IB - Anne Graham - Womanhood Revisited

Title:  Womanhood Revisited

Author:  Anne Graham

Publisher:  Christian Focus

ISBN:  1857926854

Price: £7.99

The Back of the Book: Why do so many full-time mothers and homemakers feel inferior to career women?

Why do women feel they need to be more like men to be seen to be successful?

We have had over 35 years of feminism attempting to right the many wrongs of an immoral, patriarchal society. After a generation of discord and the removal of any preconceived gender roles the question has to be asked where are we now, and where are we going?

In her book Anne Graham suggests it is time to revisit the perfection of creation where woman was created for and from man - equal in value yet different in purpose, to live in co-operation and not competition.

This is a controversial book in the light of feminist teaching on the subject, but the author uses history, scripture and personal experience to make her case.

Why I Chose This Book:  I am intrigued to read something by Anne Graham having seen her much lauded by other authors whose work I've enjoyed.  To find her writing on the subject that interests me really sealed the deal - even though I don't like the cover!

IB - Micca Campbell - An Untroubled Heart

Title:  An Untroubled Heart

Author:  Micca Campbell

Publisher:  David Cook

ISBN:  9781434767974

Price:  £9.99

The Back of the Book:  Replace your fear with faith.

Today's world is anything but secure. We live in unstable times filled with conflict, economic uncertainties, and moral collapse. And because life is so unpredictable, fear and anxiety can become a daily reality.

Micca Campbell knows all too well the unpredictable nature of life As the twenty-one-year-old mother of an infant son, her world was shattered when she lost her husband in a tragic accident. Reeling from her loss, Micca feared for her future and struggled to overcome her aching loneliness. Yet in her darkest moment, God began to teach her His remedy for our deepest fears.

Now Micca presents a woman's guide for living a carefree, worry-free life. Micca explors the anxieties of every woman's heart - from insecurities, to finances, to marital challenges, to raising healthy children. With her distinctive southern flair and casual humor, Micca shares remarkable insights for becoming free from fear. You'll be encouraged to lay down your worries, trust in your heavenly Father, and embrace a life marked by peace and joy.

Why I Chose This Book:  I battle anxiety on a daily basis so I'm always interested to try new ways of managing it.  Plus, I really liked the cover ...

IB - Tom Cox - Under the Paw

Title:  Under the Paw

Author:  Tom Cox

Publisher:  Pocket Books

ISBN:  9781847391834

Price:  £7.99

The Back of the Book:   For years, Tom Cox might have seemed like a regular sort of bloke - a lover of late nights, rock music and beer - but he had a dark, furry secret.  tom was a cat lover.  For a while, he kept his passion in check, but then he met Dee, his moggy-loving soulmate.  He left London and his job as a rock critic behind and he and Dee, her cat Janet and three new kittens moved to a remote part of Norfolk, thinking their cat madness had reached its limit.  They were wrong.

In Under the Paw, Tom records the chaos of owning seven of the most charismatic, idiotic and duplicitous cats in the country.  On call round the clock for multiple sets of whiskers, Tom encounters death, depression, flying fur and the first human sentence spoken by a feline.  And then there is the heartbreaking story of The Bear, his oldest cat:  a 'painfully sensitive' survivor moggy who may or may not be an evil genius.

Why I Chose This Book:  I was looking for the second book for the offer I took up yesterday and saw the cat on the cover.  What more can I say?

IB - Andrea Busfield - Born Under a Million Shadows

Title:  Born Under a Million Shadows

Author:  Andrea Busfield

Publisher:  Transworld

ISBN:  9780552775632

Price:  £6.99

The Back of the Book:  The Taliban have disappeared from Kabul's streets, but the long shadows of their brutal regime remain ...

In his short life eleven-year-old Fawad has known more grief than most: his father and brother have been killed, his sister has been abducted, and Fawad and his mother, Mariya, must rely on the charity of family to eke out a hand-to-mouth existence. But despite their struggles, Fawad's love of life never fades. Then Mariya finds a position as housekeeper for a charismatic Western woman, Georgie, who Fawad discovers is caught up in a dangerous love affair with the infamous Afghan warlord Haji Khan. At first resentful of Haji Khan's presence, Fawad learns that love can move a man to behave in surprising ways. But even the powerful Haji Khan can't protect Fawad from the next tragedy to blight his young life, a tragedy so devastating that it threatens to destroy the one thing he thought he could never lose: his love for his country.

