The BBC: Myth of a Public Service by Tom Mills

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tom Mills has a PhD in sociology from the University of Bath where he works as a researcher. His thesis examines how the end of social democracy and the rise of neoliberalism impacted on the BBC. His forthcoming book on the BBC, which draws on his doctoral research, will be published by Verso in 2016.

DESCRIPTION:

The BBC: The mouthpiece of the Establishment?

The BBC is one of the most important institutions in Britain; it is also one of the most misunderstood. Despite its claim to be independent and impartial, and the constant accusations of a liberal bias, the BBC has always sided with the elite. As Tom Mills demonstrates, we are only getting the news that the Establishment wants aired in public.

Throughout its existence, the BBC has been in thrall to those in power. This was true in 1926 when it stood against the workers during the General Strike, and since then the Corporation has continued to mute the voices of those who oppose the status quo: miners in 1984; anti-war protesters in 2003; those who offer alternatives to austerity economics since 2008. From the outset much of its activity has been scrutinised by the secret services at the invitation of those in charge. Since the 1990s the BBC has been integrated into the market, while its independence from government and big business has been steadily eroded. The BBC is an important and timely examination of a crucial public institution that is constantly under threat.

REVIEW:

I have been waiting a lot for a book like this to come around to the public. Finally, truth put to paper and my heart can calm itself down. The voice of media has always been a strong one, and when it comes to a giant like BBC it is very important for the general public to know, that what it stands for is not always the right thing, or in fact not even the right subject to be portrayed.

I am absolutely in love with this book that  deftly demolishes most of the popular and comforting myths surrounding the BBC. And proves me right in my choice to stay away from a journalism career. Especially, here in Britain. I am sure this read will make many people angry, but I am eternally grateful for having read it. Within the pages of The BBC: Myth of a Public Service you'll find how Mills highlights a number of factors, including the elite-populated, government-appointed BBC Board of Governors (since 2007, the BBC Trust), the class and educational background of senior management, the fact the government of the day sets the corporation’s budget and decades long vetting of employees conducted by the security services. For the untrained eyed mind-blowing facts, for the more knowledgeable reader a definite nod will occur on almost every sentence.

This a definite must read for all involved in Media Studies or Journalism. I was mostly impressed by the radical reform of the BBC  which according to Mills is much needed: the end of political control over senior appointments and budgets, a more representative workforce and the public commissioning of investigative journalism.

This book is well argued and fact-proofed. No doubt in giving my recommendation to everyone I know.

An Ishmael of Syria by Asaad Almohammad

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

BORN IN THE 80s, Asaad Almohammad was raised in Ar-Raqqa, Syria. A member of the International Society of Political Psychology and a research fellow, he has spent years coordinating and working on research projects across the Middle East and North Africa. To date he has addressed a number of psychological aspects of civil unrest, post-conflict reconciliation, and deradicalisation. In his spare time Asaad closely follows political affairs, especially humanitarian crises and electoral campaigns. He is especially interested in immigration issues. An Ishmael of Syria is his first novel.

DESCRIPTION:

Adam is a tortured soul. Exiled from his homeland, forced to watch the horrors unfold from afar. His family, still living – or surviving – in war-torn Syria struggle daily to feed, clothe, and educate their children.
Adam tries to be a ‘global citizen’ and become a part of his new community in Malaysia, but is constantly faced with intolerance, bigotry, and plain old racism. Opportunities are few and Adam finds himself working long hours for poor pay so that he can help his family.
The increasingly distressing news bulletins, along with Adam’s haunting childhood memories, compel him to examine his own beliefs; in God, in humanity, in himself and his integrity as a reluctant bystander in the worst human catastrophe of the twenty-first century.

REVIEW:

I have always associated reading the news with growing up. When I was a kid it always was a big deal for my family, we always fell in deep, profound discussions of the world's doings and that always resulted in passionate arguments for days. I do believe that especially today it is really important to try to be on top of what is happening, of course with so much going on, that is not an easy task, but it is worthy attempt. 

When I read the blurb for Ishmael of Syria I was instantly intrigued. I took me a day to read the book, and one more to reflect on it, because indeed it is a big bite to swallow. The main character of this book, Adam, is a bitter, cynical young man and a native of Syria living in Malaysia. Through his first hand accounts of growing up in Syria and relocating to another country, he shares with the reader his experience of witnessing the public shaming of women and homosexuality and rape, the ignorance and prejudices against him because of his dark skin and his Arabic background, and the struggle and helplessness of watching the destruction of his homeland from afar.

