Need some Book Bingo inspiration?
Our Book Bingo challenge is back for 2022. A great way to mix up your usual reading list, and take you out of your comfort zone, this year’s Book Bingo has nine new categories for you to have a go at. Find out more about the prizes to be won, and how to get your bingo card, here.
If you aren’t sure what books to choose, our staff have put together some recommendations to get you started. Click the titles to find them on the catalogue or pop in for some Book Bingo browsing!
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Set on an island
Recommendations by Tiffany Woolsey, Collections Lead, Children & Young People’s Team
The Devil’s Claw by Lara Dearman
When it comes to choosing a book set on an island, why not pick one centred around our very own island home? The Devil’s Claw follows the story of local girl Jennifer Dorey, who finds herself in the middle of a mysterious series of murders. This compelling story sets sinister drama against the beautiful background we all know and love. Blended throughout you'll find local folklore and legends, showcasing Guernsey as an island of history, mystery and intrigue.
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding
- The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey
- The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh
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Includes a non-human character
Recommendations by Beth Brown, Library Assistant
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Following the wreck of a cargo ship, sixteen-year-old Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days lost at sea. A tale of adventure and survival that explores the power of storytelling and the transformative nature of fiction.
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
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Nature or Climate theme
Recommendations by Abi Paine, Marketing Assistant
Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm by Isabella Tree
Wilding follows the journey of the Knepp Estate in West Sussex, a pioneering experiment in ecological innovation in an age of monoculture and wildlife decline. Forced to accept that intensive farming is unsustainable on their heavy clay soil, Isabella and her husband decide to let nature take over instead. This memoir is an inspiring story of hope, exploring what’s possible when wildlife is allowed to thrive, proving that nature can bounce back if it’s given the chance.
- On the Marsh by Simon Barnes
- Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty
- Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse by Dave Goulson
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Debut novel
Recommendations by Jodie Hearn, Reading Lead, Children & Young People’s Team
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
This is an impressively original and engrossing debut novel with plenty of intrigue and plot twists. Set across 18th-century London and present day, Penner skilfully weaves together the stories of mysterious apothecary Nella, 12-year-old lady's maid Eliza and aspiring historian Caroline into a beautiful and immersive tale of secrets, heartache and betrayal.
- Girl A by Abigail Dean
- The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
- Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
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First in a series
Recommendations by Adam Bayfield, Head of Marketing & Customer Services
Dissolution by C.J Sansom
Dissolution is the first book in C.J. Sansom’s series of historical crime novels starring Matthew Shardlake, a hunchback lawyer in Tudor London. With Henry VIII having ordered the dissolution of the monasteries, Shardlake and his assistant are dispatched by Thomas Cromwell to Scarnsea in Sussex, where a Commissioner has been murdered and events are spiralling out of control. In this atmosphere of treachery and death, Shardlake’s investigation soon finds him questioning he everything hears, and everything he intrinsically believes…There are seven books in the Shardlake series. If you haven’t read them yet, I’m jealous that you’ve still got that experience to come.
- Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
- A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
- The Bat by Jo Nesbo