Penny Reads

Forever Home – Graham Norton

May 15, 2024 by penny Leave a Comment

Novels written by celebrities can be very varied. Just because someone is famous doesn’t necessarily mean they can write well. Richard Osman is an obvious exception to this rule. And so it seems is Graham Norton. I picked up one of his books (Home Stretch) in a whim in the local library and loved it. I was therefore thrilled to find a hardback version of Forever Home in a charity shop for just 50p. It was in perfect condition and originally had an RRP of £20! Not a price I’d pay for a novel of any sort. No matter who wrote it!

A hardback copy of Forever Home by Graham Norton sat on a wooden surface. The subtitle to the book is "Where do secrets live?"

Set in a small Irish town, Forever Hoe tells the story of Carol, a divorced teacher who lives with older man, Declan, in what had been his marital home, a terraced house in Stable Row. Declan’s wife vanished years ago. The story was that she had run off and abandoned him with his two children. Carol didn’t ask too many questions about what had happened before she met Declan, but she knew that they were happy together. Gossip and rumours circulated, but Carol always tried to rise above them.

When Declan falls ill and can no longer express what he wants things start to unravel for Carol. Declan’s children force her out of her home and so she has to move back in with her parents. Humiliating for anyone, especially so when you’re in your 40s with an adult child of your own.

But it is the house itself that goes on to become the most complicated part of the story. The secret it holds is bigger than anything anyone imagined. Carol can’t resolve things on her own and so her mother vows to get to the truth and sort things out. No one could imagine just what this would entail. At times things got a bit unbelievable, but it was still so well written that I let that slide a bit.

Forever Home is one of those books that I really, really enjoyed reading. It caught me up in the storyline, had me exclaiming out loud at some twists, chuckling at some things and feeling the pain Carol was going through as the Declan she knew and loved slipped away from her into the arms of his illness.

Despite all that the ending had me searching for the next bit. Looking for a final twist that never came. I felt like I was left hanging somewhat. Everything appeared to be neatly resolved, and we all know that real life isn’t like that. Maybe it leaves the door open for Norton to write a second book in which Stable Row’s secret is discovered by someone key, but it didn’t have that feel about it. The end felt a bit more final, possibly even forced. It’s a shame as I was so caught up in the book, but feel a bit flat at the end.

You can buy Forever Home online here*.

*Affiliate link. If you purchase anything from Amazon via this link it will cost you no more than usual, but I will receive a small commission. Thank you for any purchases that are made. I greatly appreciate them.

The Secrets Act – Alison Weatherby

February 23, 2024 by penny Leave a Comment

The Secrets Act by Alison Weatherby originally piqued my interest when it was shared by a local bookshop on their social media account and I realised it was about our shared local historic site – Bletchley Park.

The front of the book The Secrets Act by Alison Weatherby. It shows a black and white picture of a woman wrapped up in a coat and scarf with a beret style hat on her head. Over the picture it says the words "Codebreaker. Friend. Spy?"

I’ve been to Bletchley several times (and you can read about my most recent trip here) and am always fascinated by the stories of those who worked at the Park and lived in Bletchley. Over the years I’ve read several books set there with varying degrees of success. What makes The Secrets Act a bit special is that it is actually a Young Adult book, and one that I originally bought my thirteen year old daughter to read. She really enjoyed it and told me she thought I would too – and she was right.

The main thing that makes The Secrets Act a YA title is that the main characters are in their late teens and as such shows what it must have been like to suddenly go from a wartime childhood to a top secret code-breaking centre. It’s a different angle from books I’ve read there before, but at the same time it is also perfectly accessible as an adult book too. Relationships between some characters are spoken about in a slightly simpler way than an adult book might give you, but the plot easily stands up to adult readers.

As someone who has always been interested in espionage too the fact that there is a spy plot in this book just makes it even better. I also found it really easy to relate to all of the characters in the book, and when reading it really felt like I could imagine myself back at Bletchley Park walking into the main Manor House or one of the huts. Even the scenes set near the garages at the back or in the bike racks felt incredibly real. And that probably explains why I saw this in the gift shop there on my last visit.

If you have any kind of interest in Bletchley Park, the work that went on there and the lives of those who undertook that top secret work then I highly recommend The Secrets Act.

The Secrets Act is available to buy online here*.

How I Feel – Becky Goddard-Hill

February 4, 2024 by penny Leave a Comment

AD – We were sent a copy of How I Feel – 40 wellbeing activities for kids – to review. Please see full disclaimer at the end of this post.

