My Review of the Week in Books

So many books......so little time! It seems as if I just get my to read list under control and then before I know it, it's grown again! Each read sounding as enticing as the last!

Books Popular on Twitter


There have been some great offers on Kindle this week, particularly for pre-order downloads and this was one of them. I recommended Linda Huber's "The Attic Room" in a previous blog about "Grip Lit" so I was excited to see the announcement of her new novel appearing on my timeline - and of course, I had to download to my kindle! It promises to be a page turner with a story of disappearance, death and betrayal. It's reviews on Twitter and Goodreads are very positive so far!

"The Exclusives" by Rebecca Thornton has also been constantly recommended on my Twitter feed with a very impressive 4.25/5 rating on Goodreads. It is about two girls at boarding school and charts their friendship as it spirals out of control. Some of the reviews implied it was a lighter read but words like "compelling", "gripping" and "a page turner" kept cropping up so it might just be what you are looking for over the half term break.

Two friends independently recommended Caroline Kepnes "You", which ironically was cheaper in paperback than kindle so it sneakily found its way into my basket and doorstep. How does that happen? With quotes from Lena Dunham, Stephen King and Sophie Hannah on the back I am certain this will be a chilling "Grip Lit" read! It sounds like it has elements of John Fowles's brilliant "The Collector" and may be as creepy and unnerving. One to read with the light on perhaps?

Waterstones Announces Shortlist for its Children's Book Prize 2016

Anyone wondering what to recommend to their children should definitely take a look at the nominations on this list. There are some great titles for all age groups including "The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow" and "The Accident Season" which I recently recommended on my blog about Young Adult fiction. All the authors deserve to win and reflect the diverse and original range of novels available to children at the moment. I wish Katherine Woodfine and Moria Fowley Doyle good luck in the competition and shall be following the announcement of the winner on the 17th March with interest.

The Guardian's Saturday Review
It's impossible to read this supplement without having to add at least a couple of titles to my to read list! The first book is a collection of Shakespeare's sonnets revisited by contemporary poets. Wendy Cope, Andrew Motion and Imtiaz Dharker's contributions were published in the paper and it looks like a lovely compilation to celebrate Shakespeare's 400th anniversary.

Helen Ellis's collection of short stories, "American Housewife" has definitely caught my eye. I often approach "humorous" books about the life of modern day housewives with trepidation as at times it can be too close for comfort! I'm often not altogether comfortable with the cliches or stereotypes which either reduce the women to something farcical and ridiculously superficial or, like Gill Hornby's "The Hive", belittle some of the more painful situations that take place at the school gate. I say this as I make homemade treats out of avocado, banana and dates to fob off to my offspring as chocolate brownies while they are out at a three hour weekend theatre class.......I know...... However, this collection sounds more insightful and says there is enough "egg for everyone's faces" including the reader so even if you laugh at some of the women, the joke is often turned back at you. The reviewer claimed as well as the stories being "hysterically funny', "you are left with a sense of a darker revelation". I think it sounds interesting.


"A Girl is a Half Formed Thing" by Eimear McBride was written in six months when she was 27 years old; it won the Bailey's Women Prize and has been highly acclaimed. It is currently on stage at the Young Vic until the 26th March adapted into a series of "compelling monologues" which reveal a "dark emotional world" and leave the audience both spellbound and moved. Friends who have read the book say it is quite a difficult novel to read because of its "extraordinary" style as well as the actual content so it sounds as if the play will both intense and challenging to watch. However, it does sound interesting and probably worth investigating if you have read the book or seek a more profound theatrical experience.

The paperback round up included "Things We Have in Common" by Tasha Kavanagh, another download on offer with kindle this week which seemed to wire its way on to my device! It was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and has rave reviews on Goodreads.com. Let's face it, I can't resist a thriller!

Simon Mayer's "Tightrope" was there too, continuing the story of Special Operations Executive Marian Sutro from his previous novel "The Girl who Fell from the Sky". Billed as the closest thing to a female Bond in fiction, it promises to be a captivating read. I thoroughly enjoyed "The Glass House" and kicked myself that it had sat on my to read pile for as long as it had!

