April 2020 Wrap Up

Wow, what a good reading month April has been, I don’t think I have read so many books in one month for a very long time. Sadly, the reason I have managed this feat is because of lockdown, but let’s only focus on the positives here. So here is what April looked like…

Books I read

(Click on the pictures to go to the review)

The Gates by Richard Pierce

65 pages

Format read: Kindle

4.5/5 Dragons

The Last Best Hope (Star Trek Picard) by Una McCormack

336 pages

Format read: Hardcover

5/5 Dragons

Half A World Away by Mike Gayle

368 pages

Format read: paperback

5/5 Dragons

Also my favourite book of April!

(This book is currently only 99p in the Kindle store)

The Secret Life of Cows by Rosamund Young

160 pages

Format read: paperback

3/5 Dragons

The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett

288 pages

Format read: paperback

4/5 Dragons

On Chapel Sands: My Mother and Other Missing Persons by Laura Cumming

320 pages

Format read: Hardcover

2/5 Dragons

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming

192 pages

Format read: Hardcover

5/5 Dragons

The Madness of Cambyses by Herodotus

55 pages

Format read: Paperback

4/5 Dragons

Page Total: 1784

So that is my April wrap up. Please drop me comment if you have read any of these books.

Happy reading.

The Madness of Cambyses by Herodotus (Review)

The Madness of Cambyses by Herodotus

About the author

Herodotus c. 484-425 BCE was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus in the Persian Empire. He is known for having written the book The Histories.

Blurb

The story of the great and mad Cambyses, King of Persia, told by part-historian, part-mythmaker Herodotus of Halicarnassus.

Review

Just recently I dug out my collection of Little Black Classics and selected all the ancient Greek and Roman books to read because I thought they would be good background reading for my course and this is the first one I have read.

This little book is only 50 pages long and is a nice little snippet from the main book The Histories by Herodotus. I happily read it enjoying the sunshine we have been having and drinking a nice mug of tea.

The beginning was a bit hard to digest due to all the different names but once I got past that I really enjoyed the book. The translation is a little wooden for me but it still flowed nicely. I must admit this did make me giggle as King Cambyses is completely mental and just kills everyone for the slightest thing and in most cases this is like cutting off his own nose to spite his face, because all this death doesn’t do him any favours.

Herodotus does meander about a bit with his knowledge but I loved that because you learn extra little bits about what the ancients thought about different cultures. Some facts Herodotus tells you definitely come across more as myths but I liked that because that is what the ancients believed.

I really enjoyed this little book, it was a quick and knowledgeable read and it was fascinating to see one of the world’s earliest historians at work. I highly recommend this little book to people who are interested in the ancient world and to people who want a gentle introduction into some ancient texts. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.

Purchase Links

Waterstones

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming

About the author

Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Second World War Navy Commander. He was a grandson of the Scottish financier Robert Fleming, who founded the Scottish American Investment Trust and the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co.

Fleming is best remembered for creating the character of James Bond and chronicling his adventures in twelve novels and nine short stories. Additionally, Fleming wrote the children’s story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and two non-fiction books.

Blurb

“With the proceeds from his latest invention, Crackpot Whistling Sweets, Commander Caractacus Pott buys his family their first car. It looks like a wreck, but once restored it turns out to be no ordinary vehicle: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a magical car which can fly, swim and even think. Chitty and the eccentric, plucky Pott family set off on a succession of increasingly perilous adventures that take them across the English Channel and all the way to Paris.

Review

I will be honest I have never read Chitty Chitty Bang Bang but I absolutely love the film and watched it again over Easter which made me think it was high time to read the book. Thankfully I had some Waterstones points to order the book.

I was so excited when I started reading this book and it was just perfect, I loved everything about it. The first thing that I did notice was that the book and film are completely different. Now I know that there are always differences between the book and film but this was major, it was like Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes who wrote the screenplay only read the first few chapters of the book and did not bother with the rest of the book.

Thankfully, I did love the book just as much as the film. I also loved the background information that you got in the introduction about the original Chitty Bang Bang built by Count Zborowski.

