What’s Sera Reading? The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

This is a book that is very popular with Book Clubs at Tenbury. I think a lot has to do with the many aspects of fiction that go into making this odd duck a real swan. The Story holds magic realism at its core but all along you get the sci-fi element mix with a mental health guide. [like I said, odd.]

The first chapter has me wanting to put the book down , go outside and lay down in the traffic. However, The Midnight Library speedily redeems itself as you enter the endless library where every book provides a chance to try another life. The main character Nora is dancing at the edge of the universe in suspended animation with decisions to make and remake. With a Librarian from her childhood as a guide Nora explores old job opportunities and old heartbreaks relived. We get boiled down to the last question of the existential crisis; What is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living?

I liked this book in the middle parts. I didn’t like the diary of a suicided at the start and that just before the end it suddenly decided to moonlight as a self-help manual. The narrative hits hard as we deal with complex issues of self and life verses goals, freedom to live and our definition of success.  It’s a really exciting concept, that between life and death you enter a library of all your life choices. I find its a great metaphor for the minefield of regrets. Interesting book, well written, do tell me what you thought of it.

What’s Sera Reading? Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski

Fanart from the web
holding our copy from the Hive library

Suggested by a Teen patron to the Tenbury Library I have been following the Witcher and his adventures in the hit collection THE LAST WISH Now on Netflix. But preceding the main Witcher Saga we the collection of six short stories. These were originally published in 1992 in Poland for a creative writing magazine. The book gives the stories of Geralt of Rivia in as chronological fit as was possible. fans of the show will be able to pick out characters and events from the first series that link in.

Geralt is a mutated human known as a ‘Witcher’ in this story world. He is a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Although he is a sword for hire Geralt (and other witchers) have a code. The ideal would be to protect the innocent and strive for good to win over evil. However, as he travels the wilderness and countries Geralt discovers not all are vile beasts and monstrous, some are the victims of evil or naive mistakes. Nevertheless, Geralt remains our hero as he battles monsters, demons and prejudices alike 

Tharshigly great read with high fantasy and all the gore you could want from such a great genre. Geralt’s stoic character has him chasing his destiny even when he wishes to avoid it. But, as all heroes are fated to do, he turns up when he is most needed, not when wanted. The nice twist on this is that Geralt admittedly is not always on his best behaviour. However, the faults in his manner create some exciting and fun moments of storytelling.  

What’s Julie Reading? The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Julie is a Worcestershire Library Customer Assistant who loves to read an eclectic mix.

Julie with Tenbury library’s copy of The Miniaturist

‘The Miniaturist’ is set in 17th Century Amsterdam and most of the action takes place in the house of a wealthy merchant. An unusual wedding gift is at the centre of the story which slowly unfolds as the main character, Nella Oortman, gets used to her new life, in a new town as a very young newly married woman. Several chapters in there is a sudden turn of events that had been hinted at, but which still took me by surprise. From thereonin there are revelations about all of the main characters which keep you hooked, wondering what the next revelation could be.

Jessie Burton is a keen observer of human nature and her likeable characters are full of flaws and vulnerable, yet strong and resilient in the face of 17th century prejudices. The ending was a poignant mixture of sadness and hope and I thoroughly enjoyed entering another world and another time and getting caught up in this gripping story.

What’s Sera Reading? The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

I’m Seraphim Bryant and I work at Tenbury Library UK I love to read but it wasn’t always so. I struggle with the written word, and will all my life, but I have the taste for adventure too and there is nothing as remarkable as the other worlds we find in books.

This week I finished reading The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry. It is chocka-block with different themes including love and friendship, science and religion. The book begins with a fantastic mystery. on New Year’s Eve, a drunk young man wanders down to the shore of the Blackwater estuary with the intention of swimming. He senses something strange in the water and then disappears.

Set in 1893 Cora Seaborne her son Francis exchange bustling London and rural Essex after her husband passes. I love how refreshing the main characters of Cora and Dr Garrett are. Cora is, a bright woman who has a burning interest in the natural sciences. Dr. Luke Garrett (nicknamed the Imp for his diminutive stature) has fallen in love with Michael Selborne’s wife, Cora, who he grew to know while treating her husband. He sensed an unhappiness in the marriage and became acquainted with Francis Seaborne (Cora’s son) and Martha (Francis’ nanny). when Cora moves to the rural village she discovers a population in thrall to the local legend of a sea monster lurking in the nearby estuary and a village priest who is desperately trying to dissuade his congregation of this belief.

 A thoroughly exciting read the novel is full of ideas, though its sensibility is firmly, consciously, outright story. A cheeky bit gothic and a dreamy delivery start is not off putting at all . Narrative and voice coil together until it is very difficult to stop reading, very difficult to avoid being dragged into the dark and sometimes darkly comic waters.