Mourning the End of the BBC "War and Peace"?

I managed to catch up with the BBC's most talked about programme this week and it has left me bereft, seeking more costume drama! I suspect very little will match up.
If you are wondering how to fill your Sunday night viewing, why not have a think about these?

• Gaskell's "North and South" or "Cranford" - have to admit that "North and South" is one of my favourites...!
• PD James's "Death comes to Pemberley"  - a sequel to "Pride and Prejudice" which I enjoyed much more on the screen than as a novel
• Christie's "And then there were none" which aired over Christmas and was highly atmospheric 
• Zola's "The Paradise" for slightly less of a soap opera than "Mr Selfridge"! (although I find I can't resist that either!!)
• or revisit past BBC adaptations of classics - I rewatched "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" after finishing Sam Baker's excellent reimagining of this story in her new psychological thriller "The Woman Who Ran"

Happy reading Bibliomaniacs! Good luck with your "to read" list and fingers crossed you all find some time to enjoy a chapter or three! 

For more recommendations, reviews and bookish chat, follow me on Twitter, @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacUK) or sign up for email updates on the right hand side. 

Modern Novels inspired by Classic Stories

I've just finished the thrilling new novel by Sam Baker, "The Woman Who Ran", inspired by Anne Bronte's classic "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall".  Like the original, Baker's story sees the reclusive and solitary character of Helen Graham arriving in a tiny Yorkshire village, renting the dilapidating Wildfell Hall and sending the local gossips into a frenzy. In both books Helen is trying to escape a dark past but Baker's reimagining is further complicated by Helen's inability to remember what actually as happened to her. Suspense is created through the dispersal of fragmented memories which sporadically return to Helen, taking the reader on a journey from London to Paris, to Syria and Afghanistan as she tries desperately to piece together her past before it catches up with her. Tension is also enhanced by the use of switching between two narrative perspectives; local journalist Gil (the modernised Gilbert) and Helen.
Baker's Helen is a War Photographer. She is a strong woman fighting for a place in a man's world. She is plucky, brave and talented. This makes her present fragile and vulnerable state so confusing and the reader is curious to uncover what has affected her so much. The backdrop of war and its suffering, destruction and pain creates a bleak and oppressive atmosphere which creates tension and a sense of foreboding. The repeated imagery of fire and its suffocating, overwhelming power is sinister and dangerous; a threatening and malevolent presence like that of the shadowy character of Art, her husband. Helen's physical pain of her migraines reflect her conflicted emotional state and the reader is empathetic towards her and the tortured world within which she is imprisoned.
This is a chilling and exciting read. The ending is intense and dramatic and hurtles towards an explosive finale.
It is an excellent retelling of the original story. It is thoughtful, creative, respectful and most importantly, fresh. Baker has breathed modern life into an overlooked novel. She has added depth and sophistication to the original plot and developed more complex characters without losing the essence of Bronte's work. It is hugely readable and a true psychological thriller.

If you enjoyed it, why not try.........


"The Outsider" by Emily Organ was one of my favourite reads in the last twelve months. It tells of American, Yasmin, who falls in love with Daniel and, forgoing her career, follows him back to the UK. There she finds her new life with Daniel is haunted by his wife Lisa, who previously died in a car accident. However, the circumstances of this accident seem shrouded in secrets and Yasmin becomes suspicious about the events surrounding Lisa's death. She sets out to uncover the truth, but at what personal cost....? This book is exceptionally well written with great characters and tension. It is a real page turner and very enjoyable. It has echoes of the fantastic "Rebecca" by Daphne Du Maurier and as with Baker's reimagining, Emily Organ has sensitively and cleverly updated it creating a fresh, modern, engaging thriller. She is a talented new writer and this book is definitely worth reading.



"Longbourn" by Jo Baker isn't strictly a "retelling" but instead is the story of Sarah, a servant at Longbourn, the home of the Bennett family from Austen's "Pride and Prejudice". I really enjoyed this alternative view of events and liked the way the story of "Pride and Prejudice" was merely a backdrop, a shadow of a subplot, to the real happenings in the servants' quarters. Baker evokes a real sense of what it was like to be a servant in the Regency era; their characters and lives as dramatic, emotional and as interesting as the family "upstairs".  It's a satisfying read and I'm looking forward to reading Jo Baker's next book.

