Resolute Recommends…

Our author, Sarah Nicholson, author of the award-winning In Search of Lost Glitter, often takes the Resolute bookstall on tour. Today, Sarah brings us some great Christmas recommendations on the blog.

“I often run the Resolute book stall at events and having read EVERY book we have published so far, I feel qualified to make a few reading recommendations to those who stop for a chat.

This is loosely based on some real conversations…

“I like a bit of crime; LJ Ross is my favourite.”

               “Try Local Killer by Paul Trembling. One of Paul’s many careers was as a CSI so it’s all procedurally correct. Alison is a great main character, with a few quirks; each chapter starts with one of her lists. She gets herself into a few scrapes with this case. You’ll be on the edge of your seat as the story twists and turns to its thrilling conclusion.”

“I prefer reading the classics. Jane Austen had much more to say about society than romance.”

               “I think you would like A Great Deal of Ingenuity by Ruth Leigh. She has taken the minor characters from Pride and Prejudice and given them each their own short story. This book has been given much praise by some eminent Austen scholars.”

“I like to read something relatable; I don’t like murders.”

               “How about The Art of Life by S.L. Russell, about a woman facing up to life with her empty nest, finally making time for herself. She goes to an art school in the Yorkshire Dales and rediscovers her passions.”

“I want a book that takes me somewhere new.”

               “The West in Her Eyes by Janet Hancock is set just after the Russian Revolution. It tells the story of a Russian family who leave the their old life in the rich oil fields of Baku and travel as refugees across Europe as refugees, finally ending up in Paris. It’s an epic sweeping tale full of romance, secrets, and adventure.”

“My son loves dystopian fiction.”

               “The Newlands Trilogy by E.M. Carter is perfect for him. It’s like The Hunger Games, set in a near distant future where everyone is only valued if they are productive. A group of teenagers, stuck in a training facility, search for answers to find out their real identities and ultimately find their true worth.”

“I don’t have time to read much, I try, but I read a page then fall asleep.”

               “In Search of Lost Glitter is a memoir written in very short stories, many only 100 words long. It tells the story of love and loss. And it has pictures. Perfect for those who struggle to read longer stories for whatever reason.”

“I’ve been watching Wolf Hall on TV, have you got anything like that?”

               “C.F. Dunn has written Wheel of Fortune and Sun Ascendant, part one and two of a series set in the time of the War of the Roses. Isobel Fenton has lost her mother and when her father dies, she loses her position in society and her beloved home. She becomes a pawn used by the men around her in their own power struggles. It is meticulously researched and beautifully written.

“My brother-in-law who is impossible to buy for, I know he reads but have no idea what he would like.”

               “Banshee by Lindsay Rumbold is the perfect book. It’s a Cold War thriller about aeroplanes, which starts when a body of found in a forgotten RAF World War two bunker. With timelines in the 60s and almost present day you gradually piece together what really happened. Completely believable, gripping drama.”

“I don’t like poetry but I’m not sure I understand it.”

               “Both our poetry books And The Grass Has Just Got Longer by Lesley Cresswell and The Little Book of Unexpected Poetry by Ruth Leigh are made up of, not only accessible poetry that relates to the everyday, but each poet has offered a short explanation of why the poems were written and what they are about. As with any collection, there may be one or two that you just don’t get but I can guarantee each book has something that will move you.”

“My daughter and I like Science Fiction; we like something we can both read and talk about afterwards.”

               “The Centauri Survivors by Andrew J Chamberlain is the first book in the Centauri Sequence. It’s about a group of young people wake up on a spaceship as expected, but the adults were supposed to be awake first. Something has gone wrong on their journey from earth to a new colony. All is not what it seems. There’s plenty to discuss in this book about making first contact and respecting a new planet which is already inhabited.”

I hope my recommendations are useful and you have found the perfect gift for your loved ones or something to ask for this Christmas.”

Sarah Nicholson