Foxes Unearthed: A story of love and loathing in modern Britain by Lucy Jones
Review by Hayley Anderton Where I live – middle of a city, no garden, bins inside, and nobody feeding them, foxes are a delight to see. They seem generally indifferent…
Rain: Four Walks in English Weather by Melissa Harrison
Reviewed by Rob Spence I come from Manchester, so I know about rain. Actually, Manchester’s reputation as the rainy city is, as I am overfond of pointing out, a result…
The Ladybird Expert Books, Vols 1-3, by various authors
Review by Annabel Ladybird, now owned by Penguin Random House, have been going from strength to strength recently with their series of satires on modern life for adults, tackling subjects…
Snow by Marcus Sedgwick
Reviewed by Annabel Snow is the latest addition to small indie publisher Little Toller’s series of ‘monographs’. These smart little hardbacks are dedicated to writing ‘attuned to the natural world,’…
I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life, by Ed Yong
Review by Terence Jagger This is a truly fascinating book, about the complex ecosystem of microbes that lives inside us, all other animals, and sometimes each other – doing good,…
Tide by Hugh Aldersey-Williams
Reviewed by Terence Jagger I live close to the tidal Thames, and often walk by the sea – and have never quite understood the tides. Yes, I was taught at…
The Outrun by Amy Liptrot
Reviewed by Rebecca Foster The Outrun has recently been shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize, awarded annually to a work that engages with medical themes. That’s because, put simply, it’s a…
Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells by Helen Scales
Reviewed by Annabel There are large numbers of popular science books written about particle physics, space and the periodic table, ditto for medicine and the mind. There are fewer books about…
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
Reviewed by Hayley Anderton I was initially attracted to this book by it’s absolutely stunning cover (I have a soft spot for William Nicholson so enjoyed the homage) which in…
A Message From Martha by Mark Avery
Reviewed by Terence Jagger This is an important centenary year; on 1 September, 1914, the world’s last Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) died in Cincinnati Zoo. Her name was Martha, and…
Herbaceous by Paul Evans
Reviewed by Barb Scharf HERBACEOUS adj resembling or having the nature of herbs (any non-woody seed-bearing plant which dies down to the ground after flowering but whose roots etc. survive);…
The New Sylva, A Discourse of Forest and Orchard Trees for the Twenty-First Century, by Gabriel Hemery and Sarah Simblet
Reviewed by Hayley Anderton When Shiny New Books asked me if I’d like to review The New Sylva I thought it sounded interesting. When it arrived I thought it looked interesting and…