tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9638088004977421862024-03-13T07:55:06.661-07:00Halfman, HalfbookI have always loved all things about reading and books, and cannot walk past a bookshop or library without popping in; just to look, you understand. I read all types and genres of books, but my real passion is for non-fiction, in particular travel, natural history, history and science. I also love science fiction and fantasy and try to read some contemporary fiction too.
Writing for Nudge Books as their voice of Book LifePaul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.comBlogger628125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-10559190914795676222018-07-02T11:14:00.001-07:002018-07-02T11:14:44.819-07:00NEW BLOG!!!This is one of the last posts that you will read here.<br />
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http://halfmanhalfbook.co.uk/Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-16947694443569474212018-06-28T23:05:00.001-07:002018-06-28T23:05:59.327-07:00Review: The Smell of Fresh Rain: The Unexpected Pleasures of our most Elusive Sense
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32073095" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1497341446m/32073095.jpg" border="0" alt="The Smell of Fresh Rain: The Unexpected Pleasures of our most Elusive Sense" /></a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32073095">The Smell of Fresh Rain: The Unexpected Pleasures of our most Elusive Sense</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15816926">Barney Shaw</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2432841780">4 of 5 stars</a>
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When Barney Shaw's autistic son asked him what 3 O'clock in the morning smells like, he genuinely didn't know how to answer him. His son is a musical genius who has synaesthesia, so he decided the best way to answer this was to get up at that time and head out on to the streets of London, visiting Billingsgate and New Covent Garden to discover from themselves what the scents and smells are around that time of the morning. <br /><br />It got him thinking though, how do we smell? What do we smell and do we smell the same things as everyone else? To answer what seems to be a set of simple questions is going to take a lot of unravelling. It will take him to the coast and boatyards, into Harrods to smell the food and the most expensive perfume in the world. Down to Dorset to a charcoal burner, to try and get a grip of the complexity of the aroma of coffee and baffling the owners of a hardware shop as he asks to smell the products. Occasionally he ventures back into history to learn about the big stink and the time when parliament decided that they couldn't bear the smell from the Thames. All this makes him thirsty, so a trip to the pub is called for, to smell the beer and the crisps and run a little experiment with those in the bar. <br /><br />Shaw's considered and curious prose makes this book, on what most would consider the weakest of our senses, endlessly fascinating. His journey around the more aromatic places searching for the scents that tell a story, or evoke memories from many years ago has ended up with him compiling a list of 200 or so different things along with different elements of that particular item described. It is not academically rigorous, but that shouldn't take anything away from this fine musing on scents and smells.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2432841780">View all my reviews</a>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-74685364050413272572018-06-27T23:12:00.000-07:002018-06-27T23:12:20.580-07:00#BlogTour - The Bespokist Society Guide to... London<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Welcome to my blog for today's stop on the blog tour for <span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Jeremy Liebster's book, The Bespokist Society Guide to... London</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);"><b>The Blurb:</b></span></span></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHccAL2xU6PXGQfXh97Qjv8Wj-NFs3WZ40EJXTdUZHLL0zfK8EschHHoZQKv7kxcOj_8nbNWQGsy8OuEO8Mki2LGa6iSmtGNvkpdwjool-BJkhg53rdrdCJUhwdVw_btY0G41XUNTBazQ/s1600/40108098.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHccAL2xU6PXGQfXh97Qjv8Wj-NFs3WZ40EJXTdUZHLL0zfK8EschHHoZQKv7kxcOj_8nbNWQGsy8OuEO8Mki2LGa6iSmtGNvkpdwjool-BJkhg53rdrdCJUhwdVw_btY0G41XUNTBazQ/s200/40108098.jpg" width="133" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">As the first travel book produced by the hugely influential Bespokist Society, this handy guide takes you to a London you’ve never seen: a London of challenging Etruscan restaurants, edgy branding parlours, emoji hotels and hidden Icelandic communities; a London where 8-ply toilet paper is a thing.</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /><br />On the way, meet an eclectic band of inspiring Londoners - from scriveners to socialites via urban wordsmiths and coffee preachers - and see why London is now the global epicentre of Bespokist consciousness, community and culture.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>My Review</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">London is one of the most famous cities in the world drawing visitors from all over the globe to see the sights; who take selfies in front of the sights and generally get in the way of people in London who are trying to get on with their own lives. You would have thought that there are enough guides for London, but here is a new guide for this dynamic city, one that will take you to places that you never knew existed, explore trends that you may not have come across and meet those that are at the sharpest edges of urban chic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="en-GB">Feeling hungry? Then a visit to the V-Gastro will leave you amazed, but still hungry. Visit, </span><span lang="en-US">See it, Say it, Sorted for the very best in the cultural response to the London Transport catchphrase. In need of a drink? Then a session at the Sweat Shop might be up your street; get to work an ancient Singer sewing machine and imbue the latest in graft gins. If you end up with a hangover to di for, then coffee is called for. For that, The Coffee Preachers are your people, taking the ristretto to the very pinnacle of coffee adoration. There are other gems; have a unique bespoke key made, go to the Launderette coffee shop to feel part of the community whilst still having superfast wifi and stand up desks, and experience the very latest in gyms by taking a trip to Gondoliers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you may have guessed by now, this book is a parody. It sets about totally ripping the piss out of the Hipster culture and their obsession with the tiniest detail, the most obscure origin for an ingredient, the perfect details in an experience and the way that they almost exclusively miss the big picture. It can kind of be summed up with this video:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That video still makes me chuckle every time I see it. If you have a hipster friend and want to understand what drives them, this is as good a place to starts as any. Expertly done, brilliantly crafted and highly amusing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am just one of a few on this <a href="http://randomthingsthroughmyletterbox.blogspot.com/">#RandomThingsTours</a> Blog Tour. Please do take a few moments to have a look at the other blogs or search for the #IFoundMyTribe hash-tag on Twitter to read more about the book.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For the very latest in artisan places follow the Bespokeist Society here:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Website: http://www.bespokistsociety.com/</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Twitter: @TheBespokist</span><br />
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Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-65870119172647290182018-06-27T13:23:00.001-07:002018-06-27T13:26:22.445-07:00Review: Three Sheets To The Wind<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40174930" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Three Sheets To The Wind" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1526737837m/40174930.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40174930">Three Sheets To The Wind</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5610026">Pete Brown</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2426011668">4 of 5 stars</a>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The British Pub has been a place of refuge from the outside world for centuries. Its long history reaches all the way back to the taverns of Roman Empire, then the alehouses of the Anglo-Saxons and before coming more like the pubs that we know today. Pete Brown loves pubs, so imagine his surprise when he hears that other countries around the world think that their drinking establishments are better, or have a parotitic duty to consume as much beer as possible. Others have the audacity to think that they produce better beer. The only way to verify that these were only rumours is to travel to the countries making those claims and verify the fact from the fiction and undertake the world's biggest pub crawl.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It is a tough call, but someone has to do it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">To ensure that the research was valid and rigorous he would visit three hundred bars, in 27 different towns across four continents to countries as far apart as Ireland and Australia, Japan and Belgium, he even headed over the pond to see if the American lagers were as bad in their native lands as there were here, but was fortunate to discover the craft beer scene. In Japan, he finds that the biggest brewer there has a headquarters that looks like a glass of its brew. In Australia just working how to order a beer in each of the places he went was a challenge, and heading to the largest beer drinking nation on earth, China, was an experience that he would never forget and not pub crawl would be complete without a trip to the Oktoberfest. His liver did not stand a chance.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This is not a normal hangover. This is something life threatening with a yellowy green tinge.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Drinking beer is supposed to be about having a laugh, and this is just what he does all the way through this book. He meets some great people, discovers some great beers and has some monumental hangovers. I really liked the chatty style of writing there are some hilarious parts, which means mostly laughing at his suffering and the odd scrape that he got into. But there was something else too, a touch of jealousy perhaps… All I know is that I want his job...</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2426011668">View all my reviews</a>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-9905133872936965002018-06-27T13:13:00.002-07:002018-06-27T13:13:47.218-07:00Recent AcquisitionsGot these from Canongate and Tor UK:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1XD4hr1otSRJDxW8JH3Y4gzgaV5nVgqrzYM4RTyP97ewAXn9qQBaZdAI3o-4DMua1kFx0FxVWAo39qnt4ZE0VnfhYo7Dhv-8O1Es0QlAfc2vg40EfFlXdvqyvdx3Y5A1eeD9IGIIX7tw/s1600/2018-06-24+14.04.41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1XD4hr1otSRJDxW8JH3Y4gzgaV5nVgqrzYM4RTyP97ewAXn9qQBaZdAI3o-4DMua1kFx0FxVWAo39qnt4ZE0VnfhYo7Dhv-8O1Es0QlAfc2vg40EfFlXdvqyvdx3Y5A1eeD9IGIIX7tw/s400/2018-06-24+14.04.41.