The pandemic affected lots of us in different ways, but for children aged 4 to 6 they missed out on a huge part of their formative years. The stage when they should have been discovering the world around them and starting to bond with people (both adults and children) outside of their immediate family was kept away from them. We might never fully know what the impact on this generation is, but professionals who work with young children are already saying that they can see the effect on them. Lockdown was a trauma for them, and their families, and so thinking about these children’s wellbeing from an early age is paramount. That’s why, in my opinion, How I Feel is perfectly timed.

The cover of How I Feel by Becky Goddard-Hill. The book cover is mainly orange in colour and features an array of delightfully cute animals.

First Impressions

They say that first impressions count and that as exactly the case with How I Feel. The postman delivered it just as I was about to dash out somewhere, and so my copy was left on the dining table and as soon as my husband brought our five year old daughter home from school she immediately spotted it and the lovely animal characters on the cover and wanted to know what it was. The fact that with a term and a bit of Reception phonics under her belt she could actually read the book’s title made it even more special for her.

Assia Ieradi’s cute animal characters run throughout the book and my daughter loved seeing what they were up to in the pictures and talking about what she thought their feelings might be in certain situations.

Feelings

Talking about how children feel is something which younger generations are encouraged to do much more than I was in childhood. For young children understanding their own emotions and responses to situations can be quite overwhelming, and sometimes just giving them the vocabulary to help can make a huge difference. That’s where How I Feel starts perfectly in my opinion; helping children find the words to describe how they feel. With activities that the children can work through alongside an adult it can also help them think about what effect their own actions can have on other people’s feelings and so develop a sense of empathy.

Working with children’s feelings

Once children have got to grips with understanding their own feelings they can start to think about how they can help change how they feel. How I Feel has sections on Happier, Kinder, Calmer and Braver and activities that children can complete to help increase how they feel in these directions.

Whilst a slightly older child might be able to look through the book themselves and pick up ideas of what might help them in particular situations, it can also give an adult a head start on what might help their child based on what they can see they are experiencing at the time.

In the week we were reviewing this book the Calmer section was the most appropriate for how my daughter was feeling and so we together did the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise where children are introduced to being mindful. We named 5 things we could see, 4 things we could touch, 3 things we could hear and 2 things we could smell and one thing we could taste. It was a really grounding and bonding thing to do together.

The activity on making calm choices also helped her remember that you can choose to do things that you know will help you feel calm. Again, it was a great way of me understanding better what makes her feel calm, as it might not necessarily be what I think makes her feel calm.

Our thoughts on How I Feel

What worked so well for us with How I Feel is that fact that the book echoes much of the language that they use in my daughter’s school to refer to feelings and emotions. When we looked at several pages together she was able to immediately identify links with things she had spoken about at school. The Find Your Happy Helpers activity is similar to the “helping hand” that all children complete at her school, and she talked animatedly about the different people that you might have on a helping hand for when you feel scared compared with a helping hand for when you feel sad.

The Happy Helpers page in the book. This features a picture of two animals where one is comforting the other.

What I also love about How I Feel is how accessible it is to young children. Whilst they might not be able to read everything themselves, the lovely illustrations and friendly style instantly helps children bond with the book and trust it. I’m fortunate enough to count author Becky as one of my friends, and her chatty, kind and supportive personality shines through on every page. Whilst my daughter may not have seen Becky since she was about one, I could see her instantly connect with what was written. It’s a powerful book that manages to do that so quickly.

Where to buy How I Feel

How I Feel was published on 1 February 2024 and is available to buy online here. It has an RRP of £9.99, but at the time of writing there’s a whopping 16% off.

The How I feel Blogger Book Tour

You can find more extracts and Ideas from How I Feel by taking a look at the rest of the book tour bloggers posts

Disclaimer: We were sent a copy of How I Feel for the purposes of this review. All opinions remain my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on these links and make a purchase from Amazon I will receive a small commission, but it will cost you no more than usual. Many thanks for any purchases you do make. They are very much appreciated.

No Shame – Tom Allen

January 31, 2024 by penny Leave a Comment

There’s something about comedian Tom Allen that has always fascinated me. The sharp suits and his voice make me wonder what his childhood was like and what his influences were. So much so that I have been desperate to read his autobiography since it came out, but yet I never once managed to find it in a charity shop. Anyone who frequents charity shops regularly will know that they nearly always have a pile of celebrity biographies and autobiographies to wade through, yet Tom Allen’s has never made its way to any of the ones I go in regularly. Having now received a copy of No Shame for Christmas I understand why – it’s really rather good!

