Poole Libraries Selected Stock Collections for Reading Groups – March 2015 The following titles are available from the library in multiple copies for use by reading groups. Please select the ones you’d like to read and send us your list of titles and dates of your reading group meetings. We will send a set of books to your local library for you to collect in time for your meeting. You can update your list at any time – just hand in to your local library. ******************************************************************************************************* LP - Large print copy available, NF - non-fiction, SS - short stories, P- poetry. Blue shading - new to the list. eBook – eBook available to download from www.poole.gov.uk/libraries Audio books are available for most titles on CD and need to be reserved from the main stock. Some can be downloaded (DL) from OneClickdigital – see www.poole.gov.uk/libraries for more information. ******************************************************************************************************* Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Described as ‘masterly’ and ‘a landmark novel’ the book deals with lives and loyalties tested by the horrors of the Biafran struggle in Nigeria in the 1960s. Winner of the 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction. (Contains notes on the author and the book.) LP CD Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern Joyce Conway finds she is remembering things she shouldn’t, someone else’s memories. Leaving hospital after an accident and moving in with her elderly father, her life seems to be unravelling. A light, quirky, funny story with appealing characters. (Includes Q & A with the author). LP CD When Will There be Good News? By Kate Atkinson A six year old witnesses a terrible crime. Thirty years later, the man convicted is released from prison. This is a thriller full of dramatic events, unexpected twists but most memorably, subtle and appealing characters. LP CD Mansfield Park by Jane Austen Fanny Price is the poor relation taken to live in the magnificent Mansfield Park, home of the wealthy Bertram family. Growing up with her ‘superior’ cousins, she becomes an observer of vanity, sibling rivalry, greed, ambition and illicit passion. Shows English society at a time of upheaval and change. LP CD Absolute Power by David Baldacci Set in Washington DC, this riveting thriller dare to explore an unthinkable abuse of power: a vicious murder involving the US President and a cover-up orchestrated by his zealously loyal Chief of Staff and the Secret Service. But, unknown to the President and his lackeys, one unlikely witness saw everything. Trapped behind a two-way mirror in a country house in Maryland, Luther Whitney, a professional burglar, witnesses an event that destroys his faith in justice. By the time he escapes, pursued by two Secret Service agents, a young woman has been sexually assaulted, then shot dead. And a breathtaking cover-up has been set in motion. No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay When fourteen year old Cynthia wakes up one morning, her parents and brother are gone. No note, no explanation. Twenty five years later, the mystery of their disappearance remains unsolved. Then a letter arrives which makes no sense and the secrets of the past are disturbed. An exciting, nerve-racking thriller. LP The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes Tony Webster sees his life as bland and ordinary until an unexpected legacy makes him reassess his youthful relationships, particularly with his school friend Adrian and girlfriend Veronica. This Man Booker winner is a powerful story about unreliable memories and the shocking consequences of simple actions. LP CD Mystery Man by Colin Bateman When a Belfast detective agency closes, the mystery bookshop next door attracts some of the agency’s clients. It seems like a good idea to help them with their problems, until our hero suddenly finds himself tangling with murder and Nazi secrets. A darkly funny story with a great sense of place. CD DL Black Lands by Belinda Bauer Steven’s uncle was abducted as a boy and is believed to have been a victim of the paedophile and serial murderer, Arnold Avery, now in gaol. That’s why Steven keeps digging on the moor, to find his uncle’s body and heal his fractured family. Then he comes up with another plan – to write to Avery in prison. Tense and atmospheric, this is a thriller that involves the reader up to the final page. LP CD The Mango Orchard by Robin Bayley As a boy, Robin Bayley was intrigued by his grandmother’s stories of her father’s adventures in Mexico. To find out the reality behind the tales, he decides to retrace his great grandfather’s steps across Latin America and uncovers an amazing family secret. Part