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Hello Hello! How are you?
Today I’m bringing you a little something different. As you may know, I’ve worked in libraries for the past year and a half, nearly two years, and during that time, I’ve been keeping tabs on books I want to read. This includes books from the library I worked at last year, and the two libraries I now currently work at.
I was browsing my GoodReads the other day, and saw that I’ve put lots of books in various “Library TBR” shelves…
So keep on reading to find out what 10 books I want to read the most from each location!
MY LOCAL LIBRARY
L’art du naufrage (#1 Le Royaume de Pierre d’Angle) by Pascale Quiviger
This was actually a book that I had my eye on from the minute I started working at my local library last year. It drew my attention because of the really cool cover, but also because it was a chunky tome, and I’m naturally drawn to very long/big books, don’t ask me why! This is a 3 (or I’m pretty sure 4) book series, and it’s going to take me a while to get around to, but I really like the premise about a young royal coming back to his kingdom after two years at sea, and discovering a stowaway on his boat, who will change his thoughts about his kingdom and his duty. It sounds really good!
Le Cas Eduard Einstein by Laurent Seksik
I found this book after reading Le Bal des folles by Victoria Mas (The Madwoman’s Ball) because I was specifically searching for something similar and this one drew me in straight away. I am pretty sure it is fiction, and it is basically about Albert Einstein’s son being “mad” and being taken to an insane asylum in his twenties. He apparently died in the institute, but the book goes into detail about what it was like for him, and the people he met while he was there, as well as the grief felt by his mother. It won’t be a happy or cute read by any means, but I think it will be eye-opening and hard-hitting.
Irena: Varso-Vie (#3) by Jean-David Morvan
This is a comic/graphic novel series I started when I was working at the library, and I don’t know why but I’ve never gotten to the final three books/volumes. It is about Irena Sendlerowa, a young woman who played a massive part in the Second World War in the Resistance against the nazis. They were hard comics to read, especially since the drawings were quite vivid, but it is also a really important story that I want to continue. They were also really quick reads, so I’ll have to pick them up next time I go.
L’île presque (#1 Le Grimoire d’Elfie) by Audrey Alwett, Christophe Arleston and Mini Ludvin
This is a children’s/YA graphic novel/comic series which really appealed to me because of the beautiful covers, but also because it is about a witch! This sounds like a super cute series because it is about three sisters (all witches, I think!) who turn a London bus into a moving library, and go all around the country taking books to people. It also has the witchcraft topic and learning and understanding one’s magic, so I’m sure it will be really cute. I might pick it up next time I’m there as well.
Les soeurs hiver by Jolan Chloé Bertrand
I was browsing the new books on the library’s website and came across this really interesting children’s novel. It seems to be a fantasy in which winter is personified into two sisters and when one of them disappears, the villagers realise they have to band together and try to fix what has gone wrong, since Big Winter has gone haywire, along with everything else. This is giving me Frostheart and Winterling vibes, so I’m excited to get to it, maybe towards the end of the year as winter is nearly over for another year, although it doesn’t feel like it will ever end…
Lune de printemps (#1 Indiana Teller) by Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian
Now… If you know me, you know I never got over the Twilight phase, meaning, I still love everything and anything vampire and werewolf related. I kept seeing this book series be lent out to readers and got so curious about it that I read the blurb and was pleasantly surprised. It’s about a pack of very powerful werewolves, and a human teenager living in their midst. I have a feeling this will be a really captivating fantasy, and I’m definitely going to have to pick up the whole series, maybe during the summer, because I have a feeling I’ll binge it in only a few weeks!
Le mystère de la dame en noir (#1 Sherlock, Lupin et Moi) by Irene Adler
This is another MG/YA series, but this time it is a retelling of the famous Sherlock Holmes character and stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. It’s about three children, famous in the detective and murder mystery genre who come together one summer to try to work out who killed the body that washed up on the beach and why. I think this will be a really cool series to read, and I think so far there are 6 books, so lots of adventures and fun to look forward to.
Mémoire Vive (#2 In Real Life) by Maiwenn Alix
I read the first book in this series when I first started working in my local library, and then I didn’t pick up the second book because university and thesis work got in the way and I basically forgot all about it. The first book was okay, but it ended on a MEGA CLIFFHANGER that shocked me so much, so I will definitely need to pick up the second and third books in the series and continue/finish it, maybe also over the summer!
Les vampires de Londres (#1 Les étranges soeurs Wilcox) by Fabrice Colin
Ohhhh! VAMPIRES!! I actually did already pick this book up when I was working at the library, and then I ran out of time, another reader asked for it and I didn’t think about it again, but I should have because what I did read was AMAZING. This is a YA fantasy series where lots of known creatures and characters from classic literature make an appearance. I thought it was so cool at the time and what I remember of it makes me want to pick it up soon, so I’ll have to do that.
Les Souvenirs de Ferdinand Taupe (#1 Mémoires de la Forêt) by Mickaël Brun-Arnaud
And the final book on the list from my local library is a really cute middle-grade fantasy series, starring animals as characters. I love when this happens in books because it’s so cute and also a lot of the time there are important messages. This also sounds like it will be a sad story because it is about a mole who has a bookstore in which people write their life stories and sell them to him to sell to others, and he himself is losing his memory, only he can’t find the book he wrote. I think this will be quite sad, but also quite uplifting, I’ll just need to be in the right mood to read it!
