Week beginning 18 December 2024

Margaret Ann Spence Cold War in a Hot Kitchen Wakefield Press, September 2024. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review. Cold War in a Hot Kitchen is a special read from beginning to end. It is a social history; a commentary on a sometimes unique, at others familiar, domestic life;Continue reading “Week beginning 18 December 2024”

Week beginning 27 November 2024

Charlotte Booth and Brian Billington The Crime Movie and TV Lover’s Guide to London Pen & Sword | White Owl, November 2024. Thank you NetGalley and Pen & Sword for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review. The Crime Movie and TV Lover’s Guide to London provides yet another source for understanding and exploring London through aContinue reading “Week beginning 27 November 2024”

Week Beginning 13 November 2024

Marc Wanamaker and Steven Bingen Hollywood Behind the Lens Treasures from the Bison Archives Globe Pequot Lyons Press, May 2024. Thankyou, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review. This is the story of loss and an amazing effort to redeem this loss – the accumulation of Hollywood memorabilia undertaken through the BisonContinue reading “Week Beginning 13 November 2024”

Week beginning 5 November

Articles and some light relief: Bob McMullan; Heather Cox Richardson; Joyce Vance; Jess Piper; Cindy Lou and food. American Politics Bob McMullan Final US election review Less than one day until the polls close. In Australia it will be Wednesday before we know who wins. The election remains very unpredictable. That does not necessarily meanContinue reading “Week beginning 5 November”

Week beginning 30 October 2024

Lidia LoPinto and Winnie LoPinto I Was a Woman Pilot in 1945 Women Airforce Training Pilots November 2022, Independently Published. Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review. I was glad to have read this independently published book which shows only a few signs of not having been through a tradeContinue reading “Week beginning 30 October 2024”

Week beginning 4 September 2024

Douglas Beattie How Labour Wins (And Why It Loses) From 1900 to 2024 Elliott & Thompson, August 2024. Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected copy for review. Douglas Beattie’s approach to a topic that could take up so many interesting side issues is a Party Campaign Director’s dream: he unfailingly remains onContinue reading “Week beginning 4 September 2024”

Week beginning 28 August 2024

Joshua Stein The Binge Watcher’s Guide to The West Wing Seasons One and Two Riverdale Avenue Books The Binge Watcher’s Guide, August 2024. Thank you, Net Galley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review. Reading The Binge Watcher’s Guide to The West Wing while also watching the 2024 Democratic National Convention could notContinue reading “Week beginning 28 August 2024”

Week beginning August 14 2024

Donna Leon A Refiner’s Fire, A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery Grove Atlantic, July 2024. Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review. Donna Leon’s writing is such a joy, something to savour, as Guido Burnetti and his family navigate their personal lives and the newest case to be investigated. In thisContinue reading “Week beginning August 14 2024”

Week beginning 24 July 2024

Valerie Keogh The Mother Boldwood Books, June 2024. Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review. Valerie Keogh has provided readers with yet another good read, with some twists and, in my opinion more importantly, an intelligent consideration of the qualities that are believed to make the perfect husband.  It isContinue reading “Week beginning 24 July 2024”

Week beginning 3 July 2024

Maryann D’Agincourt, Glimpses of Gauguin, Portmay, January 2015. Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected copy for review. This is an elusive narrative, but one that is worth while attempting to understand. I wonder if the clue to how Maryann D’Agincourt would like her novel read is in a paragraph in the textContinue reading “Week beginning 3 July 2024”