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Books We ♡

At Goring Library, we love to share books. Here are some of our readers thoughts about the titles we have on offer. Below this is also a list of just some of the new books our library manager has acquired for library users ...

The Bee Sting

by Paul Murray

This is a book about The Barnes family and they are in trouble. Until recently they ran the biggest business in town, now they’re teetering on the brink of bankruptcy – and that’s just the start of their problems. Dickie and Imelda’s marriage is hanging by a thread; straight-A student Cass is careening off the rails; PJ is hopelessly in debt to the school bully. It is a gritty, heart-warming snapshot of a normal, if complicated, family and all the consequences of being flawed and human in our society. A true representation of life, full of emotional turmoil, lies, unwise decisions, buried deep feelings and truths, addiction, guilt and mental breakdown. It is one of the best books I have read in a long time. The writing from each perspective was intricate and well thought out. Everything interlinked at the end leaving you to consider what the ending would be long after the novel ends.

A Killing in November

by Simon Mason

The story is set within an Oxford College. DI Ryan Wilkins and DI Ray Wilkins are a sort of new take on Morse and Lewis, but with the non-Oxford grad (Ryan) as the brains of the outfit. Ryan is a great character who says what we would all like to say in certain situations. By far the most appealing aspect of the book is the developing relationship between Ryan and Raymond, and together they make a good team. Mason explores the two sides of Oxford: privileged and elitist vs deprived and marginalised. All in all a refreshing take on the police procedural crime novel. Simon recently joined the Friends for an evening in the Five Little Pigs in Wallingford to discuss his latest novel.

Great Circle
by Maggie Shipstead

The book has two parallel stories - that of Marian Graves, set in the early to mid-20th century - and present day Hadley Baxter. Marian is obsessed with flying, having a career as a pilot at a time when very few women did. This culminates in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe, which is made into a movie starring Hadley Baxter. The novel is long but I found that the more I read, the more I was compelled to find out what happened to Marion. This is an excellent book to pick up if you’re looking for something that will transport you to another time and place. Its themes of what women accomplished against the odds will inspire many readers.

New Books

Look out for the new books that Kate has been able to buy with funds raised by Friends of Goring Library.

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For instance, she has bought dozens of new children's books; new releases; older classics you've always been meaning to read and reference books like cookery, art and travel, to mention but a small selection.

Books bought by FOGL in September 2023 now available in the library:

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Author               Title

Adams,Richard   Watership Down

Aitken,Ben           The marmalade diaries: the true story of an odd couple

Armin,Elizabeth The enchanted April

Athill,Diana         Somewhere towards the end

Barnes,Julian        England, England

Bates,H.E.            The darling buds of May

Billet,Marion        There are 101 things to find in London

Bilston,Brian       Diary of a somebody

Birchall,Katy        Jane Austen's Emma

Browder,Bill         Freezing order: a true story

Budzik,Mary Franc  Myths and legends

Burton,Jessie       The miniaturist

Cannon,Joanna    The trouble with goats and sheep

Carty-Williams,Candice   Queenie

Chevalier,Tracy    Remarkable creatures

Christie,Agatha    Death on the Nile

Clary,Julian          The Bolds go green

Clear,James          Atomic habits: tiny changes, remarkable results

Colombo,Miralda   Barefoot books amazing places

Connelly,Charlie    Attention all shipping: a journey round the shipping forecast

Crouch,Peter        How to be an ex footballer

Dahl,Roald            Danny the champion of the world

Dickmann,Nancy     Greek

Dolan,Hannah      How to build LEGO houses

Dunmore,Helen    Birdcage walk

Eclair,Jenny           Older and wider: a survivor's guide to the menopause

Farrell,Holly          The little book of cut-flower gardening:

Fearnley-Whittingstall,Hugh      River Cottage good comfort: 

Forster,E.M.         A room with a view

Fox,Kate               Watching the English

Gee,Sue                Reading in bed

Grisham,John      The judge's list

Hall,Tony              Gardening with drought-friendly plants

Harper,Jane         The lost man

Hayes,Nick           The trespasser's companion: 

Henry,Emily         Book lovers

Hoover,Colleen    It ends with us

Hoover,Colleen    It starts with us

Hoover,Colleen    Verity

King,Daniel          How to win at chess

Leon,Donna         Uniform justice

Lindgren,Astrid   The best of Pippi Longstocking

Lock,Deborah      Greek myths

MacFarlane,Robert    The lost spells

MacFarlane,Robert    The lost words: a spell book

Maiklem,Lara         Mudlarking: lost and found on the River Thames

Marston,Edward    Peril on the royal train

McGough,Roger     An imaginary menagerie

Meara,David           50 gems of Oxfordshire:

