Bumper Book Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest to win a free copy of the wonderful Bumper Book of London.  The winner was:

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I'm sure you'll love the book as much as I did!  The winner has been contacted. Thanks to everyone who entered, and watch this space for an upcoming giveaway that's very exciting!!

Not just for children! And a Giveaway!

Always on the lookout for a great book about London, I was thrilled to get a review copy of The Bumper Book of London: Everything You Need to Know about London and More by Becky Jones and Clare Lewis.  This colorful and fascinating book is marketed as a children's book, but it's bursting with bright colors and fun information that makes it a great read for all ages!

The book begins with some general facts about London, then it is divided into chapters covering the chronological periods in London's history, beginning with Roman London and going through the present (Modern London).  Every section is filled with historical facts, words used during that time, rulers, and things to see from that time period that still exist in London.  For example, from the Saxon/Viking period, you can still see the Coronation Stone of the Saxon Kings at Kingston Town Hall, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the British Library, and Sutton Hoo treasures at the British Museum.

After the historical portions of the book, there are sections devoted to various aspects of life in London including sport, food, transport, the River Thames, animals, streets, and so on. 

Every page uses colorful lettering and fonts, and there are also numerous illustrations done by children which help to enliven the facts.

Illustration of what was lost during
the Great Fire of London

I learned many interesting and unusual things from reading this book.  For instance, there is a Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, currently filled by Larry the Cat.  Larry has his own Twitter account to keep everyone up to date on his activities (although distressingly, not much mouse abatement work is mentioned!).  There are also yummy recipes (including one for "London Cheesecake" that includes no cheese!), Fast Facts and a recommended list of "London's Best" which includes such lists as "Best Books Set in Victorian London" and (more importantly) the locations of the "Best Cake Shops" to be found there today.

More information is also at the book's website http://bit.ly/y3I5Xk and at Becky and Clare's website http://www.adventurewalksforfamilies.co.uk/

I have one copy of the wonderful Bumper Book of London to give away to a lucky reader!  To enter, just leave a comment stating your favorite tourist attraction in London (one you've visited or hope to visit one day).  Be sure and leave an email address in your comment or Blogger profile so I can contact you if you're the winner!  Open only to those residing in the US.  Please leave your comment by March 15.  The winner will be chosen by random.org and I will email the winner.  The winner will have 72 hours to respond, or I'll have to choose another winner.  Good luck!

Disclaimer:  I received a review and a giveaway copy of The Bumper Book of London from 45th Parallel Communications

Final verdict on The Bumper Book of London:  Five Gherkins, for being a totally engrossing book about London filled with facts and fun!

Shield the Heart

If you like YA books with lots of twists and turns you may enjoy T.K. Richardson's new book Shield the Heart. When you mix one girl with a special gift, one ancient Russian prophecy, danger, and a dash of romance you end up with Shield the Heart!

I hope you'll check it out. The book is available in paperback and as an ebook.

One Gift, One Prophecy, One Choice

Shield the Heart

(Note: This book is part of a series. Book #1 Return the Heart. Book #2 Shield the Heart.)

What if the battle was in your heart?

Lilly's gift of reading the heart seemed like a curse, but when she discovered her gift was linked to an old, Russian prophecy it changed everything. What she never questioned, though, was her own heart.

When the prophecy pulls Lilly back to Russia and demands to be fulfilled she is torn between love and loyalty. She must make the most difficult decision of her life and choose between the two. But Lilly's decision is farther reaching than even she is willing to acknowledge. It stretches from East to West - from the past to the future.

Lilly discovers there's more to the old prophecy than she realized and enemy forces are bent on stopping it from unfolding.

One thing is certain - there will be casualties. And sparing those closest to her may be impossible. While Seth attempts to shield Lilly from the truth, Nikolai reveals secrets that could change everything.

As Lilly falls into the arms of Russia she must decide: will love or loyalty reign? And can she live with the consequences? Two sides compete for Lilly's heart and she must find the answers she needs before her enemies find her.

Shield the Heart, by T.K. Richardson, is the riveting second book in the series and takes Lilly deeper into Russia's mysterious past... and her future.

(**This post was part of a contest to win a Kindle Fire. If you'd like to enter for a chance to win visit the site to find out how!)

Not a shopaholic, but a phonaholic

I was so excited to see another Sophie Kinsella book was coming out!  I immediately put my name down on the waiting list at the library, and was shocked when I was notified that the book was ready for me to pick up on the same day it was released!  Talk about good timing!