If you do enjoy Austen then there has been the recent "Austen Project" when novelist such as Joanna Trollope and Val McDermid have each taken one of Austen's five novels and updated them. I felt Trollope's "Sense and Sensibility" was a very weak version; a basic retelling and to some extent just replacing letters with texts. Val McDermid's "Northanger Abbey" had more vitality to it but I also struggled with Alexander McCall Smith's "Emma". I guess it just goes to show what a challenge it is to create something new from very well known, well written novels.


Jane Smiley's "A Thousand Acres" is a fantastic example of how a classic plot can be rewoven into something as equally captivating and powerful. She takes "King Lear" and translates it to a farm in Iowa where the father divides the land between his three daughters. I read this a long time ago but it had a profound effect on me and I remember becoming completely absorbed with the storytelling and the characters. Smiley is a sophisticated writer and this is an impressive book.



This was published in 1999 but if you missed it, is certainly worth a read. It is a sequel to Du Maurier's "Rebecca" and picks up the story from where it was left. Susan Hill is a brilliant writer and her books are always engaging and readable. Here she produces a pleasing follow up which compliments the original, emulates the style of Du Maurier's writing well and maintains credibility of the characters.


Probably the most famous novel which takes inspiration from a classic is "Wild Sargasso Sea". Jean Rhys made the bold decision to write a prequel to "Jane Eyre" exploring the life of Mr Rochester's first wife before they moved to England. It is a very short novel and a very easy read but hugely insightful and thoughtful and makes you look at the characters in a totally different way. Well worth a read, and a reread, and another read! It will make you go back to "Jane Eyre" again too - never a bad thing!

Here are some other titles and the classics they used for inspiration to try too -

• "The Innocents" Francesca Segal (Edith Wharton, Age of Innocence)
• "Lavinia" Ursula K LeGuin (The Aenied)
• "Bridget Jones's Diary" Helen Fielding (Pride and Prejudice)
• "His Dark Materials" Philip Pullman (Milton, Paradise Lost)
• "March" Geraldine Brooks (Alcott, Little Women)
• "Railsea" China Mieville - (Moby Dick)
• "The Hours" Michael Cunningham - (Woolf, Mrs Dalloway) 
• "Great" Sara Benincasa - (The Great Gatsby)
• "Dorian, An Imitation" Will Self - (Wilde, A Picture of Dorian Gray)
• "On Beauty" Zadie Smith - (Forster, Howard's End)
• "Solsbury Hill" Susan M Wyler (Bronte, Wuthering Heights) 
• "The Flight of Gemma Hardy" Margaret Livesey (Bronte, Jane Eyre)

PS just seen this book - "Thornfield Hall" by Jane Stubbs- it tells the story of Alice Fairfax's arrival to guard the secret in the attic...... the story never told and the story before Jane's arrival....sounds great!!

For more reviews, recommendations and bookish chat follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniaUK) and sign up to follow me by email through the link up on the right

My Top Ten Valentine Reads

Looking for love amongst the pages of a book? Look no further! Here are my Top Ten books about love!



"The Art of Hearing Heartbeats" by Jan-Philipp Sendker
I read this book a long time ago but it really is as beautiful as its front cover! It's mainly set in Burma and follows Julia as she tries to solve the mystery of her father's sudden disappearance. Her search is founded on an old love letter she finds buried in his belongings and takes her on a journey where not only does she have to come to terms with his past, but in doing so exposes a magical, poignant and inspirational story of passion, resilience and love. This truly is a novel about the power of love.



"Four Letters of Love" by Niall Williams
"Nicholas Coughlan and Isabel Gore are meant for each other - they just don't know it yet. Though each has found both heartache and joy in the wild Irish landscape, their paths are yet to cross. But as God, ghosts, fate and the sheer power of true love pull Nicholas and Isabel together, so too does life threaten to tear them apart. . ."
Appropriately I read this on my honeymoon (far too many years ago now!) and have been recommending it ever since. It is about different types of love - all as powerful and moving as each other. It is intensely beautifully written and it's lyrical prose will stay with you. This really is exceptional.


