Book Review- Dear Stranger- Letters on the subject of happiness- Various authors

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The deets:

Author: Various

Pages: 286

Publish Date: 2015

Publisher: Penguin

Dear Stranger is a collection of letters written by a variety of people from celebrities (such as Arianna Huffington, Richard Branson and Caitlin Moran) to those who have mental health issues regarding the subject of happiness. The book which is in the aid of Mind a mental health charity with at least £3 from every book sold going towards the organisation.

As the variety of authors is so different, it means the letters are all completely different. Some letters were illustrations, others based on personal experience and others were critiquing happiness. At most the letters were two pages long which is enough to create a real impact and leave you thinking about what has been written. Letters I particularly liked were ones by Arianna Huffington, Nicholas Allan, Nick Harkaway, Rachel Joyce, Seaneen Molloy- Vaughan and Thomas Harding. 

  

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Book Review- Jane Elmor- Pictures of You

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The deets:

Author: Jane Elmor

Pages: 406

Publish Date: 2009

Publisher: Pan

Genre: Fiction

The story starts with Luna, a thirty something free-spirited artist, who after going to her father's funeral wants to understand why her mother, Angie, left him behind. In addition, Luna starts to question the decisions she has made regarding her lifestyle (living the dream as an artist but struggling to make ends meet and actively choosing not to have children) which is the defining theme in the book. As the story develops we see the reason why Angie left Dave, learn about her life on a welsh commune, Luna questioning herself as a woman and we are introduced to a young mother Nat. Nat is trying to build a good life for her children despite the fact she is a young mother who mixes with the wrong crowd. The story is told from three  angles, Luna in the present, Angie in the 1970's and Nat in the late 1990's. 

I really enjoyed the book, so much so I have reread it a few times. The hippy 1960's/ 1970's era really interests me and always has done. Therefore, I found Angie's chapters detailing life on the commune to be the best and most appealing to me. Luna was just quite moany after a while and that started to grate with me. However this I felt was meant to be deliberate by the author. Nat didn't need to be in the book, I much rather had more chapters about Angie's life on the commune than Nat's chapters. So I found myself flicking through those parts quite quickly. As there was no connection between Nat and Luna and Angie both (apart from the children and them being women) it felt fragmented and found myself skipping over those parts.  Although it all came together in the end and the book ended well. It left me hoping there is an Angie spin off!

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Book Review- techbitch- Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza

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The deets:

Author: Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza

Pages: 431

Publish Date: 2015

Publisher: Penguin

Genre: Fiction

Also published as 'The Knockoff' techbitch is about thirty something Imogen Tate, Editor in Chief of Glossy magazine. Coming back from six months off recovering from breast cancer, Imogen finds that her magazine has completely changed. Her former assistant Eve Morton has been brought in to turn the magazine into an app. Coupled with Eve's attitude problem and a whole new tech world to encounter, Imogen has found her life has turned upside down and she doesn't think she will last long in this new tech world where traffic matters.  

I really enjoyed the book, from reading the reviews it was billed as an alternative to 'The Devil Wears Prada' and I definitely agree. As social media is a large chunk of my current job I definitely understand the pressure of feeling you have to be online all the time and constantly looking for new ways to build interaction, both of which are touched on throughout the book. 

Eve constantly is looking for instant gratification no matter if people know her or not. I really understood how the instant gratification that is given by total strangers over social media can give a real kick. I enjoy it when someone likes a comment or is asking me a question. It came across well in the book.  It all added to the pressure thatEve put her staff under and how Imogen felt really overwhelmed with the media. You can definitely imagine that in real life (unlike 'The Devil Wears Prada' where I found it a bit unrealistic). Techbitch was the right length to read and doesn't feel dated. It really is a book for those that like fashion or digital media.   

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Book Review- The Year Of The Rat- Clare Furniss

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''To Pearl, there's nothing sweet about her premature half- sister Rose. It was Rose that caused her mother's death and Rose that turned her world upside down.''