As you can see it is an extremely heavy read, that digs deep into issue that are troubling. It is daring, powerful, provoking and heartbreaking at the same time.This is a grim, uncompromising novel, beautifully but brutally crafted. 

If you are looking for a stereotypical western read, you'll definitely have problems with this one, because it is nothing like journal. The narrative jumps back and forth between past and present, first and third person, Syria and Malaysia. The prose style varies between polished and rough around the edges, and Adam himself swings back and forth between sensible and almost incoherent with rage and sorrow at what his country is undergoing and the international response to it. The overall effect is disjointed and occasionally disconcerting, but the text crackles with energy and emotion.

A definite must read!

A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kate Atkinson was born in York and now lives in Edinburgh. Her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and she has been a critically acclaimed international bestselling author ever since.

She is the author of a collection of short stories, Not the End of the World, and of the critically acclaimed novels Human Croquet, Emotionally Weird, Case Histories, and One Good Turn.

Case Histories introduced her readers to Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, and won the Saltire Book of the Year Award and the Prix Westminster.

When Will There Be Good News? was voted Richard & Judy Book Best Read of the Year. After Case Histories and One Good Turn, it was her third novel to feature the former private detective Jackson Brodie, who makes a welcome return in Started Early, Took My Dog.

DESCRIPTION:

A God in Ruins is about identity, dutiful love, and above all, self sacrifice. This book, a companion to Life After Life, follows mostly Edward Beresford “Teddy” Todd before and after his Second World War experiences.

In Life After Life Ursula Todd lived through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. In A God in Ruins, Atkinson turns her focus on Ursula’s beloved younger brother Teddy – would-be poet, RAF bomber pilot, husband and father – as he navigates the perils and progress of the 20th century. For all Teddy endures in battle, his greatest challenge will be to face living in a future he never expected to have.

REVIEW:

I enjoyed this book profoundly. It’s layered, nuanced, and complex. There’s plenty to explore here — it’s meaty with references to poetry that I have to admit made my hairs stand on edge. Duty, honour, and love are compelling themes and it got me thinking about what sort of life is a good life — what it is that etches your life with meaning? Is forsaking your own happiness and well being for country, spouse, children, and grandchildren the key to a life well lived? For Teddy, it seems so — if only for the reason that a whole life can be erased in the instant.

Atkinson holds the magical power to shape time to fit her story and this one moves seamlessly from Teddy’s last treacherous flights (fewer than half of RAF pilots actually survived World War II) to the 20th and 21st century, where Teddy is a husband, father, and grandfather. We get to meet his daughter Viola, who blames him for her mother’s premature departure and makes a mess out of her own life…and subsequently, the lives of her two children.

The key to this story lies in his title, which comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “A man is a god in ruins. When men are innocent, life shall be longer, and shall pass into the immortal, as gently as we awake from dreams.” Wartime is, the author argues, man’s greatest fall from grace and so she walks a fine tightrope: revealing the amazing heroism and self-sacrifice of the men such as Teddy and his crew yet showcasing how (in her own words) “whether our war on savagery did not, in the end, become itself savage as we attacked the very people – the old, the young, women – that civilisation is supposed to defend.” When Ursula asks Teddy, “and how do you define ‘innocence” anyway?”, attention must be paid.

Thou, I must admit I would've liked the book to have ended ten pages sooner. As I read the last sentence of "my" ending, my mind immediately went to the ending of D.M. Thomas's The White Hotel -- same theme but Thomas' rendering had much more of an impact on me. Following Atkinson's ending (and I understand why she chose it) is an "Author's Note". I don't usually mind these notes, but this detailed one both explained too much and seemed superfluous. I wonder if criticism to Life After Lifeprompted it.

All that We Touch (First Kiss Mystery #3) by Ray Else

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

American, Texan, Parisian.
Ray Else lived in Paris for 5 years and while there joined a writers group and dared to write with all his heart. A review published by the Sorbonne included his story "Surviving on Mexican Shade", and the BBC World Service broadcast that same story worldwide. Then he got busy making a living as a programmer for companies like IBM and Rocket Software.

Recently Ray returned to writing with some success. His short story, "First Kiss", was published by Galley Beggar Press in the UK. The characters in that story inspired his new crime/love triangle/mystery series called First Kiss that includes "Bathing with the Dead", set in India, "Her Heart in Ruins", set in Peru, and "All that we touch" which is set in Europe.

Ray has a B.S. in Computer Science and an M.A. in Technical Instruction / Film History. He is married with 4 grown kids and 11 grandkids.

Ray travels widely, to get inspiration for his books - you can check out his travel blog at rayelse.com.

