Titanic: A Very Peculiar History by Kim Pipe

Rating:

3 Stars

Themes:

Non-Fiction

Thoughts:

This books an interesting enough summary of the Titanic from the idea starting through to what happened to survivors after. It is pretty much a whistle stop tour in order to be able to cover everything in a pocket sized book and many of the points that were made were only briefly mentioned. Especially the fire in the coal bunker which research in the Smithsonian showed could have weakened a segment and contribute to the overall sinking but the book only mentioned there had been a fire prior that had been extinguished (and some researchers speculate there’s a chance with such big bunkers it could have still been smouldering undetected till it was too late). I did like that at the end there was a glossary to help with the nautical terms and lists of tourist sites and films and stage shows for people to look into it further beyond the 1997 film we all know.

Favourite Quote:

“People are just too fascinated by the story of the Titanic, a detective mystery on an epic scale. We will never know the whole truth about what happened - it's buried deep in the dark, silent waters at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.”

Comments

Mint and Murder by Carly Winter

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Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Young Adult Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. In the age of lessening sex education this book could be a great tool to help bridge the gap. I appreciate the talk to an adult bits that can encourage children to start to have conversations that are important but they often think are cringy. The note to trusted adults bit at the end is great too and there’s quite a few useful activities to help the messages really sink in. Some of the points here such as fetishisation and body image are really important ones that I never learned that young (which could be the reason I had such poor body image as a teen) and for the most part the book talks to kids on their level although some areas may feel a little immaturely worded for older teens. With thanks to Hachette UK and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy of this book.

The War of Sober by Edward Rand

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Addiction, Psychology Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great book not just for addicts trying to establish and maintain their sobriety but also psychologists, counsellors and the people working with them. It approaches the experience of addiction from the perspective of going to war and may help those who can’t get along with the 12 steps, contingency management or other forms of therapy traditionally used. It’s also helpful to have Edward detail his own experiences and approaches throughout so it feels less clinical and shows he does know what he’s talking about when he mentions the difficulties so it comes across less patronising than some self-help addiction books. Favourite Quote: "It doesn't matter what happened yesterday. Win or lose, if we are still alive, we must decide to be different today and then make the correct choices today, because friends, ...

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