Shelf Life: Ten Day Heroes

Pick up a bestseller: Our Ten Day Short Loan Collection! 

The sun is shining. The days are long.  Grab yourself a cold drink and a hot new bestseller from our ten day short loan collection!  Every library now has a dedicated collection of popular new titles which can’t be reserved but can be borrowed for ten days.  So skip the queue, drop into your local library and pick up a brand new book! Can’t decide what to read next?  Here’s our top picks:

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

A thrilling debut novel set in the Netherlands in 1961 which tells the story of a lonely repressed woman whose carefully controlled life is turned upside down when a stranger comes to stay.  Both an erotic love story and a fascinating look at the legacy of the war on Dutch society, The Safekeep has been shortlisted for both the Booker Prize and the Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

The latest offering from the renowned American writer, this book brings together two of her most beloved characters, Lucy Barton and Olive Kitteridge.  The two women develop a friendship and share stories of people they have known and the lives that go unrecorded.  A master storyteller, Strout reveals truths about the human condition with empathy and compassion. 

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

A story of two brothers, Ivan and Peter Koubek, who seem to have nothing in common.  Peter is a successful lawyer in his thirties and Ivan is a competitive chess player in his twenties.  In the aftermath of their father’s death, both men struggle with their grief and find solace with very different women.  Deals with themes of family, love and loss in Rooney’s trademark style.

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

The winner of the Booker Prize, Orbital is a tiny novel which packs a lot in.  Six astronauts orbit the earth on the International Space Station several times a day over the course of 24 hours.  As they look at the earth as an outsider, they share their hopes and fears and philosophies on what it is to be human. 

James by Percival Everett  

A brilliant retelling of Mark Twain’s classic, Huckleberry Finn, James tells the story from the perspective of Jim, the escaped slave who travels with Huck. As with so many of Everett’s novels, this novel is both funny, thought provoking and at times, disturbing. 

Heart, be at peace by Donal Ryan 

A sequel to The Spinning Heart, Ryan’s award winning debut novel, the writer returns to the fictional community in Co. Tipperary a decade later.  The economic crash has gone, people’s lives have returned to some kind of normal, but life is never static and there are new conflicts and threats in this close-knit community.  This novel won the An Post Book of the Year Award. 

Check out more from our Ten Day Short Loan Collection here.  Not a library member yet?  What are you waiting for!  Click here to join the library!