Monthly Archives: June 2012

Rhona Cameron – 1979: A Big Year in a Small Town (Book Review)

The story  begins at nine minutes to twelve on New Years Eve 1978, ends at zero hours 1980 and for the most part is kept within the boundaries of that year. In the prologue, Rhona sketches an outline of her early … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, non-fiction | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On the radical notion that women are human beings…

Women of the Revolution – Kira Cochrane – Book review Women of the Revolution is an anthology of feminist writing selected from Guardian archives by journalist Kira Cochrane. The resulting book is a guide to feminism as written about in … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, feminism, non-fiction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Even Hamsters Get the Blues

I Have Feelings – Jana Novotny-Hunter and Sue Porter – review It’s often said that one of the reasons toddlers have tantrums is because they lack the words to effectively communicate their feelings. Theoretically then, a book specifically designed to … Continue reading

Posted in children's books | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Just Another Girl

Watch Me Disappear – Jill Dawson – Book Review “You could go to the moon…discover the gene for autism…or a new seahorse species that no-one in the world has seen before; but for God’s sake, if you’re a girl you’d … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, feminism, fiction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Princess Smartypants

  Whenever the question of feminist books for little girls is raised, Babette Cole’s ‘Princess Smartypants‘, (Picture Puffin), is one that gets recommended. Originally published in 1986, it’s seen as an alternative to old fashioned fairy tales in which the … Continue reading

Posted in children's books, feminism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Shirley Hughes Collection – Review

“our foremost chronicler of the life of ordinary households” (Chris Powling of ‘Books for Keeps’ on Shirley Hughes) Shirley Hughes was born on Merseyside in 1927 and began her career doing illustrations for other author’s books before writing and designing … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, children's books | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

We Need to Talk About Louis

Book Review: The Ninth Life of Louis Drax – Liz Jensen Louis Drax is a precocious nine year old boy who has experienced a suspicious number of accidents culminating in a clifftop plunge during a family picnic. His father disappears … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, fiction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

If I Live to be an Old Woman

The other day John Prescott started a twitter hashtag, #Cameronpoems, and I thought about adding something based on Jenny Joseph‘s famous poem; ‘Warning‘, the one that begins ‘When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple’. (You can read … Continue reading

Posted in Misc | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

If I Were to Condone the Burning of Books……

The Shop on Blossom Street – Debbie Macomber – Book Review ‘Carol smiled at the dreamy look on Jacqueline’s face. “I thought I’d died and gone to heaven the first time Doug kissed me,” she recalled.’ This is not the … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, fiction | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Best Debut Single Ever – Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush

(I wrote a version of this review for a consumer website a while back. They were running a competition for MP3 single reviews. As a huge fan of Kate Bush I had to write about Wuthering Heights and was happy that my review was one … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 4 Comments