Tag: book review

Read, Watch, Listen – March

It has been a while since I did one of my monthly roundups of entertainment suggestions. This feature samples a book, a TV show and a podcast that I am currently enjoying.

Check out my reviews and see whether any take your fancy. This month I mention a drama set in Asia, a fanciful story about The Queen and a really funny podcast about death.

Read – The Uncommon Reader – By Alan Bennett

Thinking about the Queen in her prime, this story imagines her becoming a bookworm.

If the monarch started neglecting her duties due to a bookish obsession what might happen?

Alan Bennett explores this subject cleverly with gentle narrative and witty skill. It is a rather short book but nonetheless satisfying. With a book stuffed behind the seat of her state event carriage and a constant desire to quiz guests about their reading, it makes for an entertaining read.

Watch – Expats – on Amazon Prime Video

Nicole Kidman plays Margaret, an American lady who came over to Hong Kong with her husband and ended up staying longer than expected.

The reason for this was tragic. Their youngest son went missing during a visit to the well known Hong Kong night market. The six episodes follow various characters, including the young nanny, the housekeeper and various wealthy Expat friends.

Listen to – Where There’s A Will, There’s A Wake

Kathy Burke hosts this hilarious podcast which interviews stars about their ideal deaths, funerals and wakes.

Kathy is well known for her funny roles in ‘Kevin and Perry,’ ‘Gimme, Gimme, Gimme’ and ‘Absolutely Fabulous.’ I have even seen her direct an Oscar Wilde theatre play.

She is clever and scathing, known for her no-nonsense honesty and potty mouth.

The first interview she did involved Jennifer Saunders and she had me laughing my head off.

And Finally

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my recommendations. Hopefully something grabbed your interest.

Feel free to share your thoughts on one of these in the comments.

If you like my articles, perhaps also consider following my little blog for future similar content. I write reviews of books, movies and TV shows as well as discussing environmental problems and sharing life hacks.

5 Reasons Why You Should Write a Book Review

As an indie author, I love to read genuine reviews of my published books. There is nothing more comforting than a bit of positive feedback. Yes – I do mean positive! There is no need to be rude about someone’s work after all. Similarly, book reviews are actually useful for other readers. When I first check out a new book, I flick through some of the book review comments to get a taste for it. This often helps me make my mind up about ordering a paperback, for instance.

So in this blog post, I want to encourage you to consider writing your own book reviews after finishing a novel or novella. Hopefully I will convince you that it makes a positive difference to you, the author and to other readers in the book orientated community.

A selection of my favourite books.

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1) Support The Author

This is really important, in my view. Authors spend a lot of hours trying to create stories that will grab your interest. Therefore it is not only polite, but also incredibly supportive to write a quick review.

I believe that if you think a book is worth less than 3 stars, don’t review it. But if you do like something about it, note down what you enjoyed. Alternatively, just post a positive comment which will encourage the writer and help promote the book.

Of course, if you absolutely love it, then definitely don’t miss the chance to write a glowing book review.

2) Connect With Other Readers

People who make the effort to review books are helping to build and promote the bookish community. Why not respond to their reviews and like them on Goodreads?

Other readers will notice your book review and may even check out your socials if they find you a like-minded reader. For me, connecting with other reviewers has been interesting and I have discovered great book influencers too. Who knows? You may even feel inspired enough to establish a bookstagram or booktok.

3) Improve Your Own Writing

For me, book reviewing makes sense. As I get a lot out of my reading experience, it is fun to jot down what made me satisfied by a particular book or collection. In the process of writing more book reviews, I have developed as a writer and learned what parts to concentrate on.

Any book review holds value, even just a few words. However, if you get into reviewing, you will find that certain elements help to make a review purposeful and cover all the bases. Now that I blog about books, I tend to write a quick overview of what I read. Then I write my thoughts and often bullet point the positives. Finally, summing up the review ‘in a nutshell’ can be a lovely way to highlight the main reason this book grabbed your attention and kept you captivated.

4) Share Your Love Of Reading

I mentioned possibly becoming book influencers but if that isn’t your thing, just let your friends know how much you loved a book. Book reviews can be shared on Facebook and individually with friends and colleagues. My Goodreads friends are mostly my real life mates and I like to read their thoughts about books. They influence me greatly.

It is good to share. Writing about a book is therapeutic, thoughtful and fun. Why not try it and share it with people you know who love reading? You may find it is really rewarding for you and for them.

5) Become An Expert In A Topic

Many people read particular genres of fiction or even non-fiction. After you have written several book reviews, you are likely to be considered an expert on that niche. It can be fun to focus on the type of books that you normally opt for.

I personally read a lot of contemporary fiction, so most of my content revolves around that. My other preference is for YA novellas which I am increasingly reviewing. You have probably already got an idea of which niche you could write about regularly.

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Final Thoughts

I hope that you found this particular article helpful, outlining the benefits of taking the time to write a book review. For one of my recent reviews, check out You Must Read – Apples Never Fall.

Thank you for reading. Perhaps you may wish to follow my blog and check out my future posts about books, TV shows and climate change. If you have time, please pop a comment below.

Review: Sara Cox’s Thrown – A Dramatic Hit?

I have always liked Sara Cox and remember seeing her present the Big Breakfast as well as the Radio One Breakfast Show back in the early 2000s. She made me smile when she hosted ‘The Great Pottery Throwdown’ and I especially enjoy her TV panel show about books – ‘Between The Covers’ – on BBC 2. So it was obvious that I would want to try out her autobiography and now this new work of fiction. Make up your own mind about her book but here is my Sara Cox’s ‘Thrown’ review.

I was lucky enough to bump into Sara Cox at the Eurostar terminal in Amsterdam in the summer and she had a book tucked into her pocket. We spoke about her TV show and she mentioned that she actually read each book that would be discussed in the upcoming series. She was absolutely wonderful to chat with and I later discovered that she had a debut novel – which is what I reviewed in this post.

I am excited to have offer this book for review.

What’s It All About?

Four women join a new pottery class at their local community centre, not knowing just how important that group would be for them. Becky hopes that the class will breathe a new breath of fresh air into the venue which had been struggling to find users.

She had an ex-boyfriend in prison who was soon to be released and her son was about to go abroad and work as a club rep. Meanwhile, Sheila was getting used to her son having flown the nest and her husband being unwilling to consider retirement in sunny Spain.

Jameela was a successful lawyer whose inability to get pregnant had forced a wedge between her and her husband while Louise was longing to work in a more creative career.

The pottery teacher was handsome and intriguing with a skilful way of bringing the potters together. Each chapter was told from a different character’s viewpoint and the storyline was cleverly entwined.

In A Nutshell

The book was cleverly written and I could feel the northern aspect of the setting. Sara worked hard to give nuggets of information as the book went on. Her narrative was moving, amusing and relatable. The pottery references were interesting and the use of humour was great.

I would totally recommend picking up a copy of this very warm and inviting book. As a book review writer, I really have enjoyed both reading and reviewing this new novel.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you will consider commenting and following my blog for future similar content. Meanwhile, here is a review of Joanne Harris’ fantastic novel, Blackberry Wine.

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If you have Kindle Unlimited, perhaps you would like to check out my original short stories. I would appreciate some reads to celebrate the fourth birthday of my book Short Dates. Thank you so much for checking out my bookish blog,