Artificial Wisdom by Thomas Weaver – book

A stunning cover image and thought-provoking twist of a title make you want to look inside this book to see if the story lives up to the title. And for the most part it does. The story is easy to read and moves along at a decent pace, even when at times it is dealing with complex issues and ideas. The world Artificial Wisdom is set in is both frightening and believably based on the news topics of today. The characters are likeable, or not if the plot demands, and in a few cases a little too good to be true. The author, Thomas R. Weaver, takes you through the story in such a way that you care about the outcome.

In a not-too-distant future, political leaders are much as they are today and have failed in their actions to stop climate change. The world is failing, countries becoming uninhabitable from heat, flood or famine causing migration challenges and human disasters. The super-rich have built floating climate-controlled islands, to escape the unbearable heat, that are run on their behalf by a unique artificial intelligence. The nations of the world have, rather surprisingly, agreed that one person must be given absolute power to make the hard decisions and save the human race from extinction. But who will they choose?

Against this background, the book’s main character, Marcus Tully, is a journalist who believes in the truth above all else, consequences are not his problem. He is supported by a team of misfits, all with the special skills needed to help his work of uncovering the truth and exposing those in power. He is following an anonymous lead to the ultimate story. But what is the truth and is it more important than saving humanity? The death of his wife in a climate change tragedy beyond imagining has taken a toll on the man.

Artificial Wisdom is essentially a mystery set in a future built but taking its ideas from the paths unfolding in the present. Climate change has not been solved, political intrigue is still rife, political corruption is still prevalent, conspiracy theory is everywhere, information can be deep faked and artificial intelligence is evolving. The author’s writing brings the reader along with each new idea and builds the world in a credible way explaining how such things could have happened.

This is Thomas R. Weaver’s debut novel and is ambitious in its reach. Full of twists and turns but perhaps a few too many coincidences and fortunate connections. However, this aside, the story rattles along and keeps you wanting to read to its conclusion. The concepts and situations challenge you to think about what you would do in this disturbing future timeline. The ending irked me slightly as it required a character to betray principles written in stone for the rest of the novel. However overall, I would recommend this novel to those who like a good mystery novel.

Available from £14.99 at:

www.amazon.co.uk/review/create-review/?ie=UTF8&channel=glance-detail&asin=B0CJT79SXG

Orchard Toys Countdown to Christmas Activity Book

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

As thoughts turn to Christmas I’ve been looking out for Christmas themed books to keep our mini reviewers occupied in the lead up to Christmas. We are big fans of Orchard Toys as they make fun educational games so when I saw the Countdown to Christmas Activity Book, I knew it would be perfect for the little ones this year.

With 25 fun activities including pictures to colour, wordsearches and recipes the idea is you do one activity a day from the 1st December meaning the children will have lots of fun counting down the days to Christmas. Once each activity is completed there is a number sticker to add to the page and a sticker to add to the pull out advent scene at the back of the book.

There is also a letter to Santa and if you submit a photo of it to Orchard Toys by the 18th December you are guaranteed a response.

This is a really fun book and a great way to countdown to Christmas with little ones. I would definitely recommend it and will enjoy doing the activities with our little ones this December.

RRP £4

Realise Your Power by Alan Lucas – book

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

There are so many self-help books around, it’s difficult to work out one that fits you, or that fits where you want to be going.  Realise Your Power by Alan Lucas is a self-help book which is aimed at teenage or student audiences to unleash where your power is and where you are going.

With lots of practical exercises, the book uses the SYSO system – Sort Your Self Out.  There are 7 chapters detailing how to make changes in your life, including how to Manage Your Mind, Take Charge of Your Emotions and finally how to Raise Your Vibration. If you’ve ever read The Secret, or any of the books about changing your vibration in order to increase your self awareness and get to where you want to go, then this book is in the same vein. It’s a very easy to read version with the relevant information broken down into exercises and short chapters to make them easy to understand and easy to digest.

