What Bristol is reading – June 16 to 21

The top 15 last week were a mix of fiction and non-fiction from the best-selling books at Waterstones in the Galleries. 

1. The Sunrise by Victoria Hislop

A novel about strangers who must overcome their mutual antipathy to shelter together in a hotel in Cyprus in 1974, the eve of violent partition after an invasion by the Turkish forces. Based on real events. Hislop lives part of the year in Greece and her first novel The Island was turned into a Greek series. 

2. How Not To Be Wrong – The Hidden Maths of Everyday Life by Jordan Ellenberg

The son of two statisticians, Ellenberg, apparently, brings innovative new examples to help us understand the reality behind decisions that require consideration. Specialised maths conclusions and reasoning are brought to the general reader.

 3. The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah

Sophie Hannah brings Poirot back for his first adventure since Bristol-wed Agatha Christie’s death. The lovable and pompous Belgian is in fine form for this new mystery. Out now in paperback. Rumours have it that Hannah has been signed up for another Poirot mystery.

4. The Axeman’s Jazz by Ray Celestin

Inspired by a real serial killer thought to be responsible for 12 deaths between 1918 and 1919. Celestin’s first novel stays mostly true to facts at the beginning. Published last July and out now in paperback. (The Guardian’s round-up) 

5. The Establishment by Owen Jones

The Guardian’s Jones sets out to examine the revolving door between Fleet Street and the City but has come under criticism for failing to mention the Guardian, the Observer and the Independent. In the Establishment he examines the powerful but unaccountable network of people who wield massive power and reap huge profits in the process. 

6. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

Short-listed for the Bailey’s Prize for Women’s Fiction is Waters’ sixth novel and her first one set in the 1920s. Mrs. Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances are forced to take in lodgers. The arrival of Lilian and Leonard Barber, a modern young couple of the “clerk class,” means the routines of the house will be shaken up in unexpected ways.

7. How to be Both by Ali Smith

How to Be Both won the Bailey’s Prize for Women’s Fiction in 2015. Smith’s work is written as a split narrative, and half of its copies were printed with the story of the teenage girl, George, whose mother has recently died, first. The other copies begin with the story of Francesco del Cossa, an artist in 15th-century Ferrara who in Smith’s story is born a girl but raised as a man.

8. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

Human beings (members of the genus Homo) have existed for about 2.4m years. Homo sapiens,has only existed for 6% of that time – about 150,000 years. Harari tries to set out this history in 400 pages. (Review)

 9. Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson

One scientist in an underground Russian science centre is desperately trying to get word out of Siberia. Davidson‘s Kolymsky Heights was published 20 years ago, and the man himself died in 2009, but was suddenly rediscovered by the national newspapers and published again in March 20015, Thee Daily Telegraph called him the best spy novelist you might never have heard of. 

10. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize, All the Light We Cannot See is about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. With nearly 150,000 reviews on Goodreads it has a rating of 4.3/5.

11. Us by David Nichols

David Nichols’ Starter for Ten was said to be based around the University of Bristol where the author was an undergraduate. His latest publication is said to be a bittersweet novel about love and family, husbands and wives, parents and children. It’s one last family trip for a family that is disintegrating. Long-listed for the Man Booker Prize 2014. 

12. A Slip of the Keyboard by Terry Pratchett

For the first time, ex-Bristol journalist Pratchett’s non-fiction work is brought together in this publication that includes a foreword by Neil Gaiman. Sir Terry Pratchett died on March 12, 2015 but two further novels in the Discworld series have been published since. 

13. The Walker’s Guide to Outdoor Clues & Signs by Tristan Gooley

According to the Natural Navigator, this is the ultimate guide to what the land, sun, moon, stars, trees, plants, animals, sky and clouds can reveal – when you know what to look for. A timely read before going on camping trips during summer. 

14. The Children Act by Ian McEwan

This bestselling novel by McEwan, tells the story of a British judge who faces a complex case while dealing with her husband’s infidelity. Available in paperback since April 2015, the title is a reference to the Children Act 1989.  

15. H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

H is for Hawk is at once a misery memoir, as the author grapples with the grieving process, and a falconer’s diary about the hard-won trust between hawk and human. Winner of the Costa 2014 Book Award and given a five star review by the Telegraph.

The top 15 selection is taken from Waterstones at the Galleries in Bristol, 11A Union Galleries, Broadmead, Bristol, BS1 3XD