Why I Chose this Book: Quite simply, I needed cheering up and paperbacks were 2-for-£7 in ASDA. I chose this one because it presents itself similarly to The Kite Runner which I loved. I hope I won't be disappointed!

IB - Yann Martel - Life of Pi

Title:  Life of Pi

Author:  Yann Martel

Publisher:  Canongate

ISBN:  184195392X

Price:  £7.99

The Back of the Book:  After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, one solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan ... and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger.

The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary works of fiction in recent years.

Why I Chose This Book:  Someone mentioned that I might relate to one of the characters.

IB - Colette Harris & Theresa Cheung - You Can Beat PMS!

Title:  You Can Beat PMS!

Author:  Colette Harris and Theresa Cheung

Publisher:  Thorsons Element

ISBN:  0007154259

Price:  £12.99

The Back of the Book:  What do you associate with PMS?

Bloating? Fatigue? Clumsiness? Mood swings? Tender breasts? Disturbed sleep? Sugar cravings? Irrational crying? Forgetfulness? Acne? Weight gain?

If this sounds like you, it needn't for much longer. women's health experts Colette Harris and Theresa Cheung have got together to help you put an end to all your PMS symptoms, so you can feel fit, healthy and happy all month long. all you need to do is follow the 12-week PMS plan and make some simple but permanent lifestyle changes.

* Your PMS symptoms explained - the latest scientific research.

* Clear and easy-to-follow week-by-week plan.

* Nutritional action plan and tasty recipes.

* Enjoyable exercise and other vitality boosters.

* Stress-management techniques to solve mood swings.

* Case studies and real-life stories from fellow sufferers.

Why I Chose This Book:  There's really only one reason for reading a book on PMS:  you (or someone you know) suffers from PMS.  I'm not sure I'll actually do the 12-week plan but I'm hoping to find some knowledge to help me understand my problem  and lots of practical suggestions to help with That Time of the Month.

IB - Imran Ahmad - Unimagined

Title:  Unimagined

Author:  Imran Ahmad

Publisher:  Aurum

ISBN:  9781845133252

Price:  £7.99

The Back of the Book:  Part Bend it Like Beckham, part Adrian Mole, Unimagined is the hilarious memoir of a Muslim boy born in Pakistan, who moves to London aged one and grows up torn between his Islamic identity and his desire to embrace the West.  Imran recalls his childhood in a series of vivid snapshots:  outrage as deservd victory is snatched away from him in the Karachi Bonnie Baby contest; bitterness as he is tricked out of his collection of Tarzan bubble-gum cards by junior con artists; the heady taste of early success in the Metropilitan Police schools quiz; joy at passing the entrance exam to the local grammar school; uncertainty as he seeks to become a doctor (like all good Asian boys); bewilderment as he tries to learn about girls at university; and shock at experiencing racism in its many forms.

Unimagined is the endearing sotry of a Middle England everyman who just happens to be Muslim.

Why I Chose this Book:  I nearly deleted this book without purchasing a copy when it came to the top of my wishlist as I'm generally more interested in the experience of women than men.  However, I'm fairly sure I'd added it in the first place after a very enthusiastic review on a friend's blog so I did buy a copy.

IB - Dava Sobel - Longitude

Title:  Longitude

Author:  Dava Sobel

Publisher:  Fourth Estate

ISBN:  1857025717

Price:  £5.99

The Back of the Book:  Longitude is the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest.  The 'longitude problem' was the thorniest dilemma of the eighteenth century.  Lacking the ability to measure longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea.

At the heart of Dava Sobel's fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation and horology stands the figure of John Harrison, self-tuaght Yorkshire clockmaker, and his forty-year obsession with building the perfect timekeeper.  attling against the establishment Harrison stood alone in pursuit of his solution and the £20,000 reward offered by Parliament.

Why I Chose this Book:  I grew up reading Alexander Kent's Richard Bolitho books and have a lingering interest in sailing ships so, when I encountered this book on Radio 4, I decided I'd enjoy it.  As I now have a copy I'll soon find out if I was right.

