The Top 10 Best Selling Books of 2017

It’s time to look back on 2017 to see which books stood out as chart toppers. There’s a good split between adult fiction, non-fiction and children’s fiction.

Jamie Oliver was top of the pops, in the number 1 spot, while the ever popular children’s author, David Walliams had 2 titles in the top 10. When it came to adult fiction genres, crime / thrillers was the only one to feature. What ever happened to romance?

Jamie Oliver – 5 Ingredients – Quick and Easy Food

Cooking doesn't have to be complicated - that's why Jamie's book '5 Ingredients' is sure to become your new best friend in the kitchen. It's all about making the journey to good food, super-simple.

David Walliams – Bad Dad

A high-speed cops and robbers adventure. A father and son take on the villainous Mr Big - and win! This will have your kids on the edge of their seats and howling with laughter!

Dan Brown – Origin (Robert Langdon 5)

Robert Langdon arrives at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to attend the unveiling of a discovery that claims it will change the face of science forever. But everyone is left reeling when the evening is blown apart before the discovery can be revealed. With his life under threat, Langdon is forced into a desperate bid to escape, along with the museum's director, Ambra Vidal. Together they flee to Barcelona on a perilous quest to locate a cryptic password that will unlock the secret.

Shari Lapena – The Couple Next Door

Your neighbour told you that she didn't want your six-month-old daughter at her dinner party. Your husband said it would be fine, you only live next door. You'll have the baby monitor and take it in turns to go back every half hour. Your daughter was sleeping when you last checked on her. Now, as you race up the stairs, your worst fears are realised. She's gone!

David Walliams – The World’s Worst Children 2

If you thought you’d read about the World's Worst Children already, you're in for a rather nasty shock. The beastly boys and gruesome girls in this book are even ruder, even more disgusting and WORSE than you could ever imagine!

Guinness World Records 2018

This latest edition is packed with more incredible accomplishments, stunts, cutting-edge science and amazing sporting achievements than ever before.

Lee Child – Night School (Jack Reacher 21)

'Night School' takes Reacher back to his army days, but this time he's not in uniform. With trusted sergeant Frances Neagley at his side, he must carry the fate of the world on his shoulders. A fiendishly clever new adventure.

Yuval Noah Harari – Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one - us. How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations and human rights; to trust money, books and laws; to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables and consumerism? What will our world be like in the millennia to come?

Jeff Kinney – The Getaway (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 12)

Life was better in the old days. Or was it? That's the question Greg Heffley is asking as his town voluntarily unplugs and goes electronics-free. Greg isn't cut out for an old-fashioned world. With tension building inside and outside the Heffley home, will Greg find a way to survive? Or is going 'old school' just too hard for a kid like Greg?

Philip Pullman – La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume 1

Philip Pullman returns to the world of 'His Dark Materials' with this novel, set ten years before 'Northern Lights'. Two children, with everything at stake, find themselves pursued by a terrifying evil. In their care is a tiny child, and in that child lies the fate of the future.

Winner of the Waterstones Book of the Year 2017.

10 Llyfr Mwyaf Poblogaidd 2017

Mae’n bryd edrych yn ôl ar 2017 i weld pa lyfrau ddaeth i’r brig.  Maen nhw’n rhannu'n dda rhwng ffuglen oedolion, llyfrau ffeithiol a ffuglen i blant.

Jamie Oliver oedd ar y brig, yn safle rhif 1, tra bod yr awdur i blant, David Walliams â 2 lyfr yn y 10 uchaf.  O ran ffuglen i oedolion, trosedd / cyffro oedd yr unig genre a ymddangosodd. Beth ddigwyddodd i ramant?

Jamie Oliver – 5 Ingredients – Quick and Easy Food

Does dim rhaid i goginio fod yn gymhleth – dyma pam fod llyfr Jamie, '5 Ingredients' yn siŵr o fod yn gyfaill gorau i chi yn y gegin. Mae’n ymwneud â’r daith at fwyd da, yn syml iawn.

David Walliams – Bad Dad

Antur plismyn a lladron.  Mae tad a mab yn mynd i’r afael â’r Mr Big drwg- ac yn ennill! Bydd eich plant ar flaenau’u seddi ac yn chwerthin yn uchel!

Dan Brown – Origin (Robert Langdon 5)

Mae Robert Langdon yn cyrraedd Amgueddfa Guggenheim Bilbao ar gyfer datgelu darganfyddiad a fydd yn newid wyneb gwyddoniaeth am byth. Ond caiff pawb eu siglo pan fo’r noson yn cael ei difetha cyn datgelu’r darganfyddiad. Gyda’i fywyd dan fygythiad, mae Langdon yn cael ei orfodi i ddianc, gyda chyfarwyddwr yr Amgueddfa, Ambra Vidal. Gyda’i gilydd maen nhw’n dianc i Barcelona ar drywydd cyfrinair a fydd yn datgloi’r gyfrinach.

