All I want for Christmas……….

Call me nosey, but I love reading famous people’s letters, they tell you so much about the real person behind the public face. So I’m hoping to find ‘The Victoria Letters: the heart and mind of a young queen’ by Helen Rappaport under my Christmas tree. This is the official companion book to the ITV ‘Victoria’ series, which I loved and another good reason for wanting it. Santa, please take note.

I asked some of my library colleagues what books they are hoping for.

Mark – ‘The Angels Die’ by Yasmina Khadra. The best novel I have read this year was by this author. ‘The Attack’ was a brilliant and gripping book by a master storyteller, and I’d like to read more of his work. 

‘The Angels Die’ is his latest title, set in French colonial Algeria- a place where Arab-Berbers face prejudice and injustice every day. It opens with the central character awaiting the guillotine. 

Hopefully this book won’t disappoint, and the first line, My name is Turambo and they’ll be coming to get me at dawn, is a pretty good start.

Bettina - All I want for Christmas is ‘The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow’ by Jackie Morris. I love Jackie’s stories and her illustrations are sublime. I remember when we had our refurb in Pontypool Library and she allowed us to use her images of dragons to complete our lovely children’s library. She visited us for the day and captured the imaginations of local schoolchildren with tales of old and with wonderful drawings.

This book is a collection of interconnected short stories featuring musically-themed illustrations she originally designed as a set of Christmas cards, in aid of the charity Help the Musicians.

I am a big fan and always look forward to her new projects.

I hope I have been good enough for Santa..........

Julian - A book on my Santa wish list is ‘The Build: Insights from the Masters of Custom Motorcycle Design’ by Robert Hoekman Jnr. A lot of blokes love messing about with power tools and spanners in a garage, and that includes me. So when the weather is wet and cold what better way to spend the time with a good coffee table book looking for ideas and inspiration, and then going out into the garage and mucking about.

Christine - Here’s my Christmas request.  I’m a big fan of Tove Jansson’s writing for adults but I’ve never actually read her Moomin books.  So I would like Santa to bring me a hardback copy of ‘Finn Family Moomintroll’ with all Tove Jansson’s delightful original illustrations.  A lovely snuggly read for the Christmas holidays.

Matthew - One book on my letter to Santa is ‘Royal Rabbits of London’ by Santa Montefiore and Simon Sebag Montefiore. A children’s story that I can share with my sons in between the Lego, train sets and mince pies at Christmas.  Shades of Watership Down as Shylo, the runt of the litter, takes on a group of mischievous rats in order to save the Queen!  Beautifully illustrated too.  What’s not to love?

Stephanie - Mine would be ‘Burial Rites’ by Hannah Kent which I’ve just read.  A fabulous first novel which reimagines the life and death of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the last woman to be executed in 1820s Iceland. Beautiful descriptions and language but at the same time bleak and unflinching, this story stayed with me long after the final pages were read and is one I would certainly revisit in future. Oh yes, and now I very much want to visit Iceland too!

Donna - This Christmas I'm hoping Santa will bring me ‘In Montmartre: Picasso, Matisse and Modernism in Paris, 1900-1910’ by Sue Roe. I recently came across the book while in a gallery shop and from the blurb it looks like a great read. It also seems to have been very positively reviewed. The subject of the book is one that's very close to my heart - Paris in the early 20th century was a time of incredible vibrancy and development both in the art world and beyond. It must have been a very exciting time to be alive! I recently enjoyed reading a book on a similar subject by Ross King set in the mid-19th century, ‘The Judgement of Paris; Manet, Meisonnier and an Artistic Revolution’. These paperback art stories really bring what some people might think of as a dry subject to life and are perfect for dipping in and out.

Ar gyfer heddiw’r bore……….

Efallai fy mod i’n fusneslyd ond fe fydda’ i wrth fy modd yn darllen llythyrau pobl enwog, maen nhw’n dweud cymaint am y gwir berson y tu ôl i’r wyneb gyhoeddus.  Felly, rwy’n gobeithio cael ‘The Victoria Letters: the heart and mind of a young queen’ gan Helen Rappaport o dan y goeden. Dyma’r llyfr swyddogol sy’n mynd law yn llaw gyda chyfres ‘Victoria’ ITV a mae hynny’n rheswm arall i’w gael. Siôn Corn, gwnewch nodyn.

Gofynnais i rai o’m cyfeillion yn y Llyfrgell pa lyfrau y buasen nhw’n hoffi.

Mark - ‘The Angels Die’ gan Yasmina Khadra. Y nofel orau i mi ddarllen eleni oedd un gan yr awdur yma.  Roedd ‘The Attack’ yn lyfr gwych a chyffrous gan storïwr o fri, ac fe hoffwn i ddarllen mwy o’i waith.

