Category Archives: Books

Kit Derrick: Hope Is A Six Letter Word. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The world of the solitary writer/novelist has been undercut and arguably abused in recent years. No longer celebrated by mass readership as thinkers and as people willing to scratch under the surface of observation, the artistry of the dispenser of words, wisdom, and wit has been arguably reduced to that of entertainer, a person to whom it seems is writing for a hobby; or at least that is how some sections of society and unfavourable book forums react.

A J Reid: The Horseman’s Dream. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It was once argued that the future we could foresee, could never actually happen; that the dystopia was all the dream of the anarchist, the radical over thinker, or the doom-monger, the ones who delight in declaring bad news in the hope that they will be seen as bearers of prophecy when their predictions come to bear fruit.

The future is now, and we have paid for our ego, our belief, the hope, that the world will function as it always has, that humanity’s demands have not tipped the balance of a fragile entity and sent it on a collision course with our lives, with our very existence.

Miriam Margoyles, This Much Is True. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Fearless, just a word, one that suggests the being of the indomitable, the daring, and the one that sums up the character, the very essence of individuality of Miriam Margoyles with a smile, with a beaming audible chortle for all who have taken the grand lady of theatre, of television, and cinema, for all that she displays.

Bob Stone: Letting The Stars Go. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

We live in an unequal world; that much has always been true, and it is to the detriment of all who give the world their finest smile and go through life with one simple aim, to give others the time that they inhabit with a reason to love.

Love, it is the most powerful of emotions, one that push us to achieve great things, to prove the impossible, one that will see us reach for the stars, and witness us Letting The Stars Go once we realise that all we have achieve goes beyond the sacrifices we have made.

Mike McCartney’s Early Liverpool. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

You can see it all, and yet still be unaware of the whole story that unfolds before your eyes. Seeing is believing, so they say, and yet what our eyes are able to visualise is barely enough to grasp the enormity of what the future is offering.

Today we are urged to take photographs of everything, to capture the moment, and this lends itself to two very different attitudes, one is the verification of the story, the proof framed that adds definition to the verbal narration, the other is the line taken by some that the photographer is merely seeking attention, demonstrating their life, be it humble, humdrum or beige, as one as an exciting monologue that deserves the full attention of likes, loves and shocked memes.

Derek Shelmerdine, Rock ‘n’ Roll Unravelled: From Its Roots To-Mid-1970s Punk. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There was a time when the writer was revered, placed upon a pedestal, and given the respect they deserve, and this was especially true of those who went beyond the realms of imagination and pain staking approach to research to produce a tome of information that was designed, in the words of Lord Reith to educate, inform, and entertain.

In a world made arguably simpler, but less brain friendly, by the internet, facts have lost their charm, they have lost their place in a society obsessed by the speed of a download and the uncared-for physicality of both the art and the application of the labour that went into it.

Alex Kingston, The Ruby’s Curse. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Humanity, it seems, is fascinated to learn of an ancient curse that is placed upon an object or even upon a person, it adds mystery, mystique, it allows vast swathes of the populace to insist upon regulations, and for others it acknowledges that there is something beyond our recognition that needs to be explored, to be investigated; and in that search for answers, for the logical explanation behind the supposed spell, we reveal a truth about the nature of our species.

Doctor Who. The Witchfinders. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

A reader should never judge a book by its cover, but it is possible to assess and value a book by the film or television show it has been adapted from.

Normally it is the other way round when it comes to the argument between how television and literature is consumed; the sense of “The film is not as the book” is always to be heard when comparisons are drawn between the two physical interpretations of the author’s imagination.

Nia Shea: These Are The Words I Shout At The Moon. Poetry Collection Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

We will come to regret the day when we deny the individual the freedom to feel.

We have become consumed by the idea that to be able to make our position clear must mean we are seeking confrontation, and perhaps in a way we have, for in a world that finds ever more ingenious ways to make us believe we are being heard, only to find out that we have been ignored, or worse, offered platitudes in the form of verbal bromide, being unable to make peace through the art of flowing anger is to stunt the growth of anyone with a soul, anyone with passion.

Luke Scott: Two Feet In The Sand. Poetry Collection Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The impression we make in other people’s lives can be seen as being created by Two feet In The Sand, some actions deeper than others, some easily washed away by time and tide, the sea of indifference or the ocean of positive affirmation all leaving their traces in one way or another; and yet it is the impact we have on our own lives that can leave a feeling like concrete driven into the beach of perception, that can weigh us down, allow us to dig to depths we had not thought capable…if only we could find the beauty in the experience, and feel the sand between our toes, and not sink further.