Book cover. Against a peach coloured background a black sun sends rays of light towards surrounding clouds. The picture is ringed with several ornate circles. In the centre the silhouette of a white dragon flies across the sun. At the edge a black dragon flies. The title Iron Flame is laced through the picture, together with the words "Burn. It. Down." Text: The thrilling sequel to the number one global bestselling phenomenon Fourth Wing. Rebecca Yarros The Empyrean Series.

Ringmer review

A reader writes

Rebcca Yarros: Iron Flame. Brilliant sequel to Fourth Wing, impeccable writing, compulsive reading.

Book cover. Against a black background a white sun projects shafts of light towards black clouds, the picture ringed by circular golden lines. The silhouette of a black dragon flies in front of the sun. The words Fourth Wing are interleaved in gold thoruhg the pattern. Text: Discover the thrilling must-read global phenomenon. Rebecca Yarros the number one bestselling author

Ringmer review

A reader writes

Rebcca Yarros: Fourth Wing a world with dragons and a lot of danger. There's also quite a lot of sex. Brilliant writing.

Yarros has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and, interestingly, has very convincingly written a main character with the same condition.

Book cover. At the bottom lies an open book with a flower opening above it. The flower could easily be interpreted, in line with the theme of the book, as a vagina. Stylised flames and leaves take up all but the top of the cover, surrounding the book's large print title. There is a Penguin penguin in the bottom right hand corner. Text: From the Booker shortlisted author. "A gorgeous, jewelled, luxurious book" The Times. "Colourfully woven and intelligent" Daily Telegraph. Elif Shafak The Forty Rules Of Love.

Ringmer review

A reader writes

Elif Shafak: The Forty Rules Of Love

An American woman has constructed a life as a perfect wife and mother (despite husband's infidelity), and then life comes at her in the form of a book about the Sufi poet Rumi. TBH, it took a while to get into, but worth it.

we're being followed by a criminologist. Oops. <The Library tiptoes carefully out of sight.>

We've just been told a library is only a library if it's from the Libre region of France, otherwise it's just a sparkling book hoard.

We're very happy to be known as a sparkling book hoard.

And happy new year to all our readers!

Inside cover, both back and front. In the bottom right corner sits a rose, its petals dissolving into fragments and its leaves drifting away. The fragments and the leaves drift across the two light orange pages.

The hard cover of the book, front and back, is black covered with hundreds of golden dots like stars in a teeming galaxy.

The back of the dust jacket is orange with a stylised rose in the middle. Above it the words "We need the things we can't explain, things we can't prove, or else we die of suffocation. The Secret Commonwealth. The Rose Field. They're necessary...." "Ablaze with light and life... to read Pullman is to experience the world afresh, aglow, in technicolour" Independent.

Book dust jacket, dominated by a fiery red. Two small silhouettes of travellers on camels cross a parched looking desert heading towards a distant mountain range. They are dwarfed by a cavernous sky alive with red and yellow. Text: Philip Pullman The Book Of Dust Volume Three: The Rose Field. Pantalaimon the pine marten daemon looks up from the D of Dust; Asta the cat daemon looks down from the second O of Book.

Probably the best designed book we've seen all year - dust jacket, cover and inside cover all unite to depict the Rose Field.

Book cover. Against a black background there is a complex mandala like image mostly in red and gold with a man's head, with jet black face and red hair, on the left side looking left and on the right side a woman's head with black face and curly gold hair looking right. Text "The Handmaid's Tale but with mindreading." The Times. Torchfire. One spark can start a blaze. Moira Buffini.

Ringmer review

A reader writes

Moira Buffini: Torchfire

Second in the Torch trilogy. Wonderful tale of love, difference and a brutal struggle for supremacy in what remains of the world after we've wrecked it. Can't wait for the third part, but I'm going to have to; it's not out yet. Sigh.

Book cover. A wintry forest of scattered trees with icy trunks and dark branches stripped of leaves. There are several dark silhouettes of bids in flight. Text: In a small Lapland village no misdeed is ever forgotten. The Last Snow. From the international bestseller Stina Jackson. "Superb... a gripping story" The Times. Multi award winning author.