The Pott family are just adorable, the perfect eccentric family. Caractacus the father is an inventor and explorer but he is much more interested in his inventing. Mimsie is the mother who lets Caractacus get on with his inventing and supports whatever he suggests. The twins Jeremy and Jemima love their crazy family and also fully support their father. The twins also go to private school so their adventure with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has to be during their school holidays.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a magical car that is part of the family and you can’t help but feel for the car when you read about her. She comes across as that wonderful favourite family pet.

The story is beautifully written and it does feel like a James Bond story but for children which I love. I adored this book and highly recommend it for children and adults. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

Purchase Links

Book Depository • Waterstones

On Chapel Sands: My Mother and Other Missing Persons by Laura Cumming (Review)

On Chapel Sands: My Mother and Other Missing Persons by Laura Cumming

About the author

Laura Cumming (born July 1961) the art critic for The Observer. In addition to her career in journalism, Cumming has written well-received books on self-portraits in art and the discovery of a lost portrait by Diego Velázquez in 1845.

Blurb

In the autumn of 1929, a small child was kidnapped from a Lincolnshire beach. Five agonising days went by before she was found in a nearby village. The child remembered nothing of these events and nobody ever spoke of them at home. It was another fifty years before she even learned of the kidnap.

The girl became an artist and had a daughter, art writer Laura Cumming. Cumming grew up enthralled by her mother’s strange tales of life in a seaside hamlet of the 1930s, and of the secrets and lies perpetuated by a whole community. So many puzzles remained to be solved. Cumming began with a few criss-crossing lives in this fraction of English coast – the postman, the grocer, the elusive baker – but soon her search spread right out across the globe as she discovered just how many lives were affected by what happened that day on the beach – including her own.

Review

I had such high hopes for this book and I was so excited when I bought it because I loved the sound of the book and thought it sounded like a fantastic read. Sadly, I was very disappointed, although I know that this is probably a controversial opinion looking at other reviews on Goodreads and on book blogs. I do however think the hype and advertising for this book has been very misleading in just how gripping the story is.

I enjoyed the beginning of this book but quickly guessed the outcome as it was just an age old story that has happened many times in history.

This to me was a book of meandering thoughts and it drove me mad, Cumming clearly knows her stuff about art and history but this book really needed to be more to the point. Cumming just kept going off course and it was infuriating, this also meant that there was far too much book for the main thread of the story. It really could have been half the length and for me would have been a lot more enjoyable if it had been shorter and more to the point. It was like Cumming was worried it was going to be too short so she padded it out with other random thoughts.

I can see that this story is written for the love of her mother and I can imagine that Cumming’s mother must be very touched by her daughter’s book but to the casual reader it is too much. It is also very repetitive at times. I was grinding my teeth in frustration. It really could have done with someone just gently removing the repetition from the book for Cumming.

Overall I’m amazed I stuck this book out because some days I could have quite easily chucked it through the window but I did finish it in the end just to see the outcome. I give this book 2 out of 5 Dragons because only books that I do not finish get 1 Dragon.

Purchase Links

Book Depository • Waterstones

The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett (Review)

The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett

About the author

Sir Terence David John Pratchett OBE (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humorist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his Discworld series of 41 novels.

Blurb

In the beginning, there was nothing but endless flatness. Then came the Carpet…

That’s the old story everyone knows and loves (even if they don’t really believe it). But now the Carpet is home to many different tribes and peoples and there’s a new story in the making. The story of Fray, sweeping a trail of destruction across the Carpet. The story of power-hungry mouls – and of two Munrung brothers, who set out on an adventure to end all adventures when their village is flattened.

It’s a story that will come to a terrible end – if someone doesn’t do something about it. If everyone doesn’t do something about it…

Review

It was so good to read a Pratchett book again as it has been way too long. During the lockdown to read a book by one of my favourite authors was like a warm comfort blanket wrapped around me. The Carpet People was written by a 17 year old Pratchett but this edition is the one that he republished after going through and making a few changes.

I really enjoyed reading this book as it was full of the typical humour of Pratchett and although it was not as refined as his Discworld novels it was still a joy to read. I loved how this book made my imagination run wild, it reminded me of the Borrowers, a race of people that live in the carpet.