I've Got Your Number is a book with a now classic Kinsella formula:  the somewhat ditzy but lovable heroine who gets herself into a pickle, but ultimately wins the heart of the fabulously wealthy and successful male character.  And it's set in London, so what's not to love?

Our main character this time is Poppy Wyatt, a physiotherapist who, as the book begins, is attending her hen night party in advance of her upcoming wedding to the somewhat condescending Magnus.  Poppy is immediately thrown into turmoil from the first page as her engagement ring (a family heirloom) goes missing in the midst of a fire alarm at the hotel where the party is being held.  Unable to get a signal on her cell phone (which she's using to try to alert everyone to her predicament -- well, everyone except Magnus), she runs outside to see if reception is better.  Distracted, she is totally unprepared when a thief on a bike rides by and steals her phone from her outstretched arm.  In a complete panic now, she runs back into the hotel lobby, and as she's passing a trash can, she notices a discarded cell phone.  Since she's currently in dire need of one (to be available for messages in case her ring turns up), she decides to "borrow" this phone for the time being.

The phone turns out to have formerly belonged to the Personal Assistant of Sam Roxton, head of a global corporation that happens to be holding an event at the same hotel and at the same time as Poppy's hen party.  It turns out that Sam can't be bothered to receive messages himself (neither business nor personal), so Poppy makes an arrangement with him:  she'll forward all his emails and messages if he will only let her keep the phone until her ring is found.

Of course, this might have been a very bland book except for the fact that Poppy can't keep from reading Sam's messages and eventually replying for him.  Sam is a somewhat gruff and detached person, but the emails from him that are sent by Poppy interact with employees and acquaintances in ways that Sam never did before.    While Poppy's interference causes Sam some embarrassment, it also allows her to become a major player when a looming scandal threatens Sam's company.

Meanwhile, Poppy is preparing for her wedding.  Magnus comes from a family of high-achieving intellectuals, and Poppy has to deal with feelings of anxiety and inferiority whenever she comes into contact with them.  Shortly before the wedding, she receives an anonymous email that causes her to re-evaluate her entire situation.

I've Got Your Number is an engaging and fun read.  Poppy is thrown into messes, largely of her own making, but is able to overcome every obstacle with her own brand of spunkiness and ingenuity.  Her determination to do what's right for everyone (whether they want it or not) is just one of the aspects of her endearing personality.  If you're looking for a light read that will leave you with a good feeling, this is the book for you!

Interestingly, there was a somewhat negative interview (well, the interviewer was negative, Ms. Kinsella was nothing but charming) with Sophie Kinsella recently in The Guardian which resulted in a follow-up commentary defending Ms. Kinsella and all things "chick lit."

Final verdict for I've Got Your Number:   Four Gherkins, for being an enjoyable, if somewhat predictable, fun read

Is it getting hot in here?

It is difficult to believe that in a time before it was possible to read the Bible in English, the simple act of translating it into the tongue of the common people was a capital offense.  The book Tyndale: The Man Who Gave God an English Voice by David Teems takes a fascinating look at the man who committed this unpardonable sin.

William Tyndale was born around 1495 (the exact year is uncertain) close to the Welsh border in the county of Gloucestershire.  He attended Oxford and eventually obtained both bachelor's and master's degrees. Unfortunately, these were tumultuous times for religious scholars.  It was a time of Thomas More, King Henry VIII, Martin Luther and Thomas Cranmer.  While King Henry VIII could and certain did question church authority, anyone else who went against the accepted church teachings of the day risked being branded a heretic and burned at the stake.  The early medieval church required unquestioning obedience to the word of church elders.  Tyndale was a great lover of scripture and wanted to bring its message and beautiful language to the common people by letting Englishmen hear the word of God in their own language rather than the officially sanctioned Latin.  He asked permission to translate the Bible into English, but was refused and sailed instead to Germany.  While there he completed his translation and published it, and while copies did make it to England, the officials continued to rail at this blasphemy.  Tyndale was hunted and eventually captured.  He was strangled and burned at the stake as a heretic in 1536.

What I found even more interesting than Tyndale's attempts to bring the word of God to the common people was his great impact and influence on our modern-day language.  We often hear how many words William Shakespeare introduced into the English language.  It turns out that Shakespeare was greatly influenced by the writings of William Tyndale.  The book helpfully provides a listing of some of the English words that appeared for the first time in the writings of Tyndale.  Among them:  brotherly, network, childishness, unbeliever, viper, wave, refused and scapegoat.  The author points out that about 0.02 percent of all quotations cited in the Oxford English Dictionary can be attributed to Tyndale.

