It's Reading Influencer Week and staff across the College have been sharing their favourite non-fiction books with students. The Library staff, of course know a thing or two about a good book. Here's what they have been reading...
Lynn is reading...
This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay
Lynn says... 'This is a really funny book, it shouldn't be but it is! It is all about the day-to-day grind which a junior doctor encounters working for the NHS.'
Paula is reading...
Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson
Paula says... 'This is simply not your average travel book! The author really brings the places he visits to life and it is very funny indeed.’
Tom is reading...
The Extraordinary Life of Alan Turing
Tom says... 'An inspirational read about an inspirational man. Alan Turing was a mathematician, scientist and codebreaker who helped defeat the Nazis in the Second World War with his incredible decoding of secret messages from enemy soldiers. This is a beautifully illustrated book, and talks about his childhood as a quiet boy who loved maths, to becoming one of the most important scientists and codebreakers in history, along with his tragic death during which time he was shamefully treated as a criminal for his homosexuality.’
Sheila is reading...
Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths
Sheila says... 'This is a fiction book but is based on a real life location in London. It is the third novel in a series that just grows stronger and stronger. DI Harbinder Kaur is a petite, though fierce, young policewoman, and a force to be reckoned with. Her character is written with empathy and humour. This time out she is settling in to a new job with the London Metropolitan Police. She is working her first case with her new team and is finding her footing. She is torn between missing her family back in Sussex, and excitement to be living and working in London.Overall, I found this novel to be an intelligently written, literary murder mystery with an outstanding cast of well developed characters. Highly recommended!'
Grazyna is reading...
Chopin's Piano by Paul Kildea
Grazyna says... 'Totally engaging, fascinating, informative, and challenging, Paul Kildea’s ‘Chopin’s Piano’ presents a rich combination of biography, social cultural history, musicology and piano technology. It traces the history of Chopin's 24 Preludes through the instruments on which they were played, the pianists who interpreted them and the traditions they came to represent.'
Julie is reading...
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
Julie says... 'Considering The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a harrowing true story, it was truly compelling and utterly unputdownable. It's without a doubt one of only a few books that will stay with me a very long time, it's that unforgettable!'
Hannah is reading...
Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension by Matt Parker
Hannah says... 'Mathematician Matt Parker uses bizarre Klein Bottles, unimaginably small pizza slices, knots no one can untie and computers built from dominoes to reveal some of the most exotic and fascinating ideas in mathematics. Starting with simple numbers and algebra, this book goes on to deal with inconceivably big numbers in more dimensions than you ever knew existed. And always with something for you to make or do along the way!'
Hannah is also reading...
50 Codes that Changed the World by Sinclair McKay
Hannah says... 'In this book, Sinclair McKay explores uncrackable codes, secret cyphers and hidden messages from across time to tell a new history of a secret world. From the temples of Ancient Greece to the court of Elizabeth I; from antique manuscripts whose codes might hold prophecies of doom to the modern realm of quantum mechanics, you will see how a few concealed words could help to win wars, spark revolutions and even change the faces of great nations..'