Shari Lapena – The Couple Next Door

Dywedodd eich cymydog nad oedd hi am gael eich merch chwe mis oed yn ei pharti. Dywedodd eich gŵr y byddai pob dim yn iawn, dim ond drws nesaf yr ydych yn byw.  Bydd gyda chi’r synhwyrydd baban a gallwch fynd yn ôl ac ymlaen bob hanner awr. Roedd eich merch yn cysgu y tro diwethaf i chi edrych i mewn arni.  Nawr, wrth i chi redeg i fyny’r grisiau, mae eich ofnau wedi dod yn wir.  Mae hi wedi mynd!

David Walliams – The World’s Worst Children 2

Os oeddech chi’n meddwl eich bod chi wedi darllen am blant gwaetha’r byd eisoes, mae sioc yn eich disgwyl. Mae’r bechgyn a’r merched yn y llyfr yma hyd yn oed yn fwy anwar, yn fwy ffiaidd ac yn WAETH nag y gallech ddychmygu!

Guinness World Records 2018

Mae’r argraffiad diweddaraf yma’n llawn mwy o orchestion, styntiau, gwyddoniaeth arloesol a champau’r byd chwaraeon nag erioed o’r blaen.

Lee Child – Night School (Jack Reacher 21)

Mae 'Night School' yn mynd â Reacher yn ôl i’w amser yn y fyddin, ond y tro hwn dyw e ddim mewn lifrau. Gyda’r Sarjant Frances Neagley wrth ei ochr, rhaid iddo ddwyn pwysau’r byd ar ei ysgwyddau.  Antur newydd cythreulig o glyfar.

Yuval Noah Harari – Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

100,000 o flynyddoedd yn ôl, roedd o leiaf chwech o rywogaethau dynol yn byw ar y ddaear.  Nawr, dim ond un sydd - ni.  Sut lwyddodd ein rhywogaeth ni yn y frwydr am oruchafiaeth?  Pam ddaeth ein cyndeidiau a oedd yn porthi at ei gilydd i greu dinasoedd a theyrnasoedd? Sut ddaethom ni i gredu mewn duwiau, cenhedloedd a hawliau dynol; i ymddiried mewn arian, llyfrau a chyfreithiau; i gael ein caethiwo gan fiwrocratiaeth, amserlenni a phrynwriaeth?  Sut fydd ein byd yn y milenia a ddaw?

Jeff Kinney – The Getaway (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 12)

Roedd bywyd yn well ers talwm, on’d oedd? Dyna’r cwestiwn mae Greg Heffley’n gofyn wrth i’w dref ddatgysylltu’r plygiau a mynd yn ddi-electroneg.  Dyw Greg ddim yn siwtio’r byd hen ffasiwn.  Gyda thensiwn yn codi y tu fewn a’r tu allan i gartref yr Heffley, a fydd Greg yn cael hyd i ffordd i barhau? Neu a yw troi at ‘yr hen ffordd o fyw’ yn rhy anodd i blentyn fel Greg?

Philip Pullman – La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume 1

Mae Philip Pullman yn dychwelyd i fyd 'His Dark Materials' gyda’r nofel hon, a leolir deng mlynedd cyn 'Northern Lights'.  Mae dau o blant, gyda phob dim yn y fantol, yn cael eu hunain yn cael eu herlid gan ddrygioni ofnadwy. Yn eu gofal mae plentyn bach, ac mae eu ffawd ynghlwm wrth y plentyn hwnnw.

Enillydd Llyfr y Flwyddyn Waterstones ar gyfer 2017.

Richard and Judy Book Club Reads

Looking for a good book to get you through the long winter nights? Or perhaps your plan is to escape to the sunshine and relax by the pool, reading. Not sure where to start? Why not visit your local Torfaen Library. Our staff are a mine of information when it comes to book recommendations and they will usually come up with the goods.

Another source of suggestions is the Richard and Judy Book Club, they’ve recently released their titles for spring 2018. All 8 books are available to borrow or reserve from Torfaen Libraries.
Reserve here

Fiona Barton – The Child

When a paragraph in an evening newspaper reveals a decades-old tragedy, most readers barely give it a glance. But for 3 strangers it's impossible to ignore.

John Boyne – The Heart’s Invisible Furies

Cyril Avery is not a real Avery - or at least that's what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn't a real Avery, then who is he?