The cover of Tom Allen's book No Shame featuring Tom in a sharp suit holding a dog's lead. There is a bright pink border to the book cover.

Over the year I’ve heard several of Tom Allen’s stand up routines on TV and so a couple of the anecdotes in No Shame have been heard before, but there is still plenty more to laugh along with. Tom himself recognises that he won’t a conventional teenager at all, and he basically seems to be one of those people who was born in his mid-thirties. Much preferring to chat with his school friends’ mums about their interior decor or 80s style dinner parties that they were hosting over spending time with their kids.

Whilst looking back at himself and laughing in some cases, what also really comes out in Tom’s writing is the pain (and sometime confusion) he felt growing up and knowing that he didn’t necessarily fit in with everyone around him. He has a tenderness in his written word that really comes across and although you can still hear his comedic voice as he writes, there’s also a vulnerability that comes across and makes him incredibly endearing.

Still living with his parents you can see Tom’s desire to grow up, but at the same time his longing to stay somewhere so familiar and homely. It makes the knowledge that his next book (Too Much) being about what life was like following his father’s sudden death quite painful.

Much as in his stand up routines, there’s also a brilliant rhythm to Tom’s patter that, when matched with some of his eye for detail, makes you absolutely howl with laughter. He’s basically the kind of guy where you want to be on their dinner party invite list.

I hope to pick up a copy of Too Much soon, although having suddenly lost my Mother in Law over Christmas I think I may need to leave some time before doing so. When I am ready though I think I know that I’m unlikely to find a copy in a charity shop. It’s probably too good for that.

No Shame is available to buy online here. If you’re interested in what other biographies and autobiographies I’ve been reading lately then please take a look.

Disclaimer: Links in this post to Amazon are Affiliate links. If you buy something from Amazon it will cost you no more than if you went there under your own steam, but I will receive a small commission. All purchases are very much appreciated. Thank you.

The Last Devil to Die – Richard Osman

November 1, 2023 by penny Leave a Comment

There’s a flurry of crime fiction being devoured here at the moment, and this is a new title that I wasn’t expecting to be able to add to my read list quite so soon. The latest instalment from Richard Osman and The Thursday Murder Club – The Last Devil to Die. This book was released less than two months ago and amazingly I managed to pick up a copy of the hardback in a charity shop only a month after the release date. I’m guessing it was someone very keen to read it who did so rather quickly rather than it being someone who didn’t enjoy the book!

If you’ve read any of the first three books in the Thursday Murder Club series then you will know just how adorable the main characters are. To many of us Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim feel like old friends and their relationships with each other, and those around them – like my favourite Bogdan – are utterly delightful. Osman’s character development is simply brilliant. If you’ve not yet discovered these feisty pensions and their friends then you really do have a delightful time ahead of you.

One of the things I like most about the Thursday Murder Club titles is the amount of humour they contain. Again I found myself laughing out loud at some points of the book and on several occasions reading passages out loud to my husband as I just had to share how funny they were.

If you’ve not tried Osman’s books then please don’t be put off by the humour in there. Alongside the laughs they contain a brilliant bit of crime fiction. Lots of twists and turns and plenty to keep your brain active trying to work out who is guilty and who isn’t when you’re not reading.

What sets The Last Devil to Die apart from the other titles in the series is, for me, the beautiful compassion around dementia and love that is a thread through the whole book. The subject is treated so delicately and respectfully, yet at the same time Osman manages to address some really difficult facts about living with and loving someone with dementia. His writing in those particular parts of the book is stunningly. It’s full of emotion, but at the same time really accessible writing too. I know some people talk about how he’s writing for the masses and has only seen success as an author because of his pre-existing fame, but when you read these sections I defy anyone who says he isn’t a skilled author. It’s beautiful.

As for the crime part of story itself – what a wonderful tale it is once more. Lots of action, some great new characters and an insight into the darker side of the antiques world. And a nice mention for the WI too. Although I’d love to see Richard Osman take Elizabeth and Joyce along to a real modern day WI – I think Joyce would be struggling to describe a night of burlesque dancing or making nipple tassels in her diary afterwards!

Richard Osman has said he’s going to have a bit of a break from writing about the Thursday Murder Club and move on to some new characters for a while before coning back to Coopers Chase. Whilst I can’t wait for him to return to see what they all get up to next, I’m also intrigued and excited to see what new characters he’ll come up with. He’s said it will feature a father-in-law / daughter-in-law detective duo so fingers crossed they don’t let us down.