As most teenagers and young adults will be new to this type of thinking, the book plays into making the information easily digestible.  If you’re an old hand at self-help and psychology then you’ll either find this an enjoyable read that’s not so taxing or it may seem quite simplistic. However, there are nuggets of information that are well communicated so if you struggle with any of the aspects of Realising Your Power then some of these chapters might nudge you to a better understanding.  The chapters cover the whole range of the empowerment spectrum and nothing is left out, not even the notes at the end giving you direction of where to go next in life.

The book is written by author Alan Lucas who is a psychologist and motivational speaker, having worked for companies such as Nike and Adidas. This is his second book, his first being You Don’t Need Therapy which similarly is about psychology and is aimed at teenagers and young people. He is also a qualified NLP Master Coach, Hypnotherapist, CBT Therapist and Strategic Intervention Therapist.  

Available on Amazon for £9.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Realise-Your-Power-Steps-Sort/dp/191503695X

Emily’s Algarve Escape by DCR Bond – book

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Emily is rich. Well her husband Mark is, working for an investment bank and Emily is very happy spending his money. That is, until something happens and Mark has to admit that their lifestyle has to change and Emily isn’t going to like it.

The story picks up their move to The Algarve, with frequent visits from their son Alex and several unintended adventures along the way.  We see how both Mark and Emily have to adjust as well as how their social lives, bank balances, family dynamics and even Mark’s tennis game changes over time, and all because of a tiny tax problem Mark didn’t foresee.

With little hints about how the economy in the UK has been affected in the last 2 years (remember all the Prime Minister changes last year?) this light hearted holiday read really takes you out of rainy Britain and into the heart of The Algarve and the ex-pat community. Although it might be described as ‘chick lit’, the characters are well defined, the storyline flows and there’s a lovely style about it which makes each of the characters likeable; even Mark!

Throughout the novel there are some merry moments and thankfully, for a holiday read, there are no maudlin or heavy plots which get you down. Towards the end there are some great plot twists which are hinted at very subtly earlier in the book, but not obvious until the end. I found myself liking all of the characters, based on Emily and her family and friends, and the story was fun to watch unfold. If you live in London, especially in any of the Chelsea squares or work in City finance, you’ll recognise some of the characters and especially some of the tax legalities!  You may well have friends or acquaintances who are in the same position as Emily and Mark and can empathise with. How will it end though? And I bet you didn’t think it would end in that way, did you?

Emily’s Algarve Escape is just that – the escape from Britain’s dreary summer this year and an adventure to sunnier climes with Emily and Mark making the mistakes for you along the way.

Papersmith Calypso Notebook and Primo Pen

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

If you’re like me and relish the thought of a new notebook to start journaling, making to do lists or sorting out your life, then Papersmiths is a brand you’ll love.  If you’re returning to school or university, the colour options of both notepad and combination pen work as a lovely gift too.

Papersmiths’ A5 Notebooks are soft covered and come in 9 different colours. Unlike other notebooks, each one has numbered pages, going up to 236 pages in all and the page numbers are coloured as you progress through the book. We were sent a ruled-page version but you can also have plain pages or 5mm dot grid, depending on what you want to use it for. The notepad is bound with a thick 15mm spine and has a double contents page at the front for ease of making notes.

The cover is British made, in the Lake District and the inner pages are made especially for fountain pen ink, although you can use any pen or pencil and it’s bound together in Buckinghamshire, England by a 4thgeneration binder.

The accompanying ball point pen you can see in the photos is also part of the Papersmith range.  The Primo Pen, which is new to the available stock, is aluminium made for hardiness as well as being light to hold and has brass accents.  I especially liked that this ballpoint writes really finely, much finer than mass produced ballpoint pens and doesn’t leave heavy ink blobs on the page when you put the nib down to write. There’s a nice flow to your writing when the ink is constant and easy. It may be pricy for a pen, but you can buy refills from the Papersmith website so that your pen can keep going for a lifetime! If however you prefer a different thickness of line, you can swap out the refills from ballpoint to gel and change the style of ink to suit your needs. They’re available in 6 colours to match or compliment your notebook.

