Why not kick back, pick up a book and let your mind wander? Summer is the perfect time to embark on a journey, broaden your horizons and soak up a different culture or perspective.
Join our summer EDI reading challenge! Take a look through our themed reading lists and recommendations for inspiration, and get in touch with your recommendations (don't forget to tell us why!).
We’ll leave you with the inspired words of the poet, Derek Walcott: I read; I travel; I become.
Have a great Summer everyone!
This is a first hand account written by someone with autism. It's incredibly insightful and should be required reading for anyone wanting or needing to know about autism and triggers. It's recently been adapted to a series, showing on Disney+ but have not seen it yet.
- Angela, Library
This is a children's book about Lady Hale, the former President of the UK Supreme Court. It tells her story through a little girl's day trip to the courts. It's an uplifting and empowering tale of the fight for equality and recognition of what we can achieve if given the opportunity. It's not just for children - it's for everyone!
- Becca, Law Library
My recommendation is one of my favourite novels, Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, for its focus on intersex and gender identity issues.
- Aimee, Walton Library
This book follows the lives of twelve different characters over a period of years. The stories are cleverly intertwined giving you real insight in the struggles of women who are black and British. One of those books that you start and you never want to end.
- Louise, Library Liaison Services
It's a classic that explores identity, religious belief, LGBTQ+ issues, and women's rights.
- Angela, Library
A gripping tale of librarians smuggling out manuscripts under the noses of extreme religious fanatics, on foot and by boat and one man’s determination to show the world what a wonderful rich heritage and lesson in mutual understanding there is in Timbuktu.
- Catherine, Marjorie Robinson Library
This is an unsettling, excruciating and funny read, which explores race, exploitation, guilt, wealth, millennial insecurity and more.
- Lucy, Library Liaison Services
Beloved depicts the dark legacy of the history of Slavery, and the Jim Crow Laws responsible for institutionalised racism. In a world where infanticide is perceived as the only way to protect your child from the horrors of slavery, Sethe is haunted by the spirit of her daughter as she comes to terms with the painful memories of her past. Not a light read but a must read, all the same…
- Leigh, Walton Library