The fascinating world of the carpet is brilliant with all the different tribes, kingdoms and an empire. I loved how the individuality of the people came through. I also loved how the women decided to do battle and fight for women’s rights at the end.

I have seen some pretty bad reviews about this book and it really surprises me as I know this book has a few flaws with characters randomly disappearing but since this was one of Pratchett’s first books it is bound to have some flaws as Pratchett was starting to find his feet as an author. Obviously if you compare it to the Discworld books it is lacking slightly but it is still a highly enjoyable story to read which will give you a good giggle.

I highly recommend this book to all fantasy and comedy lovers, it is a quick read that will make you laugh. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.

Purchase Links

Book Depository

Waterstones

The Secret Life of Cows by Rosamund Young (Review)

The Secret Life of Cows by Rosamund Young

About the author

Kite’s Nest Farm is on the edge of the Cotswold escarpment. It is run by Rosamund Young, her brother Richard, and her partner Gareth. Nature is left to itself as much as possible and the animals receive exceptional kindness and consideration.

Blurb

COWS ARE AS VARIED AS PEOPLE.

They can be highly intelligent or slow to understand, vain, considerate, proud, shy or inventive. Although much of a cow’s day is spent eating, they always find time for activities such as babysitting, playing hide and seek, blackberry picking or fighting a tree. Drawn from over forty years of organic farming experience, this is Rosamund Young’s affectionate record of a hitherto secret world.

Review

When I bought this book last year I will be honest it was because there were cows on the front. I love cows and have fond memories spending time with my dad when he needed an extra hand with the cattle (my dad is a herdsman). One of my favourite memories is of a bull called Dillon who would happily let you cuddle him and scratch his nose all day, he was just a giant teddy bear. This book is a first for me, I have read many cat and dog books but this is my first cow book.

This book took me no time at all to read and I could have read it in one sitting but started reading it before bed and eventually I had to give in to sleep and finish it the next day. On reflection though I think it is a perfect book to just dip in and out of when you feel like an interesting story about cows.

I love the many characters described in this book. You have the cow who enjoys playing hide and seek, the cow who takes a dislike to one of the farmer’s hats and likes to steal it. The relationships between the cattle are also endearing and I love how they will just go down to the farm house to tell the farmers that they need something.

The book is not just all about cows it does mention pigs, sheep and chickens. I love chickens and think they are amazing little characters so it was lovely to read some little stories about some hens. My particular favourite was the friendship between a pig and sheep.

The main thing I struggled with with this book was the many, many names of the cows, at the start of the book there is a family tree of the cows and their names but this does not contain all the many characters within the book and I must admit I was starting to forget who was whose child, sibling etc in the great cow family tree so in the end I gave up trying to keep them all related. It would have helped if the book was laid out in family groups but the stories were randomly scattered through the book with no kind of link.

I love the ethos that Kite’s Nest Farm live by and fully agree with it because animals should be happy and free as much as possible. I did find though that during the introduction Young gives she did tend to repeat herself a great deal and I just found that the whole ethos was a bit in your face at times.

I really enjoyed this book and the only things that let it down for me were the many names and the repetition that appeared within the book. Otherwise I loved the stories of the cows and the many different characters and highly recommend this book to animal lovers. I will be passing this book on to my dad next as after I mentioned it to him he is very keen to read it. I give this book 3 out of 5 Dragons.

Purchase links

Book Depository

Waterstones

Half A World Away by Mike Gayle (Review)

Half A World Away by Mike Gayle

About the author

Mike Gayle was born and raised in Birmingham. After graduating from Salford University with a degree in Sociology, he moved to London to pursue a career in journalism and worked as a Features Editor and Agony Uncle. He has written for a variety of publications including The Sunday Times, Guardian and Cosmopolitan.

Mike became a full time novelist in 1997 following the publication My Legendary Girlfriend. Since then he has written thirteen novels and his books have been translated into more than thirty languages.

Blurb

Kerry Hayes is a single mum, living on a tough south London estate. She provides for her son by cleaning houses she could never afford. Taken into care as a child, Kerry cannot forget her past.

