Librarians' must-read list

The list in full

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Bible
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkien
1984 by George Orwell
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Read it
All Quite on the Western Front by E M Remarque
His Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillip Pullman read it
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding read it
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
Tess of the D'urbevilles by Thomas Hardy
Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte read it
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger read it
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold read it
The Prophet by Khalil Gibran
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho read it
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Middlemarch by George Eliot
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver read it
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzenhitsyn

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant

Synopsis Alessandra is not quite fifteen when her prosperous merchant father brings a young painter back with him from Holland to adorn the walls of the new family chapel. She is fascinated by his talents and envious of his abilities and opportunities to paint to the glory of God. Soon her love of art and her lively independence are luring her into closer involvement with all sorts of taboo areas of life. On excursions into the streets of night-time Florence she observes a terrible evil stalking the city and witnesses the rise of the fiery young priest, Savanarola, who has set out to rid the city of vice, richness, even art itself. Alessandra must make crucial decisions about the shape of her adult life, as Florence itself must choose between the old ways of the luxury-loving Medicis and the asceticism of Savanorola. And through it all, there is the painter, whose love will change everything

I'm an Italianophile and particularly like stories set in Venice and Florence. I like history and I like art, so, as this book contains all those elements, I should have loved it, right? However, there was a jarring tone in an interesting, often informative book. It was Alessandra I had a problem with, I never felt her 'voice' authentic, I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just didn't believe in her or the way she thought/spoke. Sadly, I ended up not liking her very much either.

I had planned to read all of Sarah Dunant's books and I wont let my issue with this one put me off.

A Place Called Freedom by Ken Follett

Amazon synopsis
In a brutal world, charismatic rebel miner Mack McAsh - a slave by birth - is a man with the courage to stand up for what is right, and the strength to stick by his beliefs. Independent, rebellious Lizzie Hallim, meanwhile, is engaged to Jay Jamisson, the ruthless landlord's son and heir to an exploitative business empire. Born into separate worlds, Mack and Lizzie are thrown together when Mack becomes an enemy of the state and is forced to flee his homeland. Lizzie aids his escape, and it is not long before passions rage in the old world as well as the new ...Set in an era of turbulent social changes, "A Place Called Freedom" is a magnificent novel from the undisputed master of suspense and drama, Ken Follett.

I loved Pillars of the Earth and love books set in the 18th Century so I thought I'd probably enjoy this one, and I did. It's a very easy read, with lots of exciting bits, the main 'good' characters are really likeable and you can't help but root for them. The 'bad' characters are despicable, loathsome characters you hope are thwarted.

A rollicking good read! lol

Coven of One by Kate Bousfield

This is an enchanting book set in an alternative Britain where witches are commonplace and respected, especially in the North of England. We are never told the date, but I'm guessing it could be the 18th or early 19th century.

The story focus's on Dorcas, a hedgewitch who has just completed years of training at Masterbridge, a witches' college (I love the idea!). To her dismay, she is being sent to a village (in what sounds very much like Cornwall) down south. She does not welcome the news because the south embraces the religion of the one God, and no longer looks kindly on witches.

The story is taken up with Dorcas' struggle to integrate herself in her new surroundings, her dealing with the hostile locals and her struggle with a force of evil that only a Truewitch like herself can deal with.

I found the book highly entertaining, I liked the humour and the often amusing characterisation, and I especially liked the descriptions of the salves and potions Dorcas made up from natural ingredients for the various aches and pains of the villagers.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

I've been past Jamaica Inn a few times so was intrigued by the title of the book. I'm also working my way through all of du Maurier's work. The story is set in the beginning of the 19th Century in Cornwall and involves smuggling and 'wrecker's, dastardly characters that lure ships onto the rocks with false lights (I recently watched a documentary that said there's no proof that this ever happened, it's just a myth). The main protagonist is Mary who, through the death of her mother ends up living at Jamaica Inn with her downtrodden aunt and her evil uncle.

It's all a little predictable, I worked out all the so called 'twists' in advance but for all that it was a fairly good read, though not one of du Maurier's best.

Charles Dickens - The Old Curiosity Shop

A good story with great characters. Quilp, the malicious and evil minded dwarf is a masterpiece. I don't think I've been so disturbed by a 'baddie' for a long time (except for Silas in the first series of Heroes perhaps). Nell on the other hand is nauseatingly long suffering and sweet. She's often described as an 'angel' but I just found her an annoying goodie two shoes.

I did struggle with the prose sometimes, Dickens isn't as concise as say Wilkie Collins (are they contemporaries? must find out) but that didn't put me off. On the whole, a right good read.

Books Stats for April 2008

Books read in April
32 The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins - PC
33 A Wreath of Roses by Elizabeth Taylor - AVL
34 There are no Tigers in Africa by Norman Silver - AVL
35 The Land of Laughs by Jonathon Carroll - PC
36 Saturday by Ian McEwan (gingergeoff will have this next, shout if you want it after him)
37 The Du Mauriers by Daphne Du Maurier (possible ring)
38 City of the Beasts by Isabelle Allende - AVL
39 The House at Riverton by Kate Morton (AVL to anyone at the May Cherry Tree Meet)
40 The Crystal Skulls by Manda Scott - PC

Books that found their way to my house (the sneaky things) this month.
42. Saturday by Iain McEwan
43. City of Beasts by Isabel Allende
44. The Crystal Skulls by Manda Scott
45. Virginia Woolfe by Nigel Nicolson
46. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
47.Portrait in Sepia by Isabelle Allende

I don't seem to be able to read more than ten books a month. One I've read ten, I seem to reach 'overload' point and can't squeeze another book in. As long as I keep reading the minimum ten though, I'm happy.