Category Archives: Book Reviews

Not That Kind of Girl By Lena Dunham Book Review

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9780008101268Where to start? I guess with the fact that this book is not what I thought it would be. It’s not bad, it’s just not what I expected. Let’s get the controversy out of the way: I don’t believe Lena molested her sister. The passage about ‘spreading open her vagina’ makes for very uncomfortable reading but, in my opinion, is very different from sexual abuse. Same gender curiosity in young children is different from sexual abuse, many have said that if this book was written by a male things would be different, but not if the male did what Lena did to his brother. Young children don’t even know what sex is. So, end of.

The thing is, I don’t relate to Lena Dunham. Or at least I thought I did until I read this book. I don’t get the drug use, I am very anti-drugs and always have been. I don’t even care if I come across as boring but mentioning casual drug use as if it is not a thing to me is irresponsible. Many people think drug use is ‘cool’ and ‘artistic’ but it’s not. Drugs ruin lives and society. Now go ahead and judge me for my controversial view: I don’t care. The book is full of sex: masturbation and sexual encounters. This also makes for uncomfortable reading. Not bad reading, just uncomfortable. Dunham seems to want to punish herself with jerks and bad sexual encounters. It’s a version of self-loathing and it made me want to pick her up and hug her. Then of course there is the fact that Dunham was raped. Rape is never fun to read about, but Dunham’s courage in telling her story is commendable. The book is full of brutal honesty.

I know that in many ways this review will seem like a bad review, it’s not. I still think Dunham is talented, amazing, brilliant: a trail blazer. We are similar in age and I also made a web series about young twenty-somethings struggling to find their way in life, though with less success than the juggernaut that is Girls. We are both writer/producers/actors/directors and I always thought that Dunham was so together. I think she is now and that is what is interesting about this book. After all of the self-loathing, punishing herself dating/having sex with men who treated her terribly and other self-destructive behaviour the book comes beautifully full circle: she no longer runs away from people and herself, she in many ways, becomes a grown up. She finally stops causing herself pain. While I related more to Amy Poehler and her awesome book, Yes Please, there is something here to learn. Dunham is unvarnished, naked, almost embarrassing in her honesty. Dunham has been called the voice of her generation many times. Truth is, she doesn’t speak for me or many people that I know. But the thing is: it doesn’t matter. She is still paving the way for women, still creating waves in the film and TV industry, still making progress in a brutal, sexist industry. It doesn’t matter that I don’t 100% relate to her: she is still awesome.  I may not write endlessly about my vagina the way Dunham does but then, maybe my vagina just isn’t that interesting. There is a lot of stories of bad sex in this book, and I hope that other women who read it don’t think this is par for the course. It shouldn’t be.

This book is certainly worth a read. It really made me think and feel. This is essentially a collection of autobiographical essays which Dunham was paid £2.3m for by Random House. It is not as good as it could have been, and Dunham could have done with more editing, but she is certainly a talented writer and I am sure there will be more to come. As Dunham says in the book: “There is nothing gutsier to me than a person announcing that their story is one that deserves to be told, especially if that person is a woman,”

Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s Learned is available here.

 

 

 

 

A Time For Courage By Margaret Graham Book Review

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a-time-for-courage-cover-195x300I have been a fan of Margaret Graham for a while now and have read many of her books. It was with much excitement I got my hands on a copy of A Time For Courage. Margaret Graham has a special talent for writing about ballsy heroines who are worthy of making history. More than role models, these women tend to change history and pave the way for future generations, Hannah is no exception, she is the heroine of this story. Daughter to a tyrant, the sexism of the world starts at home but this is Victorian times and women are not even allowed to vote.

