These bestselling books are now available in smaller, more portable formats!
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
In this ingenious reimagining of David Copperfield set in modern-day Southern Appalachia, Damon (quickly nicknamed Demon) journeys through his life with only a few things to rely on: his dead father’s good looks, his devilish charm and a knack for survival. Though his challenges are many – foster care, child labour, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses – he never loses sight of his roots in the rural places the rest of his country wilfully ignores.
Epic in every sense, Barbara Kingsolver’s novel mixes the delightful pleasures of classic storytelling with astute social commentary on institutional poverty and the state of contemporary America.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
This is the story of Sam and Sadie. It's not a romance, but it is about love.
When Sam catches sight of Sadie at a crowded train station one winter morning he is catapulted back to the brief time they spent playing together as children. Their unique spark is instantly reignited. What comes next is a story of friendship and rivalry, fame and creativity, betrayal and tragedy, perfect worlds and imperfect ones. And, ultimately, our need to connect- to be loved and to love.
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell
Set during the Italian Renaissance and based on true events, The Marriage Portrait tells the story of Lucrezia De Medici's doomed marriage to Alfonso d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara. Given in marriage to the man her dead sister was expected to wed, headstrong Lucre chafes under the repressive rule of her mercurial new husband. With her survival and safety entirely reliant upon her ability to secure the Duke's reign by providing him with an heir, the sixteen-year-old Lucre tries to make a place for herself in a hostile court. But time is ticking, and the duke is becoming impatient.
Gorgeously rendered, and complusively paced, this evocative work of historical fiction transports readers to the dangerous and volatile world of 16th century Europe, introducing them to a protagonist so vivid she seems to be standing over your shoulder.
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
Irish writer Louise Kennedy’s debut novel is a firm favourite with Readings staff. Set in a small town near Belfast at the start of the Troubles in the 1970s, it follows a young teacher who – against her better judgement – is drawn into the world of a married Protestant barrister who’s made a name for himself defending IRA members.
Tender, honest and filled with complex characters, Trespasses is a vivid snapshot of a community of ordinary people about to be torn apart by the tides of history.
Hell of a Book by Jason Mott
In Jason Mott’s Hell of a Book, a Black author sets out on a cross-country publicity tour to promote his bestselling novel. That storyline drives Hell of a Book and is the scaffolding of something much larger and urgent: since Mott’s novel also tells the story of Soot, a young Black boy living in a rural town in the recent past, and The Kid, a possibly imaginary child who appears to the author on his tour.
As these characters’ stories build and build and converge, they astonish. For while this heartbreaking and magical book entertains and is at once about family, love of parents and children, art and money, it’s also about the nation’s reckoning with a tragic police shooting playing over and over again on the news. And with what it can mean to be Black in America.
Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang
Daiyu is the orphaned daughter of a once influential, now missing, family. Alone and on the streets, she must rely on her wit and quick thinking to discover what happened to her family. But when Daiyu is kidnapped and smuggled across an ocean from China to America, she must relinquish the home and future she imagined for herself.
Over the years that follow, she is forced to reinvent herself to survive. From a calligraphy school, to a San Francisco brothel, to a shop tucked into the Idaho mountains, we follow Daiyu on a desperate quest to outrun the tragedy that chases her.
Pure Colour by Sheila Heti
What if this world is just a first draft, made by some great artist in order to be destroyed?
In this first draft, a woman named Mira leaves home to study. There, she meets Annie, whose tremendous power opens Mira’s chest like a portal - to what, she doesn’t know. When Mira is older, her beloved father dies, and she enters that strange and dizzying dimension that true loss opens up. Pure Colour tells the story of a life, from beginning to end. It is a galaxy of a novel: explosive, celestially bright, huge, and streaked with beauty. It is a contemporary bible, an atlas of feeling, and a shape-shifting epic. Sheila Heti is a philosopher of modern experience, and she has reimagined what a book can hold.