Papersmiths also have a range of stationery accessories available, such as pen clips, notebook bands, diaries and desk planners as well as the refills mentioned above. You can also ask for the notebooks to be personalised before it’s sent out, and gift wrapped too!

I shall be using my new Calypso notebook for journaling ideas and using the page numbers to create a content at the front for future reference.  Colour coding my notebooks in the future won’t be difficult with the ample amount of colours available on the Papersmith website, and for anyone using the notebooks for school or university, you will find it easy to use these beautiful notebooks.

Notebook (Calypso) available for £22.00:

Primo Pen (Peacock) available for £14.00:

Readly Subscription

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

It’s holiday time again and we’re off in the motorhome. We love our road trips but living in such a compact space does have its challenges, the most difficult perhaps – clutter! It is so easy to take too much stuff and with limited space you end up constantly moving it from the table to the bed and back again!  

We both love reading and before any trip stock up on a few magazines. I like tech and model making but might pick something different just for a change. My wife likes food and gardening magazines, but it does mean that wherever you try to sit there is a magazine in the way!

This time I’m going to avoid this problem entirely by not taking any magazines with me, but I won’t miss out because I have a Readly subscription that allows me to pick from a massive number of different magazines and read them on my tablet or phone.

There is a huge choice, my usual favourites are there but there are also titles that I might not normally choose and they’re all available for one monthly price.

Sometimes we struggle for internet (we do choose so out of the way places to camp) but that’s not a problem either, we can download magazines to the tablet and read them later. Once we’re done, delete the files and start again.

I wasn’t too sure how I’d take to reading on a screen, but I found it to be brilliant, the pages are rendered in a very high quality and if I needed larger text the page zooms easily. I was just as impressed with the app on my phone! Whilst the screen is not a big as my tablet, many magazines use an “Article View” that re-formats each article for better reading on a mobile device. All the content remains the same, but it is presented in a more natural scrolling experience.

With over 7000 titles available it could be easy to get lost, but each publication is categorised and once you find a magazine you like you can add it to your favourites. Not only are the current editions available but many magazines have back issues too, one of the magazines I occasionally dip into is The Magpi, looking at that the back issues are available back to August 2018 which will keep me going for a while!

At £9.99 per month, a Readly subscription isn’t much more than some magazines and allows you to read as many as you like without worrying if you’re going to enjoy them or not, just move on and download another!

There is currently an offer on the website where you can try it for a month free of charge – perfect for summer holiday reading!

As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow – book by Zoulfa Katouh

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Salama was born and raised in Syria with her brother, who was newly married to her best friend. The Syrian war breaks out and changes everything Salama knew about, including her job. Originally a pharmacist, we soon learn that her one year education suddenly propels her to becoming a surgeon in the local hospital. To us this sounds like a bizarre promotion, but during war, needs must.

The book is beautifully written by new author Zoulfa Katouh. Although she is Canadian, Zoulfa has Syrian roots, which really shows in the detail she goes to to describe life in Syria at the time of the war newly breaking out. The language is descriptive and gentle even if some of the scenes are not, and the story flows as the characters develop.

Part of the character of the book is how it so far removed from our own Western lives as you could imagine. Becoming an unqualified surgeon at age 18? Living without water and electricity whilst the only city you have ever known in the country you love is ripped apart by war? Losing all the members of your close family at such a young age and having to look after your pregnant sister in law? The cultural differences are an education but the emotional side of what the Syrians had to go through are heart breaking, touching and so thought provoking.

The book is a modern classic, with attention-grabbing plot twists and soothing language that rarely find in anything but best sellers, especially not in the storytelling of a first time novelist.  I loved sitting down to read this book, delighting in the imagery and not able to guess what was going to happen next, and that wasn’t just because I was unfamiliar with the culture and enjoyed learning about it.  For anyone who commutes, this is also a good book because the chapters are bite size and the text is easy to follow if you get disturbed. It’s a long book at 464 pages but it’s an easy read. 

