Book Recommendations

‘The Hobbit’ by J.R.R Tolkin

Set in a time "Between the Dawn of Faerie and theDominion of Men",The Hobbitfollows the quest of home-lovinghobbitBilbo Bagginsto win a share of the treasure guarded by the dragon,Smaug. Bilbo's journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings into more sinister territory.The story is told in the form of an episodic quest, and most chapters introduce a specific creature, or type of creature, of Tolkien's Wilderland. By accepting the disreputable, romantic and adventurous side of his nature and applying his wits and common sense, Bilbo gains a new level of maturity and wisdom.

‘A finely written saga of dwarves and elves, fearsome goblins and trolls… an exciting epic of travel and magical adventure, all working up to a devastating climax.’
‘The Observer’

‘The Lost Symbol’ by Dan Brown

This book is written by the author of the Da Vinci Code and so if you have read that then this book is a must read. However, that doesn't mean you need to read that first as I read this last year with no prior knowledge of Dan Browns previous work. Dan Brown has researched so well into all of the intricate, interesting ideas that he discusses in depth, creating such a sense of plausibility you are left questioning whether some of the things in this book are real or not. It is a piece of fiction based upon the life of Robert Langdon, a professor renowned for having to solve very delicate and exciting situations in a pragmatic style. The cliff hangers at the end of nearly every chapter leave you fearful of getting paper cuts from turning the pages so quickly! One of the most fascinating factors about this novel is that it is all set in a 24 hour time period making it easy to pick up and read if you get preoccupied with something else (though you shouldn't). Dan Brown effectively uses many symbolic objects to great effect throughout the story and delves into the existing, mysterious groups such as the stone masons in great detail, making this all the more nail biting tantalising novel you were looking for.

‘Shutter Island’

‘Shutter Island’ by Dennis Lehane, follows the story of a US marshall named Teddy Daniels and his partner Chuck who have been called to Shutter Island, a remote island prison homed to the criminally insane, to investigate the escape of one of their prisoners. But with vague leads and almost impossible clues in the form of codes, Teddy and Chuck delve deeper and deeper into the heart of this island, and insanity.
I was given this book by my sister who reads quite a lot and almost as soon as I was finished the first chapter, I was engrossed. I'll admit in some sections, the description sets the mood and feel so well that I was afraid to turn and look behind me. The sense of being alone with a prison full of madmen is put across incredibly in this book. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thrills, mild horror and unexpected plot twists.
"One of the hottest talents to have crossed the Atlantic" - The Times
"Gritty...distinctive...electrifying" Guardian
"Lehanes world - excellent" GQ

‘Catch 22’

CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller is masterful in so many ways. It begins as comic farce, proceeds to the increasingly surreal, and then transforms into a nightmarish tragedy before ending triumphantly. No novel that I know so successfully blends all these disparate moods. I believe it was Hugh Walpole who wrote, "Life is a comedy to those who think, and a tragedy to those who feel." No book illustrates that better than this novel. This truly is one of the funniest books I have ever read. It is also one of the most tragic.
This is a novel I can almost not discuss except through superlatives: greatest war novel I have read, funniest novel I have ever read, greatest English language novel of the past 60 years. But the best thing is that it is, on top of being a superb book, an exceedingly fun book to read, even at its most nightmarish, this is a fun, delightful book. And few novels contain as many unforgettable moments as this one.

‘One Day’ by David Nicholls

‘One day’ by David Nicholls is a rare novel which ranges over the recent past with such authority. The novel conveys the nature of a male and female friendship explored on the same day through two decades. The basic structure of One day is to capture snapshots throughout both the characters lives. The poignant novel moves the reader due to the themes that it illustrates throughout; denial, missed chances and obsession with alcohol. This novel is a realistic portrayal of a man and a woman.

'A wonderful, wonderful book: wise, funny, perceptive, compassionate and often unbearably sad . . . the best British social novel since Jonathan Coe's WHAT A CARVE UP! . . . Nicholls's witty prose has a transparency that brings Nick Hornby to mind: it melts as you read it so that you don't notice all the hard work that it's doing' (The Times)

‘The Hunger Games’

One novel that I have read and loved is 'The Hunger Games' and that's the novel I will be writing about.

The story is based in a place called Panem and is told through the eyes of Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year old girl who has spent her entire life looking after her mother and sister in somewhere known as District 12. She finds food and cooks for her family, being the only one to keep them alive. However, in Panem, an event called the Hunger Games takes place in which two people, under the age of 18, have to compete against each other for their lives. Originally, Katniss’ younger sister Prim, aged 12, was randomly selected to take part in the games but Katniss did not believe this was fair so she decided to step in for Prim and represent her in the games. She was joined by fellow District 12 habitant, Peeta Mellark. Together, they undergo a life of luxury before being sent in to the area to fight as the few days in the run up to the games are seen as the last of their lives. They become close and eventually, in front of a large crowd, Peeta declares his love for Katniss and this angers her and tears them apart so as they don’t speak again until the games. Once in the arena, it’s a fight for the end as Katniss sets off on her own but Peeta joins career tributes as a pack to kill. As the number of tributes left gets less and less, the struggle to survive becomes harder as a lack of food and water becomes a problem. But half way through the games, the rules are changed which allows two people from the same district to win, if they are the final two. Eventually, Katniss teams up with a girl who at first caught her eye called Rue. They steal the career tributes food and begin to believe that they are stronger than them and also realise that Peeta is no longer with them. After a while, Rue is killed and this makes Katniss search for Peeta. When she finds him, he is injured and she nurses him back to health. They fake a romance in order to get gifts from those who sponsor them. In the end, Katniss and Peeta end up fighting the one remaining tribute, Cato but after a long struggle, Katniss shoots him. They eventually win and leave the arena together as winners, keeping up the ‘in love’ act for the public. Katniss realises that Peeta really did love her and he realises that she doesn’t love him.

