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Ms. Pat Cowley As a librarian I suppose it is to be expected that I enjoy reading – and indeed I do. Working in a library means that lots of books pass through my hands that I might not otherwise think of reading, and so I always have a long list of books that I intend to read. I like reading a variety of books - novels, biographies and books on other topics such as history, sport and travel. As a child I read all the Enid Blyton books that I could find. Little Women and Joe’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott were favourites as well as Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. John McGahern is an author that I have enjoyed reading for many years. His novels The Barracks*, The Dark*, That they may face the rising sun* and Amongst Women* are all excellent. Shortly before he died he wrote his autobiography Memoir*. Some of the memories of the death of his mother when McGahern was young were in his novel The Barracks. Per Petterson’s Out Stealing Horses* is a moving story about an old man thinking back on his childhood in Norway. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan is a story of a young couple’s relationship. I also enjoyed his book Atonement*. Books about the 1st or 2nd World Wars have always interested me – either novels or real stories. The diary of Anne Frank* is a well-known book about the 2nd World War. Human Traces by Sebastian Faulks traces the lives of two friends and spans the end of the 19th century and up to the 1st World War. His book Birdsong is set in the lst World War and is about an English man who is in France at the beginning of the war and is later enlisted in to the English army. The description of war in the trenches is very emotive. Other novels with war as a theme are: The boy in the striped pyjamas* by John Boyne, Private Peaceful* by Michael Morpurgo and It’s a long long way* by Sebastian Barry. High Tide* by Mark Lynas is about global warming. Areas in England, Alaska, China, Peru and the small island of Tuvalu are all covered and give a frightening picture of what could happen if this issue is not taken seriously. The Mind map book* by Tony Buzan could change the way you take notes or try to remember things. The idea in this book is that our brains do not remember by long list but rather by association. Sport biographies that I have read include ones about: Roger Federer, Boris Becker, John McEnroe, Paul McGrath, Lance Armstrong. * Books marked with an asterisk are in St. Michael’s Library. Pat Cowley |
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