I Read, Therefore I Blog

The Blurb On The Back:

Focus. Simplify. Achieve.

What would you love to have happen?

Sunday Times bestselling author, speaker and executive coach Jamie Smart will help you unleash your potential and achieve the things that matter to you in every aspect of your life.

- Replace stress with calm

- Experience elite-performer flow

- Make better, more confident decisions

- Increase your influence

- Get the results you desire

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Jamie Smart is a former IT professional turned executive coach and speaker. This is a disappointing self-help book that - like so many in the genre - exists to promote Smart’s services and charity by offering a bland mix of jargon and empty phrases that boil down to the (reasonable) notion that you misunderstand how your mind works and need to take things away and focus on your innate capabilities for reasoning and insight.

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

The Blurb On The Back:

Adrian Bleese spent twelve years flying on police helicopters, and attended almost 3,000 incidents, as one of only a handful of civilian air observers working anywhere in the world.

In Above The Law he recounts the most intriguing, challenging, amusing and downright baffling episodes in his career working for Suffolk Constabulary and the National Police Air Service. Rescuing lost walkers, chasing cars down narrow country lanes, searching for a rural cannabis factory and disrupting an illegal forest rave … they’re all in a day’s work.

It’s a side of policing that most of us never see, and he describes it with real compassion as he lives his dream job, indulging his love of flying, the English landscape and helping people. Perhaps more than anything, it’s a story about hope.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Adrian Bleese is a former RAF electronics operator turned police civilian control room operator and then police helicopter service civilian observer. This jovial memoir offers a good operational overview of what police helicopters do and how they operate and, depressingly, how they have been squandered due to poor management and cuts. However it does sometimes get bogged down in digression and if you want salacious cases, then it’s not for you.

ABOVE THE LAW will be released in the United Kingdom on 19th July 2021. Thanks to Eye Books for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Let the world’s most celebrated drag artists transform and empower you with their sick’ning style, wit and wisdom.

However you want to werk it - out-there eleganza, easy-breezing realness and everything in-between - Serving Face is like the gentle hand of your Drag Mother guiding you towards a life more fabulous. Featuring interviews with 20 artists, it has all the inspiring motivational and practical tips and tricks you need to jack up your confidence and tease out your own special blend of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent. So dive in, discover your inner diva and bring joy, love and laughter to life’s runway.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Felix Le Freak is an artist, comedian and winner of Drag Idol UK 2018. This diverse, informative collection of 20 mini biographies on a mix of drag queen and king performers (including contestants from Drag Race and its UK, Canada and Australian spin offs), details on how they got into drag, what they think of it as an art form and tips for those looking to get into it. If you’re interested in drag then this will broaden your horizons about it.

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

The Blurb On The Back:

This is a diary with a difference. More of a do-ary. Scribble in it, dribble on it, nibble it when you’re peckish. Read, enjoy, learn, laugh but most of all DO. Because your future’s so bright you’re gonna need shades!

This book is an instruction manual for life. It tells you how to be epic so grab a hot choc, make your bum comfy and read on. It’s even got pictures!

It’s time to shine …

From the multi-layered cupcake consisting of Andy Cope (Doctor of Happiness), Gavin Oattes (stand-up comedian), Will Hussey (an actual real teacher) and Amy Bradley (best illustrator evs) - this is your recipe book for having your cake and scoffing it. Diary Of A Brilliant Kid works up your appetite to enjoy and savour every last dollop of whatever life serves you. As well as putting-the-cherry-on top, it inspires you to:

- Think big, sparkly brightly and by your absolute best
- Be a mover, shaker and relationship maker
- Be a flamingo in a flock of pigeons
- Feel the fear and do it anyway
- Embrace the magnificent seven works that will change your life (yes, really!)

#Fact: The average person lives for 4000 weeks. Life’s short. It’s a gift. Let’s not send it back unwrapped.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Andy Cope has a PhD in positive psychology and writes the bestselling SPY DOGs series. Gavin Oattes is a former school teacher turned comedian and author. Will Hussey is a teacher and author. This self-help book for children aged 9+ (with lively illustrations by Amy Bradley) unevenly mixes humour and practical tips to encourage a more positive mindset and set and achieve goals such that despite good intentions the key messages get lost.

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

The Blurb On The Back:

From treetop creatures to the patterns of stars in the night sky, there’s lots to discover if you just look up …

Keep your eyes and ears open for buzzing insects, swooping bats, and ingenious plants, all with a story behind them. The sky stretching upwards is full of enchanting colours, hidden wind currents, and the wonders of space.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Zoë Armstrong worked as an ice cream seller, journalist and PR person for an animal charity and now writes non-fiction for children. This very broad brush look at the natural world for children aged 7+ focuses on the skies above us from creatures and insects to trees, clouds and the night sky and is packed with information and beautifully illustrated by Sara Ugolotti (whose drawings complement the photographs used).

UP IN THE AIR: BUTTERFLIES, BIRDS, AND EVERYTHING UP ABOVE will be released in the United Kingdom on 3rd June 2021. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Learn to craft the perfect historical research paper with this approachable and practical guide

Essaying The Past: How To Read, Write And Think About History, Fourth Edition continues the tradition of excellence established by the previous editions. Equal parts research manual, study guide, and introduction to the study of history, this book teaches readers how to write excellent historical prose with approachable strategies and actionable tips.

Noted teacher and writer Jim Cullen has created an invaluable resource for novices and experts in the field of historical study, offering practical insights into determining how questions should be framed, developing strong introductions and topic sentences, choosing evidence, and effectively revising your work.