The deets:

Author: Clare Furniss 

Pages: 305

Publish Date: 2014

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Genre: Fiction, Young Adult

I picked this book in Tesco (Tesco and Amazon seem to be a common theme here). This story is about Pearl, a 16-year-old, London girl who lost her mother. Her mother died giving birth to Rose, her sister by her step- father. This book details with Pearl's struggle to come to terms with her mother's death in the following year. I admit, I did struggle to read it and had to leave it and come back to it. As it was a YA fiction I did find to 'get into' the story as such as I found parts hard to believe. The writing expressed clearly the awkwardness in how Pearl deals with situations such as avoiding her best friend and meeting her real father. I don't think I would read this book again in a hurry.  

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Book Review- Anna McPartlin- The Last Days Of Rabbit Hayes

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''Here is a truth that can't be escaped: for Mia 'Rabbit' Hayes, life is coming to an end.

Rabbit Hayes loves her life, ordinary as it is, and the extraordinary people in it. She loves her spirited daughter, Juliet, her colourful, unruly family; the only man in her big heart, Johnny Faye.

But it turns out the world has other plans for Rabbit, and she's OK with that. Because she has plans for the world too, and only a handful of days left to make them happen.

Here is a truth that won't be forgotten: this is a story about laughing through life's surprises and finding the joy in every moment. ''

The deets:

Author: Anna McPartlin

Pages: 436

Publish Date: 2014

Publisher: Blackswan

Genre: Fiction

Awww I loved this book, this story is about Rabbit, she is in a hospice dying of cancer and she is aware that she hasn't got long to live. In Rabbit's sleep, she goes back to her youth where she was in love with Johnny Faye who was in a band with her brother. The chapters alternate between the growing love story between her and Johnny to how her family is dealing with Rabbit dying. In particular the relationship between Rabbit's mother, Molly and her brother Davey, over the guardianship of Juliet her daughter. The story itself was very well written, it felt to me that each chapter had its place and added to either the love story or the practicalities and emotions of having a close one pass away. On a side note, I loved the fact it was set in Ireland, as I have visited Ireland before and loved the place (and want to go back). 

 

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Book Review- Gayle Forman I Was Here

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I regret to inform you that I have had to take my own life. This decision has been a long time coming, and was mine alone to make. I know it will cause you great pain, and for that I am sorry, but please know that I needed to end my own pain. This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. It's not your fault. Meg

Cody and Meg were inseparable- best friends for life. They knew everything about each other. Or Cody thought they did. But how well do you every really know your best friend? And what do you do when they choose to leave you behind?

The deets:

Author: Gayle Forman

Pages: 270

Publish Date: 2015

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Genre: Young Adult

Picking this book up from Tesco I was planning on saving it until the plane. I am so glad I didn't. I was here is about a girl called Cody who lives in a quiet small American town where little much happens. Her mum ( who she has to call Trisha) doesn't really care about her and she never knew her dad. Hence, she spent most of her childhood with her best friend Megan. When her best friend, Meg commits suicide. Cody goes in a quest to find out why Meg did what she did and meets some interesting characters  along the way.

As the book is classed as a Young Adult, although I enjoyed it I could very much see I was a little old (I'm 24) for it to make as much as an impact as perhaps a 16-year-old reading it (but that's not the authors fault!). I was here was very well written. It didn't feel as if the story dragged on and was completely believable.

I really felt for Cody, who, to be honest, had been given a bad hand in life and is making the best of the situation. Not wanting to give too much away, I was here shows how people behind a computer screen are really who they are not made out to be and how their actions can affect people on the receiving end. I wouldn't say the book kept me 'gripped' however I certainly found myself wanting to find out what happens at the end. This book is staying on my shelf and is one I will definitely read again.

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Book Review- It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be- Paul Arden

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The deets:

Author: Paul Arden

Pages: 124

Publish Date: 2003 my copy was is a 2007 reprint. 

