When Mr Macleod, Acting Head of History, came to me proposing the development of a Historical Fiction collection in the History Department Library, I  jumped at the chance to bring some excellent and very readable fiction to a wider audience. Historical Fiction is a great way to become engrossed in a gripping plot, learn more about the real historical figures and expand your knowledge of a particular historical event or time period without it feeling like hard work. Many historical fiction writers have carried out meticulous research and some give detailed bibliographies of historical sources.  Whilst important to remember the novels are fiction they help give context and background to historical time periods and topics and may act as a stepping stone to reading non-fiction.

The History Dept came up with some of their favourite titles and we added our library team suggestions. There are many more historical fiction titles in the main library too.

We now have a core collection which can be expanded and developed. It’s a bit weighty in the World War ll and Tudors area – so we welcome suggestions for different time periods and locations. Eventually we plan to link the suggested reading to the curriculum topics.

When I asked our Head of College for his favourite book in the summer he told me ‘Azincourt’ by Bernard Cornwell. This book spurred his enthusiasm for studying History.

Two memorable historical fiction titles which made a dramatic impact on me are ‘The Siege’ by Helen Dunmore and ‘The things they carried’ by Tim O’Brien. Both are harrowing, emotional reads.’The  Siege’  is set during the first winter of the siege of Leningrad by the Germans during World War ll. It is a moving story of love and survival written so well it’s hard not to feel the emotions of the characters experiencing it.

‘The things they carried’ is a book of interconnected short stories about the experiences of a platoon of U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War. It is a blurring of fiction and non-fiction as the narrator is modelled on the author and has his name, Tim O’Brien, despite being a fictional character. The book is partly based on the author’s own experiences.

Many of us – staff and students alike are big fans of Robert Harris. He is a master storyteller who brings historical times to life with great plotting. We have his books in print form in the library and also many of them as e-books on Browns VLeBooks.

Why not try a historical novel for the half-term holidays?

Science Book Discussion Group

In another collaboration between the Library and Academic Departments we are reading the 6 shortlisted books on the Royal Society Book Prize Shortlist 2019.

In conjunction with the Science Department and Science Society the idea is that 5th and 6th formers read one of the titles and feed back on what they thought of it and what they learnt at a Science Book Discussion evening in the library on 21st November. If none of this year’s shortlist are available then we have copies of previous winnners and shortlisted titles.

I’m looking forward to reading ‘Clearing the Air’ by Tim Smedley and I’m currently listening to the audiobook of ‘Invisible Women: Exposing data bias in a world designed for men’ by Caroline Criado Perez. This year’s winning book is an incredible piece of research highlighting the gender data gap in so many areas of life – a vital read for everyone.

It’s that time of year when a plethora of reading lists are published giving us so many recommendations of what to read it can feel daunting. There is the tension between indulging in a ‘beach read’ or challenging yourself with the literary tome you’ve been meaning to get around to. Each to their own I say – there is the perfect book for the perfect time and place and we shouldn’t be judging each other and ourselves – just enjoying time to read.

Here are some good starting points.

The Guardian 100 best holiday books This list includes fiction, non-fiction and YA and children’s books. My pageturner this summer is going to be ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ by Liane Moriarty. I loved ‘The Husband’s Secret’ and ‘Big Little Lies’ and this one has been recommended by an English teacher.

54 Best Books from Oprah’s Book Club or here is a selection of the best women’s writing Summer 2019 (according to Oprah Winfrey)

I like Barack Obama’s reading lists. I don’t think his summer suggestions have been published yet but he has 3 recommendations from Spring. Pachinko has been on my ‘to be read’ pile so I do want to get round to that one.

I always find Bill Gates suggestions interesting. Here are 5 books he recommends this summer:

I also can’t resist a plug for Melinda’s new book The Moment of Lift. I know I’m biased, but it’s one of the best books I’ve read so far this year.

Here’s our latest cracking read recommended by a 6th form student this time. He and his friends have been racing through this series and are impatiently waiting for the 5th book ‘Dark Age’ to be published in July 2019.

Red Rising series by Pierce Brown

He writes:

Red Rising is a dystopian fantasy set in our Solar System,where humans have gained control of our genome and successfully breed new races for designed purposes. Known as “Colours”, the Gold rise to become the oligarchy of the new age humans. A “Red” from the loweest class decides to break the totalitarian system from the inside….

For anybody who loves Hungers Games, Divergent and Maze Runner it’s a great series to read.

Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts.

We’ve promoted this brilliant book before – an informative and compelling read by the inspirational creator of Gapminder and Dollar Street – Hans Rosling. He was a medical doctor, global health expert and statistician who wanted to help people understand the world and data in an accessible way using graphs and visual images to cut through confusing and possibly misrepresented statistics. He also had a hobby of sword swallowing!

His TED Talk ‘How not to be ignorant about the world’ is essential viewing.

This book questions everything you think you know about the world and prompts us to look at the positive ways it is actually getting better. A great choice for Politics, Geography, Global Citizenship and everyone who wants to be better informed!