IB - Tove Jansson - The Summer Book

Title:  The Summer Book

Author:  Tove Jansson

Publisher:  Sort of Books

ISBN:  0954221710

Price:  £6.99

The Back of the Book:  A literary gem from the creator of the Moomin books.

Why I Chose this Book:  I love summer and, really, that's enough of a reason.  And the cover is such a gorgeous shade of blue.  But I'm sure I saw it reviewed - last summer, maybe? - and that's how it found its way onto my wishlist.

IB - Edna O'Brien - The Country Girls

Title:  The Country Girls

Author:  Edna O'Brien

Publisher:  Phoenix

ISBN:  9780752881164

Price:  £6.99

The Back of the Book:  It is the early 1960s in a country village in Ireland.  Caithleen Brady and her attractive friend Baba are on the verge of womanhood and dreaming of spreading their wings in a wider world; of discovering love and luxury and liquor and above all, fun.

With bawdy innocence, shrewd for all their inexperience, the girls romp their way through convent school to the bright lights of Dublin - where Caithleen finds that suave, idealised lovers rarely survive the real world ...

Why I Chose this Book:  I think I saw it reviewed somewhere.  Having read the back of it, I'm not sure it's my cup of tea but I shall give it a go.  Alternatively, it shall gather dust for a while before being sent off to find another reader!

IB: Roger Lea MacBride - Little House on Rocky Ridge

Title:  Little House on Rocky Ridge

Author:  Roger Lea MacBride

Publisher:  HarperTrophy

ISBN:  0064404781

Price:  US$3.95

The Back of the Book:  The journey continues ...

Once a long time ago a little girl named Laura Ingalls lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little house made of logs. She grew up and wrote nine books about her childhood - the famous Little House stories. Laura had a daughter of her own named Rose, who gre up in the Oark Mountains of Missouri, also in a little house made of logs. Little House on Rocky Ridge is the beginning of Rose's story, which starts where the book The First Four Years ends.

Laura, Almanzo, and Rose say good-bye to Ma and Pa Ingalls and Laura's sisters. In a covered wagon containing all their possessions, they make their way across the drought-stricken Midwest to the lush green valleys of southern Missouri. The journey is long and not always easy. But there is so much to do and see as the landscape changes along the way.

The end of this journey marks a new beginning for the Wilder family: a new home and the promise of hard work, but also of wondrous discoveries and adventures to fill a childhood.

Why I Chose this Book:  I couldn't just choose the fiction or non-fiction strands of the Little House tale and, on the fictional strand, this was the next logical place to go.  Mr MacBride knew Rose Wilder Lane, Laura's little girl.  In fact, she left him the rights to the books and all her papers when she died.  This book is marketed as fiction rather than blurring the boundary between fiction and autobiography as the previous Little House books do - I remember having discussions on their genre with a very persistant teacher in HIgh School! - but I am looking forward to it no less for that.

IB: William Anderson - Laura Ingalls Wilder

Title:  Laura Ingalls Wilder

Author:  William Anderson

Publisher:  Collins

ISBN:  9780060885526

Price:  US$6.99

The Back of the Book:  The Real-Life Laura.  From her pioneer days o the prairie to her golden years with her husband, Almanzo, and teir daughter, Rose, Laura Ingalls Wilder has bcome a friend to all who have read about her adventures.  This behind-the-scenes account chronicles the real events in Laura's life that inspired her to write her stories and also describes her life after the last Little House book ends.

Why I Chose this Book:  I decided, after reading the last of Mrs Wilder's books, to start reading about her and this was the first biography that popped up on Amazon.

IB - Amitav Ghosh - Sea of Poppies

Title:  Sea of Poppies

Author:  Amitav Ghosh

Publisher:  John Murray

ISBN:  9780719568978

Price:  £7.99

The Back of the Book:  On an old slaving ship named the Ibis, fate has thrown together a motley crew of sailors, coolies and convicts, including a bankrupt raja, a French runaway and a widowed opium framer.  As their old family ties are washed away, they come to view themselves as jahaj-bhais or ship-brothers.  Set against the backdrop of the Opium Wars, this unlikely dynasty is what makes Sea of Poppies so breathtakingly alive - a masterpiece from one of the world's finest novelists.

Why I Chose this Book:  I saw this reduced to half price in my local bookstore last week and resolved to buy it as soon as I could as I've enjoyed Mr Ghosh's previous books so much.  I think The Hungry Tide is one of the best books I've ever read - I can still recall the atmosphere it created in my mind and it's been years since I picked it up.