Ringmer review

A reader writes

Stina Jackson: the Last Snow. Deliciously dark with a very satisfying end.

Book cover. In the background are ghostly grey bookshelves. In the foreground an open book; we cannot see any of the words on its pages. Text: The debut novel from Susie Dent. "Kept me reading eagerly" Philip Pullman. Guilty By Definition. "A tantalising mystery for word sleuths and crime fans alike" Janice Hallett

Ringmer review

A reader writes

Susie Dent: Guilty By Definition. Cosy crime and lovely words. What more could a reader want?

Book cover: in a painting we look upwards to a passenger train with lit windows being pulled over a viaduct by a steam engine. The sky above is lit by the setting sun with orange and vibrant red. There are mountains in the background. Below the viaduct we see several pine trees in silhouette. Text: Philip Pullman The Book of Dust Volume Two The Secret Commonwealth. Lyra's daemon Pantalaimon perches, in pine marten form, in the second "O" of "Book".

Ringmer review

A reader writes

Philip Pullman: The Secret Commonwealth The latest instalment of Lyra's life journey unfolds in mesmerising fashion.

We like this.

Book cover. The background is a stylised representation of bad weather, red at the top, light blue with hints of snow in the middle and a dark blue line at the bottom. The silhouettes of two men are outlined in a semi confrontational position. Text: "The Sunday Times number one bestseller. Jo Nesbo. Blood Ties. Family comes first... no matter the cost. Nesbo is a 100 per cent buy today read tonight delight. Lee Child.

Ringmer review

A reader writes

Jo Nesbo: Blood Ties

This is wonderful from Jo Nesbo. Seriously good writing and an excellent plot.

Elly Griffiths and Lesley Thompson are standing in front of some library shelves. Elly is holding a copy of her book The Frozen People and Lesley is holding a copy of her book The Mystery of Yew Tree House.

Tickets still available!

Join local authors Elly Griffiths and Lesley Thomson at 2.30 on Sat 29th Nov at Ringmer Village Hall to hear them talking to each other about their work.
Tickets £5 available from Ringmer Village Library
or email ringmervillagelibrary@gmail.com

Oooh <squeak> we've got three near us! We're practically surrounded.

Elly Griffiths and Lesley Thompson are standing in front of some library shelves. Elly is holding a copy of her book The Frozen People and Lesley is holding a copy of her book The Mystery of Yew Tree House.

Join local authors Elly Griffiths and Lesley Thomson at 2.30 on Sat 29th Nov at Ringmer Village Hall to hear them talking to each other about their work.
Tickets £5 available from Ringmer Village Library
or email ringmervillagelibrary@gmail.com

Book cover. The top two thirds is a darkling sky. (Ruth Galloway book covers are always dominated by a dark cloudy sky.) In the distance is a church with a light in its back window, among a line of trees against the horizon. In the foreground a delapidated and overgrown farm gate has fallen open. There is a hint of a pathway towards the church but it is obscured by a puff sticker. Text: "Galloway now seems as real as Marple and Morse. The Times. Elly Griffiths The Last Remains. Intensely atmospheric India Knight. A Dr Ruth Galloway mystery."

Ringmer review

A distraught reader writes:

"I've just finished the last @ellygriffiths.bsky.social Ruth Galloway.

"WHAT DO I DO NOW????

"SEND HELP!"

Book cover. The background is deep black. There is a shield like pattern with a gold eight pointed star at its centre and a blue woven edge with points north south east and west, and gold stars. Inside the edge is a riot of shapes outlining a stormy sea, black flames with gold edges, blue clouds and water, and a female face, black with gold edging. Text: Songlight. They are hunting those who shine. Moira Buffini.

Ringmer review

Moira Buffini: Songlight

A reader writes: enthralling.

CAKE!!!!! Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!

And books as well.

And jigsaws.

THE BUMPER BOOK AND JIGSAW SALE!

Don't miss it.

Saturday October 25th

10-12 noon

Ringmer Village Hall

Still there. Looks like @faberbooks.bsky.social don't read their social media streams.