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-47620905398633835382018-06-25T23:05:00.000-07:002018-06-25T23:05:57.801-07:00Blog Tour - I Found My Tribe - Ruth Fitzmaurice <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Welcome to my blog for today's stop on the blog tour for <span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Ruth Fitzmaurice's book, I Found My Tribe. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOkk4y1CFCPMgg2sybHX-Ac26rtQGXGDTJ0s_QfnLvOAh_fIaaXwtGyTQkrNTGQiqLrfdW3BKCvp67lFwTK8nwkeqUXuzmya7j5QrNWIoaMptH7IDEbiunUpki6xjyauMzPGZF8JirLE/s1600/I+Found+My+Tribe+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOkk4y1CFCPMgg2sybHX-Ac26rtQGXGDTJ0s_QfnLvOAh_fIaaXwtGyTQkrNTGQiqLrfdW3BKCvp67lFwTK8nwkeqUXuzmya7j5QrNWIoaMptH7IDEbiunUpki6xjyauMzPGZF8JirLE/s200/I+Found+My+Tribe+Cover.jpg" width="130" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She has her husband Simon, a filmmaker with advanced Motor Neurone Disease who can only communicate with his eyes via a computer. Together they have five children under the age of 10, as well as Pappy, a cantankerous Basset Hound. They are kept afloat by relentless army of nurses and carers that flows through their house in Greystones, on the East Coast of Ireland.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And then there is Ruth’s other family - her Tribe of amazing women. Amidst the chaos and the pain that rules their lives, The Tragic Wives Swimming Club congregate together - in summer and winter, on golden afternoons and by the light of the moon - on the sea steps at Women’s Cove. Day after day, they throw themselves into the freezing Irish sea. In that moment, they are free. Later, they will share a thermos of tea, teeth chattering, hands shaking, ready to take on the world once more.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An invocation to all of us to love as hard as we can, and live even harder, I Found My Tribe is an urgent and uplifting letter to a husband, family, friends, the natural world and the brightness of life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>My Review:</b></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOkk4y1CFCPMgg2sybHX-Ac26rtQGXGDTJ0s_QfnLvOAh_fIaaXwtGyTQkrNTGQiqLrfdW3BKCvp67lFwTK8nwkeqUXuzmya7j5QrNWIoaMptH7IDEbiunUpki6xjyauMzPGZF8JirLE/s1600/I+Found+My+Tribe+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Back in 2008, Ruth Fitzmaurice’s husband Simon was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. His career was just starting to lift and they had three small children so Ruth put her writing ambitions on the back burner to care for him and them. Events took a more dramatic turn when he was given four years to live and then they had had twins. Even though Simon can only communicate using his eyes and technology, he still managed to direct My Name is Emily. Ruth regularly heads to a cove in Greystones, Co. Wicklow with two close friends, Michelle and Aifric to swim in the cold seas. She calls this tribe ‘The Tragic Wives’ Swimming Club’; and gives her a necessary respite from her other tribe of children and carers for Simon.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Even in the most tragic of circumstances, she can see hope, even though she has periods of time where she feels raw and vulnerable. Ruth has a roller coaster of emotions living with Simon and his motor neurone disease. It is tough, but not as tough as the moments when she has to answer the children’s questions as what is happening with Dad, especially when she doesn’t have the answers. The sea swimming becomes those moments when she can be herself and relax with her friends. Her beautiful, sparse prose gets to the very essence of what is happening with the various tribes. It is a moving book too, with several poignant moments.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She is one tough lady. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Since this book was originally written Simon </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Fitzmaurice sadly passed away in October 2017. He was a celebrated filmmaker who even after he was diagnosed with </span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">motor neurone disease still continued to make films. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My Name Is Emily was about a teenager who decides to free her father from a mental hospital and starred </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Evanna Lynch, Michael Smiley, and George Webster. He made a documentary about his life called </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's Not Yet Dark</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and it tells us how he coped with everything and how he spoke to the outside world using eye-tracking software. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">R I P Simon.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am just one of a few on this </span><a href="http://randomthingsthroughmyletterbox.blogspot.com/">#RandomThingsTours</a><span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Blog Tour. P</span>lease do take a few moments to <span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; white-space: pre-wrap;">have a look at the other blogs or search for the </span><a class="twitter-hashtag pretty-link js-nav" data-query-source="hashtag_click" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IFoundMyTribe?src=hash" style="color: #1b95e0; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #1b95e0;">#</span><strong>IFoundMyTribe</strong></a> hash-tag on Twitter to read more about the book.</span><br />
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Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-59642329689157013562018-06-24T23:02:00.000-07:002018-06-25T08:47:56.939-07:00Publisher Profile - Parthian<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For me, independent publishers are the people in the industry who are prepared to take risks on new authors and books where the larger players either don't wish to venture, or where they can't see there being a return on. Each month in 2018 I am aiming to highlight some of my favourite independent publishers, along with some of their books that I have loved and also to have someone from the publisher answer a few questions. This month is the turn of <a href="https://www.parthianbooks.com/">Parthian</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEe9TllLBk482egUDJFTtuwnR7KLmzFnYu03UmocNBzzddqdwtwsBGuaB2tPPxmgHw5wmnKJGxfFTM64Qn_FFw-Qwfigy3Z-oKzTQdOQ7S0kSxrOpFWFfWcUxNfronWh8UZBin3MAH7k/s1600/Parthian+black+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="1600" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEe9TllLBk482egUDJFTtuwnR7KLmzFnYu03UmocNBzzddqdwtwsBGuaB2tPPxmgHw5wmnKJGxfFTM64Qn_FFw-Qwfigy3Z-oKzTQdOQ7S0kSxrOpFWFfWcUxNfronWh8UZBin3MAH7k/s400/Parthian+black+logo.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq9PIS7rNUPuy8HIkIFHGekJHbw_GzTHOJSy-c2GSKfmAC8nAfM19HD8ji5_q2HThhiYkU8umTGhVQ5cNnTi82VAmx-T2p1nWUotGYAuHvaeVW-TzR-TsqSby-G855NmgZFgdcB5Hj838/s1600/cloud_road_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="301" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq9PIS7rNUPuy8HIkIFHGekJHbw_GzTHOJSy-c2GSKfmAC8nAfM19HD8ji5_q2HThhiYkU8umTGhVQ5cNnTi82VAmx-T2p1nWUotGYAuHvaeVW-TzR-TsqSby-G855NmgZFgdcB5Hj838/s200/cloud_road_large.jpg" width="125" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had first come across Parthian because of the author <a href="http://www.cloudroad.co.uk/">John Harrison</a>. Confusingly, there are two travel writers of that name, but this John Harrison is particularly good. The first of his that I read just over five years ago was </span>Cloud Road. This is about his travels through the Inca Heartland as he hikes along the Camino Real. This 500-year-old road visiting villages where life has not changed in centuries. Managed to get hold of a copy of Where the Earth Ends which is about his travels in the landscape of Patagonia where we learn about the history and the people that he meets. Forgotten Footprints is very different from his previous books as it is more about the history Antarctica and the individuals that have been drawn to this harsh part of the world.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0CJkQy6A4QSQ_hs2_9k8rhB0tmshjs1xqR-pW8RE2qxUXxhq6CKBdb3vCkv-FvIlvyz4tt_kAd0DKnLFV_H-hq6qr7EeRY6ldbKyz3AHqrkTK8UheEDS7ul2SQoI8hPnhPIKGRKZpZc/s1600/51uvAtsslJL_small_239c93c9-091e-4b96-8bf4-5e5c19cd20e8_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="297" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0CJkQy6A4QSQ_hs2_9k8rhB0tmshjs1xqR-pW8RE2qxUXxhq6CKBdb3vCkv-FvIlvyz4tt_kAd0DKnLFV_H-hq6qr7EeRY6ldbKyz3AHqrkTK8UheEDS7ul2SQoI8hPnhPIKGRKZpZc/s200/51uvAtsslJL_small_239c93c9-091e-4b96-8bf4-5e5c19cd20e8_large.jpg" width="123" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was fortunate enough to be sent a copy of 1519 by Parthian. This is about another trip out to South America and he deftly weaves history with travel writing, but there are personal elements to this as we learn about his cancer diagnosis and treatment. If you do get a chance to read any of his books, they are well worth it, he is a writer of quality. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On my radar are A Van of One’s (mentioned below) </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Seven Days </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-line;">which I will get hold of at some point. I have just bought a copy (signed!!) of </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-line;">Insufficiently Welsh which I am looking forward to. I haven't ventured into their fiction offering, but Burrard Inlet looks really good from my perusal through the catalogue.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Eddie at Parthian Book was kind enough to answer the questions below:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Can you tell me a little about the history of Parthian?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Parthian will have been publishing for twenty-five years in 2018 so we’re looking back and seeing if it’s all been worth it. It has been a time of many emotions. Publishing is about hope and communication. The idea to make public, ideas and stories. We’ve published books that stay with you, become part of a shared culture and some that are forgotten quickly as they fail to find a hold and are hidden as the fall of new words turns with every year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rhys Davies Trust has been a constant for us with other work and projects through the twenty-five years and is now supporting the Modern Wales series. The Prince’s Youth Business Trust was crucial in the initial development of the venture with training and finance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Major supporters, once we got going, were first the Arts Council of Wales and then the Welsh Books Council with their many services to develop publishing in Wales. And then with devolution and a Welsh Government the Library of Wales project, now reaching fifty titles, has been a ground-breaking series edited with talent and ambition by Dai Smith. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This year at twenty-five, we’re having a quick look back, but publishing is always about the future and this catalogue brings another year of books published by Parthian. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>How do you go about choosing the titles to be included in your portfolio?