49 Book Review


ooks are in my opinion the perfect Christmas gift and best of all, once you’ve read them you can pass on the enjoyment and hand on the book to someone else. Cookery books are always a good gift and none


more so than the recently published Wood Fired Fish & Seafood by local heroes Holly and David Jones from Manna From Devon in Kingswear. This latest addition to their wood fired series is full of their


by Emma Jones


NEW BEGINNINGS, NATURE AND NOSH! B


Biographies are hot choices at this time of year and


Michelle Obama is way up there with her entertaining and honest memoir, Becoming (published by Viking). Another inspirational story which was recently recommended in my book club is The Salt Path by Raynor Winn (Penguin paperback due out in the New Year). This is the story of a couple whose lives run out of control when they suddenly lose everything and become homeless. Having also received a terminal


favourite fish and seafood recipes using the best of the local produce on our South West doorstep. It’s bursting with flavour from Mussels á la Plancha, Hot-smoked salmon and Thai Style Fishcakes and simple enough even for those without a wood- fired oven. The joy of reading is


plain to see with my children’s book pick of the month - The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith. This charming picture book about a three-legged donkey has found fame since the YouTube film of a granny reading the story to her grandchild went viral. When you read this rhyming tale about a “stinky, dinky, honky-tonky donkey ” it’s sure to raise a chuckle from children and adults alike with its charming illustrations and a whiff of my favourite character from Shrek. The Costa Book Awards are a good place to look


for new reading recommendations - www.costa. co.uk. The 2018 shortlist has just been announced and the winners will be revealed in January. There are categories covering new authors, poetry, novels, biographies and childrens’ literature and with so many readable titles on their list you are sure to find something for everyone.


diagnosis the couple embark on an epic journey along the South West Coast Path with little but the packs on their backs. This is “a remarkable and redemptive journey” about the healing power of nature and what home really means and any one of us who has walked any distance on the coast path will relate to the restorative power of this natural environment.


Another book set locally which has recently hit the shelves is TP Fielden’s recent addition to his Miss Dimont Mystery series - A Quarter Past Dead (published by Harper Collins). This would satisfy any lover of vintage crime with a story set in 1950s Devon with charming amateur sleuth, Miss Dimont, who is also the reporter on local rag The Riviera Express. The story has plenty of scandal, intrigue, a toffee-nosed hotelier and murder in a holiday hut – think Miss Marple meets Father Brown on Goodrington Beach! There’s a plethora of humorous titles vying for


attention at the tills. One of the latest and most topical additions is Ladybird’s Grown-Up Guide: The Story of Brexit by Jason Hazeley. It’s an obvious stocking filler though I’m not sure if there’s much humour to be found there!


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