Reading for Pleasure: Book Recommendations

Recommended by Demi, student at City Campus.

The book 'A Good Girls Guide to Murder' is probably one of the best crime thrillers that I think I've ever read! Not only is the story extremely gripping, but it was also really addictive. I loved the tone of sarcastic comedy within the writing and the intensity of the story... I cannot wait to read the rest of this series!

Recommended by Saba , Student at Shena Simon.

I have read a lot of different books before but this one is different.It is a novel and memoir written by 24 year old novelist Matt Haig. It is based on his experience of living with deppression and anxiety disorder. 'Reasons to Stay Alive' shows the dangers and difficulties surrounding mental ilness. If you are depressed, reading books to get out of your own head can help. There are some benefits to mental ilness, which even some of the worlds greatest leaders experienced. Recovery may not be as straightforward as you think,but it is possible. The book sends a powerful message that no matter how dark things seem, there are always reasons to stay alive.
"There is this idea that you either read to escape or you read to find yourself. I do not really see the difference. We find ourselves through the process of escaping."

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!

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!

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.

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.