I Read, Therefore I Blog

The Blurb On The Back:

Caring for others can be complicated. Whether your Padawan is losing focus, your child needs a bit of inspiration, or your student is heading towards the dark side, learn how to set them back on the right track.

Ideal for Jedi Knights, parents, guardians, and mentors, this book offers lighthearted advice from a galaxy far, far away.

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The Verdict:

Amy Richau is a freelance writer and researcher and Dan Zehr is host of the Star Wars podcast Coffee With Kenobi. I was a bit cynical about this Father’s Day tie-in book, but it’s actually been done very thoughtfully with Richau and Zehr drawing on a variety of Star Wars series and making some quite sensitive points about parenting and how to navigate it. If you have a Star Wars loving father, then this would be a good gift for them.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Documentaries have the power to change the way you think, to stop you in your tracks, bring tears to your eyes and put your heart in your mouth.

Well Documented brings together a collection of films by international directors that have been astounding viewers for the last 100 years, delving deep into how these films were made, why you should see them and what you should watch next.

Featuring a range of powerful tales, from Barbara Kopple’s Oscar-winning gritty depiction of working-class America in Harlan County, USA to James Marsh’s breathtaking Man on Wire, plights of human endurance such as Kevin Macdonald’s Touching the Void or stories of injustice like Ava DuVernay’s 13th, Ian Haydn Smith writes with passion and knowledge, while images highlight what makes these films so unique. From Oscar winners to unseen gems, each of these documentaries will make you tell people, ‘You NEED to see this film’.

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The Verdict:

Ian Haydn Smith is editor of BFI Filmmaker Magazine and Curzon Magazine. This is a really informative summary of 100 documentaries divided into 7 categories and taken from around the world and over the history of cinema. The summaries of the films - although brief - are very informative and the foreword to each section gives a lot of useful background. I came away from this with a list of documentaries that I really want to see.

WELL DOCUMENTED: THE ESSENTIAL DOCUMENTARIES THAT PROVE THE TRUTH IS MORE FASCINATING THAN FICTION was released in the United Kingdom on 4th October 2022. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Xtinct!

Jeevan can’t wait to hit the slopes. But his snowboard will have to wait because a mix-up at his mum’s lab has brought a dangerous SABRE-TOOTH TIGER back to life - and now it’s prowling around outside!

With a blizzard raging, a tiger on the loose and two hunters in hot pursuit, Jeevan needs to keep a cool head. Can he come up with a plan before things snowball out of control?

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The Verdict:

The second in Ash Stone’s eco-friendly illustrated SF adventure series for readers aged 6+ has its heart in the right place and I liked the diversity of Jeevan and his mother. However the execution was pretty flat - as are the illustrations - while the antagonists of Smith and Jones struggle to be stock characters and the depiction of Toe left me a bit uncomfortable. Ultimately this just didn’t work for me and I wouldn’t rush to read on.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

He had started to remove his clothes as logic had deserted him, and his skin was cracked. Whatever had been going through Cameron’s mind when he was alive, he didn’t look peaceful in death.

Two brothers meet at the remote border of their vast cattle properties under the relenting sun of the outback. In an isolated part of Australia, they are each other’s nearest neighbours, their homes hours apart.

They are at the stockman’s grave, a landmark so old that no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last hope for their middle brother, Cameron. The family’s quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish.

Something had been troubling Cameron. Did he choose to walk to his death? Because if he didn’t, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects …

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The Verdict:

Jane Harper’s standalone crime novel makes the most of both the oppressive nature of the Australian Outback and the loneliness of life out there to create a slow burn reveal of bad behaviour and family secrets. I particularly liked the slow reveal of Nathan and Cameron’s backstory and characters, which worked very well and although the ending has a bit of a pat feel to it, I would definitely check out Harper’s other books.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Your updated guide to better thinking.

- Think twice about what’s in front of you.
- Sift through the digital deluge.
- Strengthen your arguments.
- Overcome information overload.
- Deliver clear and confident critical writing.
- Equip yourself for life after study.

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The Verdict:

Tom Chatfield is an author, tech philosopher and educator with a focus on critical thinking skills. This really useful book is aimed at students but has a lot for ‘ordinary’ people who want to work on their critical thinking skills, including sorting through and questioning information, understanding biases and how to make a strong argument. It’s clearly written, easy to follow and has useful summaries at the end of each chapter.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Finn and his dog, Skip, are exploring the skies on a hang glider, when a flock of swans steals their map! As they set off on a mission to get it back, they uncover what’s going on in the skies.