War is a running theme in this book and Graham has a rather special knack of writing about war well. Few writers can match her skill and knowledge of military historical fiction. You can tell that she knows her stuff. Her book draws you in and does not let go. At the start of the book is the Boer war and the aftermath, later is the first world war. That great destroyer of generations of men and broken women. Hannah is torn between one class and another, she is born into wealth and much is expected of her. If you consider embroidery and simply being a wife and mother a lot. But Hannah wants to be a teacher, she wants an education. University is denied to her by her tyrannical, misogynistic father but she finds a way with the help of her mother, even though her mother is weak, broken by her father and multiple pregnancies. In contrast Hannah has a cousin called Esther. The difference between Hannah and the selfish Esther is vast.

This is not just a story about Hannah, but also about her brother, Harry. The siblings have much in common: decency, morality, a love of family and an understanding of what is wrong and what is right. Unfortunately their decency and morality is ahead of its time. Harry  fights against racism and Hannah fights against sexism. They both face penalties and conflicts of loyalty for their values. Sometimes doing the right thing brings consequences.

This book is so well-researched it is impossible to not be impressed. This book is gritty and complex with a love story at its beating heart. Over 400 pages long and I raced through it and was sad when it finished. There is much in this book to applaud and I found myself learning a lot about history. Much is covered, including the Suffragists and Suffragette (not everyone will know the history behind the two different groups), diamond mining, human rights after war, social changes…this is more than a novel, it is also a social document. Her writing really works the imagination, creating a beautiful, wonderful and vivid story. I was sad to leave Hannah and her story behind after the last page. I feel the author probably did too.

Stunning: a must read.

A Time for Courage is available here.

 

 

THE FAERIE TREE: A book in the making

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Yule: A time to celebrate with those we love. A season full of magic and new beginnings which spring from the darkest days of the year.

When short, dark days stretch interminably ahead the deep human urge to rebel against nature and celebrate is hardly surprising. It is an instinct deeper than religion, broader than faith; whether it’s carols in church, TV and tinsel, or the burning of a sacred log, it is something which touches almost all of us.

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After 21st December the days start to become a little longer. Actually, that’s what I need. Maybe there is some mid-winter magic to create a few extra hours in each one. Maybe I should write to the fairies and ask them. As well as everything else, this festive season I have proofs to check.

The last few months have been particularly hectic as I balance work, writing, preparing for publication of The Faerie Tree and even a stint or two selling books on Chichester Christmas Market. That came about because I’m lucky enough to be part of Chindi, a very active group of independently published authors in the Chichester area. The reason we exist is because there are so many things we can do together which we couldn’t do alone, and one of those was to take a stall on the Christmas Market. It was something of a learning curve and a great opportunity to meet readers. It was also fascinating to see which books sold well and which didn’t – and to try to work out why.

The huge importance of covers was brought home to us very quickly – which was actually great timing for me as far as The Faerie Tree was concerned. The Cheesemaker’s House is pretty striking visually and people tended to head straight for it on the stall. But when it was stacked sideways with other books the title disappeared – and having watched one gentleman struggle with the colour of the print on the back I realised a few things would need to change next time around.

My main concern when briefing the cover designer at Matador was to make sure the book looked as though it was for adults. The title could imply it’s a children’s story so it had to be crystal clear at first glance who it was meant for. I also wanted it to look as much like The Cheesemaker’s House as possible. It’s an inescapable – if a little uncomfortable – fact that authors are brands these days.

When I first saw the cover of The Faerie Tree I had one word for it: wow. It’s a word I’ve heard time and again as I’ve showed it to the people closest to me and to other members of Chindi. So, for the first time, I am revealing it to the wider world through Frost readers and I’m really interested to see what you think. The significance of the candle? Well, you’ll have to wait until Imbolc to find that out.

Now that the cover has been designed there is a plethora of marketing material to sign off. The paperback will be in the shops from 1st May and the book trade need to know about it now, so an AI (advanced information) sheet has been prepared as well as a trade press release. They’ve been languishing in my inbox for over a week but gut instinct tells me sending them out this side of January would be a waste of time. The thought is salving my conscience anyway.