DESCRIPTION:

For fans of Neil Gaiman and Tom Robbins comes this female wolf in sheep's skin tale of a woman born to be sacrificed, or born to kill us all.

Betrayed by her husband on a trip to Paris, crowned with sorrow, Fernanda is stolen away by Turkish thugs on a train across Europe. A taciturn FBI agent, along with his new acquaintance C.I. Phoebe Mullins of the London police, who happened to be in town investigating stolen Holy Thorns from the Crown of Thorns, get pulled into the pursuit.

Thrown into a prison for the criminally insane, Fernanda is put on trial before the Patrons of the Sacred Trust for being a dangerous heretic, a kind of human weapon of mass destruction. Unjustly accused, she must make a decision that could impact not only her baby but all mankind.

REVIEW:

Honesty comes first: Do not attempt at reading the book unless you have read books one and two... It is full of references to the two previous titles and it might get you confused. It took a while to get on track with all allusions, but after a while I was completely involved in the story. 

It is told through dialogues, which makes it perfect play lovers, Thus, there is lots of open page space and the 200 plus pages fly by quickly. The quirky characters are gradually developed via their continued musings and sometimes inane repartee. Overall the structure and inherent seductive strangeness is somewhere between Robbin's "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues .." and Pynchon's "The Crying of Lot 49". It is a highly addictive read.

It is indeed a very enjoyable read, with unique voice and engaging prose... so much that it almost took me of guard. My expectations weren't very high to begin with, but I was astonished at the fluency of the narrative. I was expecting another cheesy novel, but it showed to be way deeper than that. Religion, morality - all themes that are never to easy to engage in the novel popped in-between the lines, to engage me.

So many questions, and so many small twist and turns in this book. It's hard to review it without giving away too much, or too little. I do wish I had read the prior books first, I was a bit behind on a few things that seem to have been covered in them.

It definitely echoes Dan Brown, as it is a very alluring read, it fell a bit flat in the ending, but maybe the reason is there is book four in the writing?! I hope so. It is not a read for everyone, but I believe it will find its public. Different, daring and enjoyable.

The Witches of New York by Ami McKay

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ami McKay’s debut novel, The Birth House was a # 1 bestseller in Canada, winner of three CBA Libris Awards, nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and a book club favourite around the world.

Her new novel. The Virgin Cure, is inspired by the life of her great- great grandmother, Dr. Sarah Fonda Mackintosh, a female physician in nineteenth century New York. Born and raised in Indiana, Ami now lives in Nova Scotia

DESCRIPTION:

The beloved, bestselling author of The Birth House and The Virgin Cure is back with her most beguiling novel yet, luring us deep inside the lives of a trio of remarkable young women navigating the glitz and grotesqueries of Gilded-Age New York by any means possible, including witchcraft...

The year is 1880. Two hundred years after the trials in Salem, Adelaide Thom ('Moth' from The Virgin Cure) has left her life in the sideshow to open a tea shop with another young woman who feels it's finally safe enough to describe herself as a witch: a former medical student and "gardien de sorts" (keeper of spells), Eleanor St. Clair. Together they cater to Manhattan's high society ladies, specializing in cures, palmistry and potions--and in guarding the secrets of their clients.

All is well until one bright September afternoon, when an enchanting young woman named Beatrice Dunn arrives at their door seeking employment. Beatrice soon becomes indispensable as Eleanor's apprentice, but her new life with the witches is marred by strange occurrences. She sees things no one else can see. She hears voices no one else can hear. Objects appear out of thin air, as if gifts from the dead. Has she been touched by magic or is she simply losing her mind?

Eleanor wants to tread lightly and respect the magic manifest in the girl, but Adelaide sees a business opportunity. Working with Dr. Quinn Brody, a talented alienist, she submits Beatrice to a series of tests to see if she truly can talk to spirits. Amidst the witches' tug-of-war over what's best for her, Beatrice disappears, leaving them to wonder whether it was by choice or by force.

As Adelaide and Eleanor begin the desperate search for Beatrice, they're confronted by accusations and spectres from their own pasts. In a time when women were corseted, confined and committed for merely speaking their minds, were any of them safe?

REVIEW:

I was up for a thrill with this one. I chose it for one sole reason and it was to bring some more magic to my Halloween weekend, but alas, this was not the case. I was expecting true witches, horrendous villains, magic - dark or light, and excitement. The Witches of New York is not about that. It is intended as a sequel to The Virgin Cure, though it can certainly be read as a standalone. Personally, I haven't read The Virgin Cure so my statement fully stands.