You’ll want to find out more about Syria when you read til the end. You’ll also learn a lot about the war and about what the Syrian people went through and in some cases, are still going through. It’s a book that will stay with you for a long time and one which you can read again and again.

Available from £8.99 at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/As-Long-Lemon-Trees-Grow/dp/1526648547/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3S6JBT0GHUHXM&keywords=as+long+as+the+lemon+trees+grow&qid=1689759690&sprefix=as+long+as+the+l%2Caps%2C105&sr=8-1

Becoming Flawesome book by Kristina Mänd-Lakhiani

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

As a co-founder of Mindvalley, the meditation and self improvement app, Kristina Mänd-Lakhiani’s first book highlights one of the most sought-after questions for self development – who are we and how do we improve ourselves?

Using her life history and experience of Mindvalley and the world of work, Kristina takes the reader on a journey with short chapters and daily exercises to question your thinking and hopefully, take you to a new place personally and without the pain that self growth often brings. 

Kristina Mänd-Lakhiani book ‘Becoming Flawesome’ starts by explaining her background, then going into detail about how we lose ourselves over time, and how self-inflicted parameters such as being perfect can affect us and the way we connect to ourselves. The same idea of perfection/imperfection comes again later in the book when Kristina looks at why being imperfect is healthy for you, but not before delving into how to find yourself again. She talks, in her customary short chapters with exercises to do daily, about vulnerability and being authentic. The last section before ‘recovery’ is about honesty, particularly being honest with yourself.

Part 6 onwards changes route and talks about kindness for healing, especially self-kindness and self-love. Lots of us struggle with what self-love really is and how we practice it, so these chapters were particularly useful for me. Courage is the next part, talking about fear and overcoming it, and the types of fear which hold us back and we don’t even know about them yet. Finally, the last section is about Living Flawesomely – how happiness is a skill that needs to be learned for most people and isn’t always natural to attain. 

Becoming Flawesome is a great book for anyone, but I feel women will particularly learn a lot because of the content and the way it’s written by a woman.  The short chapters make it easy to read daily or on a commute and the exercises are a mixture of 2 minutes whilst you eat your breakfast, or life-long exercises to change the way you think.  At the end of the book, you will definitely learn something about how to take the path of self improvement, forgive yourself and most importantly, learn something about yourself too.

Available from £19.99 at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Becoming-Flawesome-Living-Imperfectly-Authentic/dp/1401974341/ref=sr_1_1?crid=34S61JLTEJ44B&keywords=Kristina+Mänd-Lakhiani&qid=1684264827&sprefix=kristina+mänd-lakhiani%2Caps%2C50&sr=8-1

King Charles III: The Coronation by Hellen Jay Rhind

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

The past 12 months has been a royal whirl with the late Queen’s Lying in State, Funeral and now the Coronation of King Charles in May.  Hellen Jay Rhind has written a children’s book about the day King Charles III was crowned and what the different parts of the ceremony mean.

The 30 page book is aimed at children aged 6 to 12.  Starting with the details of Prince Charles (as he was when he was born) and how the late Queen was crowned in 1953 at Westminster Abbey, the story tells the Royal Family up until 6 May 2023 when the King is crowned. The day is explained with illustrations on one side and details on the opposite page. However, the drawings are not accurate to the members of the Royal Family, nor are the illustrations that of Westminster Abbey nor Buckingham Palace, but they are fairy palaces which will appeal to young children.

The book goes into detail about the types of carriages that were used, the Household Cavalry, the ceremony route and the types of jewels used as symbolic gestures. At the very back, there are photographs of the state crowns, The Royal Robes, The Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross and The Sovereign’s Orb, making them easy for children to identify. 

This is a great bedtime book, or a book for children interested in royalty, kings and queens and princess castles! The book takes about 15 minutes to read and would act as a prompt for children to ask more questions about the monarchy and what happened at the Coronation in May. It’s also a nice keepsake for the Coronation for anyone who was there on the day or wants to remember it!