 

 

 

Inaugural Kobo Book Report Reveals Top eReading Trends from 2014

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gone_girl_ver2_xlgAll readers of Frost Magazine know that we love books. Supporting authors and sharing what we loved to read is very important to us. So we found the Inaugural Kobo Book Report Reveals Top eReading Trends from 2014 very interesting indeed. Gone Girl and The Fault in Our Stars are no surprises but there are a few others that we must put on our reading list from kobo.com

It’s been an exciting year in the world of publishing, and kobo’s inaugural Book Report reveals insightful 2014 eReading trends from its world-class platform, which includes a bookstore of more than 4.2 million titles.

 

“Overall, the eBook market makes up about $14.5 billion in sales globally and is expected to reach more than $22 billion by 2017,” said Michael Tamblyn, President and Chief Content Officer, Kobo.  “The advances that we’re seeing year-over-year are incredible, with more publishers, users and authors changing the face of the industry at an unprecedented pace.”

 

“This year, we wanted to look beyond the bestseller. A book’s position on the bestseller list may indicate it’s bought, but that isn’t the same as it being read or finished,” said Tamblyn. “A lot of readers have multiple novels on the go at any given time, which means they may not always read one book from start to finish before jumping into the next great story. People may wait days, months, or even until the following year to finish certain titles. And many exercise that inalienable reader’s right to set down a book if it doesn’t hold their interest.”

 

The typical bestseller list often looks very different when you compare books purchased versus books read cover to cover. In fact, the most completed book doesn’t even feature on the UK Bestseller List (as seen below); Rotten to The Core by Casey Kelleher was the most completed book in the UK, with 83% of people reading it cover to cover. Whereas, the number one bestselling ebook in the UK, One Cold Night by Latia Lief was only completed by 69% of those who read it.  Although James Patterson’s books do not feature on the Top Ten Most Completed Books of 2014 list, overall James Patterson was the most completed author in the UK for his entire portfolio of books.

 

Kobo Book Report’s UK Bestseller List – ebookshelf must haves 

  1. One Cold Night – Katia Lief
  2. Gone Again – Doug Johnstone
  3. Gone Girl  – Gillian Flynn
  4. The Fault in Our Stars – John Green
  5. My Sister’s Keeper  – Bill Benners
  6. The Husband’s Secret – Liane Moriarty
  7. The Cuckoo’s Calling – Robert Galbraith
  8. Her Last Letter – Nancy C. Johnson
  9. Twelve Years a Slave – Solomon Northup
  10. Bloody Valentine – James Patterson

 

 

UK’s TOP PAGE-TURNERS – The Most Completed Books of 2014

  1. Rotten to the Core – Casey Kelleher
  2. The Tycoon’s Vacation – Melody Anne
  3. The Traitor – Kimberley Chambers
  4. Concealed in Death – J. D. Robb
  5. Wrongful Death – Lynda La Plante
  6. All Revved Up – Sylvia Day
  7. Present Danger – Stella Rimington
  8. The Empty Cradle – Rosie Goodwin
  9. The Witness – Nora Roberts
  10. The Promise (Fallen Star Series, Book 4) – Jessica Sorensen

 

Homegrown British Talent
As the book world becomes ever more international, British readers continue to love British writers, with a remarkable one third of the Kobo UK’s Top 100 Bestseller’s books written by British authors. Lee Child features heavily, with Not a Drill (A Jack Reacher short story), James Penney’s New Identity/Guy Walks Into a Bar (Storycuts), Killing Floor: (Jack Reacher 1), and Deep Down (A Jack Reacher short story) all featuring in the Top 100 Bestseller’s list. Fiona Gibson also featured twice with Take Mum Out, and The Great Escape. Other notable homegrown talent includes J.K Rowling (and her pseudonym Robert Galbraith), Helen Fielding – Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Kate Atkinson- Life After Life and E.L. James – Fifty Shades of Grey.