"Eleanor and Park" by Rainbow Rowell
I am delighted to have discovered Rainbow Rowell's novels! This is a great read, set in the 80's over the course of one school year following the story of two 16 year olds. It is about first love. It's a nostalgic read for some of us but moving and affirming. Highly recommend.


"Doctor Zhivago" by Boris Pasternak
Feeling bereft after the end of "War and Peace"? Feeling inspired to tackle some Russian Literature? How about this classic? Dr Zhivago is a poet and philosopher who's live is disrupted by the war. He is in love with Lara, the wife of a revolutionary. At nearly 600 pages it isn't as long as "War and Peace" but will take some dedication! Alternatively, there are some equally good films of the book too!

While on the subject of classic reads about love, don't forget about "Emma" by Jane Austen - the original matchmaker! And if you like stories about the haphazard and unpredictable world of dating and matchmaking remember to try recent hits "Sofia Khan is not Obliged" and "Match Me if you Can"



"The End of the Affair" by Graham Greene
After ploughing through a few classics, why not take a break with a much shorter 160 page read?! Read Maurice's account of his adulterous obsessive affair with Sarah which explores hate as much as love with a stunning denouement.

You could also try:
"Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel
"The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss
"Enduring Love" by Ian McEwan
"The Fault in our Stars" by John Green
"The Last Letter from your Lover" by Jojo Moyes

I hope you find something that reaffirms your belief in true love and brings you a truly romantic Valentine weekend! Happy Reading!

For more suggestions, reviews and bookish chat follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacUK)

Valentine Gifts for the Bibliomaniac

Valentine's Day is fast approaching! Here are some gift ideas for the bibliomaniac in your life!

Bibliotherapy

This has to be the ultimate gift for any avid (or not so avid) reader. The School of Life offers a wide range of "therapies" and this one is designed to support your reading. Through consultation with a bibliotherapist, you have the opportunity to explore your relationship with books and look towards new directions, new authors or revisit past novels for new meaning. The outcome is an "inspirational reading prescription that's tailor made for you". A unique gift! Gift vouchers are available and more details are on the website www.theschooloflife.com

Table Topic Book Club Questions


These are great fun! A box of cards full of questions for use at Book Club or for anyone who enjoys talking about books! Could be used over coffee or even by yourself if you are interested in writing a book review or deepening your exploration of a book. The questions are highly varied ranging from the more humorous, light hearted, quick fire style to the more literary and challenging. Will definitely make you think about the book you're discussing and a lively way to generate discussion at your next book group meeting. See website www.tabletopics.com for the full range or search table topics on Amazon. Also available through some hughstreet retailers.

Postcards, Notebooks and Vouchers





Waterstones have got a beautiful range of "literary gifts". These postcards are gorgeous and could be used to send or collate into a poster. Why not start a correspondence with another bibliomanaic with these cards swapping your latest recommendations or quotes of the week?
Waterstones also had a large range of notebooks in various sizes and designs ranging from traditional patterns and colours to author inspired covers or humorous strap lines. These always make a good gift for anyone who wants to keep a record of what they are reading or want to read next.
And you can never ever ever go wrong with a book voucher! You just can't beat browsing in a real bookshop and seeking inspiration from the booksellers stands of the latest reads!


Persephone Books



These are the most gorgeous books I have ever come across and they make the most fantastic presents. All the titles are reprinted, rediscovered authors and each book comes with a bookmark designed in the same end paper of the novel which is representative of the time of the novel. They are beautifully produced and it always seems a shame to have to store them away on a bookshelf! The books are chosen carefully and include a huge range of novels, non fiction, diaries and recipe books. Some of them are of a more classic style but many are very modern, highly readable and always resonant. I have discovered many new authors like Dorothy Whipple and read books like "The Homemaker" which I found profoundly moving. Please spend some time exploring their website to see all the available titles or subscribe to their catalogue. They also sell gift vouchers, bags, stationary and notebooks and have a shop in London which also runs events. www.persephonebooks.co.uk


Book on One Page Poster

I think these are stunning and such a clever idea! My problem would be deciding which book to go for! There are several websites which produce these if you search "one page book posters" or go to Not on the Highstreet or Amazon for a selection. They are also available through some high street gift shops.