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What we look for are voices that bring something distinct to the table. This can come from anywhere and take any form. We look for prose or poetry that feels like it comes from an authentic place, grounded in what the author is trying to communicate. These are the stories that stay with you. We will always be especially keen on Welsh stories and authors that bring a different perspective on Wales or identify an overlooked aspect of the country. When publishing works in translation or stories from outside of Wales, we look for a tactile sense of place, imagery that immerses the reader in that specific time and location.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Tell me about your process after selecting a book for publication</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once a book is chosen by our commissioning editor, we send a contract to the author’s agent (or to the author directly in some cases). Once the contract is signed, we move on to the editing phase. This pairs an editor with the author to collaborate on putting together the best iteration possible of that story. This means that the first read through by the editor includes some large-scale suggestions (if warranted) which she or he discusses with the author. Then the editor reads through again, making more granular notes (extending a scene here, deleting a line there) which will strengthen the structure, tone, or themes of the story. Once the editor and author are done with the manuscript, it’s sent to a proofreader who goes through it with a fine-toothed comb and catches typos. Then, it is sent to the typesetter, and once it is type-set, the editor and/or proofreader will review the copy to ensure it is devoid of errors. Then, it is sent to the printer for its initial print run. Sometimes, proof copies are ordered and sent to reviewers after the type-set version is approved and before the final print copies are received.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What is the company philosophy when it comes to selecting for your catalogue?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When selecting books for our catalogue, we ask whether it aligns with our mission. Does it excite us? Does it tell a story we haven’t heard before? Does it reveal something new about Wales? Europe? Abroad? Is there a strong voice at its centre? These questions are our guiding criteria that we investigate the story with. We are confident that if a story is well-told and comes from a distinct voice, it will find its audience. We do not try to reverse engineer a hit based on our readership. We read something that strikes us and we commission accordingly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What book do you wish you had published?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Eddie: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My pick is George Saunders’ debut novel Lincoln in the Bardo which won the Man Booker Prize. Saunders is arguably the greatest living short story writer, so having his first novel would’ve been having a piece of history. Would also have loved to get tips on beard-growing from the man.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Maria:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea Quartet. Or Marlon James’s forthcoming Dark Star trilogy, I think it will be a landmark in new, diverse fantasy fiction. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Alison:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's down to all of the involvement I've had in translated literature recently which has made me think a lot about translations I've enjoyed. I think this one was one of the first I read as a teenager and, like many others, I read at the time (Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Camus etc) I didn't consider it as translated, probably because it was so brilliantly and seamlessly done - the mark of a great translation. (Also, I just love the whole concept of the book, each character and its perfect ending).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Richard:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kaye and Aaron's Rod by D.H. Lawrence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHFw9GRPkvN7DLfGl2AOXhWGtulFuNuQ00cw8ArBHgemTWGzOnPRWcqdLKN38D6Zoymoia0_zirjtZ2tiA42JHomFPwgIXmFhBOyfqtqiJWVljrmjECqN9McpTCZ84vTq4saxKKNLws0/s1600/9781912109685.MAIN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="626" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHFw9GRPkvN7DLfGl2AOXhWGtulFuNuQ00cw8ArBHgemTWGzOnPRWcqdLKN38D6Zoymoia0_zirjtZ2tiA42JHomFPwgIXmFhBOyfqtqiJWVljrmjECqN9McpTCZ84vTq4saxKKNLws0/s200/9781912109685.MAIN.jpg" width="121" /></span></a><b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What would you say were the undiscovered gems in your catalogue?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our undiscovered gem is debut author Lloyd Markham’s <span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/bad-ideas-chemicals" style="color: #954f72;">Bad Ideas\Chemicals</a></span>. This novel is one part social satire and one part fantasy adventure with a would-be planet hopper, an open mic player, and a prototypical lad banding together for a ‘bad’ night out. Despite a recent nomination for the Wales Book of the Year Fiction Award, it’s still largely undiscovered, with only 200 copies sold. We anticipate that’ll grow once the word spreads. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>How is the company organised today and how many people work for you?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The company is primarily based in Swansea and Cardiff, but has staff across south Wales. The publisher, Richard Lewis Davies, and editor, Susie Wild, work in Cardiff and frequently correspond with the main office in Swansea that is managed by Maria Zygogianni. Maria manages a team of interns that primarily come through Swansea University where the office is housed. The financial wing of the company is managed by Financial Director Gill Griffiths out of Cardigan, where other freelancers are based. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>How much effort goes into the design of the book, for example the cover design, font selection and so on?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Each cover is designed from scratch, with the content of the book and the demographics of the audience taken into consideration. Cover design is entrusted to expert freelancers who have collaborated with Parthian for several years. If a book is part of a series, such as the Library of Wales, there are common banners, logos, and fonts used with which the designer matches with an evocative image that coalesces with the placement of text. Books that are not part of a series have a greater range of parameters, yet a common aesthetic can be seen throughout our titles – one that makes books stand out on a shelf but are not screaming at the reader. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0q0wQzriI-14u4GGny8piuwAKuVa2IQT3rzr4njLaRLFhlnrwhHpu2MpvQZ6kEMxy8X8tyAlxIECFYWbF1mhhHTnBm3c39omwJMmcHswNAJwYiBzkd7lkdHBOde5Kbnqf5Y3tKY04tA/s1600/9781912109272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1001" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0q0wQzriI-14u4GGny8piuwAKuVa2IQT3rzr4njLaRLFhlnrwhHpu2MpvQZ6kEMxy8X8tyAlxIECFYWbF1mhhHTnBm3c39omwJMmcHswNAJwYiBzkd7lkdHBOde5Kbnqf5Y3tKY04tA/s200/9781912109272.jpg" width="125" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Are there any up and coming books that you are publishing soon that we need to look out for?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A novel recently released is <span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/the-golden-orphans" style="color: #954f72;">The Golden Orphans</a> </span>by Gary Raymond. This literary thriller is set in Cyprus and written with a grounded sense of place and history. The author channelled his literary influence of Graham Greene to deliver a compelling, thoughtful meditation on identity and obsession. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I, Eric Ngalle is a new memoir by author <span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.hayfestival.com/wales/blog.aspx?post=286" style="color: #954f72;">Eric Ngalle</a></span>, a Cameroonian former refugee currently based in Cardiff. Eric’s new book tells of his journey from Cameroon to Wales. Written in his distinct voice, one with equal parts suffering and hope, Eric describes the years he was detained in Russia, not knowing if he’d ever get out. His story sheds light on contemporary Wales, and the piece of himself he left behind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A work in translation from the Basque Country out this year is <span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/my-mothers-hands" style="color: #954f72;">Her Mother’s Hands</a></span>. This novel by Karmele Jaio is an examination of the deepest human bonds and a beautiful and moving tribute to life. The precarious balance in the life of Nerea, a thirty-something journalist, breaks down when her mother, Luisa, is hospitalised with total amnesia. Luisa is haunted by memories of a romance from her youth and soon Nerea begins to discover that the two women share much more than they believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What debut authors are you publishing this year?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtoPZnH1-qNhsfK_ux4p8Q7w0FLKQ7U8eBBstBhj3FPD-iSTV-ATuUawSj-1ZMqV33V023xWLhmiu9BJchjDXnMGv1b_gEUI80wIucEELFRdvbZjrKwuM1SI4j7RGUSAMb7ifJxmYzop4/s1600/9781912109142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1094" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtoPZnH1-qNhsfK_ux4p8Q7w0FLKQ7U8eBBstBhj3FPD-iSTV-ATuUawSj-1ZMqV33V023xWLhmiu9BJchjDXnMGv1b_gEUI80wIucEELFRdvbZjrKwuM1SI4j7RGUSAMb7ifJxmYzop4/s200/9781912109142.jpg" width="136" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/ironopolis" style="color: #954f72;">Ironopolis</a></span>is the debut novel from a talented young writer called Glen James Brown. This book is set in North East England and weaves together six stories from working class characters experiencing the collapse of their council estate. It explores collective memory, masculinity, the housing crisis, and cultural heritage through lived-in characters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FzMAieA1O0rE-vLHoKyDiuL6oFjQ5g9WkSecswPWYLJ3E1FZ9xGa4CX17adTJh0SwbJc3OgXHXsAyVUP6sJPnXhyzrkWo9cHrSQO66iZ9M5ghOMrGOmB6CG2pgLVUt3GiErnQKKzmHw/s1600/9781912109258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1001" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FzMAieA1O0rE-vLHoKyDiuL6oFjQ5g9WkSecswPWYLJ3E1FZ9xGa4CX17adTJh0SwbJc3OgXHXsAyVUP6sJPnXhyzrkWo9cHrSQO66iZ9M5ghOMrGOmB6CG2pgLVUt3GiErnQKKzmHw/s200/9781912109258.JPG" width="125" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A talented young poet called Mari Ellis Dunning is releasing her debut collection titled <span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/salacia" style="color: #954f72;">Salacia</a></span>. This accomplished collection is a contemporary reflection on mental health, mythology, love and loss. Salacia offers a stark and honest exploration of human nature and our fallibility, where the dark and sombre moments in life are as precious as the uplifting ones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>How did you come across them?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We come across debut authors in a range of ways. In the case of Ironopolis, we had the good fortune of receiving a query from the author’s literary agent, then read the full manuscript and signed on. Other authors we discover through submissions sent in hard copy to our Swansea office and read by our team. Still others we’ve made personal contact with, then discovered they had a book project that was in alignment with Parthian’s aesthetic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What title of yours has been an unexpected success?