travelogue, part family history, part adventure, the book is eminently readable and gripping to the end. NF Jamrach’s menagerie by Carol Birch Young Jaffy Brown never expects to escape the slums of Victorian London. Then, aged eight, a chance encounter with Mr Jamrach changes Jaffy's stars. And before he knows it, he finds himself at the docks waving goodbye to his beloved Ishbel and boarding a ship bound for the Indian Ocean. With his friend Tim at his side, Jaffy's journey will push faith, love and friendship to their utmost limits. LP CD DL The Postmistress by Sarah Blake Radio journalist, Frankie Bard, braves the horrors of London in the blitz to send her broadcasts back to America, while in Franklin, Cape Cod, her stories are heard by Iris James, the postmistress and Emma Fitch, whose doctor husband is also working in London. Love and loss, the value of truth and kindness, the arbitrary workings of fate in war and the responsibility of knowledge are all explored in this memorable and impressive novel. LP CD Guernica by Dave Boling This epic novel traces the story of the Basque region and the Navarro family through the early decades of the 20th century. When Miguel Navarro meets and falls in love with Mirren Ansotegui, they cannot imagine that their community is about to experience one of the worst tragedies of the century. This is a remarkable story rich in regional history and detail. LP The Righteous Men by Sam Bourne This is an intense thriller involving a serial killer, a fervent and mysterious religious sect, mysticism and ancient prophecy. To find the kidnappers of his wife, New York Times reporter, Will Monroe, must unearth a secret upon which the fate on humanity may depend. LP CD Restless by William Boyd As a wartime agent, Eva Delectorskaya has experienced danger and betrayal. For years she has hidden her past, even from her own daughter, Ruth. Now she has one last assignment and needs Ruth’s help. Parallel stories of mother and daughter interweave in this tense, edgy story. LP The Congress of Rough Riders by John Boyne William Cody has mixed feelings about his great-grandfather and namesake, Buffalo Bill Cody of Wild West fame. He resents his father’s obsession with their famous ancestor but is also fascinated with the man and his life. This engaging, wide-ranging story alternates between the past and present and interweaves the lives of the two Williams, highlighting the stark differences and subtle similarities between them. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury In Ray Bradbury's classic, frightening vision of the future, firemen don't put out fires--they start them in order to burn books. Bradbury's vividly painted society holds up the appearance of happiness as the highest goal--a place where trivial information is good, and knowledge and ideas are bad. Villette by Charlotte Bronte Villette introduces one of Charlotte Bronte’s strongest heroines, Lucy Snowe. Quiet and self-effacing but with passionate feelings, she becomes a teacher in a foreign school where she meets the eccentric M. Paul Emmanuel. This is a love story with a difference, based on Charlotte’s own experiences. CD Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson Before returning to his native America after nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson took one last trip around his adopted country. This is the affectionate, laugh-out-loud funny record of a total anglophile. NF CD I can’t begin to tell you by Elizabeth Buchan Denmark, 1940. War has come and everyone must choose a side. For British-born Kay Eberstern, living on her husband Bror's country estate, the Nazi invasion and occupation of her adopted country is a time of terrible uncertainty and inner conflict. Caught on opposing sides of a war that has ripped apart a continent, will Kay and Bror ever find their way back to one another? This is a story of bravery, broken loyalties, lies and how the power of love can bring redemption even to the darkest of places. Blood River by Tim Butcher When Daily Telegraph correspondent, Tim Butcher decided to retrace H. M. Stanley’s famous expedition to the Congo, he was warned that it would be suicidal. He set out anyway, with a rucksack and a few thousand dollars hidden in his boots. This is the story of his remarkable journey. It is also a vivid and perceptive portrait of a devastated and war- torn country. NF LP CD DL The Outsider by Albert Camus The Outsider explores the alienation of an individual who refuses to conform to social norms. Meursault, his anti-hero, will not lie. When his mother dies, he refuses to show his emotions simply to satisfy the expectations of others. And when he commits a random act of violence on a sun-drenched beach near Algiers, his lack of remorse compounds his guilt in the eyes of society and the law.