Olive Network:

  • Book Reviews RSS Feed

    How to be a Parent Champion - Alan Wilson 

    by
    teacher_lady
     Number of Views: 501 
    Categories:
    1. Non-Fiction
    2. Non-Military
    Article Preview

    Alan Wilson describes himself as a Family Coach, trainer, speaker and writer; this book could be described as a motivational self-help manual.

    The layout of the chapters make it an easy read with lots of diagrams and a variety of fonts, keeping it ‘bright’ and interesting. Every chapter starts with a motivational quote ranging from the likes of Mae West to Confucius. The references /bibliography show that there has been a huge amount of research to get to the point of writing this book and the personal statement from Alan Wilson explains how he came to the point in his life which inspired him to write.
    ...
    Read More Read More

    Blood Count - Robert Goddard 

    by
    montydollar
     Number of Views: 654 
    Categories:
    1. Adventure/Thriller
    Article Preview

    A surgeon, who performed a liver transplant 13 years previously on an indicted Serbian war criminal currently on trial in The Hague, is blackmailed into hunting down a hidden stash of money by the “War Lords” daughter, on the premise that if he doesn’t she will reveal that his estranged wife was killed on the war lords order as a thank you for saving his life!!!

    “Our Hero” A supposedly intelligent and one would assume, logical and clear thinking man, he is after all a revered surgeon, makes some bizarre and distinctly naive decisions in this slightly clunky book. There are meant to be unbelievable twists and turns in the plot, but most are annoyingly predictable as you begin to expect the idiotic Dr. to yet again follow the obvious traps that are being laid for him.
    ...
    Read More Read More 1 Comment

    Norman Parkinson, Portraits in Fashion by Robin Muir 

    by
    Boldnotold
     Number of Views: 215 
    Categories:
    1. History
    2. Non-Fiction
    3. Non-Military
    Article Preview

    I asked A-Y to procure this book for me, as I have an interest in photography, and it’s a biography of one of the foremost photographers of the twentieth century. It’s a quality book, printed on nice paper, with a harder than usual paperback cover.

    Interestingly the cover photo is one where the subject is out of focus, and the background pin sharp. For me this sums up the book. There’s a huge amount of detail about Mr. Parkinson’s studios, his opinion of other photographers of the times, and the development of his work as society changed. However there’s very little real detail about the man himself, such as how he managed to avoid call-up during World War 2, and why he fell out so spectacularly with Vogue magazine and had to go to court to recover his negatives.
    ...
    Read More Read More

    Below Stairs by Margaret Powell 

    by
    Boldnotold
     Number of Views: 659 
    Categories:
    1. History
    2. Non-Fiction
    3. Non-Military
    Article Preview

    I asked A-Y if I could review this book, the memoirs of a 1920s Kitchen Maid, because my grandmother and two of her sisters were ‘in service’, and I wanted to add to the information I learned from them and from family stories about the life.

    In many ways the book gives more than its title promises; a detailed description of life for poor families in the opening years of the twentieth century, when sending your thirteen-year-old into service meant you could feed your younger children better, and teenagers took on that responsibility. Her description of wives pawning their husbands’ suits on Monday to get enough money to feed their families until Friday, when the suits would be redeemed for weekend wear chimes with stories from the older generations of my own family.
    ...
    Read More Read More 1 Comment

    The Comfort of Saturdays - Alexander McCall Smith. 

    by
    teacher_lady
     Number of Views: 292 
    Categories:
    1. Fiction
    2. Humour
    3. Non-Military
    Article Preview


    An Isobel Dalhousie Novel.

    The Comfort of Saturdays is the latest in The Sunday Philosophy Club Series, which follow the life and loves of Isobel Dalhousie.

    In this excerpt of life we find Miss Dalhousie with a young lover and a baby son. As well as being editor of The Review of Applied Ethics she is also now the owner of this journal providing her with some ethical dilemmas of her own to address.

    While the novel stands comfortably on its own there are many references to earlier books in the series and events which have occurred within. The characters in this book are interwoven with those from earlier in the series, references are made to events which have gone before, and so, to really appreciate this story it would be better to have read the series in sequence.
    ...
    Read More Read More
    Page 11 of 21 FirstFirst ... 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ... LastLast