A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.

There is something special about eating food outdoors, whether it is breakfast in the garden, fish and chips by the sea or a picnic alongside a river, all of these moments are good for the soul. However, this being England, you’ll have a completely cloudless sky why you lay the rug out for your picnic and 10 minutes later there is what looks like a thundercloud in the distance. And wasps. Where do they come from!

If you are brave enough to not be daunted by all that the countryside can through at you then you will need a book that suggests what to eat. The Picnic Book by Ali Ray goes one step further and has a list of places to go where you can take the food that you have just made. Split into sections for the type of picnic that you might want to carry in a backpack, cool-box or hamper. The recipes are straightforward to make and suit people of all abilities in the kitchen and are a good mix of healthy food as well as treats for your day out.

I liked the variety of suggestions, from pizza puff spirals, fig and blue cheese tartlets, marmalade chicken and various salads, snacks and desserts. There are also menus suggestions, though you can mix and match as you see fit. Having suggestions on where to go to get your outdoor fix is a good idea. They are spread throughout the country so you should find something near you, though for some reason the New Forest gets a mention twice. The photos of the dishes are nicely done too. They didn’t feel twee or made to look perfect and I think that they look more appetising because of that.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Damien Le Bas didn’t have what most would consider a conventional upbringing. He is a gypsy and his community have always had a strained relationship with others in the UK. He spent time with various family members travelling around the countryside, selling flowers and carrying out all sorts of odd jobs. He didn’t follow the usual path for gypsies either, winning a scholarship to Christ’s Hospital before going onto study at Oxford.

This is about his travels back through his memories to the ‘stopping places’ or in their language, atchin tans, that he remembers from childhood and his attempt to find them once again. He does up his van, installing a bed and collecting a few necessary items that he can use to cook with as he hits the road with the intention of stopping over,  getting back to his roots and indulging in a little nostalgia. His journeys with take him and Candis all around the country, up to the Appleby Horse Fair and even as far as the South of France to the shrine of St Sara-la-Kali.

Not only is it a journey to his past haunts, but it is a glimpse into the world of British Gypsies, their culture and language as well as a nostalgic look back at his family’s past. He has a unique position with a foot in each community to explain the differences and the common traits and even though he is a member of this culture, he doesn’t look like a member because of his fair complexion. This occasionally leads to confrontation.  I didn’t feel that we got to know much about the man and only had a taste of what the culture is like. He is a lyrical writer too, which makes this an enjoyable read.

3.5 out of 5 stars

A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.

We live in a hyper-connected world. If you have a smart phone then you can probably only go a few minutes without having to look at it. There is a constant stream of notifications from emails and social media app that clamour for your attention every time you pop it back in your pocket. The flip side of this is that there are more people today who are incredibly lonely, ironic given that we have a whole world at our fingertips.

Solitary confinement is often used as an extreme form of imprisonment, and the book begins with the story of Dr Edith Bone’s who was locked away for seven years and 59 days. She managed to stay sane by mentally walking through cities she had visited and survived. Our modern life means that the distractions can end up taking over far too often. (Twitter, I am looking at you). However, what Harris wants to concentrate on in this book is the positive effects of solitude. That by taking time away from life means that we can fully concentrate on the matter in hand and possibly even recapture some of our own sanity.

I also realised I was getting angry. Angry because part of my life had been stolen from me. So I set myself looking for those lost pieces of solitude in every corner of the world.

Solitude is something that companies want to erode as profits lie in getting you to consume time and their product or service. However, you can turn it around if you choose to do so. Solitude is the process of removing external distractions and concentrating on the matter that is important to you at that moment. Having time alone to allow your mind to wander will bring forth fresh ideas and direction before you re-engage with the world again. My favourite part was when he spent a week at the family cabin on an island off the coast of British Columbia and lived out the premise of the book. It takes him a few days and then he starts to notice things, that while they have always been there, he has never noticed before. I think he writes well, the book is well researched too, he handles the subject matter well, keeping it interesting and the narrative flowing. Lot of things to think about after reading this and that is a good thing.

Consciousness by Hannah Critchlow

The question: What is Consciousness is such a difficult one to answer. We know that we are conscious, but are other animals conscious too? What about plants, or forests and other ecosystems? But the more you think about it opens up wider questions, can we absorb the consciousness of other people? Can machines gain consciousness too?

In this short book, Hannah Critchlow sets about answering some of these questions and summing up some of the latest thoughts on how our brains work but perceiving and responding to the world around us.

Genetics by Adam Rutherford

It is quite amazing to think that DNA was first discovered just over a century ago, though several scientists had concluded that something was passing on traits from parent to child, but couldn’t quite say what. Exactly what it was and how it was constructed though was discovered by Francis and Crick with an enormous amount of assistance from Rosalind Franklin, though she didn’t know it at the time.

Rutherford has written a really good brief overview of the history of genetics, how we are almost certain related to a monarch back along the family tree and what fruit has more genes than us and how to see evolution happening in the genetic record. He brings us up to date with some of the latest discoveries on the subject and the possibilities of genetics in the future.

I love the format of these little expert guides. It harks back to the books I used to read as a child and remember fondly. These have a difference though, they are concise books with detailed information written by experts and are a brief introduction to some complex science. Great little books for the budding scientist and those that want to read up on an unknown subject.

