Shiny New Books
  • About
  • Editorial & Review
  • Privacy
  • Fiction Review Index
  • Non-Fiction Index
    • Architecture, Art & Design, Craft, Home & Garden, Photography
    • Biography, Memoir & Diaries
    • Books about Books, Lit Crit, Publishing, Reading & Writing
    • Ecology & Environment, Natural World
    • Entertainment, Media, Film & Music
    • Mind and Body, Medicine, Psychology
A Novel Calling Anthology Architecture, Homes & Gardens Art & Design, Craft & Photography Art of Writing & Translation Biographical articles Biography & Memoir, Diaries BookBuzz Books About Books, Publishing Books into Film Business Children's classic Ecology & Environment, Natural World Entertainment, Media Essays Exhibitions Fiction Five Fascinating Facts Flash & Original Fiction Food & Drink Graphic Novel Guest Post History & Politics, Feminism, Sociology Humour Interview, Q&A Linguistics Lit Crit Literary Prizes & Festivals Mind and Body, Medicine, Psychology Miscellaneous Music Myths & Legends, Fairytale New Translations of Older Works Non Fiction Philosophy Playscripts & Screenplays Poetry Poetry Competition Reading Guide Relligion Reprint Reviewer's Choice Science & Technology Self-help Sports & Leisure Spotlight on Publishing The Eds Discuss The Shiny Book Club Translated Travel & the World True Crime Uncategorized YA Spotlight
Lit Crit Music Non Fiction

Anthony Burgess, The Devil Prefers Mozart: On Music and Musicians  1962 – 1993, edited by Paul Phillips

Review by Rob Spence Anthony Burgess was, of course, one of the most significant novelists of the second half of the twentieth century, publishing over thirty novels, (a centenary reading…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 25, 2024
4 2344 0
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Entertainment, Media Music Non Fiction

Good Pop, Bad Pop: An Inventory by Jarvis Cocker

Review by Annabel Since he first came into the public eye, Jarvis Cocker has always presented a delightful, non-conformist approach to life – droll and at times laconic, at other…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books June 16, 2022
0 1512 3
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Music Non Fiction

The Sound of Being Human: How Music Shapes our Lives by Jude Rogers

Review by Liz Dexter What role does music really, deeply play in our lives, from our first days to our last? Jude Rogers in her clever, educational and moving book…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books May 26, 2022
0 1684 3
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Music Non Fiction

America Over the Water by Shirley Collins

Review by Annabel Shirley Collins is widely regarded as one of the most influential British folk singers of our times. Often singing alongside her sister and composer Dolly, she was…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books May 19, 2022
0 935 0
Read Later Share
Entertainment, Media Essays History & Politics, Feminism, Sociology Music Non Fiction

This Woman’s Work: Essays on Music, edited by Sinéad Gleeson and Kim Gordon

Review by Liz Dexter This is a collection of writing by women about music, mainly about women in music, put together by visual artist, musician and writer Kim Gordon and…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 21, 2022
0 1450 3
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Entertainment, Media Music Non Fiction

Hey Hi Hello: Five decades of Pop Culture from Britain’s Broadcasting DJ Pioneer by Annie Nightingale

Review by Liz Dexter Nightingale was the first female DJ on Radio One, having been a journalist and live TV presenter before then and ready for the tough time she…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books December 9, 2021
0 1317 2
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Entertainment, Media Music Non Fiction

Beeswing: Fairport, Folk Rock and Finding My Voice 1967-75 by Richard Thompson

Review by Annabel There are still people who doubtless haven’t heard of Richard Thompson. To those of us in the know though, he is one of the most influential guitarists…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books July 13, 2021
0 1764 4
Read Later Share
Music Non Fiction

A Sound Mind by Paul Morley

Reviewed by Karen Langley Paul Morley made his name as a music critic for the New Musical Express back in the halcyon punk days of the 1970s and 1980s; a…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books November 19, 2020
0 1354 10
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Music Non Fiction

Michael Tippett, The Biography by Oliver Soden

Reviewed by Peter Hobson This is a very long, extensively referenced account of the life and music of Michael Tippett, a composer who is often regarded as someone who never…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books November 12, 2020
0 1475 2
Read Later Share
moonlighting nathan waddell
Lit Crit Music Non Fiction

Moonlighting: Beethoven and Literary Modernism, by Nathan Waddell

Review by Rob Spence When the newly-elected Brexit party MEPs took their place at the European Parliament in June, they used the opening ceremony as a stunt, turning their backs…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books September 17, 2019
0 995 0
Read Later Share
How Shostakovich Changed My Mind
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Music Non Fiction

How Shostakovich Changed My Mind by Stephen Johnson

Review by Karen Langley Readers of Shiny New Books will know of my love for Notting Hill Editions books; I’ve reviewed their “Beautiful and Impossible Things” and “The Russian Soul”…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 17, 2018
0 1069 0
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Music Non Fiction

Gone: A Girl, a Violin, and a Life Unstrung by Min Kym

Reviewed by Harriet For some reason I’ve always been fascinated by child prodigies – people who seem to have been born with an innate talent for something, which very often…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books April 13, 2017
0 1139 0
Read Later Share
Entertainment, Media Music Non Fiction

Loose Canon: the extraordinary songs of Clive James and Pete Atkin by Ian Shircore

Review by Rob Spence It’s now over forty years since I discovered the songs of Pete Atkin and Clive James. In a wonderful series of albums in the late sixties…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books October 27, 2016
0 919 0
Read Later Share
Biography & Memoir, Diaries Music Non Fiction

Instrumental by James Rhodes

Reviewed by Annabel It’s hard to know where to start in writing about this memoir. I could be glib and say it’s about the healing power of classical music, which…

Shiny New Books
Shiny New Books July 16, 2015
0 1140 0
Read Later Share
Categories

Join 3,713 other subscribers.
The posts you’re looking at most…
  • Fair Play by Louise Hegarty
  • Re-reading The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
  • Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries, edited by Alan Taylor
  • Diplomatic Baggage: Adventures of a Trailing Spouse, by Brigid Keenan
  • The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton
  • The Proof of My Innocence by Jonathan Coe
Our Affiliate LInk to Blackwell’s – When you click through and purchase, it earns us a small commission to help pay for this site’s upkeep. Thank you.
www.blackwells.co.uk
My Tweets
Recent Comments
  • kaggsysbookishramblings on Conversations with Rilke by Maurice Betz
  • Liz Dexter on Conversations with Rilke by Maurice Betz
  • hopewellslibraryoflife on Cloistered: My Years as a Nun by Catherine Coldstream
  • kaggsysbookishramblings on Conversations with Rilke by Maurice Betz
  • Margot Kinberg on Conversations with Rilke by Maurice Betz
Recent Posts
  • The Place of Tides by James Rebanks
  • The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
  • Universality by Natasha Brown
  • Cloistered: My Years as a Nun by Catherine Coldstream
  • Conversations with Rilke by Maurice Betz
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Shiny on Facebook
Shiny on Facebook
Blog Stats
  • 785,856 hits
© 2014-2023, Shiny New Books and its Contributors
Meta
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • April 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • July 2014
  • April 2014

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Archives

  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • April 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • July 2014
  • April 2014