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19 Oct 2018

Spooky Reads

The days are getting longer so here are some of our suggestions of books to read throughout October. With ghosts, crime and mystery, you won’t be able to sleep at night…

18 Oct 2018

Roar by Cecelia Ahern - sample chapter

Have you ever imagined a different life? Have you ever stood at a crossroads, undecided? Have you ever had a moment when you wanted to roar? The women in these startlingly original stories are all of us: the women who befriend us, the women who encourage us, the women who make us brave. From The Woman Who Slowly Disappeared to The Woman Who Was Kept on the Shelf and The Woman Who Returned and Exchanged her Husband, discover thirty touching, often hilarious, stories and meet thirty very...

18 Oct 2018

Roar by Cecelia Ahern - a Readers' Guide

Have you ever imagined a different life? Have you ever stood at a crossroads, undecided? Have you ever had a moment when you wanted to roar? The women in these startlingly original stories are all of us: the women who befriend us, the women who encourage us, the women who make us brave. From The Woman Who Slowly Disappeared to The Woman Who Was Kept on the Shelf and The Woman Who Returned and Exchanged her Husband, discover thirty touching, often hilarious, stories and meet thirty very...

28 Sep 2018

Washington Black - themed booklist

The Man Booker Prize celebrates the finest works of fiction written in English. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan is one of the six shortlisted titles for 2018. All of the suggested books follow similar themes, styles or settings as Washington Black. You can download the supporting booklist by clicking below.

28 Sep 2018

The Overstory - themed booklist

The Man Booker Prize celebrates the finest works of fiction written in English. The Overstory by Richard Powers is one of the six shortlisted titles for 2018. All of the suggested books follow similar themes, styles or settings as The Overstory. You can download the supporting booklist by clicking below.

28 Sep 2018

The Mars Room - themed booklist

The Man Booker Prize celebrates the finest works of fiction written in English. The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner is one of the six shortlisted titles for 2018. All of the suggested books follow similar themes, styles or settings as The Mars Room. You can download the supporting booklist by clicking below.

28 Sep 2018

The Long Take - themed booklist

The Man Booker Prize celebrates the finest works of fiction written in English. The Long Take by Robin Robertson is one of the six shortlisted titles for 2018. All of the suggested books follow similar themes, styles or settings as The Long Take. You can download the supporting booklist by clicking below.

28 Sep 2018

Milkman - themed booklist

The Man Booker Prize celebrates the finest works of fiction written in English. Milkman by Anna Burns is one of the six shortlisted titles for 2018. All of the suggested books follow similar themes, styles or settings as Milkman. You can download the supporting booklist by clicking below.

28 Sep 2018

Everything Under - themed booklist

The Man Booker Prize celebrates the finest works of fiction written in English. Everything Under by Daisy Johnson is one of the six shortlisted titles for 2018. All of the suggested books follow similar themes, styles or settings as Everything Under. You can download the supporting booklist by clicking below.

26 Sep 2018

Night of the Living Ted by Barry Hutchison - Library Competition

Night of the Living Ted Competition Create-a-Ted! Draw your own Teddy at a Teddy Bear’s Picnic. When Lisa Marie and her step-brother Vernon pop into town to get their dad a birthday present, they discover the Create-a-Ted shop is offering free Halloween bears! Making two grisly bears for themselves and choosing an Elvis bear named Bearvis for Dad, they head home. That night the shopkeeper brings the bears to life for nefarious purposes … but Vernon’s bear, Grizz, doesn’t want to be a slave to...

21 Sep 2018

The Long Take - Readers' Guide

On Thursday 20 September the Man Booker Prize revealed the shortlist of six books for the 2018 prize. The prize is the leading literary award in the English speaking world, and has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over four decades. Discover the excellent books that have been chosen for the Man Booker Prize shortlist. You can download a Readers’ Guide for shortlisted title The Long Take by Robin Robertson by clicking below.

21 Sep 2018

The Overstory - Readers' Guide

On Thursday 20 September the Man Booker Prize revealed the shortlist of six books for the 2018 prize. The prize is the leading literary award in the English speaking world, and has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over four decades. Discover the excellent books that have been chosen for the Man Booker Prize shortlist. You can download a Readers’ Guide for shortlisted title The Overstory by Richard Powers by clicking below.

21 Sep 2018

The Mars Room - Readers' Guide

On Thursday 20 September the Man Booker Prize revealed the shortlist of six books for the 2018 prize. The prize is the leading literary award in the English speaking world, and has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over four decades. Discover the excellent books that have been chosen for the Man Booker Prize shortlist. You can download a Readers’ Guide for shortlisted title The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner by clicking below.

