Friday, 28 October 2016

The Man Booker Prize 2016, the winner is announced!

And the winner is The Sellout, by Paul Beatty
Cyhoeddi enillydd Gwobr Man Booker 2016!
A’r enillydd yw The Sellout, gan Paul Beatty

Launched in 1969, the Man Booker Prize (originally the Booker Prize) aims to promote the finest fiction by rewarding the best novel of the year (in the opinion of the judges), written in English and published in the UK.
Mae Gwobr Man Booker (Gwobr Booker yn wreiddiol), a lansiwyd yn 1969, yn anelu at hybu’r ffuglen orau trwy wobrwyo nofel orau’r flwyddyn (ym marn y beirniaid) yn Saesneg ac wedi ei chyhoeddi yn y DU.
Beatty is the first US author to win the Man Booker Prize. His novel is a racial satire telling the story of a young black man who tries to reinstate slavery and racial segregation in a suburb of Los Angeles. 
Beatty yw’r awdur cyntaf o UDA i ennill Gwobr Man Booker. Nofel ddychanol am hil yw’r llyfr sy’n adrodd hanes dyn du ifanc sy’n ceisio ail-gyflwyno caethwasiaeth a gwahanu hiliol yn un o faestrefi Los Angeles.
Paul Beatty, The sellout 
Born in the 'agrarian ghetto' of Dickens - on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles - the narrator of The Sellout is raised by a single father, a controversial sociologist, and spends his childhood as the subject in racially charged psychological studies. Led to believe his father's pioneering work will result in a memoir that will solve his family's financial woes, he is shocked to discover, when his father is killed in a police shoot-out, that there never was a memoir. All that's left is a bill for a drive-through funeral. Fuelled by this deceit and the general disrepair of his hometown, the narrator sets out to right another wrong: Dickens has literally been removed from the map to save California from embarrassment.


Other titles on this year’s shortlist were:
Teitlau eraill ar y rhestr fer eleni oedd:
Deborah Levy, Hot milk 
Two women arrive in a Spanish village, a dreamlike place caught between the desert and the ocean, seeking medical advice and salvation. One suffers from a mysterious illness: spontaneous paralysis confines her to a wheelchair. The other, her daughter Sofia, has spent years playing the reluctant detective, struggling to understand her mother's illness. Surrounded by the oppressive desert heat and the mesmerising figures who move through it, Sofia waits while her mother undergoes the strange programme of treatments invented by Dr Gomez. Searching for a cure to a defiant and quite possibly imagined disease, ever more entangled in the seductive, mercurial games of those around her, Sofia finally comes to confront and reconcile the disparate fragments of her identity.

Graeme Macrae Burnet, His bloody project
A story ingeniously recounted through Roderick Macrae's memoir, trial transcripts, and newspaper reports, this book is a riveting literary thriller that will appeal to fans of Hannah Kent's 'Burial Rites'.

Ottessa Moshfegh, Eileen
The Christmas season offers little cheer for Eileen Dunlop, an unassuming yet disturbed young woman trapped between her role as her alcoholic father's carer in his squalid home and her day job as a secretary at the boys' prison, filled with its own daily horrors. Consumed by resentment and self-loathing, Eileen tempers her dreary days with perverse fantasies and dreams of escaping to the big city. In the meantime, she fills her nights and weekends with shoplifting, stalking a handsome prison guard named Randy, and cleaning up her increasingly deranged father's messes. When the beautiful, charismatic Rebecca Saint John arrives on the scene as the new counsellor at the prison, Eileen is enchanted and unable to resist what appears to be a miraculously budding friendship.

David Szalay, All that man is
There are nine men in this book, and they think they have unique stories. But really, aren't they all the same man? Each of them is searching, reaching, not quite grasping their situations. None of them is at home. They are alone in the edge-lands of Europe, and the stakes are bewilderingly high. And so these nine lives form an ingenious novel, in which David Szalay expertly plots a dark predicament for the 21st century man. It's not a joke. Life is not a joke.

Madeleine Thien, Do not say we have nothing
In Canada in 1991, ten year old Marie and her mother invite a guest into their home. She is Ai-Ming, a young woman from China who has fled following the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square incident. As her relationship with Marie deepens she tells the story of her family in revolutionary China.

All the books are available to borrow or reserve from Torfaen Libraries. 

Catalogue / Catalog
Mae’r llyfrau i gyd ar gael i’w benthyg neu i’w neilltuo gan Lyfrgelloedd Torfaen.