Matt Haig – How to Stop Time

Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41 year old, but he was born in 1581. Owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. 'How to Stop Time' is a wild, bittersweet, time-travelling story about the mistakes humans are doomed to repeat and about the lifetimes it can take to learn how to live.

Cara Hunter – Close to Home

Last night, 8 year old Daisy Mason disappeared from her parents' summer party. No one in the quiet suburban street saw anything, or at least that's what they're saying.

Lisa Jewell – Then She was Gone

Laurel Mack is living in the past. It's been 10
years since her 15 year old daughter Ellie disappeared, and Laurel's never given up hope of finding her. But now, she no longer has a choice in the matter. It's time to let go, but can she?

Jo Nesbo – The Thirst

A woman is found murdered after an Internet date. The marks left on her body show the police that they are dealing with a particularly vicious killer. Under pressure from the media to find the murderer, the force know there's only one man for the job - but Harry Hole is reluctant until he starts to suspect a connection between this killing and his one failed case. When another victim is found, Harry realises he will need to put everything on the line if he's to finally catch the one who got away.

Michelle Richmond – The Marriage Pact 

Newlyweds Jake and Alice are offered membership of a club which promises members will never divorce. Signing The Pact seems the ideal start to their marriage, until one of them breaks the rules because The Pact is for life and its members will go to any lengths to ensure nobody leaves.

Beth Underdown – The Witchfinder’s Sister

1645. When Alice Hopkins' husband dies in a tragic accident, she has no choice but to return to Manningtree, where her brother Matthew still lives. But home is no longer a place of safety. Matthew has changed and there are rumours spreading through the town, whispers of witches and a great book in which her brother is gathering women's names. To what lengths will her brother's obsession drive him and what choice will Alice make when she finds herself at the very heart of his plan?

Clwb Llyfrau Richard a Judy

Chwilio am lyfr da i fynd â chi trwy nosweithiau hir y gaeaf? Neu efallai eich bod yn bwriadu dianc i’r haul ac ymlacio ger y pwll yn darllen? Ddim yn siŵr lle i ddechrau? Pam nad ewch i’ch llyfrgell leol yn Nhorfaen? Mae ein staff yn llawn gwybodaeth pan ddaw’n fater o argymell llyfrau ac fel rheol bydd ganddynt awgrymiadau da i chi.

Ffynhonnell arall o awgrymiadau yw Clwb Llyfrau Richard a Judy. Yn ddiweddar, maent wedi rhyddhau eu teitlau ar gyfer y gwanwyn 2018. Mae’r 8 llyfr ar gael i’w benthyg neu eu harchebu o Lyfrgelloedd Torfaen. 
Archebwch yma

Fiona Barton – The Child

Pan fo paragraff mewn papur newydd gyda’r nos yn datgelu trasiedi a ddigwyddodd ddegawdau yn ôl, nid yw’r rhan fwyaf o ddarllenwyr yn cymryd fawr o sylw ohono. Ond i dri dieithryn, mae’n amhosibl ei anwybyddu.

John Boyne – The Heart’s Invisible Furies

Nid yw Cyril Avery yn Avery go iawn – neu o leiaf dyna’r hyn y mae ei rieni mabwysiol yn dweud wrtho. Ond os nad yw’n Avery mewn gwirionedd, yna pwy yw e?

Matt Haig – How to Stop Time

Mae gan Tom Hazard gyfrinach beryglus. Efallai ei fod yn edrych fel gŵr 41 cyffredin, ond fe’i ganwyd ym 1581. Oherwydd cyflwr prin, mae wedi bod yn fyw am ganrifoedd. Mae 'How to Stop Time' yn stori wyllt,  chwerw-felys am deithio drwy amser yn ymwneud â’r camgymeriadau mae pobl yn eu gwneud dros ar ôl tro, a’r oesoedd y gall eu cymryd i ddysgu sut i fyw.

Cara Hunter – Close to Home

Neithiwr, diflannodd Daisy Mason, 8 oed, o barti haf ei rhieni. Ni welodd neb ar y stryd dawel unrhyw beth, neu o leiaf, dyna mae pawb yn ei ddweud.

Lisa Jewell – Then She was Gone

Mae Laurel Mack yn byw yn y gorffennol. Mae’n 10 mlynedd ers i’w merch 15 oed, Ellie, ddiflannu, ac nid yw Laurel erioed wedi colli gobaith y caiff hyd iddi. Ond nawr, nid oes ganddi ddewis. Mae’n amser gadael iddi fynd, ond a fedr hi?