‘The Angels Die’ yw ei lyfr diweddaraf, wedi ei leoli yn Algeria o dan reolaeth Ffrengig – rhywle y mae’r Arabiaid yn wynebu rhagfarn ac anghyfiawnder pob dydd.  Mae’n agor gyda’r prif gymeriad yn wynebu’r gilotîn.

Rwy’n gobeithio na fydd yn llyfr yma yn fy siomi, ac mae’r llinell gyntaf, My name is Turambo and they’ll be coming to get me at dawn, i weld yn ddechrau da.

Bettina – Y cwbl rydw i eisiau yw ‘The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow’ gan Jackie Morris. Rydw i wrth fy modd gyda straeon Jackie ac mae ei darluniau yn wych. Rwy’n cofio pan gawson ni ein gwaith adnewyddu yn Llyfrgell Pont-y-pŵl, fe rhoddodd ganiatâd i ni ddefnyddio’i darluniau o ddreigiau er mwyn ein galluogi i gwblhau llyfrgell y plant.  Daeth i’n gweld am y diwrnod a dal dychymyg plant ysgol lleol gyda’i straeon a’i lluniau ardderchog.

Cyfres o straeon byr yw’r llyfr gyda darluniau ar thema cerddoriaeth yr oedd wedi eu dylunio’n wreiddiol fel set o gardiau Nadolig er budd yr elusen Help the Musicians

Rydw i yn edmygwr mawr ohoni ac rydw i bob amser yn edrych ymlaen at ei phrosiectau newydd.

Gobeithio y bydda’ i wedi bod yn ddigon da i Siôn Corn..........

 

Julian – Llyfr ar fy rhestr i yw ‘The Build: Insights from the Masters of Custom Motorcycle Design’. Mae llawer o ddynion yn hoff o botsian gydag offer a sbaneri ac ati mewn garej, ac rydw i’n un o’r rheiny. Felly, pan fydd y tywydd yn oer a gwlyb beth sy’n well na threulio amser gyda llyfr da yn edrych am syniadau ac ysbrydoliaeth, ac yna mynd allan i’r garej i botsian.

Christine - Dyma fy nghais i ar gyfer y Nadolig.  Rwy’n edmygydd mawr o lyfrau Tove Jansson ar gyfer oedolion ond dydw i erioed wedi darllen ei llyfrau Moomin.  Felly fe hoffwn i Siôn Corn ddod â chopi clawr caled o ‘Finn Family Moomintroll’ gyda darluniau gwreiddiol hyfryd Tove Jansson.  Llyfr cysurus ar gyfer gwyliau’r Nadolig.

Matthew – Un llyfr ar fy rhestr i yw ‘Royal Rabbits of London’ gan Santa Montefiore a Simon Sebag Montefiore. Stori i blant y gallaf i rhannu gyda fy meibion rhwng y Lego, setiau trên a mins peis yn ystod y Nadolig.  Rhywbeth tebyg i Watership Down wrth i Shylo, frwydro yn erbyn haid o lygod mawr drwg er mwyn achub y Frenhines!  Lluniau hyfryd hefyd!

Stephanie - Fy newis i fyddai ‘Burial Rites’ gan Hannah Kent yr wyf newydd ei ddarllen.  Nofel gyntaf wych sy’n dychmygu bywyd a marwolaeth Agnes Magnúsdóttir, y fenyw ddiwethaf i gael ei dienyddio yng Ngwlad yr Iâ yn yr 1820au. Disgrifiadau ac iaith hardd ond yn dywyll ac yn ddiysgog ar yr un pryd, arhosodd y stori gyda fi yn hir ar ôl troi’r dudalen olaf ac rwy’n siŵr o ddod yn ôl ati yn y dyfodol. O ie, ac fe hoffwn fynd i Wlad yr Iâ yn fawr hefyd!

Donna – Y Nadolig yma rwy’n gobeithio y caf i ‘In Montmartre: Picasso, Matisse and Modernism in Paris, 1900-1910’ gan Sue Roe. Des i ardraws y llyfr yma yn ddiweddar tra roeddwn mewn siop galeri ac o’r disgrifiad mae’n edrych yn wych. Mae’r adolygiadau wedi bod yn garedig hefyd.  Mae testun y llyfr yn un sy’n agos iawn at fy nghalon – Roedd Paris ar ddechrau’r ugeinfed ganrif yn amser bywiogrwydd a datblygiad mewn celf a thu hwnt.  Mae’n rhaid ei fod yn amser cyffrous iawn! Fe fwynheais ddarllen llyfr digon tebyg yn ddiweddar gan Ross King, stori wedi ei leoli yng nghanol y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg, ‘The Judgement of Paris; Manet, Meisonnier and an Artistic Revolution’. Mae’r straeon celf yma mewn clawr papur yn rhoi bywyd i bwnc y byddai nifer yn ei weld fel un sych ac mae’n berffaith i gymryd cipolwg yn achlysurol.