Friday, 21 October 2016

Hair-raising Halloween Reads


It’s almost that time of the year when “ghoulies and ghosties
and long-legged beasties and things that go bump in the 
night” come out to play. So if you’re looking for some chilling
and thrilling reads to get you in the mood for Halloween here
are a few suggestions from library staff.
Darllen Dychrynllyd Calan Gaeaf 
Unwaith eto mae hi’n amser ysbrydion a gwrachod a sŵn y gwynt yn chwythu trwy’r coed.  Felly os ydych chi am rywbeth dychrynllyd o ddifyr i’w ddarllen yn ystod Calan Gaeaf dyma rhai o awgrymiadau staff y llyfrgelloedd.

John Boyne, This House is Haunted

1867. Eliza Caine arrives in Norfolk to take up 
her position as governess at Gaudlin Hall on a
dark and chilling night. As she makes her way
across the station platform, a pair of invisible 
hands push her from behind into the path of an
approaching train. She is only saved by 

the vigilance of a passing doctor. 

When she finally arrives, shaken, at the hall 

she is greeted by the two children in her care, Isabella

and Eustace. There are no parents, no adults at all, and no 

one to represent her mysterious employer. The children offer

no explanation. Later that night in her room, a second 

terrifying experience further reinforces the sense that
something is very wrong.

Susan Hill, The Woman in Black

When Arthur Kipps attends the funeral of Alice
Drablow he is unaware of the tragic secrets 
which lie hidden behind her house. It is not until
he glimpses a woman dressed all in black at 
the funeral that a creeping sense of unease 
begins to take hold.

Andrew Michael Hurley, The Loney

If it had another name, I never knew, but the
locals called it the Loney - that strange nowhere
between the Wyre and the Lune where Hanny
and I went every Easter time with Mummer, 
Farther, Mr and Mrs Belderboss and 
Father Wilfred, the parish priest. It was
impossible to truly know the place. It changed 
with each influx and retreat, and the neap tides would reveal 
the skeletons of those who thought they could escape its 
insidious currents. No one ever went near the water. No one
apart from us, that is. I suppose I always knew that what 
happened there wouldn't stay hidden forever, no matter 
how much I wanted it to.

Kate Mosse, The Winter Ghosts

March 1928. The Great War has been over for 
ten years, but Freddie Abrahams still hasn't
recovered from the loss of his brother. Even
now, on holiday in south-west France, 
he cannot escape his grief. By turns thrilling
poignant and haunting.

Michelle Paver, Dark Matter

January 1937, 28-year-old Jack is poor, lonely 
and desperate to change his life. So when 
he's offered the chance to join an Arctic 
expedition, he jumps at it. After they reach the 
remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp 
for the next year, Gruhuken, Jack feels a 
creeping unease. One by one, his companions
are forced to leave and he is left alone, or is he?

Phil Rickman, Night After Night

Liam Defford doesn't believe in ghosts. He 
does, however, believe in high-impact 
television. On the lookout for his next idea, he 
hires a journalist to research the history of a 
Tudor farmhouse turned luxury hotel, 
abandoned at the height of its success
Ignoring the chilling tales that surface, Defford decides that 
the hall would be the perfect setting for a celebrity reality 
programme, "Big Brother" meets "Most Haunted"!

Then of course you can’t beat a classic, spooky, short story.
Wedyn does dim byd gwell na stori fer arswydus.

Charles Dickens,The Signal Man; Henry James,The Turn of the Screw and M R James,The Haunted Dolls House.


Finally, if you want to cwtch up with your little ones and share
a not too scary story while they make short work of their trick
or treating loot, Kes Gray’s “The Mice in the Churchyard”, will
fit the bill.
Yn olaf os ydych chi am gwtsio lan gyda’r rhai bach i rannu 
stori sydd ddim yn rhy frawychus wrth iddyn nhw fwynhau 
danteithion yr ŵyl mae “The Mice in the Churchyard” gan Kes
Gray i’r dim.
“Using tombstones for tables and headstones for seating,
The neighbourhood cats called a mice-catching meeting.”












Friday, 14 October 2016

Reading Well - Mood-Boosting Books 2016




10 October 2016 was World Mental Health Day. If you’re feeling a bit low or just want a relaxing, feel good read then try this Mood-Boosting book list put together by the Reading Agency from recommendations by reading groups around the UK.


The list features fiction, non-fiction, poetry, short-stories, classics, children’s books and even a cook book. In short, there’s something to suit everyone.


Here are some of my personal favourites with comments from the reading groups. 
For the complete list click on the link.


 "With this book you find yourself immersed in the rugged beauty of Cornwall and completely swept along with the passions and schemes of the Poldark family, their friends and enemies."


 "When I have had 'down' times I pick up a Terry Pratchett book and they always make me smile."



 "It is laugh out loud funny, but educational as well. A really good read."



 "This lovely book should be read by everyone, the writing is beautiful, funny and so uplifting. I don't know of anyone who wouldn't enjoy it."