 

Different authors also show up in the UK’s Most Completed list, with 14 of the top 100 books being written by British authors. These include Adele Parks – The State We’re In, three books by Carole Matthews (A Place to Call Home, Summer Daydreams, A Cottage by the Sea), Jessie Keane – Ruthless, and Judy Finnigan – Eloise.

 

Beating the January Blues
Not surprisingly, self-improvement books, including cookbooks, health, and self-help books are more popular during the month of January than at any other time of year. More self-improvement books and books overall were downloaded in January than any other month, likely to kick-off some New Year’s resolutions.

 

It seems that Monday is the most popular day of the week to complete a book in the UK (16%), with Friday being the least popular day, with only 13% of book completed at the end of the week.

 

Opening up the Nightstand Drawer
Overall, Brits find Romance to be the most engaging genre, with 62 per cent completion, followed by Crime & Thriller (61 per cent) and Fantasy (60 per cent).  Romance is also the most engaging genre in Italy (74 per cent), the Netherlands (67 per cent) and Canada (62 per cent), while the French (70 per cent), Australians and New Zealanders (64 per cent), and Americans (44 per cent) prefer a good Mystery.

 

Business and celebrity-focused books also enjoyed popularity in the UK in 2014. Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis came out as the top seller perhaps due to his literary status of being the most famous non-fiction writer working today. While reality TV Geordie Shore’s Vicky Pattison’s I Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends, David Walliams Camp David, and Lynda Bellingham’s heartbreaking memoir There’s Something I’ve Been Dying to Tell You, came top of the most completed celebrity biographies.

 

From the eScreen to the Big Screen
Several books made their big-screen debut late in 2013 and into 2014, including Twelve Years a Slave, The Best of Me, and Gone Girl.  The release of Gone Girl on the 3rd of October in the UK this year certainly created a ripple effect which transferred into book sales. Over a three month period, 34% of book sales took place in the week prior and the week after the film release.

 

Kids Love Kobo
Kids are going digital! Children’s eBooks, including picture books, children’s and young adult novels are gaining traction as parents are realising the appeal of eReaders for a tech-savvy generation.   Children’s titles, available at the Kobo Kids’ Store offering 100,000 titles, made up more than 6 per cent of Kobo’s overall 2014 book sales. This kid-friendly browsing experience even lets parents set up reading allowances so that kids have the freedom to select their own eBooks without needing access to a credit card.

 

And top kids’ picks for 2014? The younger generation is definitely in-the-know when it comes to new releases, so it was no surprise to see three of the most anticipated 2014 titles topping kids’ wish lists this year. The Dairy of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney led the pack followed by Gangsta Granny by David Walliams and The Iron Trial by Holly Black.

 

The new 6.8-inch HD Kobo Aura H2O is available in black and retails for £139.99 online at kobo.com and in-store in the UK.

 

 

 

The Readers & Writers Festival to be held in lovely Margaret River, Western Australia

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I found Margaret River when I was researching my bestselling novel Canopy of Silence for Heinemann some years ago now. I flew over from the UK and took the bus down from Perth, Western Australia to seek out descendants of the Group Settlers. I found Dinkie Sutton, who was the relative of the guy who ran the post office in my Somerset village, where I lived then. She introduced me to others.

I fell in love with the Sutton family and Margaret River. I think of it as my second home. It is a place of great beauty and initially, of great hardship for the settlers, who were enticed out by the British and West Australian governments after the 1 World War to create dairy farms.

The settlers were shown films of established dairy farms in New South Wales typical, it was said, of the farms they would go to.

The reality on the western side of Australia was different. South of Perth there were sandy tracts, and further down, near Margaret River, the soil was just not capable of producing grazing land sufficiently nutritious for dairy herds.

thebushnearmargaretriver

Before they reached that stage the settlers had to fell the huge trees, with a mattock and a saw, sometimes walking a couple of miles to collect water for their young families. It’s the stuff of heartbreak, but the Poms were a tough lot, just as are the Australians.

