Books of the month

A new year, a new month, a new selection of great reads!
Discover the Books of the Month for January – there’s something for everyone!

MODERN FICTION
My Name is Leon – Kit de Waal

Discover the Books of the Month for December – there’s something for everyone!

MODERN FICTION
Lincoln in the Bardo – George Saunders

Discover the Books of the Month for November – there’s something for everyone!

MODERN FICTION
Selection Day – Aravind Adiga

A moving and beautifully observed novel, of adolescence, ambition and self-realization, of fathers and sons, set in contemporary Bombay, by the Man Booker Prize winning author of The White Tiger and Last Man in Tower.

Discover the Books of the Month for October – there’s something for everyone!

MODERN FICTION
Transit – Rachel Cusk
In the wake of family collapse, a writer and her two young sons move to London. The process of upheaval is the catalyst for a number of transitions – personal, moral, artistic, practical – as she endeavours to construct a new reality for herself and her children.

”Page-turningly enthralling and charged with the power to move” – Guardian
» Paperback 150:-

CLASSICS
The Whisperer in Darkness and other tales – H.P. Lovecraft
The most important US horror writer since Edgar Allan Poe and a big influence on nearly every major figure in the genre after his day.
» Paperback 130:-

SHORT STORIES
Rotten Row – Petina Gappah
It is just after nine o’clock in the morning. Gidza will die in exactly forty-three minutes and thirteen seconds.

’Rotten Row’ is the Criminal Division of Harare, and the courts and the unfortunates who pass through them are the subjects of this mesmerising collection of stories.

”Does for Harare now what Dickens did for Victorian London, with lethal comic relish and rage” – Observer
» Paperback 150:-

BRITISH MYSTERY
Death in Profile – Guy Fraser-Sampson
The genteel façade of London’s Hampstead is shattered by a series of terrifying murders, and the ensuing police hunt is threatened by internal politics, and a burgeoning love triangle within the investigative team. Pressurised by senior officers desperate for a result a new initiative is clearly needed, but what?

Praised by fellow authors and readers alike, this is a truly original crime story, speaking to a contemporary audience yet harking back to the Golden Age of detective fiction. Intelligent, quirky and mannered, it has been described as ’a love letter to the detective novel’.
» Paperback 130:-

TOUGH CRIME
Dr. Knox – Peter Spiegelman
Dr Adam Knox returns from the war in Afghanistan a little rougher, a little wiser, and a lot more inclined to kick it to the ones at the top. The ones in charge...

”Dr Knox portrays an all-new Los Angeles, rendered in a wild, all-new style. It's a crackerjack crime novel; everything pop-pop-pops and lures you deeper and deeper into Peter Spiegelman's luminous vision. It's a thrilling book” – James Ellroy
» Paperback 150:-

SCIENCE FICTION
Cold Welcome (Vatta's Peace #1) – Elizabeth Moon
Admiral Ky Vatta should return to her childhood home a war hero, but on the way her shuttle is downed by sabotage.

Marooned in a hostile landscape it'll take every bit of wit, skill and luck she can muster to lead her fellow survivors to safety, knowing that the mysterious enemies who destroyed the ship are on the hunt, and may have an agent in the group ready to finish the job at any moment. And was the sabotage an attempt on Ky's own life, or someone else's?

Nebula-Award-winner Elizabeth Moon triumphantly returns to science fiction with this space opera adventure, perfect for fans of Lois McMaster Bujold, James S. A. Corey and Star Wars.
» Paperback 150:-

FANTASY
Roses and Rot – Kat Howard
Imogen and her sister Marin escape their cruel mother to attend a prestigious artists’ retreat, but soon learn that living in a fairy tale requires sacrifices, whether it be art or love in this critically acclaimed debut novel from ”a remarkable young writer” (Neil Gaiman, American Gods).

What would you sacrifice for everything you ever dreamed of?

» Paperback 175:-

URBAN FANTASY
Strange Magic: An Essex Witch Museum Mystery – Syd Moore

Rosie Strange doesn’t believe in ghosts or witches or magic. No, not at all. It’s no surprise therefore when she inherits the ramshackle Essex Witch Museum, her first thought is to take the money and run.
Still, the museum exerts a curious pull over Rosie.