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWFxvhjb0mZhrIoVQmxnu11O6a0aGMwX_B8uuknB6D8K8A49amBK_vCJHuM6cM8qGRZBabuEPSb6gdrsbnEkk-R1SJKjYlMw5yLeTldxHKequcSr18ml9-hAbD3uw0YdiJ384nAqGdgU/s1600/9781910901991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWFxvhjb0mZhrIoVQmxnu11O6a0aGMwX_B8uuknB6D8K8A49amBK_vCJHuM6cM8qGRZBabuEPSb6gdrsbnEkk-R1SJKjYlMw5yLeTldxHKequcSr18ml9-hAbD3uw0YdiJ384nAqGdgU/s200/9781910901991.jpg" width="124" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were confident that Biddy Wells’ <span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/a-van-of-one-s-own" style="color: #954f72;">A Van of One’s Own </a></span>was a quality book, and we were delighted to find just how much it resonated with readers. It tells the story of how, propelled by a thirst for peace and quiet, for a modest adventure and, perhaps, for freedom, Biddy left for Portugal on her own, with only her old campervan, Myfanwy, and her GPS, Tanya, for company. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A Van of One’s Own is a journey through the breath-taking scenery of France, Spain, and finally Portugal, populated by colourful characters and the roar of the ocean, the taste of fresh fish and the grind of the asphalt; but more importantly, it is a journey through past memories and present conflicts to inner peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How do you use social media for promoting books and authors?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYiz5glWdBszl04HySUKxVfrfFlqkiQW6BHN39Bcb5eDXFSR-14oPz0FieRxBl0yRNJdmAmLTHs6VXETZkfENhiUwcwcpayyk7BxoB_e2Y9EI8_nuGKuehNeQ391NhPBZzJT2M96dnkk/s1600/9781912109500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1028" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYiz5glWdBszl04HySUKxVfrfFlqkiQW6BHN39Bcb5eDXFSR-14oPz0FieRxBl0yRNJdmAmLTHs6VXETZkfENhiUwcwcpayyk7BxoB_e2Y9EI8_nuGKuehNeQ391NhPBZzJT2M96dnkk/s200/9781912109500.jpg" width="128" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our social media presence on Facebook and Twitter is driven by the mission to situate Parthian within a collaborative community of readers, writers, editors, and administrators. We find ways to connect our authors with current events being covered in other media, such as how we’ve coupled promotion of Ironopolis, a working class novel, with The Guardian’s stories about working class and the arts. Another example is linking our new biography of Welsh suffragettes, <span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/rocking-the-boat-welsh-women-who-championed-equality-1840-1990" style="color: #954f72;">Rocking the Boat</a></span>, with the Processions 2018 public artwork that commemorates the women’s suffrage centenary. Through this collaborative approach, we increase the scope of our media reach and widen the context. We supplement this strategy with posts about individual author’s readings as well as book reviews and blogposts, in addition to posting live-feeds from events and recaps thereafter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Is working with book bloggers becoming a larger part of that process now?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Book bloggers are an important part of getting early reviews for new releases. We’ve incorporated several book bloggers into our reviewer list and they’ve provided quality, timely reviews that have aided in promotion of the book. We anticipate growing this network even more, because of the expanding influence of bloggers with their audience and the importance of word-of-mouth support which is essential to the success of books published from independent presses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What does the future hold for Parthian?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The future for Parthian includes further situating Wales within a global context. One way we do this is through our Carnival of Voices in translation from a wider Europe including recent work from the Basque Country, and the Baltic countries. These works help introduce Welsh and UK audiences to authors from regions of the world they’d not otherwise read, places like Greece, Malta, and Slovakia. It also builds partnerships with the home countries literary organisations and readerships, as in the case of Latvia, through which we published three volumes of poetry in 2018. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2vU2UYVMfuxwgGPJFEqqp2NL3jWVJZLXpUVfjb8z-m_xI-ffDMN10MBQVFrrwFJ0p3ehviZm15ZVdB8VifK0-9eQILGkp2gFNKHXsGdi-WPpDJAYZyb_QU74soFZ0OsCeM6ZJ7bkYZw/s1600/Pigeon+final+cover+with+DTP+sticker+-+print.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1001" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2vU2UYVMfuxwgGPJFEqqp2NL3jWVJZLXpUVfjb8z-m_xI-ffDMN10MBQVFrrwFJ0p3ehviZm15ZVdB8VifK0-9eQILGkp2gFNKHXsGdi-WPpDJAYZyb_QU74soFZ0OsCeM6ZJ7bkYZw/s200/Pigeon+final+cover+with+DTP+sticker+-+print.jpg" width="125" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We will also continue to give new authors their first publishing opportunity. This has proven core to our identity as an independent publisher and has led to several successes such as Alys Conran and her Wales Book of the Year-winning <span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/pigeon" style="color: #954f72;">Pigeon</a></span>. We will continue to find diverse, vibrant perspectives that bring a distinctly Welsh perspective to the world or bring a distinctly global perspective to Wales. Sometimes both. The Carnival of Voices will evolve to include all voices that have been marginalised because of mental illness, race, sexual orientation, and displacement. Publishing stories from these margins is how we will continue to push literature in Wales forward. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A big thank you to Maria at Parthian for making time at fairly short notice to answer those questions for me. I really appreciate it. If you do want their books, get them direct from the website or I would urge you to buy them from an independent bookshop as you can as this supports them, the publisher and of course the author with one purchase. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;"></span>Previous Publisher Profiles:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2018/05/publisher-profile-slightly-foxed.html">Slightly Foxed</a><br /><br /><a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2018/04/publisher-profile-head-of-zeus.html">Head of Zeus</a><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white;"></span><a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2018/03/publisher-profile-eland.html">Eland</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2018/02/publisher-profile-salt.html">Salt Publishing</a><br /><br /><a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2018/01/publisher-profile-little-toller.html">Little Toller</a></span></div>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-21730952309038082142018-06-24T02:47:00.001-07:002018-06-24T02:47:17.995-07:00Review: In Patagonia
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/244091" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320426669m/244091.jpg" border="0" alt="In Patagonia" /></a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/244091">In Patagonia</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/43665">Bruce Chatwin</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2352382891">4 of 5 stars</a>
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Patagonia defies definition. It sits at the very end of a continent, nudges into the tumultuous Southern ocean, covers two countries and is a place of enigmas. It was a place that Brue Chatwin had longed to visit for years after seeing a piece of 'brontosaurus' in his grandparent's curiosity cabinet. It wasn't a piece of a dinosaur, but another part of an extinct animal that had been found in Patagonia.<br /><br />The memory of it lived on in Chatwin's imagination and was the spark that made him give up his job and head out there in 1974. The six months that he spent there, become this book. It is not about the landscape or the countries, rather Chatwin spends his time there meeting people, finding out about them and then following the gossamer threads of their lives from place to place and backwards and forwards in time.<br /><br />To be honest, this wasn't quite what I was expecting. It is often disjointed, it has some very short chapters, people only briefly appear in the narrative, before he heads off to the next location and snapshot of another life. And yet it is a wonderful piece of writing. Even though it is not about the place per se, Patagonia fully permeates the writing, you have a sense of the barrenness of the desert, the relentless wind off Tierra del Fuego, places that have attracted people from all over the world in search of the nomadic existence. He traces the characters backwards and forwards across this land but reveals as much about himself in his writing. Will try to get to Songlines a bit sooner than this now I have found a copy.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2352382891">View all my reviews</a>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-82455463556175853692018-06-20T13:31:00.001-07:002018-06-20T13:32:30.606-07:00Review: Rebellious Spirits: Audacious Tales of Drinking on the Wrong Side of the Law<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36570378" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Rebellious Spirits: Audacious Tales of Drinking on the Wrong Side of the Law" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1520862727m/36570378.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36570378">Rebellious Spirits: Audacious Tales of Drinking on the Wrong Side of the Law</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3494280">Ruth Ball</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2426002499">4 of 5 stars</a>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The British have for thousands of years have been inventing various ways of getting drunk. We have had fruit wines, Even the Romans had vineyards. We have made apples and pears into ciders and perry's made all types of grains into beers. For a lot of people, alcohol was the only safe way to get fluids as often the water wasn't safe to drink. To really get a kick from the drink though it needs to be stronger, much much stronger.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">There are various claims as to who invented distilling, some say the Egyptians, others the Greeks, but it was brought to the UK by French monks. The products of those first stills were supposed to be used for medicinal purposes, however, it didn't take long for the locals to realise there were much better uses than trying to make yourselves better. It was always a low key thing though until in 1643 the Long Parliament decided to introduce excise duty on a selection of things including spirits. This tax was universally hated and rather than become legal, lots of stills went underground and it was the beginning of a long battle against the government and the beginning of the whisky industry in Scotland and Ireland.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">That most English of drinks, the G&T, is actually Dutch. Bought over when William of Orange invaded and became our monarch, we adopted it and made it our own, so much so that around one in five houses sold drams in one part of London. The political elite was watching the population slowly become drunk all the time and rather than seeing it as the symptom of poverty they saw it as the cause. So they tried to ban it. As you can imagine, it didn't quite go to plan, so they passed the Gin Act and that didn't help either…</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Irish had been distilling for a while now, but when the taxman decided that they wanted the revenue from this, then they fought back. They realised that it was easier to move poitin rather than grain around the country, devised methods to hide their little pot stills and generally didn't really want to assist the authorities in any way at all. They had ingenious ways of hiding the small stills, sometimes the easiest way was in plain sight! On top of all that, they had to try and stop the smuggling; whole coastal communities including the clergy would ensure that goods were snuck in under the noses of the excise men. With the advent of the Second World War, the government clamped down on the production of spirits diverting grain to the food needs of the country. But if you wanted a drink and happened to know the right people, you could still get your hands on a bottle. Not legally of course and the substances that were added were included with the spirits that really shouldn't have been in some cases. </span><br />
