Happy Days: 365 Facts to Brighten Every Day of the Year by Emily Coxhead - #bookreview

 

1st January

When you smile, your body releases chemicals that will make you feel HAPPIER...

***

A wonderfully joyful book bursting with 365 happy facts to brighten every day of the year, from the much-loved creator of The Happy News.

Did you know that otters hold hands when they sleep or that a group of pugs is called a grumble? Discover this and much more in this joyful collection of happy facts, wholesome true stories and uplifting statistics for young readers to learn from and enjoy. Including adorable stories of animals and inspiring stories of humanity, and beautifully complemented by Emily Coxhead’s vibrant artwork, this is the perfect gift to enjoy each and every day for years to come.

***

This is delightful and is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

The book is constructed in diary format so begins on the 1st of January and ends on the 31st of December. Each days entry has a happy fact attributed to it. For example todays is:

"the Dead Sea in the Middle East is SO SALTY that you cannot sink in it." 

There is something for both girls and boys in this book which will bring a little happiness to their day. If I had had this book when my children were young I would have shared each days entry with them over breakfast.

I can well imagine early readers enjoying finding these facts for themselves too. 

A few other facts from the book are:

"Cows have best friends.

Scotland has 421 words for snow, including feefle, snaw and skelf.

Some buildings in Hong Kong have large holes in them designed for dragons to fly through."

There really is something to appeal to all ages up to about eight years old in this book. It is beautifully illustrated by the author, and I heartily recommend it.

ISBN: 978 1529520866

Publisher:  Walker Books

Formats:  Hardback

No. of Pages:  176 (hardback)

About the Author:

Emily Coxhead is a British designer, illustrator and happy thing maker! She is also a graduate of Manchester School of Art, and the founder, director, creator and promoter of The Happy Newspaper. Based in a small village in Lancashire, the simple aim of this entrepreneur is to make the world a happier place. 

The concept for The Happy Newspaper which was first published in December 2015 began as a small idea when Emily realised the effect that the news was having on her especially whilst she was going through a difficult time herself.

Testament to her success, in September 2018 Emily was featured in The Independent newspaper’s Happy List which acknowledges 50 inspirational heroes who do extraordinary things for others, and who deserve to be celebrated for their kindness, courage and selflessness.

(book courtesy of the publisher)

(author media courtesy of her website https://www.emilycoxhead.com/about)

(all opinions are my own)

The Counterfeit Detective by Simpson Grears - #bookreview #blogtour

 

You want to make your life a book? Consider. Books are as impermanent as people. Both are eaten by worms. Bindings loosen and break. Paper becomes yellow and brittle. Even vellum dries and cracks. Both lives and books are easily lost and forgotten. Sanctuary there is none. Books disappear into libraries and libraries sometimes burn...

***

An American Professor discovers the diaries of John Ledbury, known as the counterfeit detective, a minor poet who, in Victorian London, is employed to reply to the mail that come addressed to Sherlock Holmes at 221b Baker Street.

Through the diaries he unearths a series of baffling unsolved murders. He travels through England and Scotland but he realizes that, in order to solve the mystery, he has to travel further, back through time itself.

***

I was initially attracted to this book when it was offered to me on a blog tour as it claims to have elements of Sherlock Holmes mixed with Jack the Ripper. Quite a combination!

It does indeed have those things but it also has much more to recommend it. There is a great dual timeline which I love in a book. It is set partly in 1900 and 1973 and the author moves the story between those two periods with ease.

It had an appealing plot which begins in the latter time period when an American University Professor discovers some diaries from the earlier time. The story then moves backwards and forwards as he investigates the entries, and there are some interesting discoveries along the way.

What I had been unprepared for in this book is that some of these diary entries contain examples of sadistic pornography. This was not to my personal reading taste, and it is as well to be forewarned before you read the book.

It has an interesting conclusion when the author brings both the timelines together.

Readers who enjoy historical fiction mixed with a bit of erotica will enjoy this book.

ISBN: 978 1739596088

Publisher:  Rymour Books

Formats: Paperback

No. of Pages:  332

 

About the Author:

SIMPSON GREARS is the crime-writing name of the writer Ian Simpson Grears Spring. His collection of short stories, The Foot of the Walk Murders, was longlisted for a prestigious Dagger award for short story by the Crime Writers Association in 2021. His first detective novel, The Counterfeit Detective, is an epic Gothic literary crime thriller set mostly in Victorian London but also in 1970s England, Scotland and the United States.

(book courtesy of Love Book Tours)

(author media courtesy of https://thecwa.co.uk/find-an-author/grears-simpson/)

(all opinions are my own)