THE LIBRARIES I WORK AT
Nox, Ici-bas (#1 Nox) by Yves Grevet
I actually started this book when I got it on hold from the previous library I worked in, but I got held up because of university and thesis work and someone else asked for it, so I gave it back. I never picked it up again which is a shame because I was really enjoying it and I thought it was very unique and well-written. I know we also have this book, and the second one, at the libraries I work at, so when I’ve got a bit more time for myself, I’ll definitely be picking it up again and I’m looking forward to finally finishing it.
Les Facétieuses by Clémentine Beauvais
This is a relatively new book compared to some on this list. I had already tried to read a book by this author and I couldn’t get into it, it was more a sort of poem between two characters, and a romance story, so not really my cup of tea. I gave up on it but when this one was released, I was intrigued. This one is French YA fantasy, so more my thing, and it is about the main character (whose name is also Clémentine Beauvais), going on a sort of quest to find who was Prince Louis XVII’s godmother. This sounds like it might have some historical elements but also be completely wild and crazy. I’m up for something different, which I think I’ll get with this story!
La Levée du voile (#1 Hybride) by Gwendoline Vervel
I was immediately drawn into this book by the beautiful cover. It is about a young girl sent to a kind of boarding school as punishment of some tragic accident her mother blames her for. However, that summer, she is welcomed back to her home, and that’s when she discovers she is descended from elves and druids. A bit different to the type of fantasy I usually read, but I think this book has the potential to be interesting and whimsical, with family secrets and deadly happenings. It’s not very long, so could be a good choice for after my honeymoon or in the summer months.
L’île des damnés by Angélina Delcroix
Now going into something a lot darker, but no less interesting. This seems like quite a dark mystery or even a psychological thriller, about an island where the worst criminals are exiled and forgotten about by the whole country. That is until one of the police officers, (I think linked to a case), needs to infiltrate the island to find a potentially deadly “psychocriminal”. This one sounds riveting, quite similar to Shutter Island by Denis Lehane. It is a French book but likened to Scandinavian noir mysteries, so I’m excited to give it a go.
Stöld by Ann-Helén Laestadius
A book quite different to my usual reads, but the cover drew me in and since I love and am fascinated by any animal looking like deer, I thought I should add it to my TBR. It also turns out to have an interesting premise. One day, the young daughter of Sami reindeer herders witnesses the brutal murder of her fawn by a rival villager. This is the last paragraph of the blurb: “Stöld traces the struggle of a young woman to defend her heritage and her place in a society where xenophobia rules, and in which modern ideas collide with a culture shaped by tradition and fear.” It sounds very interesting, I’m excited to give it a short, closer to the winter months.
Les marins ne savent pas nager by Dominique Scali
I won’t lie, the reason I was initially drawn to this book is because it is a HUNK of a book, and the cover reminded me of some kind of Babel island thing. Colour-me intrigued, especially with that title: “The sailors don’t know how to swim”. It is supposed to be a bit of a nautical adventure story, but also with strong messages about the earth, human courage and all set on a windswept island, where only one person can swim. It sounds so good, I have high expectations!
In Nomine (#1 Antoine Marcas) by Éric Giacometti and Jacques Ravenne
This is a typical French mystery detective series, but I’ve been told it is quite dark, gloomy and a touch scary at times. I like cosy mysteries, but I also really like darker and more sinister ones and I do typically like French mysteries and thrillers. I don’t know exactly what this specific book is about, but it is the first one in the series and for detective/mystery series, I tend not to read the blurbs in full, so I keep a lot of the surprise and mystery for when I’m reading it. I’ve heard a LOT of good things about this series and this author duo, there are 12 books in this series and I’ve just picked up the first one, because it is very short. So I hope to read it in the following weeks.
Le deuxième sexe, I (#1) by Simone de Beauvoir
This next book is a VERY different one, as it is a sort of nonfiction, feminist, philosophy essay collection written by none other than Simone de Beauvoir. I’ve always been interested in this person as she was very important in French literature, philosophy and politics concernant women’s place in the world. I’ve also always wanted to read her essays, and I’m going to start with this one. It’s not very long, but I know it will be hard-hitting and empowering, and a very different read to my usual books.
Le Loup en Slip (#1) by Wilfrid Lupano, Paul Cauuet and Mayana Itoiz
A completely different book is this children’s comic series which is a humorous collection about a wolf who wears pants. It goes down a treat among children and parents alike at my libraries and I’ve been so intrigued by it. I think there are seven volumes so far, and they are very quick reads. I’m sure they are full of fun and mischief, so I’m keeping them on the TBR for days when I need a pick me up, which is just what I’m sure they will deliver.
L’Héliotrope (#1 Steam Sailors) by E. S. Green
And the final book on my second list is a YA fantasy series that sounds absolutely fantastic. I read the first 20-odd pages a few weeks ago out of curiosity and added it to my TBR straight away. It seems that it will be a complex fantasy with political intrigue, pirates, lots of court intrigue, secrets, magic and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll need to be in the right headspace to give it my full concentration and absorb all of it because it’s very different to anything I’ve ever read before, and I’m sure I’ll need to set a full month to binge the whole series. Yes, the first 20 pages were that good!
And there you have it, a long list of 20 books I have on a priority TBR for the libraries I work at, and my local library. I hope to get to all of these at some point this year, as lots of new ones keep appearing on my radar and giving me major FOMO.
That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this post.
See you soon, stay safe,
Ellie xx