In the Gutter Bookshops, our booksellers like to uncover new and interesting books that you might not see everywhere else, so have a browse of our very own staff pick selections with accompanying reviews and maybe you’ll find your next great read right here! And remember – we offer Free Postage in ROI on orders over €30 – just choose the Free Postage option at checkout.
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Staff Pick: "A sweet little book of short reflections on how we recover from illness. Themes include time, nature, and travel, as well as thoughts on the people who care for us and our surroundings during recovery. Through case studies, Dr Francis gives us a human view of recovery looking at it as an essential part of what makes us human." Sarah U. -
"Jonas has grown up in a perfectly safe environment free of fear, pain and choice. He is turning twelve and will be allocated a career that will alter his perceptions of life and the true meaning of family. First published in 1993, it is credited with inspiring the dystopian genre. If you like the 'Hunger Games' and 'Divergent' series, you will enjoy this book." Ciara Great for Teens and Young Adults ISBN 9780007578498 -
"'It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.' Very famous words, and often heard out of their original context, but now you can judge their true meaning for yourself." Ann ISBN 9780141199702 -
"Mrs. Dalloway is one of my favourite books of all time and I think the most accessible of Woolf's novels. It takes place over a single day when Clarissa Dalloway is preparing for a party and she thinks about her life as it is, was and what she thinks it will be. You will feel exhilarated after reading this." Sinead ISBN 9780241341117 -
"An intelligent and moving memoir from the Dublin born Nuala O'Faolain. Frank and honest, this book is deeply affecting but is ultimately a positive reflection on one woman's determination to overcome adversity." Bob ISBN 9781848406858 -
"I read this collection recently for an Ireland AM piece and was blown away by how good these stories are! Kevin Barry is wonderful at capturing the feel of small town Ireland. Clever, funny and thought-provoking I'm annoyed how long it took me to discover them!" Bob ISBN 9780955015298 -
Ash Persaud is about to become a reaper in the afterlife, but she is determined to see her first love Poppy Morgan again, the only thing that separates them is death. Car headlights.The last thing Ash hears is the snap of breaking glass as the windscreen hits her and breaks into a million pieces like stars. But she made it, she's still here. Or is she? This New Year's Eve, Ash gets an invitation from the afterlife she can't decline: to join a clan of fierce girl reapers who take the souls of the city's dead to await their fate. But Ash can't forget her first love, Poppy, and she will do anything to see her again ... even if it means they only get a few more days together. Dead or alive ... Great for Teens and Young Adults. ISBN 9781444955958 -
Bringing into harsh focus the daily struggle for existence in a Soviet gulag, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is translated by Ralph Parker in Penguin Modern Classics. This brutal, shattering glimpse of the fate of millions of Russians under Stalin shook Russia and shocked the world when it first appeared. Discover the importance of a piece of bread or an extra bowl of soup, the incredible luxury of a book, the ingenious possibilities of a nail, a piece of string or a single match in a world where survival is all. Here safety, warmth and food are the first objectives. Reading it, you enter a world of incarceration, brutality, hard manual labour and freezing cold - and participate in the struggle of men to survive both the terrible rigours of nature and the inhumanity of the system that defines their conditions of life. Though twice-decorated for his service at the front during the Second World War, Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) was arrested in 1945 for making derogatory remarks about Stalin, and sent to a series of brutal Soviet labour camps in the Arctic Circle, where he remained for eight years. Released after Stalin's death, he worked as a teacher, publishing his novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich with the approval of Nikita Khrushchev in 1962, to huge success. His 1967 novel Cancer Ward, as well as his magnum opus The Gulag Archipelago, were not as well-received by Soviet authorities, and not long after being awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1970, Solzhenitsyn was deported from the USSR. In 1994, after twenty years in exile, Solzhenitsyn made his long-awaited return to Russia. ISBN 9780141184746 -
"The best crime thriller I've read in ages! There's no gruesome body count or rampaging serial killer, just brilliant suspenseful writing and a gripping plot. If you're looking for real page-turner from a talented Irish writer, this is the books for you!" Bob ISBN 9781444796537 -
"If you liked Philip Pullman's 'Dark Materials' trilogy, or you enjoy great and imaginative storytelling then this is a book for you! In a world where you can hear everyone else's thoughts how do you hide from the people hunting you?" Bob Great for Young Adults ISBN 9781406379167 -
Staff Picks: "When Anna is a victim of revenge porn, the only thing she can do is move away, change her name, and avoid the internet at all costs...But can it really be escaped? If ever there was a book that every person needs to read – this is it. You will find it pulls no punches, and can be upsetting at times, but ultimately it’s an incredibly empowering story." Rebekah -
"I've just finished this for classics bookclub and adored it! Forget the film and soak up Capote's wonderful writing and a blonde Holly Golightly! "Never love a wild thing, Mr Bell..." is one of the most moving passages I ever read" Bob ISBN 9780241951453 -
"This book has one of the best opening sequences I have ever come across, and draws you in from the start. If you are looking for a recommendation for a young person moving into adult fiction, this is perfect!" Ann ISBN 9780099460879 -
"Such a sweet and awkwardly honest first love story. Brilliantly chosen characters that are not your stereotypically styled 'Romeo and Juliet'. Flawed and honest, full of teenage angst." Ciara "Home to one of my all-time favourite quotes - 'Eleanor was right: She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.' This book makes you feel a lot of things. A gorgeous read." Rebekah Great for Teens and Young Adults ISBN 9781409157250 -
"This is the title that started my love affair with books. I adore how sensitively she dealt with complex issues of rape and racial prejudice in this story set in the deep south of America during the Depression Years. At the heart of the story is the most beautiful bond between father and child. Atticus is a true hero!" Ciara ISBN 9780099419785 -
"A family tragedy has created a fierce rivalry between twins Jude and Noah. A powerful read about art, creativity, loss & falling in love with someone you can't have. Nelson writes about art in an incredible way, and the design of the book is perfect. A moving & memorable read." Jenny Great for Teens and Young Adults ISBN 9781406326499 -
"I didn't think it was my kind of a book. A good bit of family drama, an annoying and spoiled teenager with too much time on her hands. I thought it was going to be a struggle. It wasn't. I was pleasantly surprised by the engaging tone of the novel and its universality. You'll be too." Marta ISBN 9780241951569 -
"I read this book years ago at the prompting of a friend who said I would never find anything so beautiful and touching as this jewel of a novel. It was all I hoped for and much more." Ann ISBN 9780141182308