Essaying The Past includes seven appendices covering the major issues facing students today, including the pitfalls and temptations of plagiarism and the role of the internet. It also contains an annotated case study outlining one student’s process of writing an essay and demonstrating the application of the concepts contained within the book. Essaying The Past covers topics including:

- How to think and read about history and ask the right questions about what you’re reading
- The three components of crafting a compelling argument
- How to deal with counterarguments and counter-evidence
- How to properly construct a bibliography and insert footnotes
- How to assess the credibility of online resources

Perfect for students taking surveys or courses in methods or historiography. Essaying The Past also belongs on the bookshelf with even a passing interest in studying, researching, consuming, or writing about history.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Jim Cullen has a PhD in American Studies, taught at Harvard University and Sarah Lawrence College is now a teacher at Greenwich Country Day School in Connecticut. Aimed at history students, this excellent book clearly sets out broad essay writing techniques that can be used by students of any humanity or anyone in work who needs to write for their job. Clearly written and easy to follow it contains lots of examples to illustrate its points.

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

The Blurb On The Back:

It is 1941. While the ‘war of chaos’ rages in the skies above London, an unending fight against violence, murder and the criminal underworld continues on the streets below.

One ordinary day, in an ordinary courtroom, forensic pathologist Dr Keith Simpson asks a keen young journalist to be his secretary. Although the ‘horrors of secretarial work’ don’t appeal to Molly Lefurbure, she’s intrigued to know exactly what goes on behind a mortuary door.

Capable and curious, ‘Miss Molly’ quickly becomes indispensable to Dr Simpson as he meticulously pursues the truth. Accompanying him from sombre morgues to London’s most gruesome crime scenes, Molly observes and assists as he uncovers the dark secrets that all murder victims keep.

With a sharp sense of humour and a rebellious spirit, Molly tells her own remarkable true story here with warmth and wit, painting a vivid portrait of wartime London.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Molly Lefebure was a writer and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. This fascinating memoir (first published in 1954) of her time working as secretary to the acclaimed forensic pathologist Dr Keith Simpson between 1941 and 1945 gives you a real feel for crime detection during this time and also of what life in the Blitz was like although it is a book of its time so some of the off-hand comments about race, disability and gender drew a wince.

The Blurb On The Back:

Welcome to The Barbizon. New York’s premier women-only hotel.

Built in 1927, New York’s Barbizon Hotel was first intended as a home for the ‘Modern Women’ seeking a career in the arts. Over the years its 688 tiny pink ‘highly feminine boudoirs’ housed Sylvia Plath, who fictionalised her time there in The Bell Jar, Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly (notorious for sneaking in men), Joan Didion, Candice Bergen, Charlie’s Angel Jaclyn Smith, Cybil Shepherd, Elaine Stritch, Liza Minnelli, Mona Simpson and a whole host of other writers and actors on the cusp of their careers. Mademoiselle boarded its summer interns there - perfectly turned out young women, who would never be spotted hatless - as did Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School its students - in their white-gloves and kitten heels - and the Ford Modelling Agency its young models.

Not everyone who passed through the Barbizon’s doors was destined for greatness - for some it was a story of dashed hopes and expectations - but from the Jazz Age New Women of the 1920s, to the Liberated Women of the 1960s, until 1981 when the first men checked in, The Barbizon was a place where women could stand up and be counted.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Paulina Bren is professor of international studies, gender and media at Vassar College who uses The Barbizon (a women-only hotel which opened in 1927 and only welcomed men in 1981) as the background to this gadfly look at the social changes that women went through during this period. However, it’s very white middle class and bounces around between women while ultimately only telling me things I already knew about the hypocrisies of the period.

THE BARBIZON: THE NEW YORK HOTEL THAT SET WOMEN FREE was released in the United Kingdom on 18th March 2021. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

”I wonder what people would think if they could take the front off our house, like a doll’s house, and watch us. All in the same house, but everyone separate. No one talking, but everyone thinking the same thing. Will we ever be a normal family again?”

Izzy’s family is under the spotlight when her dad comes out as Danielle, a trans woman. Now shy Izzy must face her fears, find her voice, confront the bullies and stand up for her family.

Warm, honest and hopeful, this is a story about the power of family, friendship and being true to yourself.

You can buy NOTHING EVER HAPPENS HERE by Sarah Hagger-Holt from Amazon UK, Waterstone’s or Bookshop.org UK.  I earn commission on any purchases made through these links.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Sarah Hagger-Holt’s contemporary novel for children aged 9+ is a sensitive look at what it’s like to have a parent who realises that they need to transition. Although it’s very much an ‘issue’ book, at times I think it soft soaps some of the prejudice that trans people face by merging it in with generic teasing and bullying. However, saying that, it is a book with a lot of heart and a strong theme of friendship that children will enjoy.

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

The Blurb On The Back:

Look out, Leonard!

It’s moving day for the Shrew family, and they have quite the jungle adventure ahead of them. Mrs Shrew has asked them all to hold onto each other’s tails so that nobody gets lost. But hold on, where is Leonard?

Little Leonard loses his way and as he tries to reach his loving family, he gets himself in some sticky situations.

Be careful and look out, Leonard!

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Jessie James and Tamara Anegon have created a delightful picture book about the misadventures of a short-sighted shrew and his apparently oblivious family. Young children will enjoy reading this with parents and the repeated warnings of “Look out, Leonard!” are catchy (so parents beware!) while the different jungle animals and dangers are bright and colourful and it’s all done with a lot of silly charm.

LOOK OUT, LEONARD! was released in the United Kingdom on 4th March 2021. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.