If you’ve read the other Thursday Murder Club titles then please do pick up The Last Devil To Die next – you won’t regret it. And if you’re yet to visit Coopers Chase where Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim live then what are you waiting for? You don’t have to read the books in order, but it is the best way to do so. The first book is a tad slower than the other three, but that allows a bit more time fro the characters to develop and by book 2 they are racing along!

The Last Devil To Die is available online to buy here. It is currently only available in hardback or airport large size paperback. The normal sized paperback will be out on 9th May 2024. The other Thursday Murder Club titles in order are:

Disclaimer: I paid for all my copies of the Thursday Murder Club books – or received them as gifts from family. Links to Amazon in this post are affiliate links and if you click through and buy anything from them it will cost you no more than if you went to Amazon under your own steam, but I will receive a small bit of commission from your purchase. Thank you for any purchases made.

The Appeal – Janice Hallett

October 31, 2023 by penny Leave a Comment

Over the years I have read a lot of crime fiction. Everything from vintage “cosy” crimes from the British Library Crime Classics series, through to gritty American detectives running round cities after serial killers, but I’ve never before read anything quite like The Appeal by Janice Hallett.

A different style of crime fiction

It’s not so much the setting of her novel ( an English town with events centred around an amateur dramatics society) but the way the book is presented that sets it apart from others. Rather than a narrative, the book is basically a series of different forms of communication between characters. Let me explain.

The book starts with a quick covering letter from a QC (Roderick Tanner), who is a senior partner at a legal firm, to two women – Femi and Charlotte. It’s a brief note basically saying that it’s best that they don’t know anything else before reading what he has enclosed. He points out that only a limited number of emails, texts and messages could be recovered so the correspondence is not complete, however what there is is presented in roughly chronological order. He’s also included extras like newspaper clippings and social media activity. And that’s it. As the reader you know nothing more as you start this book.

The second page is a text message conversation between Femi and Charlotte where it seems they are as puzzled as the reader about why they are not being provided with any background. After that all of us (readers, Femi and Charlotte) are just left to start reading the information provided.

Reader or researcher?

For the reader it’s a strange experience. A bit like starting off a research project, trying to keep track of who everyone is, who is saying what, and to whom. About a dozen or so pages in there’s another note from the QC as he’s asked his secretary to draw up a list of some of the people involved and their relationships to each other. This is a page where I found myself folding over the corner and referring back to it frequently as I continued to read email exchanges between characters.

As the book continues the reader gets some text conversations between Femi and Charlotte as they read the pack alongside us, and some updates from Tanner as he produces additional information and documentation at various points. You’re not always sure what you’re reading about, or why you’re reading it, but I found my interest piqued and I struggled to pull myself away from all the emails and other messages between people. It’s far from a relaxing read as a result, but more like a puzzle book where you’re playing detective to try to find out who did what. However it takes a while to even understand what has been done! It’s an incredibly clever way of twisting the genre of crime fiction.

Who did what, and to whom?

Towards the end Femi and Charlotte start to draw their theories together and produce papers suggesting what might have happened, who was guilty and why. They have a few different theories and as they are presented it can be a bit tricky to keep remembering what you actually know, and what is just being suggested by the women. Tanner also keeps popping back to explain why they are working on this case and from what angle.

I realise that much of what I am saying here will sound very mysterious, and it has to remain that way if you’re going to read the book yourself. As Tanner said himself to Femi and Charlotte at the start, it is best to “know nothing” before reading everything. What I will say though is that if you strip away the way in which the “story” here is presented, there is underneath it all an excellent crime fiction story that I think would stand on its own two feet well against other books of the genre in terms of characters and plot line. It’s slightly twee in places, but when you see how popular Richard Osman’s books are you know there is a very definite market for that type of modern cosy crime fiction book.

A Christmas Sequel

I’m delighted to spot in a recent Waterstones newsletter that there is a Christmas sequel out this year – called The Christmas Appeal – in which a now retired Roderick Tanner gets back in touch with Femi and Charlotte as the am dram group at the centre of The Appeal appear to have found themselves tied up in another crime. If you’re looking for something to lose yourself in on Christmas Day then I’m guessing this will be the perfect book!

Where to buy The Appeal

The Appeal is available from all good bookshops and you can buy it online here. Janice Hallett has written a total of four titles now and call can be found here.

Disclaimer: I was handed a copy of The Appeal by my mum, who herself bought it as it was the chosen book for a book group on a cruise she went on earlier this year. Links in this post to Amazon are affiliate links. If you click through to Amazon from one and make a purchase it will cost you no more than usual, but I will receive a small commission. Thank you for any purchases that you do make.

Further reading