Jo Nesbo – The Thirst

Ceir hyd i fenyw wedi ei llofruddio ar ôl dêt rhyngrwyd. Mae’r marciau ar ei chorff yn dangos i’r heddlu eu bod yn delio gyda llofrudd arbennig o anfad. Dan bwysau gan y cyfryngau i gael hyd i’r llofrudd, mae’r heddlu’n gwybod mai dim ond un dyn all wneud hynny - ond mae Harry Hole yn anfodlon nes iddo ddechrau amau cysylltiad rhwng y llofruddiad hwn a’r un achos y methodd ei ddatrys. Pan geir hyd i gorff arall, mae Harry’n sylweddoli bod angen iddo fentro popeth os yw, o’r diwedd, i ddal yr un a ddihangodd.

Michelle Richmond – The Marriage Pact

Newydd briodi, mae Jake ac Alice yn cael cynnig aelodaeth o glwb sy’n addo na fydd yr aelodau byth yn ysgaru. Mae arwyddo’r Cytundeb yn ymddangos fel dechrau delfrydol i’w priodas, nes bydd un ohonyn nhw’n torri’r rheolau. Oherwydd mae’r Cytundeb am oes a bydd yr aelodau yn gwneud unrhyw beth i sicrhau nad oes neb yn gadael.

Beth Underdown – The Witchfinder’s Sister

1645. Pan fo gŵr Alice Hopkins yn marw mewn damwain drasig, nid oes ganddi ddewis ond dychwelyd i Manningtree, lle mae ei brawd Matthew yn dal i fyw. Ond nid yw ei chartref bellach yn lle diogel. Mae Matthew wedi newid, ac mae straeon yn lledaenu drwy’r dref, yn sibrwd am wrachod a llyfr mawr yn yr hwn y mae ei brawd yn casglu enwau menywod. Pa mor bell y bydd obsesiwn ei brawd yn ei yrru, a pha ddewis fydd yn rhaid i Alice ei wneud pan gaiff ei hun wrth graidd ei fwriadau?

Costa Book Awards 2017

The winners of the category awards are:

1^st Novel

Gail Honeyman - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend. Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything. One simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself. Now she must learn how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted - while searching for the courage to face the dark corners she's avoided all her life.

Judges’ comments – “Eleanor Oliphant is completely fantastic. The end!”

Novel

Jon McGregor – Reservoir 13

Midwinter in the early years of this century. A teenage girl on holiday has gone missing in the hills at the heart of England. The villagers are called up to join the search, fanning out across the moors as the police set up roadblocks and a crowd of news reporters descends on their usually quiet home. Meanwhile, there is work that must still be done: cows milked, fences repaired, stone cut, pints poured, beds made, sermons written, a pantomime rehearsed. The search for the missing girl goes on, but so does everyday life. As it must.

Judges’ comments – “Hypnotic, compelling and original – this stunning novel simply blew us away.”

Biography

Rebecca Stott – In the Days of Rain: a daughter, a father, a cult

An enthralling, at times shocking, and deeply personal family memoir of growing up in, and breaking away from, a fundamentalist Christian cult. At university when I made new friends and confidantes, I couldn't explain how I'd become a teenage mother or shoplifted books for years, or why I was afraid of the dark and had a compulsion to rescue people, without explaining about the Brethren or the God they made for us, and the Rapture they told us was coming.

Judges’ comments – “A stand out winner. We were all gripped and astonished by this unique life and the exquisite way she tells it.”

Poetry

Helen Dunmore – Inside the Wave

This title features poems about mortality, illness, being alive and the borderline between the living human world and the underworld. Sadly, Helen passed away in June 2017.

Judges’ comments – “An astonishing set of poems – a final, great achievement”

Children’s Book

Katherine Rundell – The Explorer

From his seat in the tiny aeroplane, Fred watches as the mysteries of the Amazon jungle pass by below him. He has always dreamed of becoming an explorer, of making history and of reading his name amongst the lists of great discoveries. If only he could land and look about him. As the plane crashes into the canopy, Fred is suddenly left without a choice. He and the three other children may be alive, but the jungle is a vast, untamed place. With no hope of rescue, the chance of getting home feels impossibly small. Except, it seems, someone has been there before them.

Judges’ comments – “A glorious read and a timeless voyage of wonder that will be enjoyed by readers aged 8 – 80.”

The Costa Book of the Year will be announced 30 January 2018.

