Vicky’s Recent Reads
Blog · Posted October 1, 2024
Vicky has a big stack of book recommendations to share with you.
Maria Callas graced the world with her extraordinary gift. Sadly, she is almost as well-known for her doomed love affair with Aristotle Onassis who famously cast her aside for Jackie Kennedy.
In Goodwin’s moving novel, Maria is not defined by the man who broke her heart. Instead, this remarkable woman is measured by her exceptional dedication to her art.
Although Goodwin reimagines and glazes over some of the darker parts of Callas’ life, there is a sense that the author is reclaiming the focus in the story of La Divina’s life. A focus that, perhaps, Maria would be happy with.
Diva gives a voice to the woman behind the voice, and an insight into the life of an unparalleled artist.
This haunting debut follows Micheal who lives alone at Kerry Head, an idyllic but troubled beauty spot. Inherited from his parents, he feels trapped and compelled to help the desperate people who have decided to end their lives here.
Quiet and unpretentious, yet eloquent and powerful, Though the Bodies Fall is a study in duty, regret, guilt and forgiveness. O’Regan writes with depth and feeling, sweeping you along a narrative permeated with sadness.
Recommended for readers of Carys Davies, O’Regan is one to watch for in the future.
Gillis is a Scottish minister with atheist leanings. One night he falls into a pit left by an old elm tree on his church grounds. Struggling to get out, he discovers a severed hand; a severed hand that moves. He’s had a few so surely it’s the drink? But no. The next morning the hand is still there… and still moving. When given a pen and paper, the hand draws indecipherable pictures that Gillis thinks are a message meant for him and him alone.
What follows is a farcical journey of exploitation and opportunity, with a dual narrative revealing that perhaps not that many things have changed since the Reformation…
A distinctive exploration of failure and of miracles in a faithless world. This debut novel is strange – in the most unpredictable and original way.
A welcome and refreshing debut novel from a new voice in historical fiction. Tibb Ingleby is no stranger to misfortune and grief. With no roof to call her own, she instead finds her home in the friends she makes on her wanderings. But Tudor England is a hostile place for a vagrant. To escape, Tibb isn’t fussy; she first joins a travelling circus before then becoming a conwoman.
Tibb’s is an original voice that doesn’t belong in her own time, which makes this all the more enjoyable. Kind, simple, irreverent – you won’t help but fall in love with her in a story that celebrates difference.
This little book about the lives of some extraordinary women is a breath of fresh air. Entertaining yet researched, Eleanor Morton is an absolute hoot.
Concise chapters introduce us to 18 women from all walks of life and from many parts of the world. There’ll be some you’ve heard of and others not – all are equally fascinating and provide lessons for the modern day.
Alongside, there are light-hearted lists answering such questions as: which 10 Roman women would you not want to meet down a dark alley? Throughout, Morton is able to poke fun at history whilst never belittling.
Fun, feisty and thoroughly accessible. This book will leave you wanting to know more about each woman.
Dan Jones is the greatest medieval narrative historian. This is not just my opinion, but actual fact.*
And here it is. The one to fill the Henry V-sized gap left behind after The Plantagenets and The War of the Roses. Fast-paced, immediate and immersive, this royal biography sure was worth the wait.
Though Dan Jones undoubtedly admires his subject, his objectivity presides. Often cruel and sadistic, Henry was no saint and made decisions that are easy to judge by modern standards. But through the page-turning chapters, we watch Henry grow up to be a king worthy of the name.
For medievalists and for those who have not yet ventured to these centuries – this is simply a brilliant book by a master of his subject.
What are you waiting for? Fellas, let’s go.
*according to me
This one defies categorisation. To call it a thriller is to do it an injustice. All the Colours of the Dark is everything: a heart-shattering, page-turning, soul-soothing phenomenon. It’s about survival and truth, about the worst of crimes, but, most of all, it’s about love in the very darkest of times.
Whitaker has written a sweeping epic, crafted to perfection with unforgettable characters. Patch, Saint, Misty, Norma, Sammy and Chief Nix to name a few; I’ve walked with them through the twists and turns of 25 years and don’t want to say goodbye.
I don’t think I can ever forgive Chris Whitaker for actually ending this book. It will live in my heart for a long, long time.
If you haven’t discovered Janice Hallett yet, now is your chance.
Structured in the most ingenious and original ways, a puzzle will be unravelled to you in text messages, emails and other correspondence. The amount of detail, character development and sheer page-turning addiction Hallett is able to create with this format always takes me by surprise.
The Examiner is no exception. A university examiner receives work from an art course and is convinced that one of the students has been murdered…
Be warned – if you buy this, you’ll be coming back for the rest of her books. Compulsive, clever and unputdownable. No one does crime quite like this.
You can find an updated list of all our bookseller recent reads over on Bookshop.org. Click HERE.
Our booksellers love to recommend books and share their favourite reads with other booklovers (it is their job but also their hobby). Our blog is a good place to start to find some recommendations but if you still need some help, simply pop into the shop, give us a call or shoot us an email.
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