Favourite Summer Reads of 2018 As Chosen byFingal Library Staff

Fingal Libraries
by Fingal Libraries on August 20, 2018.

As the Summer of 2018 draws to a close, ask yourself if you can remember the books you read over the Summer. Which ones were memorable? What was your favourite read, new or old, fiction or non-fiction? We asked Fingal Library staff to pick their favourite reads of the Summer: Hot Milk by Deborah Levy […]

Summer Reads 2018

Summer Reads 2018

As the Summer of 2018 draws to a close, ask yourself if you can remember the books you read over the Summer. Which ones were memorable? What was your favourite read, new or old, fiction or non-fiction? We asked Fingal Library staff to pick their favourite reads of the Summer:

Hot Milk by Deborah Levy

For a summer read, I enjoy a novel that heightens the sights, sounds and experiences associated with summertime and ‘Hot Milk’ by Deborah Levy is a book that does just that. Set in Spain, it’s a unique and interesting story about a young anthropologist, Sophia, and her mother, Rose, who is suffering from a mysterious illness. They travel to Spain in search of a cure. While there, Rose’s worsening paralysis takes its toll on them both in different ways and the story takes us on Sophia’s quest to understand both the illness and herself through the characters she meets along the way. Available as an eBook & eAudiobook on Borrowbox.

1Q84  by Haruki Murakami

What I liked about this book was the authors ability to write two slowly intertwining yet completely independent story-lines simultaneously. A masterful display of story-telling, with character development so deep and rich that it keeps pulling you in regardless of the current pace of the story. An inspired take on the concept of alternate realities, watching the lives of the two main Characters slowly converge and collide, with an underlying sub-story of murder and cultism maintaining the perfect amount of tension throughout. The collected trilogy may appear daunting at first, but you will soon realize it is a breath of fresh air from the fantastic mind of one of Japan’s leading contemporary writers. A wonder from cover to cover, experience Murakami at his finest. Available as an eBook & eAudiobook on Borrowbox.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Let me introduce Miss Eleanor Oilphant. Eleanor is thirty years of age, lives by herself and has been in the same job for over 10 years. Eleanor is blunt, socially inept, anxious and depressed (and that’s all on a good day). She says aloud what others think but keep to themselves. Most people who meet Eleanor think she is weird and old-fashioned but in fact what Eleanor is mostly is LONELY.  Slowly but surely, the author reveals how Eleanor’s isolated situation has come about and the crippling effect it has had on her mental well-being. Eleanor is much more than a quirky social misfit. Her social isolation is alas, all too common in this digital / social media-driven world. Her story crept up on me and made me want to know why she is the way she is.  Eleanor’s caustic humour made me laugh out loud. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is an entertaining, moving and touching read and I would heartily recommend it.  Very impressive for a debut novel. Available as an eBook on Borrowbox.

Why Mummy Drinks by Gill Sims

‘Why Mummy Drinks’ is Gill’s first novel based on her wildly successful Facebook blog called ‘Peter and Jane and Mummy too’, in which she humorously provides daily updates on her life with two children and the many and varied calamities in which they can get involved. Not for the fainthearted or the easily offended but very amusing and hugely popular with readers who enjoy seeing they are not the only ones dealing with these issues. The novel is loosely based on this blog but brings in other aspects of life too and I found it hilarious. Available as an eBook on Borrowbox.

The Circle by Dave Eggers

‘The Circle’ involves a dystopian future world where an all-powerful, seemingly benign technology company begins to reveal its newest technologies which appear to be amazingly useful and beneficial but have a darker undercurrent of control and societal reconfiguring. Not exactly ‘summery’ but definitely gripping and I’m having trouble putting it down to go to work! Available as an eBook on Borrowbox.

The Wife by Alafair Burke

This book is a psychological/domestic thriller. Angela & Jason Powell’s comfortable life is turned upside down when he is accused of sexual harassment and then rape; she has her own dark secrets to hide. The story is told from the point of view of the wife and also that of Detective Corinne. This book will keep you reading right to the last twist. Available as an eBook on Borrowbox.

World in Motion by Simon Hart

As the World Cup began this summer, a fascinating book was published on the Italia 90 tournament. The history-making Irish team feature prominently in the narrative – the book includes new interviews with some of the players like Packie Bonner, Kevin Sheedy and Tony Cascarino. Cameroon made a similar impact in also reaching the last eight, Italy found an unexpected hero in Toto Schillaci, and Nessun Dorma became the BBC soundtrack to the football. It was the last tournament featuring the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and a divided Germany. Hart reviews the matches, interviewing many of the key figures involved in a sporting world that was quickly changing.

Earthbound: David Bowie and The Man Who Fell to Earth by Susan Compo

Susan Compo vividly explores the making of The Man who Fell to Earth, a classic science-fiction film that at the time was most noted for the debut movie performance of David Bowie. It was filmed in the heat of New Mexico in the summer of 1975; the shoot included an old mining town called Madrid and White Sands, where the miles of sand dunes doubled as an alien planet. The style of director Nicholas Roeg resulted in a unique film, which offered a disorienting vision of 1970s America, and left an enduring legacy, not least in Bowie’s career.

You can borrow/reserve any of the books by calling into your local Fingal Library.  Alternatively you may wish to reserve a book by using the Fingal Online Library Catalogue.  Most of the books chosen are also available as eBooks on BorrowBox.

A very special thanks to Nadene, Aileen, Íde, Ann, Conor and Fergus for sharing their favourite summer reads.  We hope you enjoy our selection.

 

By the Fingal Libraries Blogging Team
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