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<i>Work is the curse of the drinking classes - Oscar Wilde</i><br />
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Ruth Ball has managed to take a wide-ranging variety of stories of alcohol and distil them into this delightful little book. I found these tales are entertaining and written with a wry sense of humour. On top of this entertaining read, she has made a collection of recipes based on the originals that were almost certainly more fun trying than making and must have been the source of a few hangovers too. If you like sitting down every now and again with a glass of something to hand, then this is a perfect accompaniment to it.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2426002499">View all my reviews</a>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-67902000671860474102018-06-19T08:50:00.001-07:002018-06-19T08:52:13.017-07:00Review: Puzzle Ninja: Pit Your Wits Against The Japanese Puzzle Masters<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35186898" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Puzzle Ninja: Pit Your Wits Against The Japanese Puzzle Masters" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1507324846m/35186898.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35186898">Puzzle Ninja: Pit Your Wits Against The Japanese Puzzle Masters</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/398989">Alex Bellos</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2423711656">3 of 5 stars</a>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Sitting down to do the crossword or Sudoku in a paper gives most people a lot of pleasure, it stretches your brain and enables you to while away a few moments away from a screen of some sort. For those that want to stretch themselves some more, then Alex Bellos has been over to Japan and has come home bearing puzzle shaped gifts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">These have been sought from the enigmatologists of Japan and are very different to the puzzles that you may have come across so far. There are graphical ones, ones that create mazes, a puzzle where you need to separate the wolves from the sheep and even a golf one. For most of them, there are two or three simple rules, however, from simplicity comes complexity and these may start easy, but he collected puzzles that he describes as excruciatingly difficult.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Dare to ask questions and seek answers to the puzzles of life. ― Lailah Gifty Akita</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So if you fancy having your brain fried in new and fiendishly complicated ways, this could be the books for you. There are twenty of these new puzzles and over 200 examples in total collected from the wonderfully named Puzzle Poet and The Super Sensi to name but two. Was pleased to see one of my favourites in here, O'Elaki too. If you love puzzles then this is one for your bookshelf; though I cannot be held responsible for any stress caused…</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2423711656">View all my reviews</a>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-14615150037929620612018-06-17T12:03:00.001-07:002018-06-17T12:03:52.331-07:00Review: Inside the Wave
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34675605" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490378453m/34675605.jpg" border="0" alt="Inside the Wave" /></a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34675605">Inside the Wave</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/41542">Helen Dunmore</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2365703389">3 of 5 stars</a>
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One of the ultimate things that surfers seek is to ride inside the tube, this tunnel of water is a transitory and for surfers an almost religious experience that only lasts a few seconds in most cases. It is a place that some surfers feel most alive in, but it can be lethal too. Helen Dunmore looks at this transient line between life and death with her poems in this, her tenth and sadly final, poetry book. <br /><br />In this moving collection that has themes on water, the voyage of mortality and elements of the ancient Greek classics. There are some poems that I really liked, the Lamplighter, Bluebell Hollows and Festival of Stone in particular. Hold out your arms is a poem that has been added to this collection and was written just before she passed away. As with all poetry collections, there are some in here that did nothing for me. That is the nature of poetry, each reader gets something different from the verse. Will definitely give some of her other collections a read though.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2365703389">View all my reviews</a>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-78773789830652991662018-06-17T01:37:00.001-07:002018-06-17T01:38:54.964-07:00Review: The Cryptic Pub Quiz<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36623663" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Cryptic Pub Quiz" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1511101392m/36623663.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36623663">The Cryptic Pub Quiz</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2709850">Frank Paul</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2423703426">3 of 5 stars</a>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I do love a good quiz. One that has a balance of straightforward questions and some that you are sure that you know, but aren't sure until you hear the answer. Sitting down to one of those where you struggle to comprehend what the question actually is, let alone what it is asking might be too much, but that is what the artist Frank Paul does on a regular basis at the Mill in Cambridge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Since 2015, his cryptic quizzes have become legendary, full of anagrams, cryptic links, word searches and his amazing artistic creations. This book has collected some of his finest examples, including a Murder Mystery Advent Calendar of Doom, Eight Degrees of Kevin Bacon, Premature Obituaries, lots of palindromes and a Quizmas Carol.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Fiendish is an understatement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I think his brain works in a totally different way to everyone else's, but if you love quizzes and verbal puzzles then this should be an essential book for your collection. His unique combinations of quizzes and games along with his wonderful art and very original games will have you exasperated and stumped in roughly equal measures; what is satisfying when you know or have worked out the answer. If you're still totally baffled, and I will admit I was on some of these.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Thankfully there are the answers in the back…</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2423703426">View all my reviews</a>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-74717617516873001162018-06-15T01:24:00.001-07:002018-06-15T01:25:26.580-07:00Review: Walk Through History: Discover Victorian London<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38886520" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Walk Through History: Discover Victorian London" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1519862810m/38886520.jpg"></a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38886520">Walk Through History: Discover Victorian London</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/426307">Christopher Winn</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2422478141">3 of 5 stars</a>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.</span><br />
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London is an intense city. It feels vast and packed with people, the modern architecture punches the skyline with the grey steels and glass structures. The shops are full of glitz and glamour. Some locations ooze money, others areas seem run-down, but every part of this great city is layered with history. In this charming little book, Christopher Winn wants to take you on seven walks around parts of the city to reveal the huge influence that the Victorian age had on the city and to show you the vast amount of it still left.<br />
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Each of the seven walks has a map and clear directions with around 20 or so notable examples of Victorian architecture. The places to find on the walks vary from marble urinals, palaces, terraced houses, pump stations, stations and churches. There are loads of details in here to add extra to the buildings that you are being taken around, including who built them, when they were built, historical details and snippets.<br />