They endured, and latterly it was discovered that the Margaret River area is suitable for wine growing. It’s worth a visit just to tour the vineyards which produce the most superb wines. Trust me, I remember the hangovers. Even those were of a superior variety.

I have many tales to tell of the area and will dig out a few as we get more news from the region, because I’m delighted to tell you we have the first of many items from the region. Bring ‘em on, please.

*  * *

The Margaret River Readers’ and Writers’ Festival  2015

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SEASONS is the theme for the seventh annual Readers and Writers Festival to be held in the beautiful Margaret River wine region in Western Australia next year, so those of you in the UK have time to plan your trip. Those of you in Australia, get ready to clear your diaries and give yourself a real treat.

Festival director Helen Allan tells me the annual festival will be held over the May long weekend 29-31 2015 and the festival has already secured a huge line-up of famous authors to excite readers of all genres.

“We are focussing on the environment, nature and the seasons of our lives – the theme `Seasons’ encapsulates all of those things, and Autumn is such a beautiful time in Margaret River, we should celebrate that – when Keats wrote that Autumn was the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ it almost seems like he wrote it for our region.”

The festival committee had lined up around 20 authors and the festival will, once again, run over three days.

mrbookscat

“From Tomorrow When The War Began author John Marsdon to science fiction author Isobelle Carmody, comedian and authors Sami Shah, Justin Heazelwood and Luke Ryan to romance authors Fiona Palmer, Michelle de Kretser and food/nature author Sophie Zalokar, we have something for everyone,” she said. As both a reader and writer I was already hooked.

“We will be letting more names out of the bag as the time draws nearer, we have had a huge amount of interest from authors wanting to take part in next year’s festival, given the outstanding growth and success of the festival last year.”

The festival, while small, is steadily growing and  the organisers are keen to have a big-name international authors to headline their event.

“We don’t have a huge budget, but what we lack in funds we make up for in warmth and hospitality, our authors are treated like royalty and thoroughly spoiled when they come over.

“We had hoped to have some British writers participate in next year’s festival and had invited Stephen Fry and Michael Palin, but to no avail. Hopefully as our festival gains more of an international standing more English authors will come forward. Our wine region is an exciting and beautiful place to visit and what could be better than combining a look at our natural wonders with a celebration of literature?”

 

I can vouch for all of that, and what a wonderful time to be south of Perth, in the lovely Margaret River area. While you’re there, have a good look around. See the wonderful surf, and give it a go. My son-in-law promises himself the opportunity one day. Perhaps head out to see the Prevelly Chapel, a monument to the monks of Crete who helped save so many Australian Servicement in the 2nd World War, at the expense of their own lives. Returning servicemen raised the money to raise the Chapel in tribute. It’s moving, but that’s an understatement. Go and see for yourselves, and make it in May so you can catch the Festival.

 

 

Sciku: The Wonder of Science – In Haiku! Book review

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Sciku: The Wonder of Science – In Haiku! By Students of The Camden School For Girls.
scikuwonderofsciencehaiku
Published 20 November 2014, this book was an instant hit at Frost because it is a science book written by girls. Women, and girls, are underrepresented in science and many a sexist thinks that us girls just aren’t smart enough to handle big subjects like maths and science. So, read this book and shove your thoughts!

Humourous and fun: the book fuses poetry with scientific knowledge. As entertaining as it is fun, I really loved this book. It is a great idea that is well-executed.

 

Gravity:
An attractive force
Between all objects with mass
Just like you and me

Physics, Chemistry and Biology are things of magic and wonder. They reveal complex patterns – and often thrilling chaos – at the heart of nature; the strange alchemy of reactions between invisible atoms; the bewildering origins of our universe in the furthest reaches of time and the connections in our brains that create love, fear, joy – and poetry.