IB - David Ebershoff - The 19th Wife

Title:  The 19th Wife

Author:  David Ebershoff

Publisher:  Black Swan

ISBN:  9780552774987

Price:  £7.99

The Back of the Book:  For the first time in six years, Jordoan returns from California to Utah, to visit his mother - in jail.  As a young boy he was expelled from his family's secretive polygamous Mormon sect.  Now his father has been found shot dead in front of his computer, and one of his many wives - Jordan's mother - is accused of the crime.

Over a century earlier, Ann Elia Young, nineteenth wife of Brigham Young, second Prophet of the Mormon Church, tells the sensational story of how she battled for her freedom from her powerful husband, to lead a crusade to end polygamy in the United States.  Bold, shocking and gripping, The 19th Wife expertly weaves together these two narratives in an enthralling epic of love, family, murder and faith.

Why I Chose this Book:  This is another wish-list book.  I'm attracted to the religious and historical elements of the blurb, rather than the murder-mystery thread.  It's quite a tome and looks like it will be a very satisfying read.

IB: Eliabeth H Winthrop - December

Title:  December

Author:  Eliabeth H Winthrop

Publisher:  Sceptre

ISBN:  9780340961438

Price:  £7.99

The Back of the Book:  It's December in New England, season of snow, log fires andhappy family Christmases.  xcept not for the Carters.  Eleven-year-old Isabelle hasn't spoken for months, countless experts have given up on her, andher parents are at their wits' end.  Gnawing away at them is the thought that it must be their fault, and that their daughter's life might be ruined for good.  Something has to give ...

In this superbly wrought novel, taut with tension, Eliabeth Winthrop portrays a marriage beginning to crack under pressure and a girl whose attempt to control her universe locks her into self-imposed silence.  Wholly involving and ultimately uplifting, this is the work of an exceptionally talented young writer.

Why I Chose this Book:  It's been on my wish-list for a while.  As a troubled teen, I can remember resolving not to speak ever again so I'm intrigued to read this author's treatment of the subject.

IB: Kate Williams - Becoming Queen

And so here begins a new feature at Not Just Reading. 'IB' stands for 'Incoming Book' and these entries will let you know what I'm adding to Mt To Be Read and, most importantly, why! So, without further ado, please meet today's purchase:



Title: Becoming Queen
Author: Kate Williams
Publisher: Arrow Books
ISBN: 9780099451822
Price: £7.99

The Back of the Book: Becoming Queen tells the astonishing story of Queen Victoria's passionate youth, her bitter struggle with her mother - and how her life was shaped by the death of her forgotten cousin Princess Charlotte, the queen who never was.

In a dramatic tale of secrets, sexual repression, and endless conflict, Kate Williams reveals an energetic and vibrant woman, determined to battle for power. She also documents the Byzantine machinations behind Victoria's quest to occupy the throne, and shows how her struggles did not end when the crown was finally placed on her head.

Why I Chose this Book: First, I have to confess that I shouldn't really be buying books at all. I live in a house which is absolutely full of books and I really do want to read all of them so I can't just give them away. I'm surrounded by boxes of books as I type and there are more stacked on the floor and on my desk for which there just isn't room in the boxes! But don't you think that sometime you just have to buy a book? Or two?

It is family tradition that I always give gifts of books. Birthdays, Christmas, high-days and holy-days, if a gift is required then I give a book. This is a clear case of treating others as one would wish to be treated although I'm not sure the gifting of books is quite what Jesus had in mind. Anyway, how can I enter a bookshop and take out my purse without falling victim to temptation?

Anyway, today I needed a gift to send to my sister (in hospital with possible appendicitis) and, as any booklover would, I found what I wanted for her (Alexander McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street) and then began browsing. I actually found it rather difficult to find a book today - and that's not like me at all. I was about to pay for the McCall Smith and leave the shop disappointed when I spotted this title on the '3-for-2' table. I've recently become interested in reading more (auto)biography and historical non-fiction but I'm wary of choosing anything too challenging which I'll abandon within the first chapter. But this book seems about the right level and I'm interested in the Victorians so it seemed like a good idea. I'll let you know if I was right when I've read it!