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All the way through the book, accompanying the text, are the delightful drawings by Mai Osawa. These drawings are of the buildings and details from them, like gargoyles and occasionally some of the interiors. The prose is straightforward and pragmatic, the main intention of the book is to inform you of buildings that you will see on your walk and fill in the gaps in the history of the areas. More importantly, there is a helpful list of pubs provided at the end of each walk to enable you to slake your thirst and recover from your perambulation. Great little book on the London that a lot of people see every day but will be utterly unaware of.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2422478141">View all my reviews</a>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-28424393204675244092018-06-14T12:56:00.002-07:002018-06-14T12:56:29.299-07:00New Publisher & Author Spotlight<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the spirit of helping small publishers and new authors out, I am delighted to profile Steve Dressing and his new book, Game Keepers.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Hf6V6sVFZEwkXDntXAYdGF64zdDkw7MPJvYShx6Vit3fmdr73SZawzzOGZ80a7SXiVZcOSBkUp1V5IhvbtyzEgnaDZJ2_dRq7Pm-Fsh3AINurq0m4OVoaS8JxycUFMSggXgXoxObpoY/s1600/Front+Cover_5x8+2+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Hf6V6sVFZEwkXDntXAYdGF64zdDkw7MPJvYShx6Vit3fmdr73SZawzzOGZ80a7SXiVZcOSBkUp1V5IhvbtyzEgnaDZJ2_dRq7Pm-Fsh3AINurq0m4OVoaS8JxycUFMSggXgXoxObpoY/s320/Front+Cover_5x8+2+%25281%2529.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLt_UbzQkUTIeqjDMw0zJWIH7GF30N2zXV_-ClW9VFgRmikDsZaKreVh5QgVv1_TqJV7PNCo_jFvIijzULrdYYN9Q7tPGrpVpxG46Pb6khz_tAhFoXp9zFPKooba2jbp9zxUVuJLMtoU/s1600/KeepersPhoto300dpi001_900x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLt_UbzQkUTIeqjDMw0zJWIH7GF30N2zXV_-ClW9VFgRmikDsZaKreVh5QgVv1_TqJV7PNCo_jFvIijzULrdYYN9Q7tPGrpVpxG46Pb6khz_tAhFoXp9zFPKooba2jbp9zxUVuJLMtoU/s1600/KeepersPhoto300dpi001_900x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLt_UbzQkUTIeqjDMw0zJWIH7GF30N2zXV_-ClW9VFgRmikDsZaKreVh5QgVv1_TqJV7PNCo_jFvIijzULrdYYN9Q7tPGrpVpxG46Pb6khz_tAhFoXp9zFPKooba2jbp9zxUVuJLMtoU/s1600/KeepersPhoto300dpi001_900x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></a><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m a new, self-published author with a book I think will be enjoyed by many if they can just find it. “Game Keepers” is the first of what I hope will be several books I publish over the next few years through my own publishing company, Number 6 Publishing. Turning from my career as an environmental scientist to a publisher and author of books for kids is quite a change. It has been a lot of fun, but there have been many new things to learn, most of which come with an unpleasant price tag. The world isn’t particularly kind to authors in my situation, but we’re a group that doesn’t give up easily.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Getting to the point of selling the book was probably the easiest part of the journey for me. Marketing has been a huge challenge, particularly after purchases by friends and family dried up. I know that the faithful have told others about the book but even with my large family that only takes you so far. It feels like my book is simply a needle in a huge haystack competing against the thousands of books neatly displayed in huge bookstores and featured on major websites. How do I get people to even bother to check the haystack to see if there is something worthwhile inside?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLt_UbzQkUTIeqjDMw0zJWIH7GF30N2zXV_-ClW9VFgRmikDsZaKreVh5QgVv1_TqJV7PNCo_jFvIijzULrdYYN9Q7tPGrpVpxG46Pb6khz_tAhFoXp9zFPKooba2jbp9zxUVuJLMtoU/s1600/KeepersPhoto300dpi001_900x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1127" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLt_UbzQkUTIeqjDMw0zJWIH7GF30N2zXV_-ClW9VFgRmikDsZaKreVh5QgVv1_TqJV7PNCo_jFvIijzULrdYYN9Q7tPGrpVpxG46Pb6khz_tAhFoXp9zFPKooba2jbp9zxUVuJLMtoU/s200/KeepersPhoto300dpi001_900x.jpg" width="159" /></span></a><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Multiple outlets are being used to advertise the book, including social media, libraries, and book stores. That alone doesn’t set you apart, however, because this business is very competitive with an ever-growing group of talented new writers. Of all the possible outlets, I want most to be able to share my book with the local community. “Game Keepers” has a baseball theme, and I am currently a coach and an umpire in the neighborhood Little League. I find it unethical, however, to use my platform in the Little League to advertise. That has caused me to seek other outlets to reach this same community, outlets such as the local hardware store. One day I would like to do a book reading at the store with both new and old faces from my community. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I haven’t yet dreamed of being lost in one of Van Gogh’s beautiful piles of hay in his “Haystack in Provence”, but sometimes I feel that way. Sometimes I feel as if my story is covered by layers of inescapable hay. My hope is that people will come by, pick up a fork, and tear apart the haystack. Quickly the needle lost in the haystack becomes treasure.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can find more details about the book here: https://www.number6publishing.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Follow Number 6 Publishing on Twitter here: </span><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/Number6Publ" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none !important;">@<span class="u-linkComplex-target" style="font-weight: normal;">Number6Publ</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><br />
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Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-61919125939160008182018-06-14T11:52:00.001-07:002018-06-14T11:53:58.780-07:00Review: Long Road from Jarrow: A journey through Britain then and now<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35720141" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Long Road from Jarrow: A journey through Britain then and now" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1519620222m/35720141.jpg"></a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35720141">Long Road from Jarrow: A journey through Britain then and now</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/92081">Stuart Maconie</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2007188790">4 of 5 stars</a>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.</span><br />
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Eighty-two years ago around 200 men set off from the Tyneside town of Jarrow to march to London. The reason for this was to protest at the closure of Palmer's shipyard that had affected everyone's livelihoods in the town. Calling themselves crusaders, they were carrying a petition to the government of day asking for a new industry to be created in the town. Back in the 1930's it was nothing like it was today, the world was in a global depression, there was the rise of right-wing political interests, a stark north/south divide, food banks and indifference from the political elite; err hang on… <br />
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It is through modern England that Stuart Maconie wants to retrace the march that the Jarrow Crusaders followed stopping in the cities that they did, seeking the places that supported them with food and provisions, seeing how many people know of anything about their story and to take the pulse of a just post-Brexit Britain. Whilst some things remain the same, there is a lot that has changed in the UK in that short period of time; gone are the big industries, mines and manual jobs that the north relied on and in their place are service jobs, disillusionment and high unemployment. <br />
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Maconie is one of those guys who can talk to almost anyone and in this book he does, from waiters to mums, healthy debates in pubs and even gets invited to an event with the leader of the opposition. He is prepared to say it how it is, how even now the north still is massively underfunded compared to the south-east of the country, how the London bubble distorts the economy and how there is much more community spirit the further from London you get. As usual, he writes with deft humour and his keen eyes observe the subtleties as he moves through the country at walking pace. As some have complained about the number of times he has mentioned food in previous books, he takes special care to ensure we know exactly what he has eaten. So you will read about a few curries, several beers and the odd dram or three and one of the best pork pies he has ever eaten. This is another thoroughly enjoyable book from Maconie and if you have read his others you will almost certainly like this.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2007188790">View all my reviews</a>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-55691569793660800912018-06-14T08:13:00.000-07:002018-06-14T08:13:09.903-07:00Recent Acquisitions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-30434577322704168902018-06-11T23:23:00.001-07:002018-06-11T23:23:30.622-07:00Review: Literary Wonderlands: A Journey Through the Greatest Fictional Worlds Ever Created
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28962939" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1460311920m/28962939.jpg" border="0" alt="Literary Wonderlands: A Journey Through the Greatest Fictional Worlds Ever Created" /></a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28962939">Literary Wonderlands: A Journey Through the Greatest Fictional Worlds Ever Created</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/183852">Laura Miller</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2255789924">3 of 5 stars</a>
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People have been immersing themselves in stories for thousands of years, originally these were passed from person to person before someone had the genius idea of writing them down. What stories though are the defining example of a type? Literary Wonderlands tries to do this by picking around 100 books and series that they think have redefined the literary landscape when they were published.<br /><br />There are five sections of books, beginning with Ancient Myth & Legend and then Science and Romanticism it then goes onto the Golden age of Fantasy a New World Order and finishes up in the Computer Age. There are classics such as The Odyssey and Beowulf and the Tempest, The Time Machine and The Water Babies and it brings pretty much up to date with Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy. I was pleased to see favourite authors like Sir Terry Pratchett, Iain M. Banks and Neil Gaiman, and titles that I had read and enjoyed like Snow Crash and Neuromancer that I hadn't expected to make it in. <br /><br />This lavish coffee table book of books has a small biography of the author and there are lots of pictures, artworks and maps from the books covered. There is a plot overview and for a series or trilogy there is a broader look at the story, but be aware there are frequently spoilers! The main flaw is that as it is very broad in its scope, it misses so many other books that should have been included as defining books of a particular genre but it would have made the book too unwieldy though.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2255789924">View all my reviews</a>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-37516873594474405882018-06-11T02:01:00.001-07:002018-06-11T02:02:38.479-07:00Review: The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity and My Fight Against the Islamic State<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37661022" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity and My Fight Against the Islamic State" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1514059214m/37661022.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37661022">The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity and My Fight Against the Islamic State</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16473543">Nadia Murad</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2414213522">4 of 5 stars</a>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.</span><br />
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The only place that Nadia Murad had even know was Kocho in Northern Iraq. This small village was part of the Yazidi community, and most of the population there were farmer or shepherds. She had simple dreams, wanting to open her own beauty salon or become a teacher. The war in Iraq had affected them a little, but not much. However, in August 2014 everything was to change forever. That was the day that ISIS rolled into the village, separated the men from the women and children and slaughtered the men, piling the bodies in a mass grave. Six of Nadia's brothers were among those killed in cold blood. <br />
