Review ~ Letters to the Earth Introduced by Emma Thompson

William Collins

14 November 2019

Letters to the Earth brings together the voices of children and the public with authors, scientists and playwrights in the first creative project of its kind.

Alongside letters from the public, Letters to the Earth received submissions from artist and peace activist Yoko Ono, actor Mark Rylance, writer and illustrator of The Lost Words Jackie Morris, novelist Anna Hope, environmental writer Jay Griffiths and Green Party MP Caroline Lucas . Together they are an invitation to consider how this existential threat affects the way we live our lives and the action we take.

Lots of books consider the climate and ecological crisis from a political or scientific perspective, but Letters to the Earth is the first book to chronicle how humankind is collectively processing planetary crisis.

What did I think about it..

This is an interesting collection of emotional letters and documents which collectively give a greater awareness of the strength of public feeling on the subject of climate change.  We can continue to hide our heads in the sand but no-one can fail to see the impact of adverse weather conditions on our planet, and regardless of our individual political agenda, climate change is something which is affecting all of us right now. We only need to look at the severe impact of earthquake, devastating forest fires, and closer to home, the destruction caused by frequent flooding in those areas where flood defenses are stretched, quite literally, to breaking point.

The Letters to the Earth are written by people who represent all of us - from parents and children, politicians and poets, actors and activists and songwriters and scientists, all seek to remind us that we are facing a world in climate crisis. The individual writings are all quite different in content, however, the one thing they all have in common is the amount of passion expressed in each and every heartfelt plea for us to stop, look, listen and act now, before it's too late.

Beautifully presented in an easy to read format, Letters to the Earth, has something for everyone to consider, from letters by those people who are instantly recognisable like the activist Yoko Ono, to a letter written by a perfectly articulate 12 year old, but what they all have in common is that each and everyone of them makes you stop  to really consider the impact of climate change.

I've been thoroughly educated by reading Letters to the Earth because it's written in a way which speaks to all of us in a strong and meaningful way. It's one of those books I'll definitely keep on my book shelf and read frequently to remind me that we can all do our bit to save this world in crisis. 

I really don't want us to be the ones who cause so much irreparable damage to this beautiful planet that we bring about its destruction.

Twitter @CultureDeclares #LetterstotheEarth

@WmCollinsBooks

Blog Tour ~ Dear Mr Pop Star by Derek and Dave Philpott

Jaffareadstoo is thrilled to host today's stop on the Dear Mr Pop Star Blog Tour

Unbound
20 September 2018

My thanks to the authors for my invitation to this blog tour and for my ecopy of the book

What's it all about...

For nearly 10 years, ‘Team Philpott’, as their followers fondly refer to them, have been on a quite bonkers crusade, writing good old-fashioned letters to pop and rock stars (sometimes even sent to their home addresses with prior consent!), either picking up on genuine ambiguities within their lyrics or often deliberately misunderstanding them for comedic effect.

‘Dear Mr. Popstar’ proudly features 100 of the best letters and responses from famous and legendary names spanning the whole pop and rock spectrum, all relishing their involvement and revealing their own, in many cases, hitherto unknown humorous sides within what could well be the most interactive dialogue compiled between music stars and their audience ever undertaken. 

Here's what I thought about it...

There's nothing I like better than a good old fashioned letter, something that pops through the letter box and which prompts a reply. What the authors have done, in this cleverly put together collection of letters, is to encourage a reply from some of the great and the good of the music industry, often misinterpreting their unique raison d'etre, with hilarious results.

It's all good fun and those pop stars, with their considered responses to a myriad of rather bizarre observations, enter into the spirit, some, it must be said, with more gusto that others, but always with a, reasonably, good natured patience.

The individual Dear Mr Pop Star letters are the real star of this show, cleverly worded, witty, slightly reproving, but always with an astute eye for interpreting the anomalies and blatant ambiguities which surround pop stars and their music.

It's really difficult to pick out just one or two favourites but these have made me chuckle:

The letter to Dr Hook which observes that the interminable butting in of a telephone operator who kept demanding 40 cents more for the next three minutes must have been " a little bit more than infuriating, not to say a bit of a dent on the old wallet" and the fact that it would have been much cheaper to skype 😊

Spandau Ballet being ripped off for "buying a ticket to the world" since the planet is free...

Starship being admonished for the lyrics .."We built this city on rock 'n' roll"...and the reason why any construction needs a solid foundation.

And my absolute favourite is to the hapless Herman from Herman's Hermits being told off for cancelling the milk and skipping his breakfast cereal.

Dear Mr Pop Star is one of those clever little books that you can dip into and out of at whim, and what's guaranteed, is that there is always going to be, regardless of where you open the book, something to make you smile, and, before too long, you will find that you are nodding your head in complete agreement.

About the Authors

Derek and Dave Philpott are the noms de plume of two ordinary members of the public, working with  help from a worldwide social networking community.

Twitter @DerekPhilpott  #DearMrPopStar

Amazon UK