Da Capo Press
3rd September 2013
Continue reading “ARC Review: ‘Six Women of Salem’ by Marilynne K. Roach”
Category Archives: Non-fiction
ARC Review: ‘Local Customs’ by Audrey Thomas
22 February 2014
Dundern
In 1838 the writer Letitia Landon married the governor of Cape Coast Castle, Captain George MacLean while the captain was on leave. It was a whirl-wind romance. They sailed for Cape Coast a few days later, arriving safely after five weeks. Eight weeks later Letty was dead. Initially her death was recorded as accidental – an overdose of prussic acid, but events surrounding her death caused a storm in London’s literary crowd, her husband was accused of neglect or cruelty, and there were rumours of suicide. The mystery remains – how did she die? Award winning writer Audrey Thomas first heard Leticia Landon’s story in 1964 while visiting Ghana. She visited Cape Coast Castle during the two years her husband taught at the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. Their guide told her about the famous English lady who wrote books and who’s death was surrounded by mystery. This is her answer to that mystery.
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Review: ‘My Brief History’ by Stephen Hawking
10th September 2013
Bantam
Stephen Hawking has written several popular science books that have been incredibly well received. And now he has written his own story. I have read an uncorrected e-book and am now able to review it.
Continue reading “Review: ‘My Brief History’ by Stephen Hawking”
Review: ‘Happy women live better’ by Valorie Burton
2013
Harvest House Publishers
America’s ‘Happiness Queen’ Valorie Burton wants to start a conversation between women about why they aren’t happy and provides thirteen ‘happiness triggers’. Ms Burton is a professional counsellor I understand, from this book, and has made a career of helping others find happiness; so just the person to write this sort of book. I have a review copy, which is incomplete, so I shall confine my comments to structure and available content. I would have liked to have seen the contents of the projected appendices and conclusion; I’m sure they would have been very interesting.
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Review: ‘Did I Say That Out Loud? Conversations About Life’ By Kelly McDermott Harman
Wegost Press
2013
This e-book is 87% true, 13% blarney, according to the author; a collection of humorous personal anecdotes. I couldn’t help but laugh as Kelly described conversations with her family and friends, including the one with her sister about getting concussion from a drunk man three weeks before a further head injury in a car accident, or the time she had to help said sister explain to their parents why she had left her husband, the conversation she had with her family paediatrician about her sons being serial killers in training (creative cricket death was involved), or her mother’s story about quilt shops and concealed weapons permits.
Review: ‘Improbable Women’ by William Woods Cotterman
2013
Syracuse University Press
Augusta Zenobia ruled Palmyra in the mid to late third century and made a terrible nuisance of herself to the Roman Empire. Eventually she lost her fight and after being taken to Rome a prisoner disappeared in to obscurity. Sixteen hundred years or so later the first of five remarkable English women explored the Middle East inspired by her and the romance of the east.
Continue reading “Review: ‘Improbable Women’ by William Woods Cotterman”
10 Historical Ladies Who Deserve Their Own Movie
Interesting post I found while going through blogs I follow earlier today. There’s some truly cool historical ladies who need to be better appreciated.
It’s no secret that most Hollywood productions are about men and their stories, and the same goes for historical films. While there have been a handful of famous (and awesome) ladies from history that have dominated the screen, such as Queen Elizabeth I, Cleopatra, and Marie Antoinette, there are plenty of others just as deserving. Historical biopics are always in season (and usually end up on the Oscar-radar) and here I give you ten ladies who I think deserve their own adaption.
1. Tamar of Georgia
Tamar was a Queen of Georgia in the early 13th century and was called the “King of Kings and Queen of Queens”. Her reign is known for making the kingdom politically, economically, and culturally strong. Tamar is a lesser-known Queen who deserves some exposure to Western audiences. Her life of being badass would make a great film.
Previous Films: None
Who Should Play Her: Olga Kurylenko…
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Reviews coming up in the next few weeks
There’s a list, and I’ll be working ky way through it in the next couple of weeks, now I’ve done my civic duty.
Review: ’17 Equations that changed the world by Ian Stewart
2012
Profile Books
Covering everything from Pythagoras’s theorem to Schrodinger’s Equation and chaos theory, Professor Ian Stewart takes the reader through seventeen important equations that have helped to advance human understanding of the universe (and how to measure it) over the last 2500+ years.
I wish I’d had this book while I was studying A level maths and later while studying for my degree. Ian Stewart explains the concepts involved clearly and comprehensively, including their history.
A great book for students and general readers.
Review: ‘A funny thing happened on the way to heaven’ by Corey Taylor
2013
Ebury Press
This second book by Stone Sour and Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor follows on from Seven Deadly Sins in a round about way. He is again pondering the mysteries of life and death while sprinkling the whole with memories. This time it is his experiences with ghosts. Ever since he was young he has had encountered the paranormal and lived in various haunted buildings. People have told him their own ghost stories; they are gathered here with the express intention of starting a conversation.
Corey Taylor is an articulate and intelligent, if uneducated, man and has clearly thought his ideas through. Whether the reader believes the stories he tells or agrees with his hypothesis of ‘intelligent energy’ is up to them. He won’t tell you what to think, only to think.
I’m not sure whether I agree with much that he has written, except that people need to use their intelligence and not let ignorance and dogma control them. He clearly believes and feels strongly about the subject. It shines in his writing. The writing style is conversational, he goes off at a tangent regularly, but that is not necessarily to the detriment of the work.
An enjoyable and interestting look in to the mind of an important member of the Metal music fraternity.
Bye,
Rose
Everything Is Better With Dragons 