Claire Cock-StarkeyReviews

"Cats are terrible gossips according to folklore from the Netherlands. People are careful not to discuss their deepest, darkest secrets when a cat is in the room"

Interesting folklore from multiple cultures. Mostly short facts for each category with a few 1-2 page stories scattered throughout. Nice illustrations. A fun book to own so you can reference good luck/bad luck wisdoms.

Lore of the Land, by Claire Cock-Starkey and Samantha Dolan, revolves around the traditions, legends, and myths surrounding the natural world. Six chapters focus on a different habitat, from the sea, to forests, to mountains. Each starts off with a myth or legend from around the world, followed by more diverse categories under that habitat.

With language designed to captivate, the book tells tales of weird and wonderful customs, traditions, and lore from the world over. The descriptions of traditions and their evolution provide nuanced insights into the customs of the past and how they continue to impact modern society. Every chapter of the book is structured in a candid and conversational style, and the storytelling is a perfect form. The illustrations in Lore of the Land add a vibrant and visual interpretation of the rich cultural traditions.

One minor qualm- fauns are half goat, not half horse. Other than that, perfect for those interested in folklore and mythic studies!

***Many thanks to the Netgalley & Quarto Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A small, slim tome that is exactly what it says it is: a miscellany of facts about libraries throughout history. Some of it is nothing new to anyone who enjoys a good book about a book, but most of it was new and fairly interesting. It had a few drive-my-husband-crazy moments of "listen to this!" but not so many that there was heavy sighing or eye-rolling going on.

My personal favourites included the most overdue books and the example of rules at different major libraries in the world (I love that the Vatican Library has a bar). I'm dying to know why Portugal's legal deposit laws require 11 copies of every book be submitted (as opposed to the more common 1-2 copies).

I'd have liked to have seen some illustrations of a few of the topics mentioned, but overall it's a nice little book, and one I'll likely refer to more than once when I feel the need to torture friends with book related trivia.

An excellent little book for what it is: a collection of facts about books and authors. Oldest books in existence, description of the ISBN system, book towns, oddest titles of the year, and a code key to Penguin paperbacks are all examples of the interesting and sometimes amusing facts collected together in this small tome.

I'm afraid MT learned rather more obscure facts about book than he'd have said he was interested interested in, as I couldn't resist reading many of the sections out load. My only disappointment was the distinctly UK focus; a small disappointment all things considered.

"Of all the things man can do or make here below,
by far the most momentous, wonderful, and
worthy are the things we call books."

– Thomas Carlyle½

Beautiful and colorfully illustrated, this marvelous book tells of the beliefs of many peoples which center around the natural world. It is divided into logical groupings and relates the good and bad luck properties and origin stories of much of the world. I think it would be very affirming to those learning ESL and would also strengthen their vocabularies. In the home or school it is a great Read Together vehicle. BUT. I did find the print rather small in the ebook. Some of us who are accustomed to reading things at angles (and upside down!) at work will be very comfortable with this aspect of the positioning of paragraphs on pages with multiple tales. I LOVED IT!
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Quarto Publishing Group – Wide Eyed Editions, via NetGalley. Thank you!

Some people reach that ultimate accolade of having something named after them and making it into the dictionary. Some you would have heard of; Rudolf Diesel managed to get a type of engine and a fuel named after him. The opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba had a dessert and a type of toast named in her honour and the Douglas Fir is named after the Scottish botanist, David Douglas

Lots of people have managed to get places on the planet named after them, Everest, Hudson Bay and Bolivia are three examples, but some of the stranger eponyms that appear in here, mesmerise, Apgar, dunce and praline are some of the few covered in this fascinating little book. There are the weird and wonderful too, a dish that has cultured almost countless numbers of cells was developed and named after the Julius R. Petri, a Germ bacteriologist, the greengage and boysenberry are named after people too and the Scoville will blow your mind.

I had read two of her previous books, The Book Lovers’ Miscellany and A Library Miscellany, so was really looking forward to this one. Whilst this isn’t about books, it is about the English language which is another of my favourite things to read about. There are 150 different eponyms and is a perfect little book for those who also have a passion for words and their origins. The research is meticulous and because of that, this is full of tiny details and anecdotes that make it an entertaining read. If there was one tiny flaw, I would have liked more of it to read.

I have been a fan of libraries for longer than I care to remember. I visit my local one in most weekends and normally have a book or two to collect or drop back and always look at the shelves to see if there is anything that catches my eye.

This sister volume to The Book Lovers' Miscellany picks up the same baton as that book. It is one that will have you retiring to the closest comfortable chair to uncover the delights and secrets of the libraries of the world. In here we will learn who was the first librarian, which library in the UK loans the most books each year and just what a legal deposit library is. There is a potted history of the library from the earliest over 2500 years ago to the most recent digital libraries. There are the rules of some of the world's most famous libraries where you can discover which one states that you cannot carry a gun in (!!!)