The book also contains a timeline of Tyndale's life as well as the text of some letters he wrote to a fellow "heretic" who was imprisoned in the Tower of London.  In Tyndale's own words, we can see the humility and strength of the man who gave God and English voice.

Mud isn't the worst thing she'll deal with today

It's difficult being a woman in a man's world.  Just ask DC Anna Travis, a new detective trying to fit in and learn the ropes in the new drama Above Suspicion (Set 1).  DC Travis shows up to work in a slim skirt with heels, and is immediately slogging through the mud on her way to view a newly discovered body which has been exposed to the elements for some time.  At her first glimpse of the corpse, she turns and is sick in front of her new colleagues.  Not the impression she was trying to make, I'm sure.

Above Suspicion is a police drama written and produced by Lynda La Plante, known for Prime Suspect.  This first set from the series contains two stories in 5 episodes.  They are:

Above Suspicion (the pilot):  The investigative team of DCI James Langton has realized that there have been a succession of unsolved murders over the past 8 years that bear similarities:  most of the women were prostitutes, all were blond and all were found bound and strangled.  The latest victim, however, is a respectable student who doesn't fit the profile (except for her long blond hair).  Anna Travis, perhaps needing to make up for her disastrous start, flirts with a suspect and even goes on social outings with him in order to feed him information about the case.  Is she putting herself in danger this way?

The Red Dahlia: A woman is found brutally murdered and dismembered.  At first, the team have a hard time even identifying her.  Once they do, they have a hard time unraveling the mystery of her life. She was a mousy, drab girl who transformed herself into a glamorous 1940s-style femme fatale.  They learn she had answered an ad about a job as a personal assistant with lots of foreign travel.  So how did she end up being London's answer to The Black Dahlia?  When another body turns up, it looks like the murderer, like the cases he was copying, has no intention of being captured.

This was an interesting and contemporary mystery series.  While I enjoyed the stories, there wasn't a lot of "whodunnit" suspense.  The detectives generally figured out a suspect fairly quickly, and then through more investigation attempted to prove the case.

Anna has a hard time fitting in to the new station at first, but she's given a chance because he deceased father was a well-respected policeman.  Her DCI, Langton, continually supports her, even when she makes mistakes, by stating that she must be a good copper, based on her lineage.

The thing that I found a little hard to take was the way Langton treated the 3 women officers as his personal slaves.  They were constantly being ordered to get him sandwiches, pick up his dry cleaning, bring him coffee and so forth (none of the dozens of men in the room were so ordered around).  I could imagine that in a 1970s drama, but I found it a little hard to take in these days of legislated equality.  Langton was also old enough to be Travis' father, was obnoxious to women and not particularly attractive, yet we were supposed to believe that there was some sort of attraction between the two.  Langton visited Travis in her flat several times, generally banging into her car and damaging it, but she just shrugged it off and never mentioned it to him.  So the relationship between the two main characters was a bit odd.

Travis herself is also something of a puzzle.  In the first episode several of her co-workers remark on the fact that she's worn the same outfit to work two days in a row.  Well, she wears it much longer than that -- every single day, as far as I could tell.  Not sure what was going on there.  Was it a statement about her salary, or her interpretation of how a professional policewoman should look?

Another thing I found strange was that in the second story, The Red Dahlia, there was a female character who hit several of the police officers.  She was extremely violent, leaving bloody marks on both.  Yet she was never arrested or charged with assaulting an officer.  No one even seemed to think it was at all odd that someone would turn and begin beating on the officers.  I couldn't understand that at all.

A main selling point of this particular series, as told in the "behind the scenes" extras, is the authentic-looking models that are used for the corpses.  Police and medical consultants were used to make the discovered bodies look as real (and disgusting) as possible.  I guess we'll have to take their word for it!  Fans of shows such as CSI will likely really enjoy this, too.

This series of Above Suspicion was shown on UK TV in 2009, with a second series in 2010 and a third in 2011.  A fourth series is going to be shown this year.  If you like a modern British police drama, with a high gross-out factor, this is an enjoyable series!

Disclaimer:  I received a review copy of Above Suspicion from Acorn Media

Final Verdict for Above Suspicion:  Three Gherkins, for being an inside look at modern police work -- bodies and all!

Serving winners

Congratulations to the two winners of the book Rose: My Life in Service to Lady Astor by Rosina Harrison.  The lucky winners were:

Jon

and

Hayley

I hope you'll both enjoy reading the book as much as I did.  Thanks again to Penguin for supplying the books for this giveaway!

Thanks to everyone who entered, and look for a new giveaway soon!