Library Lovers Day

[Sarah Wild]

The 14^th of February is (also) Library Lovers Day, and the staff in the Library have nominated books that they love. They are either some of our ‘all-time favourite’ books, or books that we’ve read recently that we’ve really enjoyed.

 If you have any urge to share, we’d love to hear about some of your favourite books as well!

One Hundred Years of Solitude

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez! When I read it 30 years or so ago it blew my mind and introduced me to Magic Realism which is a genre I really enjoy. It is very complex and you have to pay attention but well worth the effort.

Linda

A Fine Balance

My all-time favourite book is A Fine Balance – by Rohinton Mistry –  is an extremely moving story of four people who,due to circumstances beyond their control, find themselves thrust together in a cramped apartment in an unnamed city in India. The characters are unforgettable and through the story you become enmeshed in their lives, their trials and their tribulations. The harshness of the caste system in India comes to life through the fine details of the book. Mistry is a fabulous writer.

Jane

Around the World in Eighty Days 

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne tells the story of Phileas Fogg, an eccentric and determined scientist who attempts to circumnavigate the world in eighty days in response to a challenge. Alongside Fogg, is his trusted companion Passepartout,  who finds himself in trouble at various times of the journey due to his own misadventure. Fogg travels from London to Suez, Bombay, Calcutta, Hong Kong, Yokohama, San Francisco, New York and back to London, by various means of transport such as balloons, steamboats, elephants and trains. A fast-paced story of extraordinary courage, determination, action, adventure, fun and love -Around the World in Eighty Days will entertain anyone who loves a good adventure story. 

 

Rukhshana

The Children Act

 

I’ve just finished reading Ian McEwan’s ‘The Children Act’ and it was such a good book! The main character of the story is Fiona, a High Court judge in London, and much of the story revolves around the cases and characters that come before her on the bench. This was such an interesting part of the book and apparently Ian McEwan wrote the novel with the input of a friend who was a judge, which showed in the details of the cases written. The depth of the story also came from the details of Fiona’s marriage, and her pastime as a musician.

 

Sarah

Little Women

"Little Women” was one of my favourite books as a child, and I have enjoyed it just as much when read as an adult. It’s a heart-warming story of four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth & Amy whose father is off to fight in the Civil War. They are left in the care of their loving mother who struggles to give her daughters the best life possible under difficult circumstances.

The sisters are all very different personalities, Meg is the eldest and the mother figure when needed. Jo is the strong wilful tomboy, Beth is a kind, shy, sweet child who becomes gravely ill, and Amy is the spoilt youngest child.

 The book is written so well and is very poignant. I always feel a little lonely and sad when I finish it, as, during the reading, I feel a part of the family. It’s one of those books that can truly be called a “timeless classic”.

Jane

Yes Please

I recently read and loved the biography ‘Yes Please’ by Amy Poehler. It was such a

fun read, it made me laugh, made me thoughtful and it was also fairly inspiring in the chapters that she wrote about her partnerships and motherhood. If you’re a fan of comedy, or just feel like reading a biography that is a little bit different, I really recommend it. 

Sarah

Narrow Road to the Deep North

I didn’t really enjoy this book – but I found it compelling and passionate. I loved how it dealt with the passage of time and reflections on life. The descriptive passages about war were horrifying. This book has stayed with me since I read it.

 

Shirley

Trotsky: a graphic biography by Rick Geary

 

This graphic novel is a great way to learn about Trotsky. I learnt more about Trotsky's life, Lenin and Stalin, the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks than I ever did in school when I studied it in depth! And I learnt that naughty old Trotsky had an affair with Frida Kahlo while he and his wife were living with Kahlo and Diego Rivera in Mexico after being expelled by Stalin from Russia in 1936. The impression I came away with of Trotsky after finishing this book was that of a thoughtful, principled and brilliant theorist and writer, who has been much maligned by the capitalist version of history.

Jane

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