A summer reading collection, curated by Faber, an independent publishing house since 1929. Find these books as recent additions to our library shelves.
A summer reading collection from Faber Books
Explore the world without leaving the library. Whether you’d like to discover life behind the scenes at a Cotswolds farm, or immerse yourself in sundrenched Morocco in the ‘60s, there’s something perfect for you as a recent addition to our library shelves.
Cosy up with a book about life in the English countryside…
The Wisdom of Sheep & Other Animals
Rosamund Young
'We talk about people behaving like sheep, which assumes that sheep all behave in the same way. That has not been my experience.'
Farm animals are familiar to us from childhood stories, but little did we know that their inner lives are full of complexity, deep bonds and family dramas. Rosamund Young has been an organic farmer for over forty years and this is her record of a life at the beck and call of the animals while observing and preserving the abundant wildlife at Kite's Nest Farm. It is a story of joy, discovery, cooperation and sometimes heartbreak.
The Farmer’s Wife
Helen Rebanks
This honest and heartwarming memoir offers a portrait of the labour and glory of keeping a home and raising a family, and is set right across the valley from Another Place. Weaving past and present, Helen Rebanks shares her highs and lows, from the emotional journey to the birth of her first child, and the endless improvisation of each night's dinner, to the dog gobbling up her daughter's freshly-made birthday cake. These are days that have shaped her, and the ways she finds the quiet strength to keep going.
The Rising Down: Lives in A Sussex Landscape
Alexandra Harris
When the celebrated critic and cultural historian Alexandra Harris returned to her childhood home of West Sussex, she realised that she barely knew the place at all.
As she probed beneath the surface, excavating layers of archival records and everyday objects, hundreds of unexpected stories and hypnotic voices emerged from the area's past. Who has stood here, she asks; what did they see? By focusing on one small patch of England, Harris finds 'a World in a Grain of Sand' and opens vast new horizons.
Or take a trip abroad with a page-turning, sun-soaked novel…
Watch Us Dance
Leïla Slimani
Morocco, 1968. The air is electric. Anything feels possible, and Mathilde is determined to celebrate it. Doesn't she have the right to enjoy life, after dedicating her best years to the war and then to this farm? A vibrant new novel from Leïla Slimani where one family’s life entwines with a seismic moment in history. Watch Us Dance will transport you to the orange tree fields of the Belhaj family home and to the Sable d’Or beaches at dusk. A beautifully atmospheric family saga that vividly brings an era to life.
The Gentleman From Peru
André Aciman
A group of college friends find themselves marooned at a luxurious hotel on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. While their boat is being repaired, they can't help but observe the daily routine of a fellow hotel guest - a mysterious, white-bearded stranger who sits on the veranda each night and smokes one cigarette, sometimes two. When the group decides to invite the elegant traveller to lunch with them, they cannot begin to imagine the miraculous abilities, strange wisdom, and a life-changing story he is about to impart to one of the friends in particular...
Love After Love
Ingrid Persaud
Meet the Ramdin-Chetan family… Irrepressible Betty Ramdin, her shy son Solo and their marvellous lodger, Mr Chetan, form an unconventional household. Happy in their differences, they build a home together in Trinidad. Home: the place keeping these three safe from an increasingly dangerous world - until the night when a glass of rum, a heart to heart and a terrible truth explodes the family unit, driving them apart. Brave and brilliant, steeped in affection, Love After Love offers hope to anyone who has loved and lost and has yet to find their way back.
All books are available in the Library and can be purchased from Verey Books.
From the blog
A list of nature's best stories, curated by Faber, an independent publishing house since 1929. Find these books in our library.
Al Verey’s 10 mini book reviews from the Another Place library. From Charles Downing’s ‘No Dig’ concept to James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses.