arena

Darlington Library

Spring into reading!

Are you anticipating some new reads this year? Is there a particular author you know won’t disappoint, or do you take a lucky dip whenever you visit the library? Whatever your literary tastes we have something for you, remember if you see a book you like the look of online we can order you a copy or reserve if it's already in stock. Just call us on 01325 349610 and we will do our very best to help.

Project hail Mary by Andy Weir (4th May)

The Martian author’s third adventure in space follows Ryland Grace, the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission. Grace doesn’t remember his own name, his assignment or how to complete it, and he definitely doesn’t know that if he fails, humanity and the earth will perish. A gripping tale of survival. 

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead (4th May)

Great Circle is the story of two women: Marian Graves and Hadley Baxter. In 1950, Marian embarks on her life’s dream, to fly around the globe. But after a crash landing, she writes one last entry in her logbook. Half a century later, troubled Hollywood starlet Hadley Baxter is irresistibly drawn to pay Marian in a film, a role that will lead her to the deepest mysteries in the vanished pilot’s life.

China room by Sunjeev Sahota (6th May)

Sunjeev Sahota, who was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2015 with his novel The Year of the Runaways, tells a multigenerational story of love, trauma and the search for freedom in his new book. China Room follows Mehar, a young bride in rural India in 1929, trying to discover the identity of her husband while sequestered from contact with men in her family’s ‘china room’, and a young man in 1999 who travels from England to the now-deserted farm where Mehar lived.

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon (6th May)

Rivers Solomon’s extraordinary gothic tale of metamorphosis has already received praise from Marlon James, who called it “fantastical and frightening”. At the book’s centre is Vern, a Black woman with albinism who escapes a religious compound, and discovered that her body is changing and she developing extra-sensory powers. Alone in the woods and having given birth to twins, Vern must investigate the secluded compound she fled and the violent history of dehumanisation, medical experimentation, and genocide that produced it in order to understand why she is changing.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid (27th May)

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s first novel Daisy Jones & The Six was a tale of the rise and fall of a singer and her band. In Malibu Rising Reid takes another look at fame, fortune and family. Siblings Nina, Jay, Hud and Kit are adored and the source of much fascination in Malibu and the world, thanks to their father, legendary singer Mick Riva. In 1983, Nina holds her annual end-of-summer party, but by morning the Riva mansion has gone up in flames. What happened at the party? And what secrets are the party’s hosts and guests hiding?
For fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid this new title looks like one not to be missed!

The Waiter by Ajay Chowdhury (27 May)

Ajay Chowdhury won the inaugural Harvill Secker and Bloody Scotland BAME crime competition with The Waiter. The novel follows disgraced detective Kamil Rahman, who moves from Kolkata to London to start afresh as a waiter in an Indian restaurant. But while catering a birthday birth for his boss’ rich friend, host Rakesh is found dead and suspension falls on his new wife, Neha. Kamil finds himself drawn back into his old life, as he investigates what happened to Rakesh, with the help of his boss’ daughter Anjoli. 

Assembly by Natasha Brown (3rd June)

Natasha Brown’s debut novel is set in the competitive world of investment banking, and follows an unnamed Black British woman trying to navigate friendship, love and work. "I was trying to capture the claustrophobia of the narrator’s world, and the hostility of it – how it felt for her to exist, and to succeed, as a Black woman working in the City,” said Brown of the novel.

The mismatch by Sara Jafari (24th June)

Soraya wants to belong, but at 21 still hasn’t been kissed. When she meets Magnus, the last person she expected to fall for, she confronts her past and is able to work out her next steps. At the same time, Soraya’s mother Neda, who left Iran in the wake of the revolution, is also striving to belong. A story of romantic love, The Mismatch is also the touching tale of a mother and daughter and the sacrifices family makes. 

Any of the above taken your fancy? Get in touch for some fabulous reads!

More Blog Entries

Calling all young adult fiction fans!

Calling all young adult fiction fans! If you can’t get into the library to see us why not...

Cassie's last blog post!

It’s come to pass that this will be the final entry on the Darlington library page and I’d...

0 Comments