"A lonely pensioner's life is lifted when a cheery
home help comes to visit him. At once sad, 
laugh out loud funny, uplifting and something
we can relate to as we get older. Guaranteed 
to lift your spirits."








Darllen yn Dda, Hwb i’r Hwyliau 2016
Roedd 10 Hydref 2016 yn Ddiwrnod Iechyd Meddwl y Byd.  Os ydych chi’n teimlo braidd yn isel neu am rywbeth i ddarllen i’ch ymlacio a gwneud i chi deimlo’n dda, yna cymerwch gipolwg ar y rhestr yma gan yr Asiantaeth Ddarllen sy’n dilyn argymhellion gan grwpiau darllen ar draws y DU.
Mae ffuglen, llyfrau ffeithiol, barddoniaeth, straeon byrion, clasuron, llyfrau plant a hyd yn oed llyfr coginio ar y rhestr.  Yn fras mae rhywbeth i bawb.
Dyma rhai o fy ffefrynnau personol gyda sylwadau gan y grwpiau darllen

Ar gyfer y rhestr gyflawn, cliciwch ar y ddolen. 


"Gyda’r llyfr yma cewch eich hun yn ymdrochi 
yn harddwch garw Cernyw ac yn cael eich
hysgubo’n llwyr gan serchiadau a chynllwynion
teulu Poldark, eu ffrindiau a’u gelynion"







"Pan fydda’ i’n teimlon isel, rydw i wastad yn codi un o lyfrau Terry Pratchett ac maen nhw’n gwneud i fi wenu bod tro."






"Mae’n peri i rywun chwerthin yn uchel, ond 

mae’n addysgol hefyd.  Gwych i’w ddarllen."


"Dyma lyfr hyfryd y dylai pawb fod yn ei 

ddarllen, mae’r ysgrifennu’n gelfydd, yn ddoniol

ac yn codi calon.  Wn i ddim am neb na 

fyddai’n ei fwynhau”


"Mae bywyd pensiynwr unig yn derbyn hwb pan

ddaw gofalwr newydd llon i ymweld ag e.  Yn 

drist, yn ddoniol, yn codi calon a rhywbeth i ni

uniaethu â hi wrth i ni fynd yn hŷn. Mae’n siŵr

o godi’ch calon"

Friday, 7 October 2016

VOLUNTEERS WANTED!


 






It’s been a busy week for special days. 1 October was UK Older People’s Day and 6 October celebrated National Poetry Day, so this seems a good time to tell you about our “Read to Me Service”.



Torfaen Libraries are recruiting volunteers to act as Reading
Companions for the “Read to Me Service”. Reading 
Companions visit older or disabled people in their own 
homes to read aloud to them one to one, sharing stories and 
poetry.

We are looking for volunteers who are passionate about 
books and reading, enjoy talking about what they’ve read and
can share that passion with an older or disabled person. 
This is an opportunity to make a difference to someone’s life
by bringing them the enjoyment of books and the pleasure of 
companionship.

If you’re interested in joining our team of volunteers contact 
Carole Lewis:


One of my favourite poems to share is Jenny Joseph’s 
“Warning”. This description of a disreputable old age always
manages to raise a smile.






ANGEN GWIRFODDOLWYR!
Mae wedi bod yn wythnos brysur am ddyddiau arbennig.  
Roedd 1 Hydref yn Ddiwrnod Pobl Hŷn y DU a 6 Hydref yn 
dathlu Diwrnod Cenedlaethol Barddoniaeth, felly mae'n 
amlwg yn amser da i ddweud wrthych am ein "Gwasanaeth
Darllen i Fi".

Mae Llyfrgelloedd Torfaen yn recriwtio gwirfoddolwyr i 
weithredu fel Cymdeithion Darllen ar gyfer y "Gwasanaeth 
Darllen i Fi". Mae Cymdeithion Darllen yn ymweld â phobl 
hŷn neu anabl yn eu cartrefi eu hunain i ddarllen yn uchel 
iddynt hwy un i un, gan rannu straeon a barddoniaeth.

Rydym yn chwilio am wirfoddolwyr sydd yn angerddol dros
lyfrau a darllen, yn mwynhau siarad am yr hyn y maent wedi 
ei ddarllen ac yn gallu rhannu'r angerdd gyda pherson hŷn 
neu anabl. Mae hwn yn gyfle i wneud gwahaniaeth i fywyd
rhywun drwy ennyn y mwynhad o ddarllen llyfrau a'r pleser o
gael cwmni.
Os oes gennych ddiddordeb mewn ymuno â’n tîm 
wirfoddolwyr, cysylltwch â Carole Lewis:
Un o fy hoff gerddi i rannu yw 'Warning' gan Jenny Joseph.

Mae'r disgrifiad hwn o henaint amharchus bob amser yn 

llwyddo i godi gwên.