Noah Martineau is a successful barrister with a beautiful wife, daughter and home in fashionable Primrose Hill. Adopted as a young child, Noah never looks back.

When Kerry contacts Noah, the sibling she lost on the day they were torn apart as children, she sets in motion a chain of events that will change both of their lives forever.

Review

This is the first book I have read by Gayle and the only reason I have discovered him is because it is the first set book in a book club I have joined. I am so happy I joined the book club.

I will be honest I simply could not put the book down, it was amazing. It was truly an emotional rollercoaster and I did cry my eyes out to the point that my poor husband got quite worried about me but it was fantastic. When I had finished the book I was also mourning the loss of the book, I just did not want to leave the characters behind.

The first thing I liked about this book was how each chapter came from either Kerry or Noah’s point of view and the narrative passed smoothly between them. It was never confusing and worked brilliantly, it really was expertly written.

Kerry was endearing and through the whole book I was on her side, she would do anything for family and most of all her son Kian. She had got a good little business going of cleaning houses and although the work was hard and sometimes frustrating she got up every morning with a smile and did the best possible job she could with pride. Kian never wanted for anything and even though it might not be designer he still had everything he needed. Kerry’s life had not been easy but she never complained or let it show. She was kind and welcoming to everyone and a woman you would love to have as a friend.

Noah had what appeared to be the perfect life, a nice house, fantastic job, beautiful wife and daughter and a brilliant upbringing, he had the easy life. However, Noah will not talk about the past or his feelings and this drives his wife mad and causes them to have marital problems. However, with Kerry now in his life things start to change and that change is heart warming and very emotional to see. Noah grows through the story and is such a different character at the end.

I loved all the characters in this story and the effect that Kerry and Noah had on these people. The book is just beautifully written and Gayle is an extremely accomplished and talented writer. I honestly can not praise this book enough and it is definitely my favourite book so far of 2020, I will be ordering more of Mike Gayle’s books to read ASAP. I give this book a massive 5 out of 5 Dragons.

Purchase links

Book Depository

Waterstones

The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack (Review)

The Last Best Hope (Star Trek Picard) by Una McCormack

About the author

Una McCormack is the author of seven previous Star Trek novels and four Doctor Who novels. She has also written numerous short stories and audio dramas. She lives in Cambridge, England, with her partner of many years and their daughter.

Blurb

A thrilling novel leading into the new CBS series, Una McCormack’s The Last Best Hope introduces you to brand new characters featured in the life of beloved Star Trek captain Jean-Luc Picard—widely considered to be one of the most popular and recognizable characters in all of science fiction.

Review

First of all I will be honest that I really felt for McCormack, to write a tie-in novel as a prequel to one of the biggest anticipated Star Trek shows to come out in recent years must have been quite a daunting task. However, knowing it was McCormack taking the the reins for this filled me with confidence because I read Star Trek Discovery: The Way to the Stars and could not put it down and only realised at the end that not one phaser had been fired through the whole book.

I loved this book and the great thing about it was you could just pick it up and not have to remember what happened at the end of the TV series or in the films. It was also a fabulous prequel for the series and I really wished I had read the book before I watched the series.

The introduction of Raffi and Agnes was wonderful and although Agnes drove me insane and was a complete wet blanket she fit in perfectly with her TV character. Raffi was just perfect, she was strong willed, confident, she knew exactly what needed to be done before Picard asked but also she spoke her mind and also had some of the best lines in the book.

The interactions with the Romulans were brilliant and it was wonderful to see the different characters from the overly rich and pompous lords who had no idea about the real world to the poor who just want to live and not be troubled. I also loved meeting Elnor and would have loved to have seen more of his interactions with Picard as the friendship and love between them was endearing and really wonderful reading.

There were so many characters in this book that I loved and that was one of the reasons that I just could not put it down. I was also over the moon that good old La Forge was in the book.

I could not recommend this more to Star Trek fans. It is a fast paced novel that has some of our old favourite characters in and is a brilliant prequel to the TV series. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

Purchase links:

Book Depository

Waterstones

The Gates by Richard Pierce (Review)

The Gates by Richard Pierce

About the author

Richard Pierce is an English author who was born in Doncaster and educated in Germany and St John’s College, Cambridge. He now lives in Suffolk with his wife and four children. As well as writing he also paints, administers to two charities and writes poetry.

