Aura Libraries: Celebrating Pride Month and crime writing

Pride Month is here, with members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies celebrating their identities, accomplishments, and reflecting on the struggle for equality throughout June.

We have picked some great titles to celebrate Pride Month…

Alexis Caught - Queer up: an uplifting guide to LGBTQ+ love, life and mental health

Emma Goswell - Coming out stories: personal experiences of coming out from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum

Akwaeke Emezi - You made a fool of death with your beauty

Douglas Stuart -Young Mungo

Julie Cohen - Summer People

Louise O'Neill - Idol

CWA Diamond Dagger Award 2023 - Walter Mosley

While we wait to find out who will be the winners of the Crime Writers Association (CWA) Daggers on July 6, where the UK's most prestigious crime-writing awards are handed out, we thought we would share some of our favourite titles by this year's Diamond Dagger winner, Walter Mosley. The most prestigious Dagger of all, the Diamond Dagger, is for a lifetime contribution to crime writing in the English language and is nominated by CWA members. Walter joins icons of the genre who have been recognised with the accolade, Ruth Rendell, Lee Child, Ann Cleeves, Ian Rankin, PD James, Colin Dexter, Reginald Hill, Peter Lovesey, John Le Carré, Martina Cole, Michael Connelly, Elmore Leonard, Sara Paretsky, Sue Grafton, Lawrence Block, Eric Ambler, Ed McBain and CJ Sansom.

Titles by author Walter Mosley.

One of the most versatile and admired writers in America, Walter was born and raised in Los Angeles, and now lives in Brooklyn and LA. He is the author of more than 60 critically acclaimed books, that cover a wide range of genres. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He brought a cast of crime fiction characters into the American canon with his first novel, Devil in a Blue Dress, featuring private detective, Easy Rawlins. Several of his books have been adapted for screen, including Devil in a Blue Dress starring Denzel Washington, the HBO production of Always Outnumbered, starring Laurence Fishburne and Natalie Cole, and Apple TV+'s production of The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey starring Samuel L Jackson.

Here are our favourites:

Every Man a King

Devil in a Blue Dress

Trouble is What I Do

Blood Grove

Down the River Unto the Sea

These titles are, or will be, available to borrow from Aura libraries as either a book or e-book or eAudiobook. You can browse these titles and hundreds more on our online library catalogue!

Let us know what you think about the titles, find us on social media - @LlyfrgelloeddAuraLibraries on Facebook and Instagram and @LibFlintshire on Twitter.

Aura Library members can download e-books and audiobooks free of charge from Borrowbox and Libby to a PC, Laptop or Mac. Alternatively, you can download the Borrowbox and Libby apps directly to a smartphone or tablet.

To access most online library resources you will need to enter your library membership number and pin. If you do not have this then you can join up as a member online via the Aura website for instant access. All links and further details about our digital library resources can be found here: www.aura.wales/libraries

Evening with the author

What can one Welsh hill farm tell us about how we can help nature to thrive?

Join us for our next event at Mold Library in partnership with The Bookshop for an evening with author and naturalist David Elias on Wednesday, June 21 at 7pm. David will be talking about his new book, Shaping the Wild. Tickets are £6 or £20 including a copy of the book and are available from Mold Library, The Bookshop or online.

Visit us on social media to view handy information about our services, events, and lots of book and audiobook recommendations.

From everyone here at Aura Libraries, thank you for reading and we hope to hear from you or see you soon!

• Aura is a charitable, not-for-profit, organisation responsible for managing the majority of leisure, libraries and heritage services in Flintshire. Aura is owned by its employees and operates for the benefit of local communities.