21 Sep 2018

Everything Under - Readers' Guide

On Thursday 20 September the Man Booker Prize revealed the shortlist of six books for the 2018 prize. The prize is the leading literary award in the English speaking world, and has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over four decades. Discover the excellent books that have been chosen for the Man Booker Prize shortlist. You can download a Readers’ Guide for shortlisted title Everything Under by Daisy Johson by clicking below.

21 Sep 2018

Washington Black - Readers' Guide

On Thursday 20 September the Man Booker Prize revealed the shortlist of six books for the 2018 prize. The prize is the leading literary award in the English speaking world, and has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over four decades. Discover the excellent books that have been chosen for the Man Booker Prize shortlist. You can download a Readers’ Guide for shortlisted title Washington Black by Esi Edugyan by clicking below.

21 Sep 2018

Milkman - Readers' Guide

On Thursday 20 September the Man Booker Prize revealed the shortlist of six books for the 2018 prize. The prize is the leading literary award in the English speaking world, and has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over four decades. Discover the excellent books that have been chosen for the Man Booker Prize shortlist. You can download a Readers’ Guide for shortlisted title Milkman by Anna Burns by clicking below.

03 Aug 2018

Back to School Booklist

When September hits it’s time to go back to studying. We have some fantastic books about schools, university and education for when you want to put down a textbook and pick up something to read just for fun.

01 Aug 2018

Women in Translation Booklist

August is Women in Translation Month. Only a tiny fraction of fiction published in English is translated, and only about a quarter of that translated fiction was originally written by women. For some reason, fiction in translation by women remains as rare as black diamonds. And yet there are so many amazing women-authored books out there in the world – books we’re missing out on. Here is a list of books by women in translation, as chosen by a group of literary translators.

12 Jul 2018

National Poetry Day – Reading Group Guide

In the lead-up to National Poetry Day in October, we have a selection of poetry collections that have been specially chosen for reading groups with notes and questions to get you started. To download the guide, click the link below.

12 Jul 2018

Summer 2018 Booklist

Now that summer has arrived, we’re all looking for that perfect book to take to the beach. The Reading Agency staff have put together our ultimate summer booklist recommendations, with new and older books that we think everyone should take on their holidays. When your children go to the library to get their books for the Summer Reading Challenge, how about picking up one of these suggestions? What’s your summer book recommendation? Join in the conversation online with #summerread To download...

03 Jul 2018

The Sealwoman's Gift by Sally Magnusson - Extract

In 1627 Barbary pirates raided the coast of Iceland and abducted some 400 of its people, including 250 from a tiny island off the mainland. Among the captives sold into slavery in Algiers were the island pastor, his wife and their three children. Although the raid itself is well documented, little is known about what happened to the women and children afterwards. It was a time when women everywhere were largely silent. In this brilliant reimagining, Sally Magnusson gives a voice to Ásta, the...

03 Jul 2018

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell - Extract

Newly married, newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband’s crumbling country estate, The Bridge. With her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie only has her husband’s awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. For inside her new home lies a locked room and beyond its door is a two-hundred-year-old diary and a deeply unsettling painted wooden figure – a Silent Companion – that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself… Read...

03 Jul 2018

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell - Reading Group Guide

Newly married, newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband’s crumbling country estate, The Bridge. With her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie only has her husband’s awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. For inside her new home lies a locked room and beyond its door is a two-hundred-year-old diary and a deeply unsettling painted wooden figure – a Silent Companion – that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie...

02 Jul 2018

Hot, hot, hot!

When it’s hot outside, sometimes you need a book to match how you feel. Here are some of our favourite books that are perfect for a heatwave.

18 Jun 2018

LGBT History Month

For LGBT History Month, we’ve selected some fantastic books for everyone to read.

15 Jun 2018

Books to Make You Laugh and Cry #NRGD18

To celebrate National Reading Group Day 2018, we asked reading groups to share the books that made them laugh, cry, or both. We know that books that cause an emotional reaction are the ones that stay with you, so take a look and see what you think! Have you read any of the books on the list? What other titles would you have included? Let us know online using #NRGD18. To download the list, click the link below.

14 Jun 2018

The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth

Reading group questions for The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth.

07 Jun 2018

The Songs by Charles Elton Reading Group Guide

A Reading Group Guide to the new novel from the bestselling author of Mr Toppit, a Richard & Judy Book Club pick.

07 May 2018

City vs. Country

Do you prefer being in the city or the countryside? We’ve selected some of our favourite books about urban and rural spaces.

02 May 2018

The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya

A Reading Group Guide for The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya. About The Girl Who Smiled Beads “The plot provided by the universe was filled with starvation, war and rape. I would not—could not—live in that tale.” Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were thunder. In 1994, she and her fifteen-year-old sister, Claire, fled the Rwandan...

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