Welcome to the weekly news, reviews, and ‘all-things-books’ latest from the team at Waterstone’s Ballymena.
THIS WEEK’S TOP 10
1. Snowflake by Louise Nealon
2. November 9 by Colleen Hoover
3. Snow by John Banville
4. Lean Fall Stand by Jon McGregor
5. The Four Winds by Kristen Hannah
6. Devil's Advocate by Steve Cavanagh
7. Intimacies by Lucy Caldwell
8. Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
9. Gates of Europe by Serhii Plokhy
10. The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary
PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION FROM WATERSTONES BALLYMENA
Bookseller recommendation for this week comes from Kerry, who has read and really enjoyed ‘Snowflake’ by Louise Nealon.
“My book recommendation this week is for our Irish book of the month, Snowflake. This is a story about 18-year-old Debbie who lives on a dairy farm with her uncle Billy and mum Maeve. The book beautifully covers mental health issues, family relationships and friendships. This is the perfect book for people who loved Sally Rooney. I couldn't put it down!”
YOU HEARD ABOUT IT HERE FIRST…
We predict that this book is going to be THE book of 2022!
Smart, funny, joyous and powerful, Garmus' 60s set debut featuring an unconventional female scientist with a quiet game-plan to change the world has won the hearts and minds of our booksellers and is undoubtedly one of 2022's most gloriously enjoyable debuts.
'Your ability to change everything - including yourself - starts here' - Elizabeth Zott
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing. But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with - of all things - her mind. True chemistry results.
But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later, Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America's most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth's unusual approach to cooking ('combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride') proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn't just teaching women to cook.
She's daring them to change the status quo. Meet the unconventional, uncompromising Elizabeth Zott.
ADULT BOOK CLUB
The date for May's Adult Book club is Thursday 5 May at 7pm. Everyone is welcome - come along and bring a friend! This month we will be discussing ‘The Lamplighters’ by Emma Stonex.
The unresolved fate of three Cornish lighthouse keepers haunts the community, and especially the trio of women who loved them, in this uniquely crafted and darkly evocative novel.
They say we'll never know what happened to those men. They say the sea keeps its secrets...
Cornwall, 1972. Three keepers vanish from a remote lighthouse, miles from the shore. The entrance door is locked from the inside. The clocks have stopped. The Principal Keeper's weather log describes a mighty storm, but the skies have been clear all week.
What happened to those three men, out on the tower? The heavy sea whispers their names. The tide shifts beneath the swell, drowning ghosts. Can their secrets ever be recovered from the waves?
Twenty years later, the women they left behind are still struggling to move on. Helen, Jenny and Michelle should have been united by the tragedy, but instead it drove them apart. And then a writer approaches them. He wants to give them a chance to tell their side of the story. But only in confronting their darkest fears can the truth begin to surface...
Inspired by real events, The Lamplighters is an intoxicating and suspenseful mystery, an unforgettable story of love and grief that explores the way our fears blur the line between the real and the imagined.
EASTER SATURDAY KIDS STORYTIME AND CRAFT
A delightful lift-the-flap book featuring Peter Rabbit and his woodland friends, this sturdy interactive board book is the perfect Easter gift for all preschoolers.
Let's go on an eggciting Easter egg hunt with Peter Rabbit! Can you help Peter find all his friend's eggs in this brand-new lift the flap storybook?
It's the day of the Easter picnic and there are eggs for everyone! But when Peter knocks over the Easter basket full of eggs, he has to go on a hunt to find them all. Will he make it back in time for the picnic?
Follow Peter on this new Easter adventure and lift the flaps to help him on his search.
EXTRA EASTER STORYTIME SESSIONS
Good Friday and Easter Monday at 12 noon we will be having ‘Paddington's Easter Egg Hunt’!
