Books of the Year

It's our final post of the year, and, as always, we've asked people to recommend the books they most enjoyed reading this year.  

First up this year is Miss Douglass: 'This year I have been on a mission to read as many books as I can: at the moment I have read 54. The one that surprised me the most, so much so that I am now reading more books by the same author, was Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. 

Usually, I can predict where a book is going, so it is rare that a plot twist surprised me. Elantris had two different plot twists that surprised me.'  

Books of the Year

It's our final post of the year, and as always, we've asked staff and students to recommend the books they most enjoyed reading in 2024 ...  

We're kicking off with Mrs Cummings: 'Can I please recommend James by Percival Everett? I’m sure I won’t be the only one. This wonderful book was robbed of the Booker Prize this year. As you probably already know, it is a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the viewpoint of the enslaved Jim. 

Unlike Ishan, who presented the novel for our Predict the Booker event, I have not read the original book but I never felt it was a problem. James is funny and brutal and very moving, and is genuinely one of those books that stays with you long after you finish it. I listened to it on audio, narrated by the wonderful Dominic Hoffman (The Shield, Gray’s Anatomy), and it is a brilliant use of 7 hours 49 minutes.'

Books of the Year

It's our final post of the year, and as always, we've asked staff and students to recommend the books they've most enjoyed reading in 2023 ... 

Dr Harrison's suggestions take us from the 1890s to the 2020s ...
'Not new this year, but Robert Harris’ An Officer and a Spy really brings turn of the 20th century Paris to life with a fictionalised account of the Dreyfus affair from the inside, a look at French army life highlighting the politics of any large organisation interspersed with the effects of thoughtless casual racism.

Books of the Year

In our final post for the year, SPS students and staff recommend their 'books of the year'.

Suleyman Ansari recommends Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air by David MacKay.

'In a world where climate discussion is becoming more and more prominent, I really enjoyed the objectivity and research methodology employed by this book. This broadened my understanding and allowed me to appreciate things from a scientific point of view instead of sensationalised media stories.' 

Mr Kemp recommends The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard

'This term I have been almost exclusively reading these fabulous novels. They chart the fortunes of an upper middle class family of timber merchants from 1939-1959 and are utterly unputdownable. I am completely gripped, and about to finish volume 4, Casting Off, which takes us up to the late 40s. Each book raises so many exciting questions. Will Clary finish her novel in the cottage Archie rented for her? Will Sid ever confess her frustrations to Rachel? Will Hugh come clean to the family about his affair with Diana? Just brilliant.'

Books of the Year

It's time for our final post of the term - and of 2021 (what a year). In spite of everything else that's been going on, somehow, we've all kept reading.  Here are some of the books we've enjoyed most. 

Sandro Weeks recommends The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach: 'a fun book about the journey of a college baseball team in Wisconsin with a storyline riddled with drama, anticipation and complicated relationships'.

Luke Buckland recommends The Firekeeper's Daughter by Angelina Boulley: 'it is a thriller about Daunis Fontaine, a Canadian girl with a French Canadian mother with inheritance to the Sugar Ojibwe Tribe of her late father. She encounters a tragic murder, which leads her down a path of drug trafficking in her community, eventually intertwined in an FBI investigation of the trafficking ring. I would argue that this book is insightful, suspenseful and emotionally complex, as it depicts alongside the thrilling plot, some of the great contrasts between her tribal heritage and Westernised culture from her French Canadian mother.'

Books of the Year

The book blog's final post of the term is our regular 'books of the year' round-up, featuring books from all genres and for all age ranges, suggested by staff and students. Happy reading!

Clockwork Angel - The Infernal Devices 1 by Cassandra Clare
Recommended by Joaquin Birts

 

I recommend this book because it spans across genres - action to romance to thriller and so on. It follows the life of a sixteen year-old New York City girl who is forced to move to London in the late 19th century because of her brother’s disappearance. She then finds out about a whole new world in which her brother had been exploring.

Books of the Year

It's time for our annual Books of the Year post, where staff and students share their recommendations of the best books they've read this year.  So if you're in search of something to read during the holidays, you've come to the right place!

Books of the Year

Our last post for this term is our annual 'books of the year' post, where staff and students recommend a book (or books) they've particular enjoyed this year. 

 Mr Roberts opted for All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - the story of two children trying to survive during World War II: a young blind girl in Paris, and a German orphan boy. Their paths collide in this epic, enthralling and powerful novel, which has won numerous awards.

Costa Book of the Year (2017) Announced

Helen Dunmore, posthumous winner of the Costa Book Award

Back in 2017, the various winners of the Costa Book Awards were announced.  Have a look through the various categories if you are looking for inspiration for Remedy reading.  The combined shortlist is here as well if you want to decide if the judges got it right.

This week saw the announcement of the overall winner, and the late Helen Dunmore's poetry collection Inside the Wave was judged the best of the best from 2017.  It is only the second time that this literary award has been awarded posthumously - Ted Hughes won for Birthday Letters back in 1998.

This collection was written in the last weeks of Dunmore's life, and takes her cancer diagnosis as its primary subject matter.  Have a look at the Guardian's coverage of the story for more details.

Jon McGregor's beautifully written twist on the modern thriller, Reservoir 13, didn't do enough in the judges' eyes to challenge Dunmore's poetry, but it is well worth a read.  You might also enjoy his first novel If No One Speaks of Remarkable Things (2002), if only for the extraordinary opening sequence.

If you do read anything marvellous over the holidays, please do let the book blog know about it.  We'd be delighted to publish anything as part of next half-term's books of the week.

books of the year

Looking for something to read over the holidays? You've come to the right place - it's the book blog's annual 'books of the year' post.  We asked people to nominate the books they'd most enjoyed this year, fiction or non-fiction, or both, and here are the results: many thanks to all those who contributed, and happy reading!

Books of the Year

Looking for something to read over the holidays? Then you've come to the right place - it's our annual 'book of the year' post.  We asked people to nominate the books they'd most enjoyed this year, fiction or non-fiction, and here are the results: many thanks to all those who contributed, and Merry Christmas from the book blog!

Miss Douglass's book of the year is The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson:

'This book had a very funny, but incredibly complex plot. I loved how it cleverly came together towards the end and the characters were so well written.'

Books of the Year

Looking for something interesting to read over the Christmas holidays? We asked the SPS teachers  to nominate the books they'd most enjoyed this year: many thanks to all those who contributed, and Merry Christmas from the bookblog!

Dr Perkins's book of the year is Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver.

'It's an epic which involves many of the key science characters of the seventeenth century and weaves a story involving science, politics, plague and finance to illuminate events of the period.  Part of the System of the World trilogy - a doorstop, but well worth the effort.'