Welcome to this week’s news, reviews, and ‘all-things-books’ latest from the team at Waterstone’s Ballymena!
This week’s Top 10 bestselling books…
1 It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover
2 Guinness World Records
3 Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu
4 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
5 The Cinnamon Bun Store by Laurie Gilmore
6 A Few of the Girls by Maeve Binchy
7 Frankie by Graham Norton
8 Rathlin, A Wild Life by Ruby Free
9 The Figurine by Victoria Hislop
10 Though the Bodies Fall by Noel O' Regan
Saturday Storytime…
Our next Saturday Storytime will take place on Saturday 12th October at 12pm. We will be reading Dragons Love Underpants by Claire Freedman & Ben Cort.
Plagued by singed undies, knicker-nicking dragons embark on a rampage through the kingdom in this hilarious rhyming addition to the much-loved picture book series. There will be colouring in afterwards. We look forward to seeing everyone there.
Author event with Ruby Free…
Thursday 10 October at 7pm
Ruby Free
Conservationist and nature lover Ruby Free will be discussing her new book and telling us about her work on Rathlin Island with the RSPB.
A heartfelt, impassioned book full of joy Rathlin, A Wild Life is a love letter to the island and the wildlife - free event and all welcome!
October Books of the Month…
• Fiction Book of the Month:
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
In this novel about small-town secrets and the people who keep them, James McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community - heaven and earth - that sustain us.
• Science Fiction & Fantasy Book of the Month:
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Step into Starling House, if you dare… Alix E. Harrow reimagines Beauty and the Beast in this gorgeously modern Gothic fantasy, perfect for fans of V. E. Schwab and Naomi Novik.
• Thriller of the Month:
How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin
A debut novel and a fun and fresh take on the classic country house murder and is infused with lots of humour and plenty of mystery.
• Non-Fiction Book of the Month
Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent by Judi Dench
For the very first time, Judi opens up about every Shakespearean role she has played throughout her seven-decade career, from Lady Macbeth and Titania to Ophelia and Cleopatra.
• Children’s Book of the Month:
Mallory Vayle and the Curse of Maggoty Skull by Martin Howard
Super funny, super spooky MG for budding horror fans about a talkative skull and a necromancer-in-training - perfect for Lemony Snicket readers!
• Irish Book of the Month:
Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu
Drenched in gothic dread, dripping with seduction and bloody horror, Carmilla is one of the foundational texts of the vampire novel. There would be no Dracula without Carmilla to inspire him.