Category: Non Fiction

Recent Reads: The Art of Love: The Romantic and Explosive Stories Behind Art’s Greatest Couples by Kate Bryan and illustrations by Asli Yazan

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

The Art of Love by Kate Bryan and illustrated by Asli Yazan gives brief overviews of artists relationships and of their art.  There are illustrations by Asli Yazan throughout, to give you an idea of the art produced by these artists.

I think of this type of book as coffee table book.  It’s there to dip in and out of, to admire how attractive it is, and to educate you a little in something new.

I found myself often googling pictures of the art as there are typically 2 illustrations per couple, and sometimes I wanted to see the real thing!

I don’t know a lot about art, and this was a great introduction to a lot of artists, and giving you a little more to understand about them, and the context of their relationship and their art.

It is a lovely book, and feels like a good starting point if you want more information about these artists!

The Art of Love was published on 2nd July 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Kate Bryan on Instagram, or through her website.

You can follow Asli Yazan through her website.

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Quatro Publishing (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: Furious Hours; Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep

Posted on by Pam

My review: ?????

Furious Hours by Casey Cep is a book of many tales, all of which tie up together, but knowing what’s going on makes it so much more interesting!  

The first is the life and trial of Reverend Willie Maxwell, who is accused of killing five family members for the multiple insurance policies he had on each of them.  

The second is Maxwell’s lawyer, Tom Radney, who goes on to defend Robert Burns, who murders Maxwell.  Radney was a politician, and so was well versed in public speaking, persuading your listeners to your cause, which you can see in the courtroom.

The third is that of Harper Lee.  We go through her life, and see her friendship with Truman Capot, it talks about why she only published two books in her lifetime.  It also looks at how she went to the trial of Robert Burns, planning to write a book about it, in the same way that Truman Capote did in Cold Blood, for which Lee was his assistant.

This is Casey Cep’s first book, but she has written articles before for the New Yorker, and others, and some of them have been about Harper Lee, and as Cep says on her website, she’s loved Lee’s work since she was a child.

I thought this was really well written, and has made me want to read both To Kill a Mockingbird again and Go Set a Watchman for the first time!  If you like true crime, and learning a little more about such a reluctant celebrity, this is for you!


Furious Hours was published on 16th May 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Random House UK and Cornerstone (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: Hinch Yourself Happy by Mrs Hinch

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

Hinch Yourself Happy by Mrs Hinch is a guide for how to clean your house, and how to enjoy yourself whilst doing it!

It has a lot of stories from Mrs Hinch’s personal life, such as how she met her husband, lots of recommendations for cleaning products, how to clean things, and space for you to write your own lists in, things that make you happy, and things like bits you want to declutter.

I discovered Mrs Hinch on Instagram in August last year, but I’m afraid I don’t remember how, although I remember Caroline Hirons mentioned her.  

Definition: ‘Hinching’, which is often taken to mean cleaning, but I would define it as using one of the many hints and tips from Mrs Hinch, such as diluting fabric softner with water, put in a spray bottle, and then spray on clothes or bedding to freshen up the scent.  

You might have seen Mrs Hinch on This Morning, or in the papers!  Either way, she’s got 2.4 million followers on Instagram, and inspires people to clean.  I think it’s because she’s the first person I’ve found cleaning her own home with the products, so I could trust her recommendations.

Definition: ‘Hinch haul’, which is buying multiple cleaning products, possibly buying more than you need, so you can stock up your Narnia (a store cupboard in your house or garage for extra supplies of cleaning products).  Popular stores to carry out a Hinch Haul: B&M, Home Bargains, Poundland, little shops with cleaning products in.  Products typically purchased: cleaning products Mrs Hinch uses, cleaning clothes, and baskets for storing these things in!

I thought this book is an ideal gift to give to someone leaving home for the first time, or first time buyers, because there’s lots of information on how to clean things, and how to make your house a home.  

Whilst there is a contents page, I think this book could have benefited from an index page, and it would have turned a nice book into a really useful home help!

You might have noticed there’s some grey creeping into this post, and that’s because Mrs Hinch’s home is very grey! When I first saw a photo, I thought she had been playing with filters!  Her book is also a pale grey, and a Dave the duster in silver.

Hinch Yourself Happy was published on 4th April 2019, and is available on Amazon  to buy on Kindle and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: Scottish History by John Abernethy

Posted on by Pam
My review: ????

Scottish History is published by Collins as a Little Book, and so you won’t be surprised to learn that this gives you a brief run through Scottish history, from ancient to very recent.

It gives you some lovely titbits of information, such as Dunedin being the ancient name for Edinburgh.

If you would like a short introduction to Scottish history, it’s implications in politics, and how it is tied in to English, Irish and British history, then this is the book for you!
Scottish History by John Abernethy is out now, and available on Amazon, and everywhere else you can find books!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and Collins Reference (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile for more reviews.