Follow Finn and Skip as they learn how they can help keep the air clean and look after the birds that call it home …

They are happy to help where they can. What can you do?

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The Verdict:

The 4th in Brendan Kearney’s picture book series has the worthy aim of introducing young readers to environmental issues and what they can do to improve things but it’s heavy-handed and some of it would go over the head of the target readership. Also, although I liked Kearney’s stripped down illustrations, I must confess that I thought the swans were geese. Ultimately I applaud the intent but the execution didn’t work for me here.

ADVENTURES WITH FINN AND SKIP: BIRD was released in the United Kingdom on 4th August 2022. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

The race for immortality is on.

When linguist and smuggler Sean Wren is blackmailed into a job to get some data off an ancient ship, he’s not expecting it to be the Philosopher’s Stone: a literal recipe for immortality.

Unfortunately, he’s not the only one looking. The undying Ministers, mysterious aliens that have ruled over humanity for thousands of years, want the data too. So does the Republic, the last free human government.

To add to the fun, the map to the treasure is in a long-lost language, the ship’s filled with dangerous traps and genetically-engineered monsters, and the nearby star’s going supernova in a few days.

Easy job, right?

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The Verdict:

Taran Hunt’s debut SF novel mixes TOMB RAIDER with ALIENS to action-packed effect. Sean is an interesting main character who prefers communication to violence while the dynamic between him, Indigo (a Minister) and Tamara (a Republican soldier) held my interest and the creatures are genuinely creepy. Some of the flashbacks slow the pace and I wanted more depth to the politics and history but the cliffhanger ending promises an interesting sequel.

THE IMMORTALITY THIEF by Taran Hunt was released in the United States on 11th October 2022 and in the United Kingdom on 13th October 2022. Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Canon Daniel Clement is Rector of Champton. He has been there for eight years, living at the rectory alongside his widowed mother - opinionated, fearless, occasionally annoying Audrey - and his two dachshunds, Cosmo and Hilda.

When Daniel announces a plan to install a lavatory in the church, the parish is suddenly (and unexpectedly) divided: as lines are drawn, long-buried secrets come dangerously close to destroying the apparent calm of the village.

And then Anthony Bowness - cousin to Bernard de Flores, patron of Champton - is found dead at the back of the church, stabbed in the neck with a pair of secateurs.

As the police move in and the bodies start piling up, Daniel is the only one who can try and keep his fractured community together … and catch a killer.

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The Verdict:

Richard Coles’s debut crime novel (the first in a series) is more interested in the impact of a murder on a close-knit community and in the main character’s thoughts on murder and evil than in actually investigating whodunnit. At the same time, it is not immediately clear when this book is set and there are inconsistencies in the time line but if you can get past that, I think Coles has something interesting to offer and I would read the sequel.

The Blurb On The Back:

Discover amazing people who made their mark on the world!

From scientists to sports stars, artists to activists, read all about Black British people who set records, broke new ground, and lifted others up. Find out what it means to create a legacy with these inspiring stories of incredible people and their hugely informative achievements.

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The Verdict:

Lania Narjee is an artist, educator and art psychotherapist. This inspiring book for readers aged 9+ is a hugely informative and important look at Black British people who have made a difference, whether through sport, art and music, STEM or politics with warm and evocative portrait illustrations from Chanté Timothy. I learnt a lot from this book and my only complaint was that I wanted it to be longer as the biographies are very short.

LEGACIES - BLACK BRITISH PIONEERS was released in the United Kingdom on 4th August 2022. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

This is the remarkable story of a family, and the sacrifices and silences that marked a generation and their descendants. Mark Mazower uncovers the history of his ancestors, who fate drove into the siege of Stalingrad, the Vilna ghetto, occupied Paris, and even into the ranks of the Wehrmacht. His British father was the lucky one, the son of Russian Jewish emigrants who settled in London after escaping the civil war and revolution. Max, the grandfather, had started out as a socialist and manned the barricades against tsarist troops, but never spoke of it. His wife, Frouma, came from a family ravaged by the Great Terror yet somehow making its way in Soviet society.

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The Verdict:

Mark Mazower is Professor of History at Columbia University. This fascinating book looks at Mazower’s family history starting with his grandfather, Max, a Jew born in the Russian Empire to piece together who they were and what drove them overseas. However while Mazower does his best to fill in the blanks, there is a lot of supposition here, so while you learn a lot about the politics, his family themselves remain to an extent unknowable.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.