The summer holidays are a perfect time to focus on the reading that you want to do, rather than the reading you have to do for exams. Having said that, most books can teach us something new, or make us think about something differently – so holiday reading is a good way of keeping your brain engaged while giving yourself time to relax. We asked people in the office for their book recommendations – here’s what they said. Enjoy!
Ithaka-Adele Geras
Many years have passed since the end of the Trojan War, and Penelope is still waiting for her husband, Odysseus, to return home. The city of Ithaka is overrun with uncouth suitors from the surrounding islands who are vying to win Penelope’s hand in marriage, thereby gaining control of the land. When a naked, half-drowned man washes up on the beach, everything changes.
“A new take on `The Odyssey` as told from the perspective of Penelope’s handmaid as she waits for Odysseus in Ithaka”- Alice Farrell, Schools
The Power- Naomi Alderman
In The Power the world is a recognisable place: there’s a rich Nigerian kid who larks around the family pool; a foster girl whose religious parents hide their true nature; a local American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family. But something vital has changed, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power – they can cause agonising pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world changes utterly.
“A fantastically entertaining and thought-provoking dystopia where teenage girls acquire the power to electrically shock others”- Jen Brown, Marketing
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time- Mark Haddon
Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, for fifteen-year-old Christopher everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbour’s dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructive universe is threatened. Christopher sets out to solve the murder in the style of his favourite (logical) detective, Sherlock Holmes. What follows makes for a novel that is funny, poignant and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing are a mind that perceives the world entirely literally.
“An interesting take of an autistic child’s view of the world as he unravels the mystery of his neighbour’s dog and his mother”- Will Beaton, Schools
The Man in the High Castle- Philip K Dick
It’s America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some 20 years earlier the United States lost a war, and is now occupied jointly by Nazi Germany and Japan.
“An enthralling and captivating read, presenting an alternate vision of the end of World War 2, showing Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan as the victorious Axis Powers, as well as life in the former United States under totalitarian rule”- Benjamin Dallal, Work Experience
Cannery Row- John Steinbeck
The “story” of Cannery Row follows the adventures of Mack and the boys, a group of unemployed yet resourceful men who inhabit a converted fish-meal shack on the edge of a vacant lot down on the Row.
“An easy to read look at Western America during the Great Depression. A light-hearted take of the local town looking to throw a party for their friend Doc, which unfortunately spirals out of control”- Fred Haffenden, Product
Diary of a Teenage Girl- Phoebe Gloeckner
“I don’t remember being born. I was a very ugly child. My appearance has not improved so I guess it was a lucky break when he was attracted by my youthfulness.” So begins the wrenching diary of Minnie Goetze, a fifteen-year-old girl longing for love and acceptance and struggling with her own precocious sexuality. Minnie hates school and she wants to be an artist, or maybe a speleologist, or a bartender. She sleeps with her mother’s boyfriend, and yet is too shy to talk with boys at school. She forges her way through adolescence, unsupervised and unguided, defenceless, and yet fearless.
“A graphic novel about growing up and finding your feet”- Natasha Heliotis, Customer Success
1984- George Orwell
The year 1984 has come and gone, but George Orwell’s prophetic, nightmarish vision in 1949 of the world we were becoming is timelier than ever. 1984 is still the great modern classic of “negative utopia” -a startlingly original and haunting novel that creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing, from the first sentence to the last four words. No one can deny the novel’s hold on the imaginations of whole generations, or the power of its admonitions -a power that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time.
“A harrowing and gripping dystopia where citizens movements and thoughts are policed by a totalitarian state”- James Grant, Founder
If you enjoyed this, you may also like to see our reading list from last summer.