Other Gift Ideas......

• cinema tickets for a film of a book - lots currently showing like "Carol", "The Danish Girls", "Room" & "Brooklyn"
• DVDs - "Pride & Prejudice" box set, "Bridget Jones Diary', "Poldark" box set, Dickens classics or films and TV shows you missed - "And Then There Were None," "War and Peace"....
• Theatre tickets for book adaptations like "Matilda", "Curious Incident of the Dog at Night Time", Shakespeare's Globe (or a tour there if you prefer!) 
• Royal Festival Hall frequently has poetry readings which make a great night out
• Magazine subscription - TLS, Literary Review

My Perfect Gift? Being allowed to go to my favourite coffee shop with my book, money for a cake and an hour to myself .......Sheer bliss and completely priceless!! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

For more reviews, recommendations and bookish chatter follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacUK)

Book recommendations from this week's news

I'm late - I've only just been able to catch up with The Guardian's "Saturday Review"  - real life got in the way of my reading this weekend! So just in case you missed some of the highlights from the weekend and last week's Twitter feed, here are the titles that grabbed my interest over the last ten days.

Books I've read this week.....


This week I read "A Year of Marvellous Ways", currently part of the "Richard and Judy Book Club" reads and second novel from Sarah Winman who wrote the lyrical hit "When God was a Rabbit". It's an absorbing story of love and friendship, full of poetic prose and a sprinkling of magic- a real treat and from it I could quote endless sentences which struck me as beautiful writing. Highly recommend! 



I also finished "What She Left" by T R Richmond. Please see my separate blog post for full review. The book opens with the death of Alice Salmon and the novel continues with a mixture of diary extracts, letters, blogs, emails, twitter and Facebook posts from a range of suspects ensuring a fast paced, modern and original thriller.

Now I'm racing through Sam Baker's "The Woman Who Ran" which is based on Bronte's "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall". So far it's engaging, atmospheric and gathering pace towards an exciting ending. I'm inspired to return to the original classic too!

Books I found myself buying this week......

"Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes.
I have read a few of Moyes' novels and enjoyed them but have to admit not being drawn to this one before as the content sounded a little harrowing. However, seeing the release of the trailer for the upcoming film coming out this summer, I decided I needed to read it before I could see it in the cinema! Just because the subject matter might be challenging or provocative isn't a reason to avoid it! Moyes is a good writer and I'm sure this novel will be a very compelling read.

"The Wake" by Anna Hope
Hope's new novel "The Ballroom" is out this week and sounds absolutely fascinating and there has been a huge flurry of incredible reviews all over Twitter and numerous blog posts raving about this powerful sounding story. Kindle were offering a cheap deal on her first novel "The Wake", so I thought I would investigate this while awaiting the publication of "The Ballroom".  It is a story of three women dealing with the after affects of WW1 and how it impacted the men in their lives. As the story unfolds the women's lives are tragically intertwined. It sounds like a thoughtful and moving book and I do find novels set in the First World War particularly enjoyable.

Books I added to my "To Read" list.....
(which is getting seriously out of control!!)

"My Name is Lucy Barton" by Elizabeth Strout
Reviewed in The Guardian and across Twitter this book is about the reconciliation between a mother and daughter. It sounds like a thoughtful and reflective read and is described as "compelling" and "beautiful". Probably a good antedate to the volume of thrillers I have been devouring recently!


"The Power of the Dog" by Thomas Savage
This republication of a Vintage Classic is being heralded as the new "Stoner" - which if you have not read, I heartily recommend. "Stoner" is a quiet novel, a portrayal of an ordinary man and an ordinary life but there is something poetic about the narrative and the writing is excellent. This novel was first published in 1967 and is about two brothers living in Montana in 1924. Both these novels may be unlike your normal choices but will definitely be worth trying and the publishing world clearly believes they are still relevant and deserving titles.