Publisher: Phaidon

Genre: Non- fiction

It's Not How Good You Are... is a concise guide to making the most of yourself - a pocket 'bible' for the talented and timid to make the unthinkable thinkable and the impossible possible. 

This book has been reviewed loads of times by creative bloggers, working in a creative job myself I was intrigued how this book could change the way I approach tasks therefore I bought it on-line and took it with me on holiday.

It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be is very different from the norm. For the start there are images- lot's of images and quotes. It is a great way to pick yourself up when you are having an off day or need a kick up the ass.

How does it do that? Paul Arden does this by tapping into the unknown, he tells you why it is right to be wrong, why taking risks could pay off and a negative situation can be turned into a positive through positive thinking. This book essentially delivers cool career's advice on the cheap.

Further examples include promising what you can't deliver and learning to accept responsibility and that aiming high isn't necessarily a bad thing. All the necessary techniques you need to boost your ego and make your work better. A great example of this is shown clearly on the front cover with the words 'The World's best- selling book by Paul Arden'. We don't know if the book is a best seller or not by displaying that sentence instantly means to the readers that the book must be good.

Another example Paul Arden gives which sticks out in my mind is of Victoria Beckham. Victoria aspired to be more famous as Persil Automatic. Victoria wanted to be a brand and she went and worked for it. What originally sounded like a silly, laughable even dream turned into reality.  

As I said above, this book is perfect to dip in and out off, particularly for creative types as a lot of examples Paul uses are from his career in advertising. What did you think of the book?

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Book Review -It's Your Time You're Wasting- Frank Chalk

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Frank Chalk is a teacher in a fairly poor inner city school- a school where the kids get drunk, take drugs and beat up the teachers... when they can be bothered to turn up.

He confiscates their porn, booze and trainers, fends off angry parents and worries about the few conscientious pupils.

Terrifying and hilarious, IT'S YOUR TIME YOU'RE WASTING is Chalk's real- life diary from the front line of the modern edukashun system.

I haven't written a book review in years. Eeeek....

I have had this book a number of years and it is one of the few books I have read over and over again. I bought it at a time when I really wanted to be a teacher (before I saw sense). It's Your Time You're wasting was published by a small book publisher Monday Books, known for publishing real life books. The book narrated by Frank Chalk (not his real name, probably to save his sanity) goes through the tale of his time as a supply teacher at St Jude's which is based in the Cherry Tree Estate. He tells us tales of sloppy staff and even sloppier school children all of this which is punctuated with descriptions of the Cherry Street estate so you get to understand why the children behave like they do. 

The story is easy to read as it is in a chatty style, there isn't any chapters as such, there is just one tale after another all following each other (I have noticed this is the style of writing in other books Monday has published). The author doesn't feel sorry for himself either, you just let the story wash over you as you find yourself laughing and sinking into despair at the naughty children and feeling really sorry for those poor children who are just trying to get on with life.

The book hit a chord with me because you can see through Frank's eyes how the education system has failed the children. This is through two ways. One the lack of support at home. Frank visits a few children homes to tutor them and he see's the effect of constant TV, fast food, the lack of books and interest from the parents resulting in the children being disengaged with anything that is longer than two minutes. The result of this being children who vandalise school property, not being able to understand school work and being downright nasty to anyone. You could argue that his book reinforces stereotypes, through the names of the children and the description of the council estate. But this is the reality of modern Britain as it is repeated through books like this one and on programmes on the TV such as Tough Young Teachers. So disillusioned is Frank with the school that he tells parent's of a child to move to a better school. However, I feel that the author is realistic and what comes across well is Frank wants to teach but with the children not accepting responsibility, there doesn't seem the point.

To conclude, this book is well worth a read if you want to while away an afternoon or want some escape. If you truly hate your job this book may also be of use, as by the end of reading you may think your job isn't too bad ;)

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