Get Caught Reading!

We're starting a new campaign this term, continuing our aim of enveloping Northampton College with a culture of reading. We've taken some happy snaps of ourselves reading our books in unusual places and we'd like you to join in.

Find a spot that you wouldn't normally think of reading your book in and either take a selfie, or ask a friend to help out. Don't take any silly risks though, we only want safe fun.

Bring your piccie into the library and you could find yourself on one of our campaign posters, or you could even feature in our 'Picture of the Month'.

Go on, you know you want to!

 

 

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderly again”… After approaching Rebecca when I was younger, my memories of it seemed almost like a distant dream, so I decided to revisit Daphne Du Maurier’s bestselling novel after many years. Just like the protagonist and narrator, I was instantly transported back to the imposing and psychologically haunting estate of Manderly, with its winding roads, dark woods and grotesque rhododendrons. I felt the grasp of Du Maurier’s gothic take hold and I knew I would be unable to put her novel down for the second time. 

 

The narrator tells of her travels as the companion of Mrs Van Hopper and the reader discovers whilst holidaying in Monte Carlo, the narrator meets Maxim De Winter, a wealthy Englishman and widower. Whilst Mrs Van Hopper is recovering from illness, Mr De Winter courts the young narrator and after two weeks proposes a rushedmarriage.                        

 

Returning to his estate of Manderly, as Mrs De Winter, the narrator soon realises it is not going to be the marriage she dreamed of. Haunted by the memory of the former Mrs De Winter, who drowned whilst sailing, we experience first-hand the madness that begins to engulf her. Wherever she turns, whatever she uses, whoever she sees, most notably the chilling housekeeper Mrs Danvers, reminds the new Mrs De Winter that Rebecca haunts the Manderly halls still.

Will Rebecca’s reign over Manderly and all those who live there continue? An unexpected shipwreck threatens the already fraught household of Manderly and the secret that Mr De Winter has kept hidden for so long…

 A gripping read that kept me up into the late hours!  Daphne Du Maurier’s combination of the Gothic and psychological realism captured my imagination and emotions and I myself became haunted by Rebecca and the power she had as a character in the book.  Just like Bertha in the attic, readers have been and will be haunted by Rebecca for years to come and I encourage you to be one of them!

New Year, New Books

Welcome back to all those people who are returning to the College after the summer break and a big HELLO to all those staff and students who joining us for their first year. We hope you will enjoy your time at the here and make good use of the Library and all the other facilities the College has to offer.

Thank you to all those who joined the Reading Journey before and during the summer. We've already had a few people complete the challenge and have enjoyed their cup of tea or flapjack in the canteen. We have had over 50 people join so far, which is fantastic. College staff have been really supportive and are just as keen as the Library to encourage a culture of reading across the three sites. Big thanks to those people. We're looking forward to seeing how the Journey goes this year as well as hoping to continue (and build) on our Six Book Challenge Success.
http://readingagency.org.uk/adults/news/colleges-celebrate-six-book-challenge-success.html

We will be updating this blog regularly with reviews of fiction books, any new fiction we have in at the Library and any books we might recommend as a good read.

If you have something you'd like to say about any of the books we chat about, or have some recommendations of your own then please do post comments. We'd love to hear your thoughts and feelings about any fiction which you have enjoyed, hated, loved, unveiled some emotions etc.

This year we may be collaborating with some other readers, outside of the College, to discuss specific books- almost like a book club but you don't have to attend a meeting. To that end we will be developing the blog over the next few weeks. We hope you'll like how it looks but drop ua a line if you have any suggestions.

There will be some book reviews appearing in the next few days from texts library staff have read over the summer, so have a look through and see if anything appeals to you. Look out for different campaigns and competitions running in the Library throughout the year, that you may like to contribute to.

As ever...happy reading!! 

Don't forget the Reading Journey

If you'd still like to join Northampton College Library's Reading Journey, then just pop into one of the three centres and talk to a member of staff. They'll be happy to explain how the journey works and give you your loyalty card.

Let us know about any books you:

• are reading at the moment
• are planning to read
• have read in the past

Recommend some reads or tell us why you'd never read that book again; anything you like about books, we want to hear it. Just comment on any of the posts on this blog and we'll get a discussion going. Enjoy the summer weather, happy reading!

My Reading World

Hello people. Just thought I'd let you know what I thought of the two books I mentioned in my previous post. Interestingly, both of them are told from a retrospective point of view, which was by coincidence, rather than design.
The Execution of Noa P. Singleton- I enjoyed this book, for the most part. It was a good examination of the American justice system, specifcally the death penalty which still operates in certain states of the US. There are parts of the book that broke this information down into facts and figures, which I felt jarred slightly with the tone of the rest of the book, even though it made interesting reading. Noa herself narrated the story, which she told in retrospect from the discomfort of her prison cell. We see her life from infancy, teenage years and young adulthood, up to and including the events which caused her to be in the terrible situation she finds herself. This back story is interspersed with letters from Noa's victim's mother, who is writing to her dead daughter to try to explain her current actions. Neither of the these two main characters are particularly warm and whilst you feel symapthy for both of them at certain times, you feel the exact opposite at others. There were times when I felt the author could have given the reader the chance to feel more emapthy but perhaps these were missed on purpose. I'd recommend reading it, particulary if you enjoy a different take on the crime genre or films such as The Life of David Gale.
The Ocean At The End Of The Lane- Of the two books, this was probably my favourite. I've read a few Neil Gaiman books recently (having read Good Omens written with Terry Pratchett a number of years ago- but I'm not saying how many!). This evoked memories of the freedom, boredom, mystery, wonder and and overall powerlessness of being a child. It is the story of a boy and his strange experiences with the three women who live in the house at the end of his road. It is a blend of the supernatural with the normal and everyday. At a time when he is feeling alone and abandoned by his family, these three are able to offer him the comfort and safety he desparately needs, albeit in a unsual but wonderful way. Beautiful book, which I recommend to anyone but especially those who enjoy fantasy or rites of passage stories.


I am just starting The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes. It is the story of a serial killer who is able to go through time targeting the young girls who will grow up to be women of renown. I'll let you know how it goes. Keep reading everyone, and let us know all about it.