"When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi
This is written by a surgeon and his recounts his battle with cancer. It has received much praise and I heard an interesting interview with his wife on Woman's Hour today about it. It is described as profound and uplifting and a life affirming memoir.

"In Her Wake" by Alison Jennings
This has 5/5 from all 10 reviews on Goodreads which I have never seen before! A psychological thriller not out until April but sounds compulsive reading!!

If you want to see more recommendations, reviews of bookish chat why not follow me on Twitter? @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacUK)

Review: What She Left by T.R.Richmond

"What She Left" by T R Richmond

"My name is Alice Salmon. I hope I am more than 200 times these five words. I hope one day I will be."

I don't think I've read a thriller quite like this one! It's innovative, modern and complex. It's challenging. The reader has to piece together the story bit by bit, guided only by the different accounts and types of information that are presented without any extra explanatory narrative, forcing the reader join up the dots and solve the puzzle before it's clever revelation. An effortless way to build up more tension and ensuring that it is a real page turner!

The story is about Alice Salmon, a 27 year old woman who is found drowned. What follows are extracts from diaries, letters, blogs, Twitter accounts, Facebook, emails, newspaper articles and magazine clippings from Alice, Megan her best friend, the ex boyfriend Luke, Alice's mother Elizabeth, Jeremy a professor from Alice's old university, and various journalists and acquaintances.

As The Times said, this novel is "strikingly modern". It explores how email and social media have affected the way people share information and how we use them to record our lives. It's innovative in the way it uses these forms to create multiple narratives, continually pushing the reader to try to untangle the jumble of information presented in such rapid and immediate forms. It's ambitious to include such a variety of voices, but Richmond successfully creates believable characters through very short passages and it is surprising how large and convincing the characters become through these extracts. I also found that as every extract was either only a page or three at the most, you were continually reading on and on, making the book "unputdownable". Although at times, the constant shifting of voices creates pace can be a little jerky and difficult to keep up with in places. This is further complicated by the fact the story is not told in chronological order. The actual form of the novel mimics the criminal investigation of Alice's death by constantly uncovering new information, adding background revelations and allowing characters to spill more secrets. Everyone is a suspect. No one is what they seem. You are kept guessing the whole way through and constantly changing your opinions about the characters.

The thing I found most captivating about the book was the way in which you relate to Alice. Far from feeling pity or apathy towards the victim, there is a great sense of loss. Extracts from her blog, twitter account and diary are dispersed amongst the other voices and used to explore who we are and what we can be generating a deeper sense of tragedy and depth to the plot. Alice is not a passive character. Although dead, she becomes more and more alive throughout the pages of the novel. Her voice becomes stronger; her passion, hope, talent and potential radiates from the text. The more we hear from her the more we wished she had lived and mourn her death. At the end you are left confused - satisfied by the ending but bereft of the loss of Alice. As Claire Kendal comments, she "mourned her more and more powerfully as the story went on".

If you enjoy crime, thriller and psychological thrillers then you will enjoy this original and intriguing novel.

For more suggestions, reviews and bookish chat why not follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (BibliomaniacUK)!

Free books? What's not to like?!

Top Five Reasons to Love Your Library!


Free books? As many as you can carry? Brand new titles? Free returns if it's not your cup of tea? Multiple copies for your Reading Group? Able to get hold of any title you fancy? .......Where is this bibliomaniac's heaven?!

I am not just addicted to books, I am also addicted to my library! Try as I might, I struggle to walk past without quickly popping in to see what they've added to the enticing "Quick Choice"/ "Hot Picks"/ "Best Reads" stands which seduce me from the pavement. I don't often get as far as the rows of delicious books which just beg to be searched through, looking for whatever takes your fancy at that moment. And it's all for free! Even with the constant offers at supermarkets, high street chains, amazon and kindle, you can't beat getting a good read for free!

Saturday 6th February is National Libraries Day. Treat yourself. Go take a look at your local library. Support these sanctuaries! Borrow something new which you've never tried before or grab the latest novel by your favourite author.