Milne,A.A.               Winnie-the-Pooh

Mortimer,Bob        The satsuma complex

Muir,Kate                Everything you need to know about the menopause

Oldfield,Matt          Bellingham: from the playground to the pitch

Oldfield,Matt          Southgate: from the playground to the pitch

Parker,Matt            Humble Pi: a comedy of maths errors

Pilkey,Dav              Brawl of the wild

Pilkey,Dav              Twenty thousand fleas under the sea

Rankin,Ian             Rather be the devil

Reid,Taylor Jen     The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo: a novel

Ridgeley,Andrew   Wham! George & me

Robinson,Lynne     Pilates express: get maximum results in minimum time

Roffey,Monique      The mermaid of Black Conch

Rowland,Lucy         Daddy's rainbow

Scheffler,Axel         Axel Scheffler's flip flap pets

Scott,Alex                How (not) to be strong

Theroux,Louis        Theroux the keyhole

Towles,Amor          The Lincoln Highway

Trollope,Anthony   The small house at Allington

White,E.B.               Charlotte's web

Wilde,Oscar            The picture of Dorian Gray

Williams,Imogen   The big book of the UK

Winn,Raynor          Landlines

Woods,Evie             The lost bookshop & The secret language of flowers

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New books bought by FOGL in Spring 2023:

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Author              Title

Adamson,Jean    Halloween party

Adamson,Jean     Topsy and Tim go on holiday

Allan,Alex             The calm book

Barder,Gemma    Dogs

Berry,Mary           Simple comforts

Borman,Tracy      The devil's slave

Bourne,Stephen   Under fire: black Britain in wartime 1939-45

Broom,Sarah M.   The yellow house

Butterfield,Moira  The secret life of trees

Cleverly,Sophie     The lights under the lake

Corbin,Pam            Pam the jam: the book of preserves

Dahl,Roald             James and the giant peach

Don,Monty              My garden world: the natural year

Down,Jim              Life support: diary of an ICU doctor on the front line of the COVID crisis

Eckford,Jennifer    Baby calm: an ABC of mindfulness

Farrington,Karen   The Repair Shop: tales from the workshop of dreams

Flynn,David            The Happy Pear: essential tips and techniques for delicious plant-based cooking

Goodall,Chris         What we need to do now: for a zero carbon society

Gordon,Bryony    No such thing as normal

Green,Rosie         How to heal a broken heart: from rock bottom to reinvention (via ugly crying on the bathroom floor)

Griffiths,Andy     The 91-storey treehouse

Haig,Matt             The comfort book

Hamer,Marc         Seed to dust: a gardener's story

Hopgood,Tim       My big book of outdoors

Howard,Catherine The Nothing Man

Hussain,Sairish    The family tree

Kay,Adam              Twas the nightshift before Christmas

Lawson,Nigella     Cook, eat, repeat: ingredients, recipes and stories

Lefteri,Christy      The beekeeper of Aleppo

Mann,Steve          Easy peasy awesome pawsome dog training for kids

Mantel,Hilary       Bring up the bodies

Matthews,Helen  The Chilterns & the Thames Valley: local, characterful guides to Britain's special places

McIntosh,Tor       Slow adventures: unhurriedly exploring Britain's wild places

Mount,Harry       How England made the English: from why we drive on the left to why we don't talk to our neighbours

Myers,Dave        The Hairy Bikers' veggie feasts

Owen,Amanda   Adventures of the Yorkshire shepherdess

Pilkey,Dav           Dog Man and cat kid

Rowling,J.K.       Harry Potter and the goblet of fire

Schuh,Mari C.    Trains

Sethi,Anita         I belong here: a journey along the backbone of Britain

Stirling,Sarah    Rewild your life: 52 ways to reconnect with nature

Strout,Elizabeth  Olive, again

Thorogood,Robert  A meditation on murder

Tindall,Gillian      The pulse glass and the beat of other hearts

Welsh,Louise       Tamburlaine must die

Wicks,Joe            Joe's family food: 100 delicious, easy recipes to enjoy together

Williams,Michael  On the slow train again

Winn,Raynor         The wild silence

Woolmer,Annabel  The tickle fingers kids' cookbook: hands-on fun in the kitchen for 4-7s

How to garden

Wake up, Thomas!: a slide and play book

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