This is a novel about women, not about witches in the scary magical way. Witch here stands for a strong, intelligent, independent, warrior women, who know life, and how to live it, who stand for themselves and  for those who can't defend themselves. It is a moving description of the struggles such women had to live through in the 19th century. Their magic is their femininity, their wand their  brilliant minds.

The evil that exists is found not in the witches but in other people.  There’s a scorned husband who uses his wealth and power to exact revenge on the woman whom he believes led his wife astray.  And there’s the religious zealot, Francis Townsend, a puritanical and sadistic preacher who has made it his life’s mission to find witches and either reform or destroy them.  Unfortunately, these villains, including Sister Piddock, are more caricatures than convincing characters. 

What the three women are is intelligent and independent in a time when those characteristics in women were viewed by many as threatening.  People were told to beware of women “touting intelligence over righteousness” especially if they were “the healer, the fortune teller, the academic, the suffragist.”  

Viewed from this point of view, The Witches of New York is a brilliantly exploited topic that aims to trigger will for surviving, a breath of pride in every woman. Sadly, there are a lot of questions left unanswered:

What exactly happens to Lucy Newland?  What about Bart Andersen and Sophie Miles?   What is the fate of Adelaide’s mother?  These characters play significant roles, but then they are just dropped.

The novel is rather slow-paced.  Gradually suspense is introduced, but the outcome in cases of real danger is predictable. I don't find this to be necessary a fault of the author, because the story makeups for it in other aspects. After reading it I am glad I did, because some times you need a reminder, that being a woman is the most special gift you could have been given by destiny, yet I can't  suppress the wish for more magic, and more adventure in it.

It is a lovely, inspiring read, that will move you and leave you thankful for the existence of such women as Ami McKay.

 

The Last One by Alexandra Oliva

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alexandra Oliva — Ali, for short — grew up in a tiny town in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. Her last name is pronounced "all of a," like the first three words of the phrase “all of a sudden.”

In 2001, Ali left the Adirondacks for Yale University where she made some of the best friends of her life, failed to learn Russian, and wrote a very long essay about Robin Hood, which earned her a B.A. in History.

After Yale, Ali moved to Ireland to write, travel, and wait tables.  When her work permit ran out, she briefly returned to her hometown before moving on to New York City.

In New York, Ali waited more tables, worked as a private tutor, met her husband online, learned to rock climb, and received an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from The New School. She also volunteered The Prospect Park Zoo, where she particularly enjoyed narrating the Friday morning sea lion feedings to visitors and getting to hold bearded dragons.

During this time,  Ali also wrote two novels that she now refers to as her “practice novels,” though she didn’t know that's what they were at the time. While gathering rejection letters for the second of these, she had the idea for The Last One and immediately knew it was her next project.

To pull off this novel, Ali knew she needed to get her hands dirty. Soon she was using “writing research” as the impetus to sign up for an experience she would have been too scared to undertake otherwise: a fourteen-day field course with the Boulder Outdoor Survival School (B.O.S.S.) — which is known for providing some of the most authentic and challenging wilderness survival and primitive living experiences in the world.

Ali and her husband flew to Utah for the course, where they hiked out into the desert with expert guidance and minimal supplies. In the field, she pushed herself walking water source to water source without food for three days, learned how to start a fire using a bow drill, and glimpsed an elusive mountain lion minutes before being left to camp entirely on her own for two days. It was a difficult and amazing experience, and one that was extraordinarily helpful to writing The Last One.

In 2014, Ali and her husband moved to the Pacific Northwest and got a puppy. That puppy is now a dog and pretty much rules their lives.

(bio taken from: http://www.alexandraoliva.com/ )

DESCRIPTION:

Survival is the name of the game as the line blurs between reality TV and reality itself in Alexandra Oliva’s fast-paced novel of suspense.

She wanted an adventure. She never imagined it would go this far.

It begins with a reality TV show. Twelve contestants are sent into the woods to face challenges that will test the limits of their endurance. While they are out there, something terrible happens—but how widespread is the destruction, and has it occurred naturally or is it human-made? Cut off from society, the contestants know nothing of it. When one of them—a young woman the show’s producers call Zoo—stumbles across the devastation, she can imagine only that it is part of the game.

Alone and disoriented, Zoo is heavy with doubt regarding the life—and husband—she left behind, but she refuses to quit. Staggering countless miles across unfamiliar territory, Zoo must summon all her survival skills—and learn new ones as she goes.

But as her emotional and physical reserves dwindle, she grasps that the real world might have been altered in terrifying ways—and her ability to parse the charade will be either her triumph or her undoing.

