Sleep. We know we need it, yet most of us probably don’t get enough of it. As a society I think we’re probably pretty good at ruefully acknowledging the why we don’t get enough: maybe we had to stay up late to prepare for an important presentation the next day; maybe we work long, late […]
You know a book is good when you start reading it again by accident. I picked up ‘dummy’ to refresh my memory before committing myself to starting this review…and emerged midway through chapter two, having giggled and chuckled so much that my husband felt compelled to leave the comfort of the sofa and TV to […]
Have you ever really *listened* to the lyrics of your favourite song? If you have, do they make any sense? If they don’t, or even if there’s just room for confusion, then maybe the artist/s involved should expect to receive a letter soon: Derek and Dave Philpott are on the case and they’re determined to […]
Meet Shaun. He loves books, discovering bookish treasures and the annual book festival in Wigtown. He does not love customers who openly browse Amazon whilst in his shop, (especially when they “whisper” to their companion that, yes, it is cheaper online,) or customers who complain about his prices, (amusingly, he raises the price of a […]
I enjoy books about books so I was delighted to receive this for my birthday. A book about libraries had to be about books, right? There are lots of books on the front cover and the author’s a novelist. Well, not quite. This book is more about people, hence the subtitle, ‘true stories and curious […]
The role of social media in publishing continues to fascinate me. Take Sergeant Colin Taylor. He was detective constable on the beautiful Isles of Scilly for around seven years. Scilly has approximately 2,600 inhabitants, yet Colin’s humorous Facebook and Twitter posts from his social media accounts amassed 60,000 followers. This level of demand for his […]
‘Mummy blogging’ is big news lately. In what seems to be a backlash against the mythical ideal of Perfect Parenting, especially Perfect Mothering, and Instagram worthy (#SoBlessed) family life, many bloggers are choosing to share their lives with small children, warts and all temper tantrums, last-minute school run dashes and all. Some particularly entertaining voices within […]
Babies. Toddlers. Pre-schoolers. They’re delightful and amazing and awful and infuriating, switching seamlessly from adorable minx to terrible brat – and back again – in a matter of seconds. (“I said say SORRY to your SISTER. Say SORRY TO YOUR SISTER NOW! Oh, what a lovely cuddle. Ah, I’m sure she loves you, too, she […]
1 husband, 8 children, 1,000 sheep… It’s testament to Amanda Owen’s busy lifestyle that the strap line for her second book – released in hardback at the end of last year and in paperback today – is already out of date; she now has nine children. (How? I mean, seriously. I find three small people […]
Parenting: everyone has opinions and most people are full of advice. Katie Kirby knows better. She knows that parents do their best, that the material they have to work with is occasionally (indeed – often) nearly impossible to fathom or direct, and that amusing anecdotes are far more helpful than any well-meaning advice. With that […]