Guest post by Henry (the librarian)
The clocks go back, the nights draw in and there’s nothing like curling up under a blanket and reading a great book.
Libraries have so much going on this October! Poetry nights, folk music, Baron Von Munchausen, Quentin Blake theatre, Family Learning festivals, Joseph Coelho and African animal folklore. Keen to get involved? Visit the Library events page for more information.
Read on, to find our librarian’s top picks for October reads and catch up on their previous recommendations here.
Top fiction chosen by Nathaniel
The Book of Evidence by John Banville
Freddie Montgomery is a gentleman first and a murderer second. He committed two crimes – he stole a small Dutch master from a wealthy family friend and he murdered a chambermaid who caught him in the act.
If you are a fan of the Ripley series, you’ll love this cool detached missive from imprisoned psychopath Freddie.
Reserve the pBook of ‘The Book of Evidence’
Top non-fiction chosen by Felicity
Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein
When Naomi Klein discovered that a woman who shared her first name, but had radically different, harmful views, was getting chronically mistaken for her, it seemed too ridiculous to take seriously. Then suddenly it wasn’t. She started to find herself grappling with a distorted sense of reality, becoming obsessed with reading the threats on social media, the endlessly scrolling insults from the followers of her doppelganger. Why had her shadowy other gone down such an extreme path?
To find out, Klein decided to follow her double into a bizarre, uncanny mirror world: one of conspiracy theories, anti-vaxxers and demagogue hucksters, where soft-focus wellness influencers make common cause with fire-breathing far right propagandists (all in the name of protecting ‘the children’).
Reserve the pBook of ‘Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World’
Top audio chosen by Maurice
Rabbits by Hugo Rifkind (read by Andrew Watson)
A breathtaking new novel, perfect for fans of Saltburn!
Tommo has just started at a new school – a training ground for the Scottish elite – when his friend Johnnie’s brother is found dead in a Land Rover on a Highland farm. There’s a shotgun at his feet. Nobody seems clear about what has happened, least of all Tommo.
A child of the middle class, and with new independence thrust upon him, Tommo finds himself invited into fading crumbling houses. It’s the early nineties and this elite is struggling for relevance. Alienated from the mainstream, and running low on inherited wealth, his peers have retreated into snobbery and fatalism. Half-remembered traditions mix with decadence and an awful lot of small dead animals. And sometimes, not just animals.
Awed by their poise and seduced by their hedonism, Tommo gradually becomes aware of sinister currents beneath the surface and a suppressed rage that threatens to explode into violence.
Listen to the eAudio of ‘Rabbits’
Top children’s fiction chosen by Miguel
The Big Breakout by Burhana Islam and illustrated by Farah Khandaker
Yusuf’s older sister is coming to stay – and she’s having a baby! Yusuf wants to be the ultimate uncle, but he knows he has to prepare. He ropes in his friends for a madcap scheme that is sure to backfire in more ways than one, with hilarious and unexpected results…
Reserve the pBook of ‘The Big Breakout’
Top children’s non-fiction chosen by Ignazia
Adventures of the Brain by Professor Sanjay Manohar and illustrated by Gary Boller
This is a bumper book that follows the everyday escapades of a brain character to explain the brain’s key functions and concepts such as how we remember, learn new skills or even move our bodies! Also discover how we concentrate, handle pain, plan ahead and communicate and the many billions of neurons that make all this possible. Each cartoon strip adventure is followed by a visually-led information spread to consolidate the learning and reinforce how things work.
Reserve the pBook of ‘Adventures of the Brain’