Available on Amazon (ignore the link being to King James!) for £9.90 at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/King-James-III-Coronation-Day/dp/1399954482/ref=sr_1_2?crid=24QN5QMCWBPBP&keywords=Hellen+Jay+Rhind&qid=1686772725&sprefix=hellen+jay+rhind%2Caps%2C61&sr=8-2

Yoga Anatomy Made Simple and The Anatomy of Yoga – books

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

I have dabbled in yoga for around 20 years and more recently got back into regular sessions. With age comes the knowledge that you aren’t flexible forever and any yoga session from this point on shows that to me time and time again. What I wasn’t ready for was the need to know how and why I wasn’t flexible any longer, and the thirst for knowledge of yoga, not just from the physical aspect but the spiritual aspect too.

We were sent 2 new yoga books to review, both of which go into a lot more detail than you can glean from a weekly session with an expert tutor.  The Anatomy of Yoga by Jo Ann Staugaard-Jones and Yoga Anatomy Made Simple by Stu Girling both go into a lot of depth about the anatomy of yoga with excellent illustrations and diagrams of the human body.  

Yoga Anatomy Made Simple (by Stu Girling) starts with Part 1 looking at the Key Concepts of Yoga including Posture, Movement Basics, Muscles and Fascia and Breath. The final chapter in the first part is Other Considerations, which includes Environment and Psychology which go into depth about considerations around what impacts us now and in each yoga practice and how as a yoga teacher or expert, the holistic approach is always necessary.

Part 2 looks at Body Bits, which is literally going into parts of the body (Foot and Ankle, Knee, Hip etc) and giving the science behind each of the bones, muscles and workings of the body plus how they relate in yoga practices.  The final part of the book is the Postures, complete with illustrations and helpful hints.  There’s an Appendix too, which details more about terminology and Stu’s (the author) notes.  It’s an interesting book ordinarily but if you’re into yoga, it becomes captivating as you recognise poses, and then yourself trying to fit into the pose and see where you’re going wrong!

The Anatomy of Yoga by Jo Ann Staugaard-Jones is called a ‘Colouring Book’ but it is really another detailed book about yoga just with line drawings. Looking first at the body with the muscles and fascia plus each of the bones, Jo Ann goes into minute detail about how everything works and how it related to yoga. Again, it’s a trap to think you can just read one part of a chapter, you end up getting completely involved and reading more and more. There are not just line drawings in this book but illustrations and the science behind the physics of the body too.  There are tons of drawings to relate to, and I can’t help but think this looks like a text book, or could be used as a text book to further your understanding as well as teach about yoga as a separate subject.

Both books are fascinating and the fact that they come from a yoga background means they work together really well to flesh out the rudimentary knowledge you gain in studio classes. If you’re interested in studying yoga further or going into teaching, these are both excellent books which have slightly different ways of teaching the same anatomical information.  The different diagrams and illustrations work in tandem between the two books and you might find one style of writing is better to learn from than the other, but both are excellent resources for yoga enthusiasts, or teachers alike.

Yoga Anatomy Made Simple available from £18.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yoga-Anatomy-Made-Simple-Illustrated/dp/1913088359/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1TMICRSG4LQQ&keywords=yoga+anatomy+made+simple&qid=1684161092&sprefix=yoga+anatomy+made+simple%2Caps%2C66&sr=8-1

The Anatomy of Yoga available from £14.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anatomy-Yoga-Colouring-Book-Biomechanics/dp/1913088278/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=1M55MTI1WBS77&keywords=the+anatomy+of+yoga&qid=1684161143&sprefix=the+anatomy+of+yoga%2Caps%2C86&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

Forward After 50 by Rebecca Ronane

Disclaimer – We received this book free for the purpose of this review/feature but all thoughts  and opinions are our own.

