Anthropology of an American Girl' by Hilary Thayer Hamann: Immerse yourself in this coming-of-age epic

An exhilarating, heartbreaking compulsive read.

 A gripping non fiction narrative following the lives of residents in a Mumbai slum.

I was vaguely familiar with Andrew O’Neill before I picked up the book from the stash of new books that arrived in our branch. As a transvestite chaos magician metalhead he owns his distinctive niche in the world of stand up comedy and I had watched some of his sets on youtube. The book is a distillation of his popular stand up show of the same name. Beginning with the roots of the genre in soul music and early rock n roll it traces the metal genre from its infancy to the confusingly multi faceted beast it has become. Whilst an obvious pre disposition to being interested in heavier music may

The book is an inside account of the 2008 election, with interviews with both named and anonymous political players and gives a gripping account on the effect of the economic crash on the campaigns. It covers both parties’ nomination processes and explains how Barack Obama, an unknown Illinois Senator became president

Amstell the former presenter on T4 and Never Mind The Buzzcocks may have come to your attention on the last while for his vegan film Carnage or his memorable appearance on Adam Buxton's podcast. Some of the experiences he discussed on Buxton's podcast including his experience taking Ayahusca in Peru are recounted in this book, a mixture of diary entries excepts from his stand-up and writing from Amstell expanding on these.
The book is hilarious, thought provoking and honest. The brilliance of Amstell is that even after discussing spiritual enlightenment he still acknowledges how flawed and

** Small Spoilers Included

Upon publication back in 2005, “The Glass Castle” by Jeanette Walls was one of my go to recommendations for readers who enjoy biographies and memoirs, so I was intrigued to hear that it was being made in to a film. I was also happy to hear that it starred one of my favourite up and coming actors Brie Larson who I first spotted in “Trainwreck” and then in her break out and Oscar winning role in “Room”, another Book to Film adaption. The DVD arrived in to the library recently and it caught my eye so I borrowed it and watched it last weekend.
The book is a tough read due

All Bear wants is to be left alone, so when a family of rabbits move in next door he is not impressed! The rabbits start calling in every day, asking to borrow honey, or asking if Bear would like to swap books. Bear scares them away, but can kindness from the rabbits show Bear that its time for a change?

Gorgeous illustrations from Ciara Flood adorn each page of this picturebook and go hand in hand with this lovely story. It went down very well at a recent storytime here in the library, and I highly recommend it.

In 1979, German director Werner Herzog ensconced himself deep in the Peruvian jungle in order to begin filming "Fitzcarraldo" - his portrayal of would-be rubber baron and opera devotee, Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald (an Irishman known in Peru as the eponymous ‘Fitzcarraldo’) who dreamt of building an opera house in Iquitos, a town nestled in the within the teeming depths of the Peruvian jungle. In order to achieve his dream, Fitzcarraldo is determined to transport a steamship over a steep hill in order to access a rich rubber territory in the Amazon basin. Herzog's uncompromising artistic vision

Lately I’ve been pushing this book on all and sundry, though when I explain what it’s about (a fictionalised account of AIDS activism and the East Village drug scene in the 1980s) people look at me as if I’m stone mad. My reaction to it being chosen by my book club in December (to read over Christmas!) was I’ll give the first few chapters a go and then quietly swap it for Marian Keyes’ latest and say I lost it or something. But, not sure why, I found I couldn’t quite tear myself away.

To be sure the story of the activists who fought to make the authorities take AIDS seriously, many of whom