Books

In 1993, ABBA released a song by way of More ABBA Gold that they first recorded in 1982 – “I Am the City” gave a persona to the urban conurbations most people now live in and replete with a pounding, upbeat insistent beat and penetrating lyrics, it felt like the Continue Reading

History tends to be remembered by most of us in big broad brushstroke terms. We can rattle off dates and times, impressive statistics and jaw-dropping moments but if pressed, we are usually unable to talk about this or that epoch-defining event affected the people who lived through it. Fortunately we Continue Reading

When aliens invade Earth, as they are so wont to do, things don’t quite go according to planned. The Ilori, arriving as invading forces often do, with an overwhelming power and force designed to cower the indigenous population into easily-controlled submission, find humanity easily rattled and prone to shoot, a Continue Reading

SNAPSHOTAre you looking for a counting story to read aloud with your kids? Chickabella is back for another adventure. Join Chickabella as she closes her eyes for a game of hide and seek with her family and friends. Little ones will love counting down with Chickabella, joining in with each Continue Reading

Rather fittingly given the precarious viral-afflicted times in which humanity currently finds itself, Emily St. John Mandel is best known for a book which examines the aftermath of a pandemic that sweeps across the globe in a frighteningly fast timeframe, taking over 99% of people with it, leaving civilisation in Continue Reading

In our modern age, we have become accustomed to the idea that equality and justice are, if not always in palpable evidence, then at least attainable in some form, however incomplete. No one would argue (apart from some deluded misogynistic men on Twitter of which there are sadly far too Continue Reading

If there’s one “truth” we are told growing up that needs some serious re-examination if we are to have any hope of getting through life with our sanity and emotional good health intact, it’s the idea that there is something inviolable about the good things that happen to us. Were Continue Reading

Every good thing, so the saying goes, must come to an end, driven by a harsh chronological reality which has no place for favouritism, sentimentality or once transcendent power. Whether the Emirate of Granada on the Iberian peninsula is one of those good things is entirely dependent on whether you Continue Reading

Books with quirky premises are always a challenge to execute successfully. Either you don’t make the most of the idea underpinning the narrative and the story falls flat, taking the ascendant expectations of your readers along with it; or, you over-egg the concept and the book ends up feel so Continue Reading