Sciku brings together more than 400 revealing, poignant, witty haiku on scientific subjects. Written by students at Camden School for Girls – with all royalties from the sale of this book donated to the campaign to modernize their school science laboratory – these poems show that science may have given us the atom bomb, the laptop and the artificial heart but that it remains elegiac, enigmatic and often mind-bogglingly beautiful.

Photosynthesis:
Carbon dioxide
And water combine to form
Glucose thanks to light

Camden School for Girls is a comprehensive secondary school for girls, with a co-educational sixth form, in the London Borough of Camden in North London. The girls who contributed to this book range from the ages of 11 to 18.

Sciku is edited by Karen Scott, a teacher of English at the school and Simon Flynn, a teacher of Science at the school. Simon is the author of the Science Magpie (‘a cornucopia of curious facts, anecdotes and quotations … sure to entertain and surprise’ New Scientist) and is a teacher of science at Camden School for Girls.

Sciku: The Wonder of Science – In Haiku! is available here.

 

 

Falling By Emma Kavanagh Book Review

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fallingemmakavanaghA plane falls out of the sky. A woman is murdered. Four people all have something to hide.

This debut psychological thriller from former police psychologist Emma Kavanagh is stunning indeed. An engaging and exciting novel. This novel is brilliantly executed, it is a confident debut written by an extremely talented writer. You can tell that Emma Kavanagh was once a police psychologist: her novel is believable. She knows what she is talking about. The characters are incredibly well written and the nuances of life, grief and marriage are all well observed by the eye of a very adept writer.

The story itself is thoroughly engaging, drawing you in and making the book unputdownable. I love how the characters are woven together, how they end up dipping in and out of each other’s lives. This is a crime thriller that belongs on the same shelf as Nicci French. It is high praise indeed, but well deserved.

 

Jim is a retired police officer and worried father. His beloved daughter has disappeared and he knows something is wrong.

Tom has woken up to the news that his wife was on the plane, and he must break the news to their only son.

Cecilia had packed up and left her family. Now she has survived a tragedy, and sees no way out.

Freya is struggling to cope with the loss of her father. But as she delves into his past, she may not like what she finds.

 

Falling is available here. Read our Day in the Life piece on Emma Kavanagh here.

 

 

The Life of a Banana PP Wong Book Review

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Novels that bring an insight into race and culture can be sorely lacking. PP Wong is the first British-born Chinese novelist to be published and I find that very sad indeed. It does not say much for diversity. We can’t necessarily blame publishers, they only buy what they think will sell, what the public want. So maybe it is time we opened our eyes more to other cultures and the absolute horror of racism.

After the heavy opening paragraph I hope you don’t get the wrong idea, The Life of a Banana is a (mostly) funny tale of a young Chinese girl growing up in London. It is written in her style, something that is very hard to do, and harder to do well.

Of course, not everyone is racist or a bully and racists and bullies just embarrass people who aren’t racist and bullies, but some of the things Xing Li goes through are truly horrible and shocking. This is an excellent book on identity and the end of childhood. I really enjoyed reading it and it is a triumphant first novel.

thelifeofabananabookreview

Xing Li is what the Chinese call a banana – yellow on the outside and white on the inside. Although born and raised in London, she never feels like she fits in. When her mother dies, she moves with her older brother to live with venomous Grandma, strange Uncle Ho and Hollywood actress Auntie Mei. Her only friend is Jay – a mixed raced Jamaican boy with a passion for classical music.

Then Xing Li’s life takes an even harsher turn: the school bullying escalates and her uncle requests she assist him in an unthinkable favour. Her happy childhood becomes a distant memory as her new life is infiltrated with the harsh reality that comes with adolescence.

Consumed by secrets, violence and confusing family relations, Xing Li tries to find hope wherever she can. She realises that in order to find her own identity, she must first discover what it means to be both Chinese and British.

The Life of a Banana is available here.