All the winning titles are available from Torfaen Libraries. 
Reserve a copy

Gwobrau Llyfrau Costa 2017

Enillwyr y categorïau gwobrau yw:

Nofel 1af

Gail Honeyman - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Mae Eleanor Oliphant yn arwain bywyd syml. Mae’n gwisgo’r un dillad i’r gwaith bob dydd, yn bwyta’r un pryd bwyd i ginio bob dydd ac yn prynu’r un dwy botel o fodca i’w hyfed bob penwythnos. Mae Eleanor Oliphant yn hapus. Does dim byd ar goll yn ei bywyd, sydd wedi ei drefnu’n ofalus, Ac eithrio, weithiau, popeth. Mae un gweithred syml o garedigrwydd ar fin dryllio’r muriau y mae Eleanor wedi eu hadeiladu o’i chwmpas. Nawr, rhaid iddi ddysgu sut i fynd o gwmpas y byd y mae pawb arall i’w weld yn ei gymryd yn ganiataol – wrth chwilio am y dewrder i wynebu’r corneli tywyll y mae wedi eu hosgoi ar hyd ei hoes.

Sylwadau’r beirniaid – “Eleanor Oliphant is completely fantastic. The end!”

Nofel

Jon McGregor – Reservoir 13

Canol y gaeaf ym mlynyddoedd cynnar y ganrif hon. Mae merch yn ei harddegau wedi mynd ar goll yn y bryniau yng nghanol Lloegr. Gelwir ar y pentrefwyr i ymuno yn y chwilio, gan fynd allan ar y gweundiroedd wrth i’r heddlu gau’r ffyrdd ac wrth i dorf o ohebwyr darfu ar eu bywyd tawel. Yn y cyfamser, mae gwaith i’w wneud o hyd: gwartheg i’w godro, ffensys i’w trwsio, cerrig i’w hollti, peintiau o gwrw i’w tywallt, gwelyau i’w gwneud, pregethau i’w hysgrifennu, pantomeim i’w ymarfer. Mae’r chwilio am y ferch sydd ar goll yn mynd yn ei flaen, ond felly hefyd bywyd bob dydd. Fel y mae’n rhaid iddo.

Sylwadau’r beirniaid – “Hypnotic, compelling and original – this stunning novel simply blew us away.”

Bywgraffiad

Rebecca Stott – In the Days of Rain: a daughter, a father, a cult

Atgof teuluol hynod, personol iawn o dyfu i fyny, a dianc rhag cwlt Cristnogol ffwndamentalaidd. Yn y brifysgol, pan wnes i ffrindiau newydd, ni fedrwn esbonio sut roeddwn wedi dod yn fam yn fy arddegau neu pam roeddwn yn dwyn llyfrau o siopau am flynyddoedd, neu pam roedd gennyf ofn y tywyllwch a’r orfodaeth i achub pobl, heb esbonio am y Brodyr neu’r Duw a wnaethant i ni, a’r Perlesmair roeddynt yn dweud oedd yn dod.

Sylwadau’r beirniaid – “A stand out winner. We were all gripped and astonished by this unique life and the exquisite way she tells it.”

Barddoniaeth

Helen Dunmore – Inside the Wave

Mae’r teitl hwn yn cynnwys cerddi am farwoldeb, salwch, bod yn fyw a’r ffin rhwng y byd dynol byw a’r isfyd. Yn drist, bu farw Helen ym mis Mehefin 2017.

Sylwadau’r beirniaid – “An astonishing set of poems – a final, great achievement”

Llyfr Plant

Katherine Rundell – The Explorer

O’i sedd yn yr awyren fechan, mae Fred yn gwylio wrth i gyfrinachau jyngl yr Amazon fynd heibio oddi tano. Mae wastad wedi breuddwydio am gael bod yn fforiwr, a gwneud hanes a darllen ei enw ymhlith y rhestri o ddarganfyddiadau hynod. Pe gallai ond glanio ac edrych o’i gwmpas. Wrth i’r awyren syrthio i mewn i’r coed, yn sydyn nid oes gan Fred ddewis. Efallai ei fod ef a’r tri plentyn arall yn dal yn fyw, ond mae’r jyngl yn lle anferth, heb ei ddofi. Heb unrhyw obaith o gael eu hachub, mae’r siawns o fynd adref yn teimlo’n amhosibl o fach. Ac eithrio, mae’n debyg, y ffaith bod rhywun wedi bod yno cyn iddyn nhw lanio.

Sylwadau’r beirniaid – “A glorious read and a timeless voyage of wonder that will be enjoyed by readers aged 8 – 80.”

Cyhoeddir Llyfr y Flwyddyn Costa ar 30 Ionawr 2018.

Mae’r holl deitlau buddugol ar gael o Lyfrgelloedd Torfaen. 

Archebwch gopi