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1 December 2014

10 Books for the Festive Season

 

Strategic Resources staff recommended books to read over the Festive Season for different ages and preferences. This may also give you some Christmas gift ideas! 

 

Look out for a chance to win a prize in our first competition at the end of the list

 

A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens

A Christmas classic and probably the most popular piece of fiction from Dickens. Ebenezer Scrooge hates Christmas. One night he is haunted by three Christmas ghosts of Past, Present and Yet to Come. This teaches him a lesson of charity, kindness and goodwill. 

The Life and Loves of a He Devil: A Memoir

Graham Norton

In his new autobiography, written with characteristic humour and often outrageous candour, Graham shows that life is more than just a series of dates and it's really the things you love that make you who you are. From his beloved dogs to his rediscovered love of Ireland, the men Graham has loved and lost to his love affair with New York. It's been ten years since Graham last hit our shelves and being a decade older he has come to realise that what makes a life interesting is less what happens to you and more what inspires and drives you.

KP: The Autobiography

Kevin Pietersen

The fascinating life story of professional cricketer Kevin Pietersen, MBE, from his childhood in South Africa to his recent experiences as one of the leading lights in the world of international cricket.

 

In his autobiography, Kevin is telling the stories behind the many other highs and lows of his incredible career. Giving readers the full story of his life, from his childhood in South Africa to his recent experiences as one of the leading lights in the world of international cricket, this will be an autobiography that entertains and fascinates readers in equal measure.

The Chancellor Manuscript

Robert Ludlum

Did J. Edgar Hoover die a natural death? Or was he murdered? When a group of high-minded and high-placed intellectuals known as Inver Brass detect a monstrous threat to the country in Hoover’s unethical use of his scandal-ridden private files, they decide to do away with him—quietly, efficiently, with no hint of impropriety. Then bestselling thriller writer Peter Chancellor stumbles onto information that makes his previous books look like harmless fairy tales. Now Chancellor and Inver Brass are on a deadly collision course, spiralling across the globe in an ever-widening arc of violence and terror. All roads lead to a showdown that will rip the nation’s capital apart—leaving only one damning document to survive.

Little Women

Louisa May Alcott

Little Women is an outstanding achievement of nineteenth-century American literature and one of the best loved books of all time. The March sisters learn the hard lesson of poverty and growing up in New England during the Civil World. The novel follows their passage from childhood to womanhood, and is loosely based on the author and her three sisters.

Pariah (Callum Doyle series)

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Pariah asks you to imagine being forced to cut yourself off from society. You can’t go near your friends, your work colleagues, even your family. Because if you do… they will die.

 

Pariah was Highly Commended in the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Awards. It has been variously described as a ‘slick, edgy and cinematic novel,’ and a ‘brilliant, fast-paced debut with taut, action-packed prose.’

The Trial

Franz Kafka

First published in 1925, The Trial tells the story of a man arrested for an unknown crime by a remote, inaccessible authority and his struggle for control over the increasing absurdity of his life. One of Franz Kafka's best-known works, The Trial has been variously interpreted as an examination of political power, a satirical depiction of bureaucracy, and a pessimistic religious parable.

The Doll

Bolesław Prus

The city of Warsaw, under Russian rule in the late 1870s, is the setting for this sweeping panorama of social conflict, political tensions, and personal suffering. The embattled aristocracy, the new men of finance, Dickensian tradesmen, and the urban poor all come vividly to life on the vast, superbly detailed canvas against which Wokulski's personal tragedy is played out. Fatally flawed hero is a successful businessman who yearns for recognition from Poland’s decadent aristocracy and falls desperately in love with the highborn, glacially beautiful Izabela.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

J. K. Rowling

Lord Voldemort has returned to power, and his wrath has been felt in both the Muggle and Wizarding worlds.

 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth and penultimate novel in the Harry Potter series, written by British author J. K. Rowling. Set during protagonist Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores the past of Harry's nemesis, Lord Voldemort, and Harry's preparations for the final battle alongside his headmaster and mentor Albus Dumbledore.

 

The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic

Sophie Kinsella

A chick-flick novel by Sophie Kinsella focuses on the main character Rebecca Bloomwood, a financial journalist, who is in a serious amount of debt through her shopping addiction. Retail therapy is the answer to all her problems. She knows she should stop, but she can't. She tries Cutting Back, she tries Making More Money. But neither seems to work. The letters from the bank are getting harder to ignore. Can Becky ever escape from this dreamworld, find true love, and regain the use of her credit card?

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If you think that a book would be a perfect Christmas gift, you can win a £20 Waterstones voucher in our competition!

 

To enter the competition email us your little one's drawing of their favourite story character.

 

Is it Harry Potter, Peppa Pig of Elsa from Frozen?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Send the drawings by 9th December to Aga (akartasinska@strategic-resources.co.uk) to have a chance to win!

Competition

Book Competition
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