I’ve just finished reading a couple of good books:
Silent Witnesses
Nigel McCrery
and
The Burglar Caught by a Skeleton
And Other Singular Tales from the Victorian Press
Jeremy Clay
Category Archives: Non-fiction
Review: ’So that others may live: A Fethulleh Gulen Reader’ Edited by Erkan M Hurt
3rd July 2013
Blue Dome Press (The Light Inc.)
This is a compilation of the Turkish scholar Fethulleh Gulan’s essays. Gulan is an incredibly influential man and his ideas are the guiding light behind a movement for peace, education and social justice – the Gulan Movement.
ARC Review: ‘Six Women of Salem’ by Marilynne K. Roach
Da Capo Press
3rd September 2013
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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.
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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.
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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.
Everything Is Better With Dragons 