I recently celebrated by 50th birthday and unlike some of my friends who were dreading the big  5-0, I am actually embracing growing older. I’m not quite sure where 50 years have gone and I’m certainly not ready for slowing down anytime soon – if anything I’m doing more than I ever have and I try to think more about myself than I did, which is a lot easier now my children are older. I’m really enjoying this new phase of my life as I’ve much more confidence than I did in my 20’s and a bit more money (well I did until the cost of living crisis hit!)

Whilst I already have a forward-thinking attitude, I still learnt a lot from Rebecca Ronane’s new book – Forward After 50. This inspiring book shows women than there is so much to look forward to and just because we are 50 it doesn’t mean we’re over the hill. Rebecca offers inspiring and practical advice to help make these changes happen.

The book is split into two parts – Part 1 explores ageist views and how your values and beliefs can shape your life and Part 2 explores how you can invent yourself by reviewing your work, time and independence.

Each part is split into chapters with plenty of humour to keep you going, along with inspirational quotes to help you on your journey. I especially liked the chapter in part 1 about Mindset – I have always been a people pleaser and the book gave me the confidence to start saying no which was difficult at first but the more I say no the easier it has become. Initially I felt guilty but now I find it quite liberating and wish I had read Rebecca’s book sooner as I have wasted so much time doing things I didn’t want to do for fear of upsetting someone.

Rebecca fills the reader’s mind with all the tools they need to reinvent themselves and helps them to realise that there is life after 50. In-short it’s a book I’ll be referring back to regularly to reinforce and remind me that its ok to say no, and it’s ok to be selfish and to chase those dreams whilst I can.

RRP £12.99 available from Amazon


Pure Spirit by Wendy Sheffield – book

Disclaimer – We received this book free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

The spirit world and the physical world are closer than you think. Many people don’t ‘believe’ in Spirit (Spirit in this context meaning the all-encompassing concept of life after life) and dismiss the healing powers of Spirit without even giving it a second thought. Others though, not only know about the powers of Spirit, but live a life guided by the other world.

Author Wendy Sheffield has not spent her whole lifetime working with Spirit. Her spiritual journey started with a dream 12 years ago and since then she has been working as a medium to communicate on behalf of loved ones who have passed over to the Spirit World, and likewise send back messages from those who wish to teach us.

Her second book, Pure Spirit, was communicated to her as both the title and the short chapters that make up the book. The passages, which are scribed in italics, are direct messages from Spirit with the aim of teaching each of us something new about ourselves, or our world. The passages are introduced by Wendy too, with a short summary of what the passage is about or who it is for, and sometimes how she came to communicate the subject.

Each passage is only a page or so long so they’re not heavy reading. The vocabulary isn’t difficult to comprehend and each chapter is direct and to the point. For example, the chapter titled Reflection In the Water is about using your reflection in the water to see what others see, and explaining that what others see, might not be apparent to you until much later.

Each of the 27 chapters has something to communicate, and some of the subjects (such as death and Fear of the Unknown) are heavy subjects, but handled delicately.  Wendy writes with soft prose as well as we an understanding, and hopefully as a reader you will pick up on her concern as well as the philosophy she is conveying.

It wouldn’t matter if you are Spiritualist, merely interested in mediumship and the Spirit World or even if you are a complete non-believer, there is something in this book for everyone.  Not all of the chapters are about the Spirit World or mediumship but you will learn a lot about the Spiritualist movement and teachings by reading the book cover-to-cover.  For anyone needing any kind of guidance or support, such as in grieving or loss, Pure Spirit is a good place to start without getting too involved and hemmed in with technicalities. The book lends itself, with short chapters, to being able to be picked up and put down easily, whilst being absorbed in short sprints.

Wendy Sheffield clearly loves what she does and has found her clear life path, a spiritual path, and enjoys communicating from the Spirit World to our own.

Available from Amazon for £9.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pure-Spirit-Spiritwriterspeaks-Wendy-Sheffield/dp/1912009390/ref=sr_1_1?crid=36L5Z1KHUR8X0&keywords=pure+spirit+wendy+sheffield&qid=1673196723&sprefix=Pure+Spirit%2Caps%2C73&sr=8-1