Book Vs Movie: How Does Everything I know About Love The Book Compare To The TV Show?

via IFTTT

Guest Review: More Cricket Extras By David Rayvern Allen

A collection of anecdotes, statistics and trivia from the world of cricket. The book lists cricket's greatest hits which features extraordinary feats with bat and ball. It looks at some unlikely but famous cricketers and recounts tales of hi-jinks from the cricket broadcasting world.

Review: This is a follow-up to the author’s previous book “Cricket Extras”. It is a collection of anecdotes and strange facts relating to the sport of cricket. Divided into different chapters covering such topics as varied as: cricket and politics; disputes that ended up as court cases; and famous cricketing thespians, the book is trawl through some of the stranger stories relating to the game. It covers some of the more unusual events that have occurred throughout the world. At the end of the book, there is a short collection of cricket-related poems, some amusing and some reflective.

Although somewhat dated (the book was published in 1992), I found it to be an amusing and quirky collection of anecdotes. It should appeal to all enthusiasts of the game, wherever they are in the world.

Book Review: Did The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell Work as a Sequel To The Family Upstairs?

via IFTTT

Guest Review: Elodie’s Library of Second Chances by Rebecca Raisin

Everyone has a story. You just have to read between the lines....

When Elodie applies for the job of librarian in peaceful Willow Grove, she’s looking forward to a new start. As the daughter of a media empire, her every move has been watched for years, and she longs to work with the thing she loves most: books.

It’s a chance to make a real difference, too, because she soon realises that there are other people in Willow Grove who might need a fresh start—like the homeless man everyone walks past without seeing, or the divorcée who can’t seem to escape her former husband’s misdeeds.

Together with local journalist Finn, Elodie decides these people have stories that need sharing. What if instead of borrowing books readers could ‘borrow’ a person, and hear the life stories of those they’ve overlooked?

But Elodie isn’t quite sharing her whole story either. As the story of the library’s new success grows, will her own secret be revealed?

Review: I have read a few books from Rebecca Raisin in the past, but was particularly drawn to this one by the subject, being concerned with books and a library in need of saving. I found it a little slow going to start with, but it soon began sparking my imagination and I was totally drawn into the life of its characters. Finally, I found that I didn’t want it to end, so involved was I with the main players and the little town where the story is set.

Ellie Astor, or Elodie Halifax to give her her real name, has grown disillusioned by her lavish lifestyle as the future head of her parents’ media business. Her mother in particular simply ignores her pleas to move on and make use of her qualification as a librarian and love of books. When she is offered the job of librarian at a failing library in the town of Willow Grove, Elodie jumps at the chance to follow her dream. The library is in a worse state than she could have imagined, but she is determined to turn things around, which means attracting new members. She begins to realise that many people in the small town are very judgemental, in particular towards a few of the residents, including the homeless man who almost nobody notices or the shoplifter whose motivation is never questioned. Elodie decides that, with the help of local journalist Finn, she can perhaps change people’s way of thinking and at the same time save the library from closure. Her plan is to allow members of the library to ‘borrow’ people for a short time in the same way that they would borrow books, and learn their stories rather than believe gossip that is spread about them. Of course, she herself has a secret past that she is keen to preserve, but will it be possible to keep her identity hidden from the media if her idea takes off?

As I said at the beginning of this review, I found this book a little difficult to get into, but once it had me hooked, I was not keen to put it down. What a clever, and indeed brave, idea to lend out people to tell their stories and end the rumour mongering that can so easily mar a small town like Willow Grove. The book is full of likeable characters and is set in an attractive sounding town, hopefully featuring a bustling library very soon. Some very interesting, well-developed back stories emerged from the human books who were happy to be lent out. I would love to find out what happened next for the town and its residents. I can confidently recommend this book to other readers and look forward to Rebecca Raisin’s next novel.

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Top Ten Tuesday: Hilarious Book Titles 7.8.22

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

This title is great because there are so many hilarious book titles out there aren't there?

Book vs Movie: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

via IFTTT

Guest Review: Rhythm and Swing By Richard Hadlee

Review: This is the autobiography of the New Zealand cricketer Richard Hadlee, written with the assistance of the journalist Richard Brecht. It also includes a chapter by Richard Hadlee’s wife, Karen. Richard Hadlee was an all-rounder who played Test Match cricket for New Zealand during the 1970s and 1980s. He also had a spell playing county cricket in England for Nottinghamshire. Although he became known as an all-rounder, achieving the county “double” of 100 wickets and 1,000 runs for Nottinghamshire during the 1984 season, it was his seam bowling that was the stronger of the two disciplines. Just prior to the book’s publication (1989) he became, at the time, the world’s leading Test Match wicket taker, with 374 wickets, when he dismissed the Indian batter Arun Lal in November 1988.

Unusually for an autobiography, the book does not follow a chronological pattern but has chapters on specific topics, such as all-rounders, bowlers, batsmen, county cricket, touring and umpires. It is clear that, from a young, raw fast bowler, the author matured into a very thoughtful cricketer. What comes across is his attention to detail and his very meticulous preparation. It is probably this that allowed him to maintain high performance levels over what, for a fast bowler, was a relatively long career.

Unsurprisingly, the book concentrates a lot on cricket in New Zealand and its administration. Nevertheless, I found it a useful insight into the life of a dedicated, professional cricketer, and it is a book that should appeal to all cricket fans.