I loved this book because the moment I started reading it, I couldn’t stop. I also didn’t let myself watch the movie so I could come up with the imagery myself and it was so well described that it allowed me to do this. The storyline kept me interested and it never got boring. I loved the characters and the random twists and turns of the book. It wasn't predictable or cliched and shocked me throughout. It was told from a clever perspective and I most likely will read it again.

“I was so obsessed with this book… The Hunger Games is amazing.” - Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight saga.

‘Q and A’ (Slumdog Millionaire)

Q and A by Vikas Swarup is the book that the film Slumdog Millionaire is based on. It follows the questioning of a boy from the slums of India who wins a TV game show. As he desperately explains how he knew the answer to the twelve questions to the police he reveals the part of his life where he has learnt the answers. For a young boy living in the slums we venture through his highs and lows in order to prove his innocence. Through his rash decisions, we learn the cruel morality of poverty in India that helps him ultimately win the jackpot.

‘The Curious Incident’

“The Curious incident of the dog in the night-time” is a fiction book by author Mark Haddon. It’s all about a teenager called Christopher who has an obvious mental disability of some kind (although it doesn’t mention what it is in the book). He has a photographic memory and he takes most things literally. When his neighbour’s dog is killed, he takes it upon himself to solve the mystery and writes a detective novel of his journey through it.

This is a great novel to read because it gives you an insight of how people with autism or asperger’s syndrome think and the reasons behind why they act in the way they do. It takes you inside their head and although its fiction a lot of the facts are true. Christopher has lots of behaviour problems such as not liking being touched, not recognising when he’s hurt someone’s feelings and hating the colours yellow and brown to an extent that he won’t touch or eat anything of those colours. It’s interesting and intriguing to read about him trying to make it through life on his own. It’s very eye-opening.

“Gave me that rare, greedy feeling of: this is so good I want to read it all at once but I mustn’t or it will be over too soon”- The Observer.

‘The Lovely Bones’

The Lovely Bones’ by Alice Sebold. Watching from her place in heaven, Suzie sees her happy, suburban family devastated by her death, isolated even from one another as hey each try to cope with their terrible loss alone. Over the years, her friends and siblings grow up, fall in love, do all the things she never had the chance to do herself. But life is not quite finished with Suzie yet . . .

‘That rare thing, a debut novel that takes the stuff of terrible tragedy and manages to transform it into something hopeful and redemptive . . . The Daily Mail

‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck

This book follows the journey of two men, Lenny and George as they travel across Southern America looking for work. Set during the early 20th Century, this novel really shows the true difficulties facing these two very unique individuals in their never ending quest for happiness. From chases across the desert to life working on a farm, this book has everything.

“Heartbreakingly good, combining the soul of a child with the body mass of an all in wrestler. – Lenny.”

‘Room’ – by Emma Donoghue

This book tells the story of a woman and her son who have been imprisoned in a single, sound proof, modern day dungeon. Seven years previous to the present day of the book that nineteen years old girl was stolen off the street by someone she calls ‘Old Nick’. Since then he has kept her incarcerated as his prisoner bringing her only the bare minimum that she and her son can survive on. Written though the eyes of her five year old son, Jack, Donoghue conveys the sheer naive and absorbing mind that young children have. Because Jack has lived in this Room his whole life, it is all he knows because he cannot comprehend the fact that there is a world outside the Room. His whole life has been lived trapped in four walls, but he does not share the same torment of his Ma. Donoghue very cleverly offers clues to the reader. By slyly touching on the theme of abuse we gather Old Nick’s intentions of stealing Jack’s Ma and realise the harsh reality that this has on them. The raw way in which this book is written captures both the horror and the profundity of such a delicate subject as this one.

“One of the most affecting and subtly profound novels of the year...For such a peculiar, stripped-down tale, it’s fantastically evocative...Jack expresses a poignant mixture of wisdom, love and naiveté that will make you ache to save him – whatever that would mean” – Washington Post Book World

'Morvern Callar' by Alan Warner

It is off-season in a remote Highland sea port: 21 year old Morvern Callar, a low paid employee in the local supermarket, wakes one morning to find her strange boyfriend has committed suicide and is dead on the kitchen floor. Morvern's laconic reaction is both intriguing and immoral. What she does next is even more appalling...

'Morvern Callar' is about a young girl, 21, and her life after she finds out herboyfriendhas committed suicide in their kitchen. We follow her as she copes with his loss, although she doesn't fully share what's happened with him to anyone else, and instead locks his body away in the attic of the house. Unlike most people suffering a loss, she gets on with her life pretty quickly. At first, it's almost as if she was expecting this to happen, and her reaction to the death isn't exactly normal. This novel is incredibly descriptive especially in certain situations, and at times a little too descriptive. I was so confused, and a little shocked as to how bizarre the beginning of this novel was, that I felt the need to read on and find out what happened next. I would recommend it, and am currently in the middle of the book, thoroughly enjoying it.