August's best reads from Kerr's bookshop Clonakilty

With many people setting off on summer holidays around this time of year, book recommendations are always welcome - and Kerr's bookshop in Clonakilty have great taste.

Whether you're flying halfway across the world to sit by a pool for two weeks, driving up the Wild Atlantic Way or taking a 'staycation' in West Cork, a good book will be your best friend.

Kerr's cater to all tastes and share their picks each month on their Facebook page - here are the best books you should pick up this August.

Still Life by Sarah Winman

A Sunday Times instant bestseller, Still Life is a big-hearted story of people brought together by love, war, art and the ghost of E.M. Forster.

Set in 1944, the book takes you from a bomb shelter in Tuscany to the smog-filled streets of London's east end in a sweeping, joyful novel about beauty, love, family and fate.

West Cork's own Graham Norton loved the novel, describing it as ‘sheer joy'.

The Magician by Colm Tóibín

Colm Tóibín hardly needs an introduction at this stage. The award-winning author of Brooklyn and The Master, Tóibín's latest novel is an ambitious, fictionalised biography of German author Thomas Mann.

Mann would have six children and keep his homosexuality hidden; he was a man forever connected to his family and yet bore witness to the ravages of suicide. He would write some of the greatest works of European literature, and win the Nobel Prize, but would never return to the country that inspired his creativity.

Through his life, Tóibín weaves an epic story of the 21st century.

Never by Ken Follett

Described as 'visionary', Ken Follett's Never is a political thriller full of heroines and villains, false prophets and elite warriors, jaded politicians and opportunistic revolutionaries.

A spy working undercover with jihadis, a brilliant Chinese spymaster and a US president beleaguered by a populist rival for the next election have to work together to stop a the world from hurtling into a catastrophic war.

It's a page-turner up until the very end.

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

Combining a captivating romance with a cast of all-too-human characters, Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us is an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price.

It's the powerful tale of Lily, her relationship with 'gorgeous neurosurgeon' Ryle, and the surprise reappearance of Atlas - her first love and link to a past she left behind.

Hoover is an international best-selling author of romance, YA, thrillers, women's fiction and paranormal romance.

Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter.

A small town hides a big secret… Who killed Emily Vaughn? Girl, Forgotten is the latest crime thriller from acclaimed author Karin Slaughter.

Emily Vaughn dresses carefully for what's supposed to be the highlight of any high school career. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the night, because of that secret, she will be dead.

Slaughter's work has previously been adapted into an exciting series for Netflix, with this latest offering rumoured to be up next.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

This blockbuster debut, set in 1960s California, features the singular voice of Elizabeth Zott, a scientist whose career takes a detour when she becomes the star of a beloved TV cooking show.

Bonnie Garmus' debut has been described as 'a novel that sparks joy with every page' as it turns out Zott isn't just teaching women to cook. She's daring them to change the status quo.

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist. Another one set for a TV adaptation, starring Brie Larson.

The Furies by John Connolly

Chaos and murder arrive in Charlie Parker’s hometown of Portland, Maine, with two connected crimes in the latest novel in #1 nationally bestselling author John Connolly’s highly suspenseful series.

Parker finds himself fighting to protect two more women as the city of Portland shuts down in the face of a global pandemic, but it may be that his clients are more capable of taking care of themselves than anyone could have imagined...

If you enjoy this one you'll be delighted to know there's a grand total of 21 other books in the detective series - plenty to sink your teeth into!

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell comes an intricate and affecting novel about twisted marriages, fractured families, and deadly obsessions in this standalone sequel to The Family Upstairs.

LONDON. Early morning, June 2019: on the foreshore of the river Thames, a bag of bones is discovered. Human bones.

A tense, gripping read, the novel focuses on the lengths we will go to to protect the ones we love.