We have been celebrating English authors for St George’s day month at the library. We have a wonderful display with art by our volunteer Maddy, and a selection of hand picked books for you to discover. Here’s a closer look at a few of the titles.
Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson
1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife. In the clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time. The notorious queen of this glittering world is Nellie Coker, ruthless but also ambitious to advance her six children, including the enigmatic eldest, Niven whose character has been forged in the crucible of the Somme. But success breeds enemies, and Nellie’s empire faces threats from without and within. For beneath the dazzle of Soho’s gaiety, there is a dark underbelly, a world in which it is all too easy to become lost.
We say: This is about the dark under belly of London when two girls try to make it in the entertainment business.
Available at the library, click here to order further copies
The Pier Falls by Mark Haddon
An expedition to Mars goes terribly wrong. A seaside pier collapses. A 30-stone man is confined to his living room. One woman is abandoned on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean. Another is saved from drowning. Two boys discover a gun in a shoebox, and a group of explorers find a cave of unimaginable size, deep in the Amazon jungle. Here, Mark Haddon demonstrates two things: first that he is a master of the short form, and second that his imagination is even darker than we had thought.
We say: a dark and emotional collection of short stories
Available at the library, click here to order further copies
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Towsend
Teenager Adrian writes candidly about his parents’ marital troubles, the dog, his life as a tortured poet and ‘misunderstood intellectual’. His painfully honest diary makes hilarious and compelling reading.
We say: suitable for teenagers, YA, and adults, this is a humourous diary about school life and separation of a child’s parents
Available at the library, click here to order a copy
Narborough and Littlethorpe Community Library 