Happy New Year! I hope that this column finds you rested, enjoying the sunshine and in the middle of a good book. The festive season was kind to me, giving me time to rest, read lots and get my hands dirty in the garden. The Gonville Library has been incredibly
busy with our regular customers, holiday makers and lots of children on school holidays. The Summer Reading Project - Adults Only, is going great guns with book reviews coming in thick and fast. It's not too late to register, details available at all of our branches and there are lots of prizes up for grabs.
I am proud to announce that I met my target of reading 65 books for The Gonville Reading Challenge 2015. I have to quietly admit that I just scraped in and finished the 65th book on December 30, which I thought was a decent effort given how busy my year has been. 2015 was a year of diverse reading for me, I was deliberate in my book selections, stretching my comfort zones of genres and styles of books. I have a new found love of both biographies and autobiographies and my darker side was appeased with a few good Gothic horrors and psychological thrillers. I thought long and hard about my book of the year and whilst I did decide to bestow it to just one book, there are a few others that were right up there and worth a mention.
¦ The Marriage of Opposites - Alice Hoffman
¦ Some Kind of Fantasy - Mary Brennan
¦ Pastrix - Nadia Bolz-Weber
¦ An Untamed State - Roxanne Gay
¦ Stone Mattress: Nine Tales - Margaret Atwood
¦ The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair - Joel Dicker
¦ Ruby - Cynthia Bond
¦ Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness - Susannah Cahalan
All of the titles are available at The Wanganui District Library for loan.
Book of The Year ¦ Did You Ever Have A Family - Bill Clegg
This book has been longlisted for both the Man Booker Prize, the American National Book Award, is a New York Times bestseller and has received critical acclaim worldwide ... And I can see why.
The stunning debut novel from Clegg is a truly powerful story about a circle of people who find comfort in the least likely of places as they cope with a horrific tragedy. I don't want to give too much away, as I want you to READ IT.
Did You Ever Have a Family is an absolutely absorbing, emotional and unforgettable story that reveals humanity at its best through forgiveness and hope. At its core is a celebration of family - the ones we are born with and the ones we create. The book, which was devoured in a day, hasn't left my thoughts since. READ IT!
Available for loan at Wanganui District Libraries.
My Reading Challenge for 2016 is underway and as per usual my book club members will be participating as well, I would like to open it up to anyone who is interested in participating. This year I have added a fun list of books to try while aiming for your goal of a certain number of books for the year. Contact me if you are interested, details below. I have wisely decreased my target for 2016 as I am studying, which I am really excited about but I am also conscious that will be taking up a large chunk of my spare time. So my Reading Challenge for 2016 is 45 books, I will periodically report back on progress during the coming year.
Have a wonderful week, visit your library and read, read, read!
¦For more information on any of the activities mentioned above or comments, please feel free to call in at The Gonville Café Library, or phone 3445872 or email me kelly@wanganuilibrary.com.