Faber's page for "A Bird In Winter" with a shot of the books' cover. The breadcrumb trail above it reads: "Home - Non-fiction - Travel Writing - A Bird in Winter"

Dear @louisedoughty.bsky.social

did you know @faberbooks.bsky.social has A Bird In Winter classified as a travel book?

Book cover. A small figure clad in wet weather gear trudges head down through a desolate landscape. They could be on a beach with shingle and heaped seaweed. Behind are rocks and steam rising from hot springs. The cavernous sky is a dismal blue grey. Text: "Nail-bitngly tense" Paula Hawkins. Sunday Times best selling author of Appletree Yard. Louise Doughty A Bird In Winter. "Psychologically acute. Terrific" Daily Mail. "Pacey and propulsive" Guardian. "Gripping" Maria Claire.

@louisedoughty.bsky.social

Ringmer reviews

Two reviews for Louise Doughty's A Bird In Winter

#1: "Extraordinary"

#2: "Exceptional. Really riveting."

Book cover: A muddy path lined with bushy grass leads to an isolated house in the middle distance. There is a light in one of the upper windows, the only sign of warmth in the scene. Dark smoke rises from a chimney. The sky is grey getting darker the further up you go, and the land is grey with only hints of green. Text: "One of my flat out favourite contemporary suspense writers... I turn each final page both deeply satisfied and ravenous for more" A J Finn author of Woman In The Window. Elly Griffiths The Lantern Men. A Dr Ruth Galloway mystery."

Ringmer review

@ellygriffiths.bsky.social : The Lantern Men

A reader writes: "Superb. The best Galloway story yet."

Book cover: A very, very broken down stone entrance, crowded with ivy and overgrown with trees, with a gateway into a murky beyond. A couple of full bin bags slung to one side. Overhead an equally dramatic cloudy sky. Text: "Ruth Galloway is one of the most engaging characters in modern crime fiction" Kate Mosse. Elly Griffiths The Chalk Pit. A Dr Ruth Galloway mystery."

Ringmer review

Elly Griffiths: The Chalk Pit

A reader writes: Another excellent episode in the lives, loves and murders of Dr Ruth Galloway and the Norfolk cops. Thoroughly recommended.

James MacCleary, MP for Lewes, and librarian Liz Owen with several volunteers stand in front of one of Ringmer Library's stacked bookshelves with some books on display. None of the books displayed refer to political scandals or anything juicy.

We had a very nice visit from our MP James MacCleary. Sadly he was too old to sign up for the #SummerReadingChallenge

Dorothy is a megalodon with seriously fearsome teeth and a beady eye for a book. The golem is largely made of stone, with a quietly happy looking face. On his back and head is a carpet of fertile ground on which book plants are sprouting all sorts of books.

Our regular reviewer Dorothy the megalodon met the book golem to talk about...books, of course. And the #SummerReadingChallenge, which is still on - you can join at the library. Or you can sign up online: summerreadingchallenge.org.uk

Dorothy and the golem are still talking; we can't separate them.

On the left Dorothy the Ringmer megalodon rises out of a shed roof with a beady eye and an open mouth displaying a wonderful set of teeth. On the right a book cover. In the centre is an ornate wrought iron gate with something fabric hanging on ts right hand half. The left hand gate is supported by a hefty and forbidding looking stanchion. In the misty background is a tall thin church spire. Text: 'Bone chilling' The Times. Elly Griffiths The Woman In Blue. A Dr Ruth Galloway mystery.

Ringmer review

@ellygriffiths.bsky.social: The Woman In Blue

Dorothy the RIngmer megalodon says "The cover says 'bone chilling'. Good. I like bones. Not sure about chilled ones though. Cracking good book, couldn't put it down. Not even to eat."

Cartoon of several children in a garden, playing with books, bugs, hay stacks, watering cans, plants, etc. Text: The Reading Agency. Summer Reading Challenge. Story Garden illustrations by Dapo Adeola, illustrations and logo copyright The Reading Agency 2025

Too hot in the garden? Nothing on TV? Read a book! The Summer Reading Challenge is here. Sign up at Ringmer Village Library and read anything you like.