Welcome to this month's Staff Picks page, where our librarians share some of the great books they've read recently. Discover hidden gems, popular titles, and diverse recommendations that will captivate your imagination and enrich your reading experience. Happy exploring!
Fiction
The Colour Of Magic by Terry Pratchett
On a world supported on four elephants standing on the back of the great A'Tuin, a giant turtle swimming slowly through the interstellar gulf, an eccentric expedition sets out to the edge of the planet.
Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Po-rŭm Hwang
Yeongju did everything she was supposed to, go to university, marry a decent man, get a respectable job. Then it all fell apart. Burned out, Yeongju abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career, and follows her dream. She opens a bookshop. In a quaint neighbourhood in Seoul, surrounded by books, Yeongju and her customers take refuge. From the lonely barista to the unhappily married coffee roaster, and the writer who sees something special in Yeongju - they all have disappointments in their past. The Hyunam-dong Bookshop becomes the place where they all learn how to truly live. A heart-warming story about finding comfort and acceptance in your life – and the healing power of books.
DallerGut Dream Department Store : the dream you ordered is sold out by Mi-Ye Lee
In a mysterious town that lies hidden in our collective subconscious, there's a quaint little store where all kinds of dreams are sold-- Day and night, visitors both human and animal from all over the world shuffle in sleepily in their pyjamas, lining up to purchase their latest adventure. Each floor in the department store sells a special kind of dream, including nostalgic dreams about your childhood, trips you've taken, and delicious food you've eaten, as well as nightmares and more mysterious dreams. In DallerGut Dream Department Store we meet Penny an enthusiastic new hire; DallerGut, the flamboyant owner of the department store; Agnap Coco, producer of special dreams; Vigo Myers, an employee in the mystery department as well as a cast of curious, funny and strange clientele who regularly visit the store. When one of the most coveted and expensive dreams gets stolen during Penny's first week, we follow along with her as she tries to uncover the workings of this wonderfully whimsical world.
Small things like these by Claire Keegan
It is 1985, in an Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, faces into his busiest season. As he does the rounds, he feels the past rising up to meet him - and encounters the complicit silences of a people controlled by the Church.
The year of the locust by Terry Hayes
If, like Kane, you're a Denied Access Area spy for the CIA, then boundaries have no meaning. Your function is to go in, do whatever is required, and get out again - by whatever means necessary. You know when to run, when to hide - and when to shoot. But some places don't play by the rules. Some places are too dangerous, even for a man of Kane's experience. The badlands where the borders of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan meet are such a place - a place where violence is the only way to survive. Kane travels there to exfiltrate a man with vital information for the safety of the West - but instead he meets an adversary who will take the world to the brink of extinction. A frightening, clever, vicious man with blood on his hands and vengeance in his heart.
Non-Fiction
The power of now : a guide to spiritual enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle
In The Power of Now, a word-of-mouth bestselling phenomenon since its first publication, the author describes his transition from despair to self-realisation soon after his twenty-ninth birthday. Tolle took another ten years to understand this transformation, during which time he evolved a philosophy that has parallels in Buddhism, relaxation techniques and meditation theory, but is also eminently practical. In The Power of Now he shows readers how to recognise themselves as the creators of their own pain, and how to have a pain-free existence by living fully in the present. Accessing the deepest self, the true self, can be learned, he says, by freeing ourselves from the conflicting, unreasonable demands of the mind and living the 'present, fully and intensely, in the Now'.
Wandering through life : a memoir by Donna Leon
The internationally bestselling author of the Guido Brunetti mysteries tells her own adventurous life story as she enters her eighties. In a series of vignettes full of affection, irony, and good humor, Donna Leon narrates a remarkable life she feels has rather more happened to her than been planned. From a childhood in the company of her New Jersey family ... Leon has long been open to adventure. In 1976, she made the spontaneous decision to teach English in Iran, before finding herself swept up in the early days of the 1979 Revolution. After teaching stints in China and Saudi Arabia, she finally landed in Venice. Leon vividly animates her decades-long love affair with Italy ... Some things remain constant throughout the decades: her adoration of opera ... her advocacy for the environment, embodied in her passion for bees ... and her eager imagination for crime as she watches unsuspecting travelers on trains ... Having recently celebrated her eightieth birthday, Leon now confronts the dual challenges and pleasures of aging.
Discover everything you need to start mountain biking. Are you interested in mountain biking but don't know where to start? This book takes away all the guesswork! With 'A Complete Introduction to Mountain Biking' you will learn everything from choosing your first bike to basic repairs to the best techniques for efficient and safe riding. Start mastering mountain bike skills today, because it is a fun and exciting way to keep fit. Get it now.
Hands in the dirt : grow your own kai with Mrs Evans
With the cost of living rising, growing our own vegetables makes complete sense. Leah Evans shows us how in this straightforward book. She begins with heaps of easy-to-understand advice on how to start gardening: growing in small spaces and containers, building great soil and compost, growing from seed, transplanting, companion planting and much much more. There is detailed information on eleven easy-to-grow, nutritious kitchen-garden staples: beetroot, beans, broccoli, carrots, cucumber, herbs, pumpkin, leafy greens, potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes. Includes tips for pest and disease control, growing healthy crops and harvesting. Plus garden-to-kitchen home cooking, basic preserving, inspiration for leftovers, and tasty, easy-to-make, hearty recipes. Food security has become one of the most pressing issues today, and Hands in the Dirt teaches the basics that have been lost. It's the must-have book for every beginner gardener, everyone after some garden inspiration and every home cook.
Nobody knows what they're doing : the 10 secrets all artists should know by Lee Crutchley
Everything no one will tell you about being an artist Nobody Knows What They're Doing is an honest guide to the creative life for artists of all kinds. Lee Crutchley, author of How to Be Happy (Or At Least Less Sad), skips the platitudes, positive affirmations, and guarantees of success; he'll never ever tell you to just Do What You Love. Instead, Crutchley discusses the things nobody else is talking about-that, frankly, your work sucks (but that's ok because everyone else's does too), that making bad art is worth it, and so much more. In a world desperate for a glimpse of authenticity, Nobody Knows What They're Doing is a breath of fresh air that reveals the truths hiding between the lines of Instagram-friendly aphorisms and behind the words of the most inspirational TED talks. An honest look at the reality of creativity and the joy and difficulty of crafting good (and bad) art, this book belongs in the hands of every exhausted creative, every starry-eyed dreamer, and every artist who is trying to make their way in the world-and keep a roof over their head while they do it.