TMC Library: Reading for Pleasure: Book Recommendations

Fiction Recommendations from TMC and UCEN Staff

The Midnight Line by Lee Child
ISBN: 9780593078181
Publication Date: 2017
Recommended by Marie, Library Support Officer at Harpurhey campus:

Lee Child is one of my favourite authors. In this book Jack Reacher is back with his charm and wit and a bit more empathy in this case, while giving us the pleasure of his eventual confrontation with the bad guys. As usual, Child gives us intrigue, a hint of titillation and in this novel, a tongue-in-cheek dig at the US pharmaceutical industry as the biggest drug pushers. Well worth the read!
When the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
ISBN: 9780735219113
Publication Date: 2018
Recommended by Emily, Library Support Officer at Openshaw Campus

In Where the Crawdads Sing, Owens juxtaposes an exquisite ode to the natural world against a heartbreaking coming of age story and a surprising murder investigation. Thought-provoking, wise, and deeply moving, Owens's debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.
Read this heart-breaking novel before the film comes out in July 2022!

NonFiction Recommendations from TMC and UCEN Staff

Educated by Tara Westover
ISBN: 9780099511021
Publication Date: 2018
Recommended by Nicola, Library Support Officer at City Campus

A retelling of the author's life, Educated is a story of making sense of the world and yourself, through self invention and a need for knowledge. Tara Westover grew up in Idaho, in a small Mormon town, with a family of survivalists. She spent her days on the junkyard and was 17 when she first set foot in a classroom. Her story is, at times, uncomfortable and frustrating to read. It's also incredibly inspiring.⁣
Grayson Perry: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl by Wendy Jones
ISBN: 9780099485162
Publication Date: 2007
Recommended by Lisa O'Loughlin, Principal of The Manchester College:

A biography of the acclaimed fine artist and ceramicist Grayson Perry, in which he tells his own story, his voice beautifully caught by his friend, the writer Wendy Jones. The book sees Grayson reflecting on his childhood, emerging transvestitism and how this shaped his emerging art practice. In 2003, Grayson accepted the Turner Prize as his alter-ego Clare, wearing his best dress, with a bow in his hair.
The gangs of Birmingham : the true story of the Peaky Blinders by Philip J. Gooderson
ISBN: 9781903854884
Publication Date: 2010
Recommended by Phill, Library Support Officer at Openshaw campus

In the early 1870s, the boomtown of Birmingham erupted in a series of vicious gang wars. Mobs of youths armed with stones, knives and belt buckles fought pitched battles in a struggle for territorial supremacy. Known as "sloggers", they drew their numbers from the workshops and factories that made guns, nails and jewellery, and lived cheek-by-jowl in overcrowded, insanitary slums.

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Real Reads

Classic Reads

Graphic Novels and Anime Picks

As You Like It

As You Like It is perhaps Shakepeare's sunniest comedy, but there are patches of shade amidst the love-drenched brightness. In this manga, the Arcadian beauty of the forest of Arden is transposed to modern-day China, where rural and urban worlds collide.
Find a copy of this book at Shena Simon campus library

Hamlet

Peresepolis
Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. This is a beautiful and intimate story full of tragedy and humour - raw, honest and incredibly illuminating.
Find copies of this book at Harpurhey, Nicholls, Northenden and Shena Simon campus libraries

The Complete MAUS
An astonishing retelling of the twentieth-century's grisliest news, Maus studies the bloody paw-prints of history and tracks its meaning for all of us.
Find copies of this book at Nicholls and Northenden campus libraries

Who Is Wonder Woman?
Find copies of this book at Northenden library

Non-Fiction Reads

Bad Feminst
In these funny and insightful essays, Roxane Gay takes us through the journey of her evolution as a woman (Sweet Valley High) of colour (The Help) while also taking readers on a ride through culture of the last few years (Girls, Django in Chains) and commenting on the state of feminism today (abortion, Chris Brown).
Find copies at: Harpurhey, Openshaw and Shena Simon campus libraries
GIRL UP
Everyday Sexism Project founder Laura Bates mocks the ludicrous pressures and stereotypes faced by young women today.
Find copies at: Harpurhey, Openshaw and Shena Simon Libraries
How to Be a Woman
Part memoir, part rant, Caitlin answers the questions that every modern woman is asking.
Find copies at: Harpurhey, Openshaw, Shena Simon and Wythenshawe Libraries
Fat is a Feminist Issue
Firestarter
Ben Stokes is not cast in the same mould as the vast majority of English cricketers. Fiery, combative, gladiatorial - he plays the game hard and with great gusto. Whether it's thrashing the fastest ever Test century at Lord's or the quickest ever Test double-hundred by an Englishman (against South Africa at Cape Town, in January) or destroying the Australian batting at Trent Bridge, Stokes plays the game he loves with his heart on his sleeve and with 100% effort and commitment. Cricket fans adore him for it. His very first book focuses on the pivotal moments in his life and career so far. From being forged as a young boy in New Zealand, to moving to Cumbria at the age of 11, to playing county cricket for Durham and then onto the England team, this book provides a riveting insight into one of the most exhilarating figures in sport today.
Find this book at Nicholls FE library
Part Reptile
Taking the key fights from his career, Hardy explores the sport with the unparalleled insight that has made him the best analyst working today. From training in China with Shaolin monks, to how MMA helped him channel his rage, to psychedelics and the ceremony in Peru that changed his life, to tapping into his 'reptilian brain' and the psychological warfare of UFC, to his epic title fight with Georges St-Pierre. Hardy also speaks eloquently of the heart condition that forced him to stop fighting, the road to recovery, and the evolution of a sport that flies in the face of mainstream disapproval to entertain and thrill millions of obsessives around the globe.
Find this book at Harpurhey library
Jamie's Ministry of Food
Lean in 15
Joe Wicks, better know as The Body Coach on instagram, reveals the secret to shifting body fat by eating more and exercising less!
Find this book at Harpurhey and Openshaw FE library
A Year in 120 Recipes
Jack Monroe's tasty and resourceful recipes from her well-loved blog, Cooking on a Bootstrap, have propelled her into the spotlight during the past year. In A Year in 120 Recipes, Jack gives us a full year of inspiring new recipes. Making the most of seasonal produce, yet with her trademark budget approach.
Find this book at Openshaw FE Library
The Fat-Loss Plan