Blurb

Six short stories for self-isolation.

Review

I was very excited when I saw Richard Pierce mention this collection of short stories on his Twitter and headed straight over to Amazon to buy the stories. I loved Dead Men that Pierce sent me when I first started blogging to read and review.

I love the idea of these stories that Pierce has published for the time during lockdown and that it is staying at a cheap price of 99p.

The first short story Future History I must admit was not my favourite, I struggled to follow it. I understood the idea of it but I found it hard to get into. A rather scary vision of the future I must admit.

Voices I really enjoyed, the memories that the man was looking back on were so descriptive and it really was fantastic story telling. I also felt quite sorry for him at the end.

The Dig. Now I will be honest this story came across as very Philip K. Dick to me it really reminded me of his Electric Dreams which I just love so this story was right up my street. The idea of a man digging to make precautions for the future was excellent. This was my favourite short story in the set.

The National Fraud. This story was very sneaky and I must admit highly enjoyable. It was a very interesting take on Polling day for an election.

The Gates. Another fab story and rather puzzling, I must admit I read this one twice as it intrigued me so much. It left me asking a lot of stories and I desperately want to know more. What war? Who are the dead? Why can’t he leave? So many questions!

The Unrecognised. This story was wonderful and I will be honest I had a little cry at the end. This is a beautiful love story and really well written. The man was a real character and his relationship with his cat was very cute. The image of this 90 year old man still keeping his wife’s nightdress on her pillow even though she has been dead for 10 years was beautiful.

Overall, I loved this book, it took me about an hour to read and was perfect for helping me spend an hour not thinking about lockdown. It was beautifully written and had an interesting variety of stories. I highly recommend this book because it really does have something for everyone. I give this book 4.5 out of 5 Dragons just because I could not get into the first story. Thank you Mr Pierce for a beautiful set of short stories.

Star Trek Discovery: Dead Endless by Dave Galanter (Review)

Star Trek Discovery: Dead Endless by Dave Galanter

About the author

Dave Galanter has authored various Star Trek projects, including Voyager: Battle Lines, The Next Generation duology Maximum Warp, and The Original Series novels Troublesome Minds and Crisis of Consciousness, as well as numerous works of Star Trek short fiction. He lives in Maryland with his wife and family.

Blurb

The U.S.S. Discovery’s specialty is using its spore-based hub drive to jump great distances faster than any warp-faring vessel in Starfleet. To do this, Lieutenant Paul Stamets navigates the ship through the recently revealed mycelial network, a subspace domain Discovery can briefly transit but in which it cannot remain. After responding to a startling distress call originating from within the network, the Discovery crew find themselves trapped in an inescapable realm where they will surely perish unless their missing mycelial fuel is found or restored. Is the seemingly human man found alone and alive inside the network the Starfleet officer he claims to be, or an impostor created by alien intruders who hope to extract themselves from the mycelial plane at the expense of all lives aboard Discovery?

Review

I must admit after the disappointment of The Enterprise War I was thrilled to read this book and could not put it down. I loved the characters and most of all I loved the humorous interactions.

The first thing I really enjoyed was that this novel had scenes for the lesser seen characters like Airiam, Bryce, Pollard and Landry. I particularly liked a beautiful scene between Landry and Airiam. In fact it was wonderful all round to learn more about Airiam’s character. I also found Dr Pollard highly amusing.

The main thing I enjoyed was the development of Stamets’ character through the story though. He started off his usual grumpy, rude self but as the story went through he mellowed, he became thoughtful, caring and funny and less work obsessed. I also loved the friendship between Tilly and Stamets; it was like a perfect brother and sister relationship.

My favourite character though was Ephraim. Ephraim is such a mystery but also very adorable but I won’t say anymore as I don’t want to spoil the surprise.

There is also a surprise new species in the story who were very intriguing and fun.

Fun to be honest is the best way to describe this book, it really made me smile and laugh out loud. I loved this book and highly recommend it, that is why I have given it 5 out of 5 Dragons.

Purchase Links

Book Depository

Waterstones