Wool by Hugh Howey

Image from www.hughhowey.com

Wool is a postapocalyptic thriller where the remaining few thousand humans are living in a sealed underground world. This world consists of a giant silo, created for protection from the hostile environment outside. Digital sensors transmit blurry images of the bleak landscape beyond, as a reminder of how deadly life outside would be. 

Society is safe inside the silo, but rigidly controlled. Those who don’t comply with society’s rules for survival are forced outside in the toxic air to clean the grime off the digital sensors. But some citizens wonder if their leaders are lying to them about the outside world, and how life in the silo really came about.

Hugh Howey originally self-published ‘Wool’ on Amazon as a short story, and was inundated with requests from readers for sequels. Five instalments were then combined in a single volume, and ‘Wool’ shot up the Amazon sci-fi charts and was released in print. The latest in the Silo Trilogy ‘Shift’ is already in print, and ‘Dust’ is due in October.

Dead Line by Chris Ewan Published Today

Image from Amazon

Looking forward to reading 'Dead Line' by local author Chris Ewan, which has just been published by Faber. 

Robert Goddard describes it as a '... compulsive against-the-clock thriller that cleverly turns the kidnap plot on its head. Great stuff!' 

Chris Ewan's 'Safe House' was short listed for 2013 Theakstons Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year Award. 

Find out more about 'Dead Line' from chriswwan.com

Book of your own choice by Andrew Taylor

We'll be talking about a book of your own choice by Andrew Taylor at this week's meeting on Thursday 1st August at 6 p.m. Andrew Taylor is the author of crime and historical novels that have won a raft of awards. His novel 'American Boy' was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick, and one of The Times' best crime novels of the decade. 'The Scent of Death' has recently won the 2013 CWA Dagger Award. 

Image from www.killerreads.comwww.killerreads.com

Manx Litfest have secured Andrew Taylor as part of another brilliant literary line-up for this year's festival in September. There's a nice piece about Andrew Taylor on the Manx Litfest Blog. 

 Barbara Erskine, Matt Haig, Adele Parks, and Alan Bradley are just a few of the authors joining Andrew Taylor this September.

Find out all the latest news from Manx Litfest

The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

We're reading 'The Great Gatsby' for June ahead of seeing the lavish new film. It's a romantic but world weary novel that's still  relevant in many ways today. 

The wealthy and mysterious Jay Gatsby holds legendary parties in his Long Island Mansion, and seems to live the perfect life. But his new neighbour, Nick Carraway, discovers that appearances can be so deceptive ...

I couldn't resist this new art deco style copy and bookmark with the legendary last lines:

'So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.'

Pam

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

How to describe this book? A young Indian boy named Piscine Patel (Pi) is brought up

within a loving family who decide to move, along with their zoo animals, to Canada. A storm blows up during the voyage and their ship sinks, leaving Pi, a hyena, a zebra, a monkey and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker stranded in a lifeboat. A bloodlust ensues and the animals slaughter each other leaving only the tiger and Pi to wander the sea, finally learning to at least co-habit with each other. Throw in a cannibal island and you have a wonderfully unique and magical tale, sometimes unbearably savage, sometimes delightfully beautiful and always memorable.

It sounds mad, but it works and has become one of my favourite novels. I didn’t know how it could possibly be made into a film, but Ang Lee succeeded brilliantly and certainly did the book justice.

Read the book,  then see the film!

Cath

Elizabeth Adam's Tribute to 'The Snow Child'

We recently read 'The Snow Child' by Eowyn Ivey and it made quite an impression on us. One of our book group members, Elizabeth Adams, is also a poet and she wrote this lovely tribute:

The Snow Child

A tale of wild woods
Alaska the last frontier
Distant mountains, frozen falls
Moose as large as houses
Martin's wild creatures like quicksilver
The otter quietly watched as his skill in the water
Gave such pleasure to Mabel, her secret
The red fox Faina's companion - quick
But not quick enough to escape Garret's thoughtless shot
Garret's guilt - what had made him shoot - just because he could
Magnificent swan - conquered - killed
The Snow Maiden using her skill
Nothing wasted - no foolish useless kill
The knowledge that she was watched - she kept
That to herself she worked skilfully - until
All that could be used - was
All that could be stored - was
Lessons to be learned - the child
Had watched - learned never to disturb
The magnificent gift of nature - never usurped
Like a gentle culling - twixt man and beast
Saving the best - but using some as feast
For those whose lives are intertwined
With nature - keeping a sanctuary
The beauty - the peace
Snow covered trails
That only a few can seek
The intimate knowledge that some can use
To make a path to happiness that can not be bruised
To smooth over hurts of the past - replaced with
The love of a child that will last - a reminder
Of his beguiling mother - knowing her loving
Will foreshorten her amazing life
Faina and Garrett their short lived love bringing a Joy
That will last in the annals of stories passed down
Through the years.

Elizabeth Adams




Here's Elizabeth with Library staff  Ellen and Nick at a reading from
'Treasure Island' on World Book Night



The Poet - Tree

Onchan Book Group had an opportunity to see artist Karl Garrett's 'Poet-Tree' at their meeting last Thursday. It's a tree trunk etched with poems to look like graffitti. As well as the hours it took to create the work, Karl wrote all the poems himself.

The 'Poet - Tree' really should be experienced  first-hand rather than photos. 

You will next have a chance to see The Poet - Tree  in The Henry Bloom Noble Library 18th  - 20th April.

Karl won The Norman Sayle Prize for Art in 2010, and you can visit his web site to view more of his work: http://garrettsgallery.webs.com/abouttheartist.htm