It is shocking I know, but there are libraries out there that don't contain books, however, they do contain a variety of other objects from seeds to smells, art and there is even a library of magic. We learn who wanted the library stock for themselves and were caught stealing the maps and books from some of the most famous libraries in the world, and those who have borrowed the books then forgot to bring them back for quite a while. I'm quite excited by the Future Library that Katie Peterson has created, she is collecting 100 books by 100 different authors and these will not be published until 2114.

There is some overlap between this book and The Book Lovers' Miscellany, but this is still a cornucopia of snippets, facts and figures about libraries that bibliophiles will treasure.

In case you haven't worked it out yet, I love books. I even like reading books about books too, and when I was given an opportunity to read The Book Lovers’ Miscellany I jumped at the chance. This small volume is packed to the covers with details and facts and stories about books, authors and significant events from the world of literature.

If you want a list of publishers who declined the books that went onto break all the sales records, which parts of animals have graced the pages and the what the largest and smallest books ever made were about and the texts that have been translated the most, then this is a really good place to start. You can find out who are the youngest authors, who are the most prolific and who left unfinished manuscripts, as well as finding out what the colours of the original Penguin paperbacks were for. Not sure what colophon and incunabule mean? The answers are in here as well as finding out what books other than science fiction contains wormholes.

This is a delightfully written and produced book that is a treasure trove of information. Perfect for anyone who has the slightest interest in books, authors and reading, it is short so will take almost no time to read spend a few moments to learn a new fact every time you open it.

Oh my word, The Real McCoy is such a fascinating book. If you haven't come across Claire Cock-Starkey's riveting little books then you really are missing out on a treat. I recommend every single one of them; see my reviews of The Book Lovers' Miscellany and A Library Miscellany.

Have you ever wondered about the origin of some of the everyday words in our English language? Claire Cock-Starkey has gathered together some of the most amazing stories behind some well-known words in this collection of 150 eponyms. An eponym is a person after whom something is named and some obviously have a person's name in their title, such as Earl Grey tea, Bunsen burner and Alzheimer's disease but my eyes opened in surprise and delight as I read about the less obvious eponyms; such everyday words as cereal, hygiene and biro.

This is a book to read from cover to cover then to revisit by dipping in and out of in order to regale your family and friends with your favourite linguistic stories. There are some familiar stories like wellington, cardigan and sandwich but, even though I already knew their origin, they are told in such a perfectly concise way as to jog your memory and help to digest the facts. It's a book that you won't be able to help yourself sharing with others as I found myself reading some of the stories out loud to my family. That really is the mark of a good book when you feel the need to share it with others.

I absolutely adored The Real McCoy; it's fascinating, informative and the perfect gift for that awkward to buy for book lover in your life.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

If you're ever looking for a gift for a book lover then this little gem by Claire Cock-Starkey will definitely fit the bill. If you're really splashing out, make sure to pick up the highly recommended The Book Lovers' Miscellany too.

This pocket-sized book is perfect to read on the go, either reading cover to cover or dipping in and out as the mood takes you. It's full of useful statistics, eye-opening facts and interesting titbits that amazed and entertained me. I was amazed to read about the first mobile library in Cumbria in 1857 as horse-drawn carts provided access to books in remote areas without a library.

The timeline at the end of the book is an invaluable source of information as you see the evolution of libraries. I was astounded to see the reference to e-books in the 1970's, when the world wide web was only a twinkle in Tim Berners-Lee's eye. It must have been a librarian's dream to think that books could be accessed by anyone anywhere in the world at anytime. Of course the downside to e-books is the effect it has on the libraries we have come to know and love. As lending of physical books diminishes, I sincerely hope that libraries are not under threat of closure. Long live the library!

A Library Miscellany is an enlightening and entertaining pocket history of every book lover's favourite place; I loved it and I'm sure you will too.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

If you're looking for the perfect gift for a book lover, then look no further than The Book Lovers' Miscellany. What a treasure trove of information this is. I want to read it again and again to see what I missed. It's one of those books that you'll read something new each time you pick it up.

I just love the pocket size of this book, it makes it so transportable and I feel like I want to carry it with me everywhere so I can dip in and out of it and read excerpts to my friends and family. There are so many interesting facts and so much to learn in this small but mighty book. If you're a lover of lists, you will LOVE this...from the most translated authors to the most popular children books. These facts are portrayed in such a way that you will remember them and be able to amaze your book loving friends, which I plan to do!

I can't recommend this book highly enough, I feel like it is my little bibliophilic bible and I never want to be parted from it. Small but mighty, The Book Lovers' Miscellany will enchant any book lover.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

I like the concept, and the quotes themselves are interesting, but the author's commentary was bland and didn't add much, in my opinion. I feel like there must have been a more engaging way to arrange this book.

Entertaining collection of odds and ends of library statistics, history, and miscellaneous facts. For obvious reasons (the book was published by the Bodleian Library of Oxford), some of the facts are Anglo-centric, that still interesting to the reader outside that nationality.½

A collection of random book-related trivia compiled by a staff member at the Bodleian Library. Light and fast reading, with a feeling more of pub quiz level trivia than deep history of the book as object but fun all the same.