My Top Five Reasons Why I Love My Library

Try Before You Buy



I have a ridiculous list of books on my "to read" list and it gets longer and longer every day. Sometimes it's a book I know I'm going to love or by an author I've already come across. Sometimes it's a book someone has recommended; it's been well reviewed or adorns the book stands in every shop window. Sometimes it's something I feel I "ought" to read, never got around to reading when it came out or it's a classic that I never had the courage to tackle. Sometimes I'm happy to buy the book but often I'm not sure if I'm going to like it or if it's something I'd ever want to read again.

So I go to the library. I take out said book. I try it. I'll give it a maximum of 100 pages if I'm feeling generous. If I don't like it, I return it, scrub it off my list and go on to the next thing. No cost. No loss. No brainer.

The library is a great way to help you be more experimental with your reading choices. Who knows - one day you'll hit upon a new author or genre and you'll never look back!

Keep a List


So many books, so little time..... I grab them from the shelf - frenzied bibliomaniac I am -until there's no more room in my shopping bag or my arm will break carrying them home.  But there's still more I want! So I take photos. Next time I wander in, I can check my phone and see what it was that I wanted so desperately last time. I won't feel bereft or bitter that someone else has stolen my read for themselves, but will maturely move on to my next choice. Maybe this time I'm no longer in the mood for it but hang on.....what about this? And how quickly can I get home to read it?!

Hot Off The Publisher's Desk


This is a great offer. Brand new books for a one week loan. Yes, you have to "budget" your reading time a little but actually, getting through a book in one week isn't as much of a challenge as you might think. Or it's a challenge you should rise to every now and again! To be honest, I'm pretty sure you'd be able to renew for the following week when it came to it. It's a great way to keep new titles available and ensure everyone sees what is newly published. My bug bear with the library used to be the lack of current novels but this scheme has been brilliant and I've got hold of all sorts of things - without even having to wait for them to come out in paperback! See if your library has a similar scheme or could introduce one.

Search the Library Catalogue before Amazon


Your library will have a search catalogue which you will be able to access from your home computer. See if your book is in stock and if necessary, place a reservation. For Hertfordshire the reservation cost is 60p - nothing at all really, and still cheaper than a kindle daily deal! The catalogue will show you if any of the other libraries in your county have the book in stock and I've found that you usually receive a book you've reserved in a couple of days, wherever it's transferred from. It is possible to order from other libraries outside of your county too for a charge of £3. This is a great way of getting hold of exactly what you want, especially new titles or very popular novels.

It is possible to join other libraries like The British Library (although you cannot take books away from there) so it's worth investigating libraries near your work or that interest you if you want access to a broader range of things or more specialised texts. It should be free to join most of these places.

Book Clubs

Most libraries offer a book club. On the Hertfordshire Libraries website you can search for Book Groups in your area. Some are for novels, some for plays, poetry or more specialised areas. Book Groups are a fun way to meet new people and talk about books! As well as making sure you actually do some reading (usually they meet monthly which is ample time to get through something), it will also make you read authors and genres that you might not have come across before. If you are already in a Book Club, the library will order in multiple copies for your group which is economical and again, saves you spending money on a book that you are unsure about. It also means your group can pick hardback titles as well which broadens your options and means you can be the first to review the latest most talked about reads!  

And then there's all the other things the library offers...... Free WiFi, computer access, Toddler Storytime, Newspapers, Magazines, guest speakers, Summer activities for younger readers and one off special events like "Harry Potter Night".

So search for your inner bibliophile and learn to love your library - celebrate National Libraries Day on Saturday!
nationallibrariesday.org.uk
#librariesday
@NatLibrariesDay

To get you in the mood - Ten Books about Libraries
1. The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
2. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
3. The Eyre Affair / Lost in a Good Book / The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
4. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
5. The Borrower by R Makkai
6. The Archivist by M Cooley
7. Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by R Sloan
8. The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom
9. In the Stacks: Short Stories about Libraries and Librarians ed by M Cart
10. Three Past Midnight: The Library Policeman by Stephen King