Our first cracking read of World Book Day was recommended by Geography teacher Mr Murray. He is a huge fan of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and has been encouraging all his tutees to read it. We urge you to read this absorbing, entertaining book before you watch the film!

Here’s his review:

“ Modern technology and the laws of physics have not yet allowed for zero gravity dancing, X-Wing commuting and living out your favourite scene from 1980s movies. In the OASIS of ‘Ready Player One’ though you can. In the OASIS you can be and do anything you want in a perfectly electronically rendered version of our imperfect world. It is a book about a quest. A quest for meaning, friendship and purpose. It is also a quest for billions of dollars and control over the most influential video game of all time (not Fortnite).

I love this book because it combines a huge number of familiar and exciting references for video game fans, Spielberg devotees and anyone who enjoys the cultural artefacts of the 1980s. It is also set in a future that is looking more and more feasible. A world strangled by inequality and the impacts of climate change where nearly all of the world’s population spend most of their lives online. Virtual reality could be the saviour of the protagonist or it could be controlled by a profit seeking juggernaut. It is a book that is a love letter to the fantasy of video games, the escapism of movies and the importance of heroes and hope. It is also about friendship.

Can you complete the quest? Log into the OASIS to find out.”

You can also listen to the fantastic audio book of ‘Ready Player One’ on our new audio book ePlatform from Wheelers.

Maths teacher Mr Wells loves the novels of Scarlet Thomas. He also recommends her book Pop Co.

The End of Mr Y

What starts off as a traditional mystery around the last surviving copy of a book, soon swerves into the most unusual mash up of genres I’ve read. A mixture of Quantum physics, giant mice and Victorian Homeopathy, this is a wonderfully surreal and eclectic novel. Scarlett Thomas’ writing is full of unusual turns of phrase and unexpected phrases that make this story come alive.

For books on a scientific theme Mrs Patterson Head of STE recommends:

Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox

In 1962, Maurice Wilkins, Francis Crick, and James Watson received the Nobel Prize, but it was Rosalind Franklin’s data and photographs of DNA that led to their discovery. Brenda Maddox tells a powerful story of a remarkably single-minded, forthright, and tempestuous young woman who, at the age of fifteen, decided she was going to be a scientist, but who was airbrushed out of the greatest scientific discovery of the twentieth century.

Ms Gutulan, Head of English, recommends:

 Bookworm: A memoir of childhood reading by Lucy Mangan

Lucy Mangan’s memoir Bookworm, a ‘witty and gloriously opinionated love letter’ to the books that saw her grow up, will appeal to anyone who, as a child, spent days glued to a book (or sneaked the torch to read under the covers past bedtime!). Bookworm is a comforting read that revives childhood memories as only a truly good book can do and is set up to become a classic in itself. Give it a try!

I could also have recommended The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt, a coming-of-age, richly visual novel, in which the creativity in many guises anchors the predicament of children from three families belonging to contrasting social classes but connected in surprising ways. The narrative is set at the pivotal time that saw the Victorian era slowly turn towards Modernity: symbolically, the story begins in the early days of the Victoria and Albert Museum and ends with the Great War. It is an evocative yarn that weaves the delights of the Arts and Crafts Movement, storytelling, adventure, social consciousness and sacrifice, leading to an ending you will struggle to forget.

Here are a few top picks proving popular this week.

Our 6th form students are going mad for Sally Rooney’s novels. We have a waiting list of boys wanting to read ‘Normal People’ and students who’ve read this are choosing her debut novel ‘Conversations with Friends’ to read next. They love her clear, crisp writing and her believable, likeable characters. No wonder Waterstones chose ‘Normal People’ as their book of the year 2018.

If you like non-fiction and you missed Mrs McColl’s talk on Monday about introverts and extroverts you can borrow the book she mentioned. ‘Quiet’ by Susan Cain is sub-titled ‘The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking’. This book champions the importance of listening and the value of introverts and challenges us all to see things differently.

Head of Percussion, and avid library user and reader, Mr Smith, can’t recommend ‘Munich’ by Robert Harris highly enough. He is a big fan of Robert Harris’ well-written historical thrillers and this one is a massive page-turner. Set during Chamberlain’s negotiations with Hitler before the outbreak of World War ll this is a tense political thriller and spy novel with great attention to historical detail but with interesting fictional characters added.

Synopsis:

September 1938. Hitler is determined to start a war. Chamberlain is desperate to preserve the peace.

The issue is to be decided in a city that will forever afterwards be notorious for what takes place there: Munich.

As Chamberlain’s plane judders over the Channel and the Fuhrer’s train steams relentlessly south from Berlin, two young men travel with secrets of their own. Hugh Legat is one of Chamberlain’s private secretaries; Paul Hartmann a German diplomat and member of the anti-Hitler resistance. Great friends at Oxford before Hitler came to power, they haven’t seen one another since they were last in Munich six years earlier.

Now, as the future of Europe hangs in the balance, their paths are destined to cross again. When the stakes are this high, who are you willing to betray? Your friends, your family, your country or your conscience?

Sounds like a perfect half-term holiday read!