Staff Picks
Check out these titles which have been read and enjoyed by some of our library staff.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
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Jackson, Mississippi, 1962. Black maids raise white children, become closer to them than their real mothers, yet aren't trusted not to steal the silver.
Aibileen is a black maid, smart, warm and raising her seventeenth white child while living with the heartbreak of having lost her own son. Her friend Minny, also a maid, is an extraordinary cook but a young woman whose sharp tongue often costs her jobs. Skeeter, a young white woman, just out of college, full of hope and ambition, whose writing assignment sets the three women on a mission that is fraught with danger but which will ultimately change their lives and their town.
This is a real page-turner, a deeply moving book about the lives of women, whether mothers and daughters, the help or the boss, a timeless story but one which is very much of its time.
Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk
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This taut psychological thriller explores what would happen if you could kill someone with a few simple words. How would you cope and how long would you stay good?
Journalist Carl Streator finds a poem in a children's book that is killing people recited or, as he finds out later, even thought. Only one other person apart from him knows the poem.
This hypnotic book, despite its seemingly ludicrous premise, is handled believably and will have you up all night trying to finish it.
You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers
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Trying to escape the memory of their recently dead friend, Will and Hand travel round the world in seven days trying to give away the money that Will has inherited. Lushly narrated, this emotionally charged book took my breath away. Funny, warm, moving and full of the sights and sounds of many countries, this book is about finding out who you are by leaving your normal life behind for a while. Highly recommended.
Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman
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Forget Harry Potter. This is the one children’s book every adult should read. Lyra, an orphan, sets off from her home and ends up, alongside her daemon, travelling the known world (and beyond) to find her friend. This book was an absolute joy to read given its sheer inventiveness and unparalleled originality. And this is only book one, and she hasn’t even travelled to our universe yet. Kids and adults alike have discovered this book over the years for the wonder it is. The only thing left to say is “Harry Who?”
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
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Don’t let the title throw you off; this book’s lilting beauty will draw you in. Lost love, nostalgia and understanding permeate this subtle, moving book as the Lisbon girls try to find some sort of happiness in their lives which are carefully controlled by their overbearing parents. The book is narrated by the boys who loved them from afar in the way that only teenaged love can be. An extremely touching novel.