3 out of 5 stars

Belinda was distraught, her boyfriend at the time, Nathan, had chosen his career in the US Navy over their relationship. Bodie was in a worse predicament though. Abandoned by his owner if he was not rehomed very soon then the animal shelter would have to euthanise him. Belinda didn’t think she could get any lower. They say that you should not rush into another relationship after a breakup and the same rules apply when getting a dog, but she needed some company. When applying online she had four options to say why she wanted a dog:

Playmate for family dog

Guard dog

Exercise motivator

Companionship.

She thought long and hard before making her selection. However, she felt that she needed to try and turn this around and this was why she was standing in front of Bodie’s cage. All that was needed was a home visit and it was arranged for a few days later, and suddenly he was her responsibility.

It took a little while to get used to having a dog around the house as well as getting into the routine needed. She became really good friends with Molly and her dog, Winnie. The only problem was just as it happened she found out that Molly was moving to Portland, Oregon and she invited her to her home after she had settled in. A road trip seemed in order and it seemed the perfect opportunity to drop in at some doggy themed stops on the way.

It is a beautiful coastline to travel along and take in the views of the Pacific. Bodie is a gentle, friendly dog. And as well as a trip to see their friend, it is primarily a journey of discovery for them both, where their limits are and how they can fit in with each other. Letting him off the lead for the first time was a nerve-wracking experience. She manages to find hotels that accept dogs and begins to take the steps that she needs to get over her previous relationship, which she mostly does. Except on the way back home, the phone rung, and as she was busy doing something else, didn’t look at the caller. It was Nathan and he wanted to meet up again…

This is more of a personal memoir with an element of travel. You are not going to discover anything profound about this part of the world, rather it is a feel-good type of book. It is written in a chatty and upbeat style with some amusing anecdotes. Jones is honest with her feelings throughout the book, telling it just how it is. If you have read Me, My Bike and a Street Dog Called Lucy then this would be one you’d like.

3.5 out of 5 stars

A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Money makes the world go round, supposedly. It doesn’t, that is physics. However, it has become the lifeblood of our modern world. Each day vast quantities of money flow back and forth around the world as city traders and more often than not now days, computers try and get that edge to squeeze that profit from each transaction. The majority of the money that flows from country to country each day is dollars. The greenback has become the global currency.

But how did the dollar reach this point? Why do prices keep going up? How come we have more disposable income than previous generations and yet can’t afford a house? To answer these questions and many others, economist Dharshini David, follows the path of a single dollar from the moment it is spent in a superstore in America to its part in the growing Chinese economy. From there we will follow it to Africa, India, the Middle East and Europe before it wends its way back to its home country. Each transaction is used to show how the money moves across the world, being part of legitimate and sometimes not so legal transactions.

Through this fictionalised account of a single dollar (and a guest appearance by the Euro), David is able to show where and how the money has pure power and leverage, where people are struggling to survive and where the people are that have more money than they can ever spend. Our interlinked global system has lots of positive benefits, but there are many negative ones too. Because of this close linking of economies, if there is a crash, then there is a domino effect as a collapse in one part of the global economy is rapidly transmitted around the world to other vulnerable states.

Even though economics affects everyone of us on the planet to a greater or lesser extent, most people tend to ignore it; it is not called the dismal science for no reason at all. This book is a way of trying to get people to see that it is important and that a lot of the principles are fairly straightforward to understand. It helps because of David’s writing, but the idea of following that single dollar works really well. Overall I liked this book, it doesn’t go into much depth, but that is not really going to happen in a book this short. However, if you feel the need to read more about the subject, then a reading list has been provided.

3.5 out of 5 stars

A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Getting a guide book to your destination is a good thing, it can reveal all sorts of gems about the place you have chosen to go and is full of suggestions of things to do too. But, it does feel sometimes that you are being lectured a little too much in them about the ‘right’ things to see on your trip. However, this beautifully produced book is very different.

I have never come across a travel guide like this, it feels more dynamic and almost like a scrapbook the way that they have laid it out. The focus on the beaches and small food producers in each region of the county. It feels like each recommendation is a personal one, that they have been to each café and restaurant featured and sought local recommendations for the best places to spend time and money.

The authors are very enthusiastic about the places and the people of Cornwall. I think they fell in love with the place when they were visiting. It did occasionally felt like they were trying too hard with the recommendations as they can come across as a little gushing every now and again. It is a refreshing change from the regular guides that I have used in the past. One for the glove box if you are heading to Cornwall.

4 out of 5 stars

I don’t have a bucket list, (do have a bucket though), but one day I want to see the amazing natural phenomena that is the aurorae borealis. The haunting beautiful lights that hang in the skies of the northern hemisphere also have their south equivalent, the aurora australis. They have been known to humanity for millennia and have been a sense of wonder and inspired stories and myths of their creation. However, it is only in the past few decades that we have become to understand how they are created.

Melanie Windridge’s work as a plasma physicist means that she is well placed to reveal all that has been learnt about the science behind these beautiful lights. As well as a clear explanation behind the science of the northern lights, Windridge head north to experience them for herself. Her travels take her from Scotland to  Iceland, then Canada and onto Svalbard, where she sees the magnificent total solar eclipse. Also woven into the narrative is an exploration of the cultural effect that the light has had on the people that see them and how we have tried to replicate them and explain them before science.

This is a really nicely written book about the aurora. The science behind it is incredibly complex, the source of the energy comes from the solar wind and coronal ejections from our sun and the light is produced by the interaction between that and the trace elements in the upper atmosphere. I liked the blend of science, travel and history too; it shows that things should not be considered in isolation. The book had so photos of the auroras and her travels, but it would have been good to have more. Interestingly, you can see a certain amount with the naked eye of the aurora but when you take a photo then the true splendour is revealed.