by Todd Kashdan. The Power of Negative Emotion starts by looking at which emotions we think of as negative (primarily anger, sadness, and anxiety), and how different societies view them in different ways. It explains why these emotions can be … Continue reading
Category Archives: 5-star
The Last Words of Madeleine Anderson
by Helen Kitson. Gabrielle is twenty-years on from her best-selling novel, and the fame and riches it brought her. Now, she is a single (no children), socially isolated housekeeper for the local vicar, still haunted by the death of her … Continue reading
Corvus: a life with birds
by Esther Woolfson. Esther Woolfson has a rook standing on her knee. Confusingly, it’s called Chicken. In Corvus we are introduced to Chicken, and her many, varied, housemates, who share what must be a noisy home in Aberdeen. Woolfson teaches us what … Continue reading
Fallible Justice
by Laura Laakso. Yannia Wilde is a newbie private detective. She is also one of the Wild Folk – who fall at the bottom of the magic hierarchy – and not comfortable with the sensory overload of either Old London … Continue reading
Last Train to Zona Verde
by Paul Theroux. Paul Theroux returns to Africa after ten years away, and travels overland from Cape Town to Angola for what he expects to be his final visit. The book begins on a bush-hike with the traditionally dressed Ju/’hoansi … Continue reading
The Secret Teacher: dispatches from the classroom
by The Secret Teacher. The Secret Teacher is just starting out in an English secondary school. He is optimistic, and idealistic, characteristics that would be damped by most jobs in time; but he is quickly put in his place by … Continue reading
Born Liars
by Ian Leslie. As an autistic, I have long been fascinated about why people lie. Of course, I have lied (yes, I love your hat), but as a skill, it’s only come to me later in life, and I find … Continue reading
The Diary of a Bookseller
by Shaun Bythell. Shaun Bythell recounts – in the form of diary entries – his life as owner of The [secondhand] Bookshop in Wigtown, and I say “life” because and it’s so much more than a mere job). His observations of customers, … Continue reading
Homemade Takeaways
by Rob Allison. From-scratch recipes! Cooking, as I do, for three children with sensory-processing issues (they struggle with both the taste and texture of food), the range of dishes they can all cope with is very small. That said, they … Continue reading
7th October 2018
by Leigh Forbes
2 Comments
The Beachside Sweet Shop
by Karen Clarke. In The Beachside Sweet Shop, Karen Clarke tells a story of kindness versus unkindness (guess which one wins), love and loss, determination, and – above all – a sense of home. I love Clarke’s style – she fills … Continue reading