October Read - Cavan Reading Group

A place called winter and other titles by Patrick Gale

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To find yourself, sometimes you must lose everything. A privileged elder son, and stammeringly shy, Harry Cane has followed convention at every step. Even the beginnings of an illicit, dangerous affair do little to shake the foundations of his muted existence - until the shock of discovery and the threat of arrest cost him everything. Forced to abandon his wife and child, Harry signs up for emigration to the newly colonised Canadian prairies. Remote and unforgiving, his allotted homestead in a place called Winter is a world away from the golden suburbs of turn-of-the-century Edwardian England. And yet it is here, isolated in a seemingly harsh landscape, under the threat of war, madness and an evil man of undeniable magnetism that the fight for survival will reveal in Harry an inner strength and capacity for love beyond anything he has ever known before. In this exquisite journey of self-discovery, loosely based on a real life family mystery, Patrick Gale has created an epic, intimate human drama, both brutal and breathtaking. It is a novel of secrets, sexuality and, ultimately, of great love.

Awards:              

BBC Radio 2 Simon Mayo Book Club Read.

Click on the image to see all items by Patrick Gale on our catalogue

September Read - Belturbet Library

That they may face the rising sun by John McGahern

Joe and Kate Ruttledge, have come to rural Ireland from London in search of a different life. In passages of beauty and truth, the drama of a year in their lives and those of the memorable characters that move about them unfolds through action, the rituals of work, religious observances and play. By the novel's close we feel that we have been introduced, with deceptive simplicity, to a complete representation of existence - an enclosed world has been transformed into an Everywhere.

Awards:              

Shortlisted for the International IMPAC Award, 2003.

Winner of the Hughes and Hughes Irish Novel of the Year, 2003.

September Read - Cootehill Library

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simson

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Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

September Read - Bailieborough Library

The Miniaturist by Jesse Burton

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There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed . . . 

On an autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a grand house in the wealthiest quarter of Amsterdam. She has come from the country to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt, but instead she is met by his sharp-tongued sister, Marin. Only later does Johannes appear and present her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. It is to be furnished by an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in unexpected ways . . . Nella is at first mystified by the closed world of the Brandt household, but as she uncovers its secrets she realizes the escalating dangers that await them all. Does the miniaturist hold their fate in her hands? And will she be the key to their salvation or the architect of their downfall? Beautiful, intoxicating and filled with heart-pounding suspense, The Miniaturist is a magnificent story of love and obsession, betrayal and retribution, appearance and truth.

Awards: 

Shortlisted Bookseller Book of the Year

Richard & Judy Book Club Spring 2015 Title

Waterstones Book of the Year

Specsavers Book of the Year

National Book Awards New Writer of the Year.

The Best Summer Page Turners 2015

Our Summer Reading List is the best choice of “Great Reads” which Cavan librarians, who are passionate about literature and reading, have handpicked for you!

Thank you to our Library Reading Group members who also suggested some great titles. Guiding people to great reads is our daily task and one we take very seriously.

We want you to enjoy our 2015 list - 40 titles with something for everyone. Tell us what you think by commenting on our posts. Bad or good, we want to know. We look forward to hearing from you.

Summer Reading List

Download our 2015 Summer Reading List in PDF format here

Reserve any of these titles on our Catalogue by clicking on the Book Covers below! Let us know what you think by commenting to this post

                                                           

                                                   

                                                        

Summer Reads Adults - As Gaeilge

Make one of your Summer Reads an "As Gaeilge" title. Click on the book images below to reserve a copy on our catalogue.