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Nadia, her sisters and the other young women of the village had a different fate. They were packed onto buses and taken to Mosul to be sold as sex slaves. Forcibly converted to Islam and marry her captor, the second part of her story tells of the horrific time that she had at the hands of the thugs that 'owned' her. She was forced to marry one of her captors, beaten, whipped and raped repeatedly. She contemplated suicide or fighting back as this might bring death and a release from her misery. She didn't though, and when the chance came, she climbed over the wall and escaped through the streets of the city. Looking for shelter, she almost knocked on one door, but had second thoughts and went to another. Luckily for her, this was a Sunni family that took her in and gave her shelter. <br />
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They gave her the much-needed care required, and she managed to get in contact with the little that was left of her family. A plan was hatched to smuggle her through the ISIS checkpoints to get her to a refugee camp so she could join her displaced Yazidi people. <br />
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It wouldn't be a spoiler to say that she survived. ISIS implement a cruel and harsh version of Islam, with rules that are arbitrary and are their strict and warped interpretation of the Koran, that they are more than happy to break them as and when it suits. This, her heart-wrenching story, is to tell the world of the plight of this peaceful community and to force the world to pay attention to the genocide against the Yazidi. She is one brave woman and the momentum she has gathered since she escaped is inspirational and very moving, it had never even crossed her mind that she would ever address the UN or be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. This is another book that I can highly recommend, even though it is uncomfortable reading and I hope one day that they get the justice they deserve against ISIS. 4.5 stars
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2414213522">View all my reviews</a>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-8606004028020873142018-06-10T02:33:00.001-07:002018-06-10T02:38:30.896-07:00Review: My Country: A Syrian Memoir<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38714368" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="My Country: A Syrian Memoir" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1528623135m/38714368.jpg"></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38714368">My Country: A Syrian Memoir</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17732145">Kassem Eid</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2414214438">4 of 5 stars</a>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.</span><br />
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Kassem Eid grew up in the jasmine streets of Moadamiya, a small town on the outskirts of the ancient city of Damascus. He was not a native Syrian, but his parents were Palestinian refugees who had made this country their home. He was bright and was really looking forward to school, but on his first day, he realised that he was never going to be fully accepted because of his origins. He had already taught himself to read using the Readers Digest that his father had, and was really looking forward to school, but just how much of an outsider he was dawned on him when he first went to school.<br />
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In 2000 Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father as the leader of Syria. There was a glimmer of hope in the country that he would be a little more tolerant than his father. These were dashed fairly quickly when he gripped the country with an even fiercer tyrannical government. Eleven years later revolution swept across the region with the Arab spring. Each country reacted differently to the uprisings, but Syria crushed any protest with arrests and violence. There was only one way that this was going to go and as Kassem reached his mid-teens, the country was spiralling into civil war. The regime was prepared to use any means to keep the parts of the country suppressed, including chemical warfare, and on one day in August, Moadamiya, where he lived, was attacked with Sarin gas. He saw many people die that day in the horrible way that the poison works, but he survived.<br />
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That was the day that he joined the Free Syrian Army; that was the day he first picked up a gun.<br />
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This is a book that demands to be read. The situation in Syria has now reached crisis point especially with the recent military action that the UK was involved with. The people of Syria have suffered enough at the hands of the brutal dictatorship; all these people want to do is live in peace in their own country. Sadly though they are a pawn in the battle between the USA and Russia and until that is resolved, people die. Eid's book about his life spent there tells the story of the brutality suffered by him and other under the authorities is heart-wrenching stuff. With his background, he was always going to be an outsider whichever country he lived in, but he still has the right to choose that country and be able to make the choice to stay in Syria.<br />
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If you have a single shred of humanity in you, then you need to read this book.<br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2414214438">View all my reviews</a>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-78634407632765005792018-06-08T12:00:00.001-07:002018-06-08T12:00:41.077-07:00Review: The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33797974" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1509876481m/33797974.jpg" border="0" alt="The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane" /></a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33797974">The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16276269">Marc 'Elvis' Priestley</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2174581600">3 of 5 stars</a>
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Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport, the teams have multi-million-pound budgets, some of the drivers are household names and for those looking in from the outside, it is seen as a high octane exotic sport. I have been an F1 fan since about the age of eight and the team that I have supported since then is McLaren; mostly because I lived in the same town as them. <br /><br />Even though the drivers are immensely talented they would be nowhere without the teams of engineers and mechanics to ensure that they are in the best position to win. In its heyday, McLaren under Ron Dennis was seen as the best and most professional team in the paddock, most because of his obsessive attention to detail. AS the budgets were so enormous, they would think nothing os flying the entire test team back from a track for a Christmas party and flying them back, slightly worse for wear and day later. They even used a helicopter to try and dry a track out to test a component. <br /><br />In this high-pressure environment was Mike 'Elvis' Priestley. He joined them as a mechanic and worked his way up from being the guy to fit a nose cone in a race to become one of the men changing the wheels in the lightning fast 3-second pit stops. They would sometimes have to pull a-l night shifts after the drivers had wrecked the car, change engines when the had blown and ensured that their driver had the very best car at their disposal. <br /><br />This work hard mentality also meant that they played hard and also drunk hard too and Priestley's book is full of stories about the races and the aftermath after a successful weekend, of hire cars trashed, the continual practical jokes that they played on each other and the drivers. He also gives the inside story on the Spygate scandal that engulfed McLaren and the fierce rivalry between Alonso and Hamilton. Priestley tells a good story and this is an entertaining read of the slightly murky reality that lies behind the pristine world of F1.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2174581600">View all my reviews</a>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-88466465331077725012018-06-07T12:03:00.001-07:002018-06-07T12:03:10.134-07:00Review: Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28501495" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1511977501m/28501495.jpg" border="0" alt="Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading" /></a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28501495">Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/807148">Lucy Mangan</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2266860893">3 of 5 stars</a>
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It is easy to spot a bookworm at a party, they are looking for the first opportunity to slide off to a quiet room or a comfortable seat and fish their book out of their bag where they can immerse themselves in the latest fictional creations. It is not recommended to disturb them as this could be detrimental to your health, just to leave drinks in the close vicinity. And maybe some snacks.<br /><br /><i>I took the news and the list to my parents. 'I'm going to need all of these,' I said gently</i><br /><br />Lucy Mangan is a complete bookworm and has been for as long as she remembers. For her, the worlds that books opened up were places of adventure and full of magic or a place of safe haven where real life seldom ventured. If she had to go out it was invariably to the library or the bookshop to acquire more reading material. They were a source of information too, a way of learning how different people reacted to different situations. The more that she read, the more that she wanted to read further; the discovery of a first book in a series would be a moment of joy as another seam of stories would be mined. As well as books for birthdays, her dad generously provided books on an almost weekly basis, introducing new authors to her. It seems like she hasn't got rid of many of these either as she has 10,000 books, yes TEN THOUSAND books at home! <br /><br /><i>A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one. ― George R.R. Martin</i><br /><br />I wasn't a complete bookworm as a child like Lucy was, I read a fair amount as a child, but unlike her, did venture outside to play on bikes and climb trees. However, reading books like this means that I can trawl my memories of the books that formed a part of my formative reading experience. I had some overlap with Lucy's reading, Blyton and CS Lewis to name but two of the authors that we have both have read. I remember being forced to read some dire books at school, but memories of others came like Swallows & Amazons, Stig of the Dump, the Willard Price Adventure books, Adrian Mole and even the Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone books that began with the Warlock of Firetop Mountain. <br /><br />All of my reminisces about childhood books aside, if you're a book lover of any form then you will almost certainly get something from this book and that alone makes it worth reading. Do though be warned there are spoilers for some of the books she talks about and hopefully, you will look fondly back on the books of your childhood too. 3.5 stars.
