, can Puppy save the day?” Quote taken from back of book.

ISBN 0952208423
Hard cover

SOLD

The last in the series, the fourth book, is “Puppy’s Field Day”. “Having woken up feeling wonky, the mention of a picnic in the country soon perks up Puppy. Follow him on his travels through Five Oak Wood …” Quote taken from back of book.

ISBN 0952208474
Hard cover

Midcentury by Ben Howard

2009-06-27T02:29:00.000-07:00

Midcentury
By Ben Howard

Salmon Publishing
ISBN 189764874X
Softcover, 80 pages

“I can’t begin to say what brought me here,” confesses the narrator of ‘Midcentury’, a verse novella set in Ireland in the nineteen forties. Rich in historical insight, this multi-layered narrative proves the mind and heart of an American lexicographer, down on his luck, who finds solace in the Irish landscape and a respite in Ireland’s wartime neutrality. Seeking definitions in a culture which resists them, he discovers in Irish history a refraction of his fortunes and obsessions. By turns passionate and reflective, ironic and visionary, ‘Midcentury’ tells an engrossing story – one of defeat and recovery, devastation and spiritual renewal.

Ben Howard is the author of ‘The Pressed Melodeon: Essays on Modern Irish Writing’ and three collections of poems, most recently ‘Lenten Anniversaries’. A recipient of numerous awards, including the Milton Dorfman Prize and an NEA Fellowship in Creative Writing, he is a regular reviewer for ‘Poetry’ and a frequent contributor to American literary journals. He teaches literature, writing, and classical guitar at Alfred University in upstate New York.”

Quote taken from back cover of book.

Be it sufficient to say that I was so drawn to this book of poetic prose that I have kept a copy for my own pleasure. A book to be read over and over again.

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Robbie and Hugh

2009-06-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

I’m reviewing two books at once here – they’re from the same series of biographies produced by Kandour Ltd – and are similar in style, if not content.

The books “Robbie” and “Hugh” are potted histories of the lives and careers of these two English men, one a singer and the other an actor, clearly outlined and, hopefully, factually correct. If you’re inquisitive, with even just a mild interest, about either Robbie Williams and/or Hugh Grant, but aren’t into heavy, long biographies, then this is the way to satisfy your curiosity and have an entertaining read at the same time.

Their achievements are set out chronologically at the end of the book and there is a section of photographic images bringing life to their stories. It’s always fun to see younger versions of our idols, with whom they’ve associated themselves, and the families they’ve come from. It makes them more human, and easier to relate to, even if we do still keep them as fantasies in our minds!

I enjoyed reading both books … a light and informative read.

Robbie
The Unofficial and Unauthorised Biography
by Karen Anderson
ISBN No: 1904756131

“Robbie Williams is a musical phenomenon, both as a singer and a natural showman.

From his beginnings in the band Take That to “Angels”, the song that re-launched his career, find out about his journey to the top – his songs, videos, shows, relationships, rows, record deals and his troubled soul.” This quote was taken from back cover of book.

Book in in overall excellent condition. Pages are clean and untanned. Binding is as new. Cover is showing very minimal wear, with one slight crease on bottom right corner of front of book. Protected in plastic while in stock and during shipping

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Hugh
The Unofficial and Unauthorised Biography
by Dan Whitehead
ISBN No: 1904756166

“Hugh Grant is an actor who is seldom out of the spotlight. Find out about the trials and tribulations of his relationship with Liz Hurley.

Discover how this Oxford fellow became famous for bumbling around stately homes and posh weddings.

He is Britain’s leading bona-fide movie star, and this is his story.” This quote was taken from back cover of book.

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"Cuss" by Kristine L Franklin

2009-06-11T09:12:00.000-07:00

Cuss
Author: Kristine L Franklin

Walker Books Ltd, London 2003
pp 297 p/b
ISBN 0-7445-9095-7

Quote taken from the back cover of the book:
“Slava Petrovich – called “Cuss” because he can swear in fourteen different languages – knows he'll become a coal miner one day like his older brothers. For now though, he is happy at school, hanging out with his best friends Perks and Skinny during the long, hot summers, fighting and plotting daring train heists. But trouble is brewing in town – a dead man is found and Cuss's childhood begins to disappear fast, as he faces the most difficult decision he has ever had to make...”

“Cuss” highlights strong family and friendship bonds, and, although it is a work of fiction, the author draws on true stories and snippets of her father's life in Roslyn, Washington, where he grew up. His parents had emigrated to the States from Austria and Hungary. Family support and friendship, the foundations for survival for emigrants in America at the time, and the core of the sub-stories which are the strength of the book, are presented realistically, tempered with humour and the wise acceptance of a young Cuss. The reader gets to know the inner core of the main character, building up a familiar fondness for who he is, and feeling his emotions and concerns with him as he works out where his life is going.

It is an easy-reading, well laid-out book, in terms of type-size and line-spacing. The writing style is fast-paced, packed with action and life, and together with the easy layout, I suspect that anyone who picks “Cuss” up will find it hard to put down. You'll find yourself living the life of Cuss and wanting to know what happens next - without interruption.

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