‘Confident, down-to-earth Essex girl Rosie is an appealing character, and there is plenty of spooky fun in this spirited genre mashup.’ – Guardian

» Paperback 150:-

TEEN / YOUNG ADULT
Never Say Sometimes – Adi Alsaid
Never date your best friend.
Always be original.
Sometimes rules are meant to be broken…

Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be clichés so they even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they’d never, ever do in high school.
» Paperback 130:-

NON-FICTION (Biographies)
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood – Trevor Noah
The compelling, inspiring, (often comic) coming-of-age story of Trevor Noah, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed.

One of the comedy world’s brightest new voices, Trevor Noah is a light-footed but sharp-minded observer of the absurdities of politics, race and identity, sharing jokes and insights drawn from the wealth of experience acquired in his relatively young life.

» Paperback 150:-

Discover the Books of the Month for September – there’s something for everyone!

MODERN FICTION
Autumn – Ali Smith
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017! Autumn. Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. That's what it felt like for Keats in 1819. How about Autumn 2016?

CLASSICS
Kim – Rudyard Kipling 
Kipling’s epic rendition of the imperial experience in India is also his greatest long work. Kim is considered to be one of the first spy novels, and gives a knowledgeable portrait of both India at the time, of the Anglo-Indian relationship and of The Great Game.
Paperback 100:-

SHORT STORIES
How Much the Heart Can Hold: Seven Stories on Love
Love is not a singular concept. In this collection, seven award-winning authors explore seven concepts of love: from Philautia, self-love, to Agape, love for humanity; and from Storge, a natural affection for family, to Mania, a frenzied, obsessive love. Seven authors; seven short stories; seven flashes of love.
Paperback 150:-

BRITISH CRIME
She Be Damned – M.J. Tjia    Longlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger
London, 1863: prostitutes in the Waterloo area are turning up dead, their sexual organs mutilated and removed. When another girl goes missing, fears grow that the killer may have claimed their latest victim. The police are at a loss and so it falls to courtesan and professional detective, Heloise Chancey, to investigate. 
Paperback 150:-

TOUGH CRIME
The Black Country – Kerry Hadley-Pryce
Maddie and Harry: she’s an estate agent, he’s a teacher. They’ll say they live in the Black Country. They’ll say how they met Jonathan Cotard, explain how they later argued, had a car accident, thought they’d killed someone. The Black Country. For Maddie and Harry, it’s darker than it should be.
Paperback 150:-

SCIENCE FICTION
All the Birds in the Sky – Charlie Jane Anders
Winner of the 2017 Nebula award!  Finalist for the 2017 Hugo Award Best Novel and Locus Award 2017!

Patricia is a witch who can communicate with animals. Laurence is a mad scientist and inventor of the two-second time machine. As teenagers they gravitate towards one another, sharing in the horrors of growing up weird, but their lives take different paths... When they meet again as adults, Laurence is an engineering genius trying to save the world and live up to his reputation in near-future San Francisco. Meanwhile, Patricia is a graduate of Eltisley Maze, the hidden academy for the magically gifted, working hard to prove herself to her fellow magicians and secretly repair the earth's ever growing ailments. As they attempt to save our future, Laurence and Patricia's shared past pulls them back together.
Paperback 130:-

FANTASY
The House of Shattered Wings – Aliette de Bodard
The House of Shattered Wings is many things. It’s a murder mystery. It’s a post-apocalyptic survival tale. It’s a steel-cold look at protagonists who are antiheroes. It’s a slow-burn Gothic narrative with plenty of tension and a sense of impending doom that retains elegance and poise and never comes crashing down. It is also a story about imperialism, about displacement and belonging, about loyalties and the desperate desire to simply return to your own tribe.
Paperback 150:-

URBAN FANTASY/PARANORMAL
Alice – Christina Henry
Inspired by the wonderous works of Lewis Carroll, this is the tale of Alice, who has been stuck in a mental health hospital for years, although she can’t remember why. All she can remember is a tea party long ago. Long ears and blood. Until one night she escapes, free to uncover the truth about what happened to her. When she escapes, something escapes with her, but the truth she desperately seeks is so much stranger than any madman’s ranting.