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Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-25821016108502435732018-06-07T06:13:00.001-07:002018-06-07T06:13:37.348-07:00Review: My Name Is Leon
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30849409" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490706362m/30849409.jpg" border="0" alt="My Name Is Leon" /></a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30849409">My Name Is Leon</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14108556">Kit de Waal</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2292110301">4 of 5 stars</a>
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It is 1981 and Leon has just acquired a baby brother, Jake. They are living with their mother, Carol, who is struggling as the father of Jake has shown no interest at all in his son. Just how much she is struggling is made very apparent when Leon turns up at a friend of hers asking for money for sweets. Tina goes back home with him to find Carol a nervous wreck and in need of help. As she gets the medical attention that she desperately needs Leon and Jake are placed into care.<br /><br />Their new 'mum' is Maureen, a red-haired older woman with a heart of gold, but as good as a job as she does with them both, Leon knows that it is not the same as having your mum there. Life is about to change again; Leon is half-cast and Jake is white so social services decide that Jake will be suitable for adoption. Jake is adopted fairly quickly and Leon loses his final family member and feels very alone.<br /><br />Just when he is at his lowest ebb and doesn't think it can get any worse, Maureen is taken seriously ill and admitted to hospital. Leon moves to her sister Sylvia's house and has another bedroom and routine to get used to. He is now a little older and gets given a bike that means that he can travel and explore the local area. It is on these jaunts out that he discovers the local allotments and the men that frequent this place, Me Devlin and Tufty and the wonders that exist in their sheds. As exciting as these places are, what he really wants is to find Jake and bring them both back to his mum so they can be a family once again.<br /><br />This heartwarming story deals in a beautiful way with a whole raft of issues from race to identity, belonging and the care systems in the 1980's. It is full of happy and sad moments, as Leon comes up against a care system that didn't want to keep families together at that time. Whilst de Waal has written this story of Leon with passion and care, it is not a sugar-coated tale either. The 1980's references of events and objects are tempered by the visible racial tension in the prose between the police and the local residents. Would highly recommend this to anyone wanting a story from the perspective of most people's lives back in those days.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2292110301">View all my reviews</a>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-7438097080716647012018-06-06T23:11:00.000-07:002018-06-07T05:00:01.639-07:00Wainwright Prize 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is the fifth year of this prize and the books that make it onto the longlist keep getting better each year, and it is a varied selection again this year. The scope of the memoirs is quite broad, there is Sir John Lister-Kaye’s memoir of his journey to the creation of the Aigas Field Centre and Alys Fowler’s very personal journey through relationships and the waterways near her home. For some people, the closest they get to nature is by living near a designated green belt area, and John Grindrod’s <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Outskirts</span> is a celebration of these green lungs surrounding our cities. Tom Cox has always striven to do things differently and his book <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">21st-Century Yokel</span> carries on in that vein. Not only did it set a record for the fastest funded book on Unbound at the time, but he uses it to explore the countryside in his own unique way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It wouldn’t be a Wainwright longlist without John Lewis-Stempel appearing on it. He only has the one this year, <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Wood</span>, a celebration of a small copse on his farm that even the shortest of visits to would be sufficient to recharge his soul. This is also a theme of <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A Wood of One’s Own</span> by Ruth Pavey; she bought a small wood in the West Country because she wanted to and she could and it has been a place she has grown to love. Books about animals make up a quarter of the longlist. Rosamund Young tells us about the cows on her farm that have characters of their own. <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Owl Sense</span> details Miriam Darlington’s desire to see all the native owls of the UK, but it becomes a bit of an obsession, so she heads to Europe to see even more. Adam Nicolson’s book, <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Seabird’s’ Cry</span>, is as much a polemic on the crisis that is about to engulf our ocean travellers as it is a study of their lives and journeys.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Even though we are a small island, there are still places where we can experience the wild. Neil Ansell needs those moments of solitude and his book is about returning to the same part of Scotland to immerse himself in the landscape there. Patrick Barkham’s journey around our archipelago takes in eleven islands of different sizes and perspectives as he talks to the people that live on them or discovers about those that used to. Raynor Winn’s book, <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Salt Path</span>, starts off with a series of bad news; terminal illness, loss of livelihood and home, but as her husband and her walk the South West Coastal Path on a minuscule budget they are healed by the natural world. This year for the first time there is a children’s book on the longlist, <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Lost Words</span>. This beautifully illustrated book has inspired people all around the country to run crowdfunding to get copies of it into schools and get children to write their own spells to acclaim the natural world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How the judges are going to get this down to a shortlist of six, I do not know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My reviews for all thirteen books are all here:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2018/02/review-21st-century-yokel.html">21st-Century Yokel by Tom Cox</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2017/04/review-hidden-nature-voyage-of-discovery.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hidden Nature</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">by</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Alys Fowler</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2017/09/review-outskirts-living-life-on-edge-of.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Outskirts</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">John Grindrod</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2018/01/review-islander-journey-around-our.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Islander</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">by</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Patrick Barkham</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2017/10/review-secret-life-of-cows.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Secret Life of Cows</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rosamund Young</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2018/02/review-owl-sense.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Owl Sense</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Miriam Darlington</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2018/05/review-dun-cow-rib-very-natural.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Dun Cow Rib</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">John Lister-Kaye</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2018/02/review-last-wilderness-journey-into.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Last Wilderness</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Neil Ansell</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2018/05/review-salt-path.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Salt Path</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Raynor Winn</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2018/05/review-seabirds-cry-lives-and-loves-of.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Seabird's’ Cry </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">by </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Adam Nicolson</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2018/03/review-wood-life-and-times-of-cockshutt.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Wood</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">John Lewis-Stempel</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2017/11/review-wood-of-ones-own.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A Wood of One's Own</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ruth Pavey</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://halfmanhalfbook.blogspot.com/2017/11/review-lost-words.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Lost Words</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris</span></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This article first appeared yesterday on <a href="https://nudge-book.com/">Nudge</a></span></div>
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Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-91069753682253644722018-06-06T01:59:00.001-07:002018-06-06T02:11:47.214-07:00Review: Girl With Dove: A Life Built By Books<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39732644" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Girl With Dove: A Life Built By Books" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1523030371m/39732644.jpg"></a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39732644">Girl With Dove: A Life Built By Books</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/423102">Sally Bayley</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2394523412">3 of 5 stars</a>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.</span><br />
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When Sally Bayley was around the age of four, her baby brother, who had been put in the garden in his pram near the roses, suddenly vanishes. This single incident was pivotal in changing Sally's life; her mother went to bed 'for a very long time'. This was just one of a series of events that Sally had; to say she had an unconventional upbringing would be an understatement. The house close to the sea where she lived with her mother and other siblings was dilapidated and filthy, they shared it with Aunt Di, a hippy with plenty of charisma and influence, her grandmother and what seemed to be a never-ending stream of people. No men were allowed to live in the house, though on rare occasions, one might be permitted to visit, including her father once, though that was marred with peculiarities. <br />
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To cope with this Sally lost herself in a world of books. On discovering Agatha Christie she turns detective to try and discover what had happened to her brother. Reading Jane Eyre is the beginning of a journey into the rich landscape of Victorian literature. These characters that she discovers in the covers of the books offer comfort and friendship, something that is lacking in her chaotic home life. She takes a look at herself in the mirror one day and all of a sudden she realises that the pale apparition staring back is her. This sliver of a girl takes herself to the doctor; something that never happened as visiting the doctor was forbidden in her family. Realising that things are really not right, she seeks further help and hands herself into care.<br />
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The first two parts of the book have a vague narrative as she weaves between fictional characters and the reality of her life as a child in that messed up house. It is not particularly easy to follow, it was almost like reading the story through a fogged up mirror at times. I fully understand why she has written it this way, it reflects just what she was experiencing when living in that household. The final part of the book is the most visceral though, as Sally realises that this is not normal and the act of involving outside parties to help provokes the ire of the matriarchs of the household. It did make me wonder just how these children were under the radar of the authorities for so long. There are elements that Bayley does not revisit in the final part and that left me wondering what had happened. These blurry memories are her recollection of a childhood that many others would have preferred to have forgotten.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2394523412">View all my reviews</a>
Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963808800497742186.post-75646534528404274612018-06-02T11:48:00.001-07:002018-06-02T11:48:49.085-07:00Review: Swansong
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35004350" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1502713340m/35004350.jpg" border="0" alt="Swansong" /></a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35004350">Swansong</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3223989">Kerry Andrew</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2288067354">4 of 5 stars</a>
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Polly Vaughan has ended up in Scotland with her mother after a disturbing incident in London. Whilst she is there she is intending to try to wrestle with her coursework to try to get her grades back into shape. Almost immediately though she begins to question what this place is, after seeing a man sitting on a stump plucking and dismembering a bird. But she has other things on her mind and sets about seeking sex, drink and drugs, something that the barman in the pub is happy to assist with.<br /><br />Living miles from anywhere is unnerving for her having been using to the business of London but she finds he feet and life zips by once again in a boozy and smoke filled haze. However, she begins to see visions and hear strange sounds in the woods and waters of the Loch and can even sense that there is something else out there even when she is stone cold sober. She has a moment when she meets a grandmother of one of her crowd who takes one look at her and says she has been here before, something she brushes off.<br /><br />Polly comes across the man she saw dismembering the birds once again; she has heard that he has a sinister secret, a fact that terrifies her, but something compels her to find out more about him. As they grow closer together, her visons grow stronger and more tangible until something appears one night that stirs memories that were long suppressed.<br /><br />It is difficult to categorise this novel; its very heart is a mystery but its setting in the wilds of Scotland add almost timeless elements. It has depth and history in the narrative and the language makes it feel modern and contemporary. In this mix are the supernatural visions and other things that keep happening to Polly which make it very very eerie. The characters in here are not going to be ones that you grow to love, they are sometimes spiky and all have their own deeply flawed elements, however, this adds to the story that is rooted deeply in the folklore of the landscape. Great debut and one to watch out for in the future.
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Paul @ Halfman, Halfbookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04423826177752602731noreply@blogger.com0