To celebrate World Book Day, the following have been recommended by members of staff and are available in the library. They can be found in the display cabinet outside. Why not pick one up and have a read today...
Kurt Vonnegut
Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy draws on a lot of sci-fi influences, but this is the biggest – it’s like a cheesy 1950s “invaders from Mars” B-movie written from the bleakly optimistic perspective of Vonnegut’s later works like Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat’s Cradle. America’s richest man, an astronaut-turned-waveform and an alien robot are trapped in epochal events as their lives intersect over many years and planets across the solar system. “I was a victim of a series of accidents, as are we all.”
Chosen by Mr D Green
Neurotribes: The legacy of Autism
Steve Silberman
This is a fascinating look into the history of Autism. How it was first diagnosed and the problems (mainly caused by WW2) in getting it recognised by the scientific community.
Chosen by Miss K Douglass
Jared Diamond
This book takes a close look at the lives of hunter-gatherer populations and the way their societies work, and contrasts this with the functioning of our own industrialised societies. Diamond uses a number of examples from his own experience, particularly in New Guinea, to illustrate differences in traditional and modern lifestyle, including trade, warfare and conflict resolution, child-rearing practices and care for the elderly. He expertly links these topics to human evolution by illustrating how different societies adopt different strategies to serve their survival under their very own environmental conditions. Beyond a mere comparison of the traditional and the modern, this book convincingly shows that there may be lessons to learn from traditional lifestyle to improve our own lives, individually and collectively.
Chosen by Dr B Kremeyer
The Eyre Affair
Jasper Fforde
A bizarre comic romp through literature - literally in the case of Thursday Next, surreal literary detective whose job is to save great works from being changed. Acheron Hades is holding Dickens characters to ransom and Next's pursuit leads her through modern Swindon, a Communist Wales and ends among the flames of Thornfield Hall. Huge fun, but with enough depth to save it from being just a romp.
Chosen My Dr K Zetie
The Death of Ivan Ilyich
Leo Tolstoy
This is a masterly meditation on life and death, recounting the physical decline and spiritual awakening of a worldly, successful man who is faced with his own mortality.
Chosen by Mr S Hollands
The Story of Kim Phuc, the Photograh and the Vietnam War
Denise Chong.
I read this book whilst travelling in Vietnam and it has remained in my memory forever. It tells the story of the infamous girl caught by a photo journalist in a napalm attack. This horrific incident changed the course of her life in so many ways – she was propelled into the international media spotlight and used as a pawn by the Communist authorities who eventually paid for her university education in Cuba. Her heart wrenching tale is told with real sensitivity and also provides a fascinating insight into the political regimes both before and after the war.
Chosen by Miss C Gill
John Williams
Described as one of great unheralded classics of American literature. It is a beautifully written and deeply moving account of the life of a teacher.
Chosen by Mr A Kerr
The Future of the Professions
Daniel and Richard Susskind
The father and son Susskind team elegantly paint a picture of what doctoring, lawyering, teaching - and working in the other traditional professions - might look like in the not-too-distant future. The internet and increasingly-intelligent machines feature prominently, but there is no sense of evangelism. It's worth reading if you are a professional, are considering becoming one or simply if you wonder why we allow certain groups of educated people to monopolise the rationing of practical expertise in society.
Chosen by Mr M Smith
Sydney Padua.
This is a clever, entertaining sprint through the early part of the 19th century, as the dynamic duo veer past all obstacles (including time, space and Queen Victoria), fight crime (and poetry), on their way to inventing the computer. Full of arcane information and witty footnotes.
Chosen by J McLaren
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