Sophisticated and provocative, The Last One is a novel that forces us to confront the role that media plays in our perception of what is real: how readily we cast our judgements, how easily we are manipulated.

REVIEW:

For a Media and Communications Major like me this one was a definite steal, I had to read it! It is a one of a kind experiment with a definite twist and originality that can be read for pleasure, or to be used for study. I am honestly impressed with it and can't wait to have time to read it a second time. Dystopian novels are my guilty pleasure, and The Last One was one of the sweetest treats I had given myself this week.

I felt engaged throughout the whole reading and fell head-over-hills with the alternating stories between the two perspectives and timelines. The way the narration plays with your own perspective and  the susceptibility of your psyche is incredible. Psychologically, considering the tricky mind-games reality television plays even when there's not an apocalypse going on, where viewers are complicit in their own manipulation for entertainment - required to accept a semblance of reality with the tacit understanding that the 'reality' is largely fabricated. 

My inner Literature freak was rapturous. An extremely good debut. There are a couple of weak parts and a bit of a three-quarter mark slump, but it held my interest and there are some terrifically intense scenes that will stick with me. I can see why some readers failed to feel connected to some of the characters, but I am fairly convinced it was done on purpose, because the novel has to be read as reality TV, and lets be honest no one ever gets that attached to the participants, right? Or is it just me? I have never been a big fan of reality TV - I might as well live without it, as I am sure many of us can.

I liked how everything progressed. It didn’t seem like it was going to wrap up nicely, but the author managed to do it. At one point you’re probably assuming that this is going to happen, or this is not going to happen, but the author throws in a completely different situation and you’ll be knocked off your seat.

Along with Zoo on her journey you'd feel shocked, confused, angry and emotional at times. I hugely enjoyed this fantastic debut novel from Alexandra Oliva and would definitely, 100% read any future releases!

The storyline was interesting, well crafted, entertaining and, most of all (despite the quite serious subject matter) really fun to read!

Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet by H.P. Wood

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

H. P. Wood is the granddaughter of a mad inventor and a sideshow magician. Instead of making things disappear, she makes books of all shapes and sizes. She has written or edited works on an array of topics, including the history of the Internet, the future of human rights, and the total awesomeness of playing with sticks. She lives in Connecticut with a charming and patient husband, a daughter from whom she steals all her best ideas, and more cats than is strictly logical.

DESCRIPTION:

May 1904. Coney Island’s newest amusement park, Dreamland, has just opened. Its many spectacles are expected to attract crowds by the thousands, paying back investors many times over.

Kitty Hayward and her mother arrive by steamer from South Africa. When Kitty’s mother takes ill, the hotel doctor sends Kitty to Manhattan to fetch some special medicine. But when she returns, Kitty’s mother has vanished. The desk clerk tells Kitty she is at the wrong hotel. The doctor says he’s never seen her although, she notices, he is unable to look her in the eye.

Alone in a strange country, Kitty meets the denizens of Magruder’s Curiosity Cabinet. A relic of a darker, dirtier era, Magruder's is home to a forlorn flea circus, a handful of disgruntled Unusuals, and a mad Uzbek scientist. Magruder’s Unusuals take Kitty under their wing and resolve to find out what happened to her mother.

But as a plague spreads, Coney Island is placed under quarantine. The gang at Magruder’s finds that a missing mother is the least of their problems, as the once-glamorous resort town is abandoned to the freaks, anarchists, and madmen.

REVIEW:

Apparently I am on a carnival strike... well, I am absolutely loving it, so shush! This book, dear readers, this book is better than chocolate cake and morning black coffee, it is more exciting than a journey with a  hobbit and more rewarding than a bowl of ice cream on a hot summers day. It is epic in its wording and humble in its presentation. I am absolutely smitten.

The characters are strong humans, who struggle with discrimination, gender roles, family issues and inability to find hope in the next day. They are marvellously developed and become idols,  if you allow me to call them such. The lessons you learn from them, will come in handy some day, you just sit back and wait.

It is the best piece on equality an acceptance that you can come across. A wonderful story of embracing individuality and accepting people for being different and the same in one breath. I know it is not YA novel, but I wish more kids would read it, so they would understand that subjects like the ones discussed in the book are serious and have tremendous influence on others.

The intertwining science and magic, make the read even more enjoyable... I do agree that this was probably the most magical era to live in anyway, but they way it was transmitted through the novel is enchanting. It is like reading Carlos Ruiz Zafon, just different. This is a read that definitely melts in your mouth and lingers for a lot longer that you'd generally expect it to.