Have you noticed…? Books, books and more books!
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If you frequent the hallowed halls of one of our Branch libraries you may recently have noticed an influx of NEW BOOKS!
We are enjoying seeing them flooding the shelves and I have been catching up on reading new titles from
some of my favourite authors.
I have been a fan of Tracy Chevalier’s historical fiction since I read Girl With a Pearl Earring quite a few years ago. Since then I have read most of her other books and am always in awe of her indepth research and ability to bring us flawlessly into the stories she is telling - from 17th C France, to the slave trade in 1850s Ohio and on to 1930’s middle England and an embroidery group that meet in Winchester Cathedral in A Single Thread.
The GlassMaker is another perfect example of this – based in 15th Century Venice around the Murano glass making families. The Rosso family falls on hard times and we follow Orsola, her glass beads and her family through centuries of change, through war and plague, love and loss. A spell binding story that spins a web of wonder as we skip through the centuries. I absolutely loved it 😊
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig was a sensation a 
few years ago as much for his writing as perhaps for the author’s well publicised own story of survival though years of depression and addiction. His new book The Life Impossible takes us to the holiday island of Ibiza. Retired Maths teacher Grace is left a little house on the Island by a friend she has not seen in years. She reluctantly travels to Ibiza and is shaken out of the predictable life she had settled into as the island life takes a hold of her. As she searches for the truth about her friend’s premature death she is drawn into the magic of the island’s secrets, and into the adventure of a new beginning she had never imagined. I enjoyed the surreal atmosphere of this book, Grace changes with her move to the island and the new relationships she makes help to give her a new lease of life. As with The Midnight Library this is an easily accessible book, a light read, and one which will appeal to many. But ‘Beware Ibiza’ – you are demonstrating a side to your island that may attract more visitors to your shores as they too seek to live The Life Impossible.
Tan Twan Eng’s books are a revelation to me. A Malaysian writer, he has only published three books but
they are absolutely magnificent! The Garden of Evening Mists was one of the first books that I ever listened to as an audio book on a long commute and the lasting effect of the beautiful descriptive language has stayed with me. His new book is The House of Doors –based in Penang and loosely derived from events in the life of Willie Somerset Maughan, the writer, on a visit to stay with an old friend Robert and his wife Leslie. As Willie struggles with writer’s block, he faces temptations that threaten to uproot his whole existence. We learn of the dynamics of the household as Leslie gets involved with a controversial court case as well as finding herself entertaining an old friend, a revolutionary figure who is threatening to overturn the imperial dynasty in China. This is a far-reaching story that reveals a lesser known side to the author Somerset Maughan as well as showing us what it was like to live as an expat in Kuala Lumpur and Penang in the 1920’s. Beautiful descriptions and use of language evokes an ethereal quality to the culture and landscape, contrasting vividly with some of the grim events which are described.
I found The House of Doors an absorbing read and one I’m sure which will be a hit with Reading Groups.
I am looking forward to some reading time over the holiday period to catch on more of my favourites as well as finding some new authors- I hope you are too 😊
Books available in the Libraries NI Catalogue:
The GlassMaker (Hardback)
The GlassMaker (eBook on Libby)
The GlassMaker (eBook on BorrowBox)
The GlassMaker (eAudiobook on BorrowBox)