Paperback 130:-

TEEN / YOUNG ADULT
This Raging Light – Estelle Laure
A teenage girl falls for her best friend's brother in Estelle Laure’s soulful debut that’s perfect for fans of Gayle Forman, Jandy Nelson, and Rainbow Rowell. A heartbreakingly beautiful book that you'll devour in one sitting, but remember forever. 

Paperback 130:-

NON-FICTION 
Treasure Palaces: Great Writers Visit Great Museums – Maggie Fergusson
A collection of moving, lyrical essays that speak to the enduring power of museums in our cultural life, and will leave you longing to revisit your favourite treasure palace or looking for a new one to explore.

Paperback 150:-

Plenty of interesting titles in our picks for May!

General Fiction: Rowan Hisayo Buchanan – Harmless Like You 

Classic: Virginia Woolf – Orlando

British Crime: Kate Ellis – A High Mortality of Doves

Tough Crime: Christopher Charles – The Exiled

Fantasy: Renée Ahdieh – The Wrath and the Dawn

Science Fiction: Kameron – The Stars are Legion

Paranormal/Urban Fantasy: Tim Powers – Medusa’s Web

Teen reading: Angie Thomas – The Hate U Give

Non-Fiction: Hisham Matar – The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land In Between

Short Story Collection: Rebecca Schiff – The Bed Moved

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Plenty of interesting titles in our picks for April!

General Fiction: Mark Thompson – Dust

Classic: Iris Murdoch – A Severed Head

British Crime: Julia Chapman – Date with Death

Tough Crime: Melissa Ginsburg – Sunset City

Fantasy: Vic James – Gilded Cage

Science Fiction: Brenda Cooper – Edge of Dark

Paranormal/Urban Fantasy: Laura Bickle – Nine of Stars

Teen reading: Becky Albertalli – Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda

Non-Fiction: Hope Jahren – Lab Girl

Short Story Collection: Annie Proulx – Close Range: Brokeback Mountain and Other Stories

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Plenty of interesting titles in our picks for March!

General Fiction: Bradley Somer – Fishbowl

Classic: Joan Didion – Play it as it Lays

British Crime: Joanne Harris – Different Class

Tough Crime: Rod Reynolds – The Dark Inside

Fantasy: Peter Newman – The Vagrant

Science Fiction: James L. Cambias – A Darkling Sea

Paranormal/Urban Fantasy: Mark Morris – Wolves of London

Teen reading: Nicola Yoon – The Sun is Also a Star

Non-Fiction: Witze & Kanipe – Island on Fire

Short Story Collection: Helen Oyeyemi – What is Not Yours is Not Yours

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Plenty of interesting titles in our picks for February!

General Fiction: Jem Lester – Shtum

British Crime: Jackie Kabler – The Dead Dog Day

Tough Crime: Bill Beverly – Dodgers

Fantasy: Kirsty Logan – The Gracekeepers

Science Fiction:  Lavie Tidhar – Central Station

Paranormal/Urban Fantasy: Peter McLean – Drake

Teen reading: Kate Scelsa – Fans of the Impossible Life

Classic of the Month: Elizabeth Smart – By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept

Non-Fiction: Margo Jefferson – Negroland: a Memoir

Short Story Collection: Charles Baxter – There's Something I Want You To Do: Stories

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Plenty of interesting titles in our picks for January!

General Fiction: Charlotte Wood – The Natural Way of Things

British Crime: Andrew Martin – The Yellow Diamond

Tough Crime: Tim Baker – Fever City

Fantasy: V. E. Schwab – A Darker Shade of Magic

Science Fiction: Stephen Baxter – Proxima

Paranormal/Urban Fantasy: Ari Marmell – Hot Lead, Cold Iron

Teen reading: Katherine Webber – Wing Jones

Classic of the Month: J. G. Ballard – High-Rise

Non-Fiction: William Finnegan – Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life

Short Story Collection: Gabriel Garcia Marquez – Collected Stories

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