Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

"A good cuppa tea can solve most problems, and if it can't, you've probably got bigger issues than a biscuit can fix".  Peter Kay is one of the UK's top comedians 🎤 and he's absolutely hilarious. In my opinion, he's one of the best at observational comedy 😂 in the business. I was lucky enough to see him on tour earlier this year, which was fantastic, and because I adore his Yorkshire accent 😍, I wanted to listen to his new autobiography so I could linger in those dulcet tones. In this one, each chapter focuses on a month of the year 📅 — from January through to December. Peter picks a memory or two for each month and captivates the listener as he shares his humorous take on whatever he's talking about, whether it's summer holidays ☀️, Valentine's Day ❤️, or Christmas 🎄. In his own inimitable way, Peter draws you into his world and makes you feel as though you were right there with him. Never do I laugh so hard as when I'm watching Peter...

Jeremy Clarkson - he’s a bit like Marmite. you either love him or hate him, I don’t think there’s really any middle ground. I love him. Yes, he’s a pompous ass some of the time, but he’s funny, he has an amazingly sarcastic sense of humour, he’s politically incorrect a lot, and I mean a lot, of the time but he’s done alright for himself so something must be working!  If you’re unfamiliar with Clarkson, he’s a petrolhead first and foremost and you’ll best know him for Top Gear and more recently The Grand Tour, but he’s got a sideline too. A farm in the heart of the Cotswolds in the middle of England. A farm called Diddly Squat. In this audiobook, Jeremy tells of his first year on the farm to go alongside the TV show on Amazon Prime.  Full of crop failures, too much sunshine, too much rain, vindictive sheep and a massive, massive tractor that wouldn’t fit in the tractor shed. This book is a delight to listen to and will have you laughing out loud. If you don’t like Jeremy, then ...

I think I’ve been living under a rock or something. I had no idea, absolutely none at all, as to why Prince Harry’s book was called Spare, or indeed what a ‘Spare’ was. For those of you who are unclear (and I’m presuming it’s not many of you), Prince Harry was/is the spare. William - the heir - Harry - the spare. It’s as simple (and as callous) as that! I know memoirs are one-sided and yes, we’re only hearing one person’s point of view, reasoning and opinions, but you have to go with what you are listening to or reading at the time, right? Throughout his book, I often felt saddened at the things Harry was telling me but a lot of the time, to be honest, I wanted to tell him to stop moaning so much - and he moans a lot, particularly about William and Kate but then to be fair, if what he says is true, then they often had complaints about Meghan so he was only standing up for her! In all honesty, and as other reviewers have stated, maybe Harry’s story would have been more balanced if he’...

I wasn’t really what I’d call a Spice Girls fan, not like some people were. I was probably a bit too old at twenty-something when they were at the height of their fame, but I enjoyed some of their music and, well; they are more or less the same age as me so of course I’m nosey and interested in how lives pan out. Melanie Chisholm - Mel C - Sporty Spice, one of five girls who responded to an advertisement in the paper to form what was to become one of the most famous girl groups of all time. Listening to Melanie narrate her own story was at times fun, at other times a hard listen, but amazingly entertaining and interesting. She is open and honest about the good and bad times. The difficult times she had with her fellow band members but also, and what stood out for me, was the amount of fun and friendship that was evident for much of the time. Throughout the book, Melanie’s fighting spirit shone through, and I’m so glad she decided to share her story. I would recommend the audiobook to a...

I’m not a massive Britney Spears fan. In fact, I can’t say I’m a fan at all, but I was intrigued to listen to her story after hearing so much about it from other readers. I was also a little curious as to why she had cancelled her Las Vegas residency so quickly when it was evident she had a huge amount of fans out there. Honestly, it was heartbreaking that someone who was so talented and wanted to live the dream they had had as a little girl could be squashed flat and controlled so heartlessly by her family, but predominantly by her father.  Her conservatorship battle in court goes to show that hopefully, in the majority of cases, right will win and evil will be punished. Yes, Britney is a little bat-shit crazy, but no one deserves to be treated like that. I’m pleased she got the right outcome in the end. Britney opens the audiobook by stating that she cannot bear to read her story herself without getting upset which is the reason Michelle Williams narrates it. Although her voice d...

I have just closed this book, and a shiver went right through me, as it did throughout the time I was reading it. We all know about Auschwitz and many of you will have read fiction books based on actual events throughout this time, indeed one of my favourite genres is historical fiction. However, I have never been as moved and affected as when reading The Stable Boy of Auschwitz. ‘A heartbreaking true story of courage and survival’, as stated on the cover; honestly, this is an understatement. Henry (Heinz) Oster was just eleven years old when the Second World War began and this book is his memoir as he revisits those heart-wrenching and traumatic years of his childhood. The first three chapters are primarily about the history of the Jewish people and how Adolf Hitler came to be in power. The next fifty-four are an account of Henry’s horrific story, how he coped and how he endured and survived the Holocaust. Told from a very personal viewpoint, The Stable Boy of Auschwitz is just one m...

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and Pantheon Books for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings by Helen Jukes. I chose this book to read and review as I am fascinated by all bees, but in particular in learning more about the workings of a honeybee hive. Written as a memoir, Helen Jukes takes us through a year of her life in which she expresses an interest in bees, is gifted a swarm and then learns as much as she can before she collects them for her own hive. This book was extremely educational and informative and I enjoyed learning as much about the history of bees as Helen did, although I’m sure she only scratched the surface in what she shared with her reader. Although predominantly about the author’s beekeeping, we learn a little of her life, her work and her friends at the same time and occasionally, I forgot I was reading a non-fiction book as I was transported into the bee world. The book is well-written and th...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Thank you to NetGalley, Thread Books and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to, and review an ARC of In my Mother's Footsteps, written by Mona Hajjar Halaby and narrated by Lameece Issaq. Halaby's mother had to leave her home in Palestine in 1948 during the Arab-Israeli war, firstly living in Egypt and then in Geneva, Switzerland.  Halaby herself then met her husband-to-be in Geneva and they moved to California where they made their life.  As their children left home and were leading their own lives, Mona jumped at an opportunity to spend a year in Ramallah, Palestine, teaching Conflict Resolution in a local school.  Throughout her time there, Mona kept a journal of her day-to-day life, her integration with the children and her travels through her mother's homeland, visiting places that her mother was telling her about in her regular letters to her daughter.  As the months go on, Mona's mother and father make the long journey from Geneva to visit he...

⭐⭐⭐⭐  Thank you to NetGalley and Ad Lib Publishers for the opportunity to review 'Off-Road with Clarkson, Hammond & May' before its publication date.  Now I've always loved watching 'the boys' on TV. When I still lived at home, it became a Sunday night ritual to all sit down together to watch Top Gear, and this continued when I moved out. I thankfully found a husband who was also into the boys' antics, and we continued my tradition of Sunday night viewing, so when I was given this opportunity to read all about their escapades on tour, I jumped at the chance. Phillipa Sage, the author, became a piece of the furniture when Clarkson, Hammond & May were on tour, I can't remember what her official title was but she held everything together, dealing with Jeremy's diva moments (and yes, there were many), whilst organising hotels, restaurants and seemingly every little thing related to the tours. Phillipa reflects on her memories of the years she was wit...