Written by Henry Young
“If I had my way, I’d remove January from the calendar altogether and have an extra July instead” Roald Dahl
Our big summer event is of course the Summer Reading Challenge, where we challenge children to read six books over the holidays. Over the summer, we have storytelling, dance and sport workshops and also Lego technology!
For the grown-ups we host regular sociable events. We have knit and natter groups, friendly board game afternoons, IT for You together, and Reading Friends.
This month our Library team has chosen tales of stalkers, lurkers, and ghosts! We have magic, and holidays both good and bad.
Top Audio
Mouth to mouth / Antoine Wilson
Mouth to mouth by Antoine Wilson
In the great tradition of morally murky narrators such as those in Gone Girl, The White Tiger or The Talented Mr Ripley, comes a compelling, one-sitting literary thriller of imposters and Faustian bargains, in which a man pulls another man from the rough surf…and then wishes he’d just let him drown.
In a first-class lounge at JFK airport, our narrator listens as Jeff Cook, a former classmate he only vaguely remembers, shares the uncanny story of his adult life—a life that changed course years before, the moment he resuscitated a drowning man.
This is a wonderful thriller of stalkers and identity theft, with a marvellous anti-hero.
Top nonfiction
Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life – Ulli Lust
Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life by Ulli Lust
Back in 1984, a rebellious, 17-year-old, punked Ulli set out for a wild hitchhiking trip across Italy, from Naples through Verona and Rome and ending up in Sicily.
In this graphic novel memoir Ulli recounts her ups and many downs, sleeping rough, sleeping with the wrong men, getting involved in bad drugs, the sex industry and the mafia!
The book is raw, intense and captures so many small memorable moments. The characters are well developed, the story is interesting and takes unexpected turns.
Have you ever been on holiday? Ever taken a risk you wouldn’t at home? Ever been influenced by peer group pressure? Ever slept rough in the park?
Would you rather read about it?
This is the book for you!
Top Fiction
Outline / Rachel Cusk
Outline by Rachel Cusk
It has been said that “everyone is necessarily the hero of their own life story”. In this auto-fiction Rachel Cusk flips this idea on the head, she is the bit part in her own story!
In Outline, a writer named Faye (perhaps not unlike Rachel Cusk herself) travels to Athens for a few days to lead a writing workshop. Along the way, she engages in conversations with several people–her seatmate on the plane, other teachers and students in the workshop, friends she meets up with, friends those friends have brought along, et cetera. Sometimes Faye listens to these people without comment, sometimes she challenges them, sometimes she reveals something about herself. That’s all. The novel is a collection of conversations.
It should be boring – but it’s a page-turner!
Top Junior NonFiction
The Science of Harry Potter: The Spellbinding Science Behind the Magic, Gadgets, Potions, and More! / Mark Brake
The Science of Harry Potter by Mark Brake
How does magic in J. K. Rowling’s universe work? Finally, the scientific secrets are revealed!
Modern muggle scientists have uncovered explanations to the seemingly impossible, including answers to such questions as:
- Will we ever see an invisibility cloak?
- How hazardous is a flying broomstick like the Nimbus 2000?
- How has medicine made powerful potions from peculiar plants?
- Can scientists ever demonstrate Wingardium Leviosa, or the flying power of a Golden Snitch?
- Is it possible to stupefy someone?
And many more!
Often perceived as a supernatural force, magic captivates and delights its audience because of its seeming ability to defy physics and logic. But did you ever wonder if science has any explanation for these fantastic feats?
Ghostcloud by Michael Mann
GhostCloud by Michael Mann
Michael is the winner of our East Sussex Children’s Book Award – chosen by the children
Set amidst a vividly evoked, smoke-stained underworld beneath Battersea Power Station, Ghostcloud is a wildly imaginative book about friendship, courage and finding your freedom against all odds.
Kidnapped and forced to shovel coal underneath a half-bombed, blackened power station, 12-year-old Luke’s life is miserable. Then, he discovers he can see things others can’t. Ghostly things. Specifically, a ghost-girl named Alma. Alma, who can ride clouds through the night sky and bend their shape to her will, befriends Luke. And with Alma’s help, Luke discovers he is in fact a rare being – half-human and half-something else…
Then Luke learns the terrible truth of why children are being kidnapped and forced to work in the power station, and he becomes even more desperate to escape. Can Luke find out who he really is… and find his freedom?
