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Libraries & Collections Staff Picks

Staff Picks is a regular feature where our Library & Collections staff recommend must-read books and must-watch films from our collection, chosen to captivate your curiosity and spark your imagination.

Sylvia Wynter: On Being Human as Praxis

Selected by Sheneez Sylvia Wynter, O. J., a celebrated and notable alumni of King's College London, is a Jamaican writer whose many essays invite us to rethink and challenge the ways in which we see the world.

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This book, editted by Canadian Professor Katherine McKittrick, is one of only two editted volumes on Wynter's work, and it sees prestigious decolonial scholars from around the world celebrate, comment upon and dialogue with Wynter's ground-breaking ideas. It opens with an epic and extensive chapter co-written by Wynter and McKittrick, that should not be missed by anyone interested in decolonial thought and/or Caribbean philosophy!

In The Dream House

Selected by Red

Wouldn't exactly say it was a pleasurable read but it was definitely an enthralling one. This book is a memoir mostly centred around the author's experience of abuse in a queer relationship. Would describe as raw, heavy, and frightening, but really beautiful writing with an interesting structure, in the way of chapters varying from being just one sentence to written in the style of a 'Choose your own adventure', and so many lines I had to write down to hold onto.

Demon Copperhead

Selected by Louise

A modern re-telling of David Copperfield, exploring the devasting effects of poverty and the opiod crisis in 1990s/early 2000s rural America. Not an easy read in terms of its subject, but an important one.

The Gentrification of the Mind

Selected by Jack

Landlords jack up rents, ruin neighbourhoods, destroy cities and are a big part of why I can’t go watch a play in London anymore because they’re all either rubbish or £50. Read if you are interested in New York, the AIDS crisis, theatre, being gay, making art, or you have a sort of general sense of malaise and unease and you don’t know why. SPOILER: It’s probably capitalism.

Sisterhood of the Squared Circle

Selected by Charlie W

Women's wrestling isn't new, but that is rarely acknowledged or understood by wrestling fans today. The fight to be respected, to be included, to break down the systemic barriers that exist - well, it's better, but it's still ongoing. This biography does a great job in surfacing the history of women's wrestling, the changemakers and the trail blazers.

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There are career profiles of over 100 women wrestlers from throughout history, ranging from Minerva to Manami Toyota to Mae Young to Sasha Banks (or, should I say, Mercedes Moné? CEO! CEO!) There's also good international coverage (although it is US focused). Whether you like wrestling or this is all Brand New Information I'd highly recommend this informative, and easy going read.

When Nietzsche Wept

Selected by Arved

The amount of underlining I have done puts this firmly in the favourite books of all time category. Yalom is one of our most gifted living authors, with an unmatched penetrating kindness. One for all those that tend to often be proven right in hindsight and thus find it hard to let go off projects.

Reading Lists

We have been working with lecturers over the summer of 2020 to switch to eresources for your modules and make them accessible directly through your MyReadingLists:

New to Reading Lists?

Find out how to look up your module reading lists in the Getting Started With the Library - Undergraduates and Taught Postgraduates section of this guide - look for the navigation button in the top left corner!

The Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations

Legal journal titles and other publications often appear as abbreviations in citations and references. Many titles can share the same initials, so this can be confusing. The Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations is a free to use tool that tells you which titles match which set of initials:

When you know the title of the journal you need, you can use Library Search to see if it is held at King's:

New to using Library Search?

Find out how to use Library Search to find the books and items you need in the Getting Started With the Library - Undergraduates and Taught Postgraduates section of this guide - look for the navigation button in the top left corner!

Kortext e-textbooks

If a title in your reading list is supplied as a Kortext e-textbook (please ask your module leader for confirmation), the resources page linked below is designed to help you get the most from this versatile format.

The page features guidance on highlighting text, searching text, making notes, sharing notes, exporting references, together with information on how to use the mobile apps reader:

Books and articles in King's libraries - BLP

Libraries & Collections provides a range of books and online journals to support your studies and research. All of our print books, and most journal articles can be located with Library Search:

New to using Library Search?

Find out how to use Library Search to find the books and items you need in the Getting Started With the Library - Undergraduates and Taught Postgraduates section of this guide - look for the navigation button in the top left corner!

Key Classmarks for your subject - BLP

  • H - Social Sciences   
  • HA - Statistics
  • HD - Industry
  • HF - Commerce
  • HG - Economics
  • HJ - Public Finance
  • HM - Sociology

Books on your subject can be found at:

  • KD1621-1630 - Commercial law
  • KD1554-1920 - Contract law
  • KD 3930-4645 - Constitutional and Administrative law
  • KD2435 - Construction law
  • KD7850-8090 - Criminal law
  • KJ-KKZ - EU law
  • KD1261-1450 - Intellectual property
  • JX-JZ - International law
  • KD3395-3417 - Medical law and ethics
  • HV - State crime
  • KD5351-5605 - Tax law
  • KD1941-2004 - Tort law

Books on your subject can be found at:

  • H - Social Sciences  
  • HA - Statistics
  • HF - Political economy
  • HG - Economics
  • HV - Social Policy and Public Welfare.  Crime
  • J - Political Science
  • JC - Political Theory
  • JX - International Law
  • JZ - International Relations

Books on your subject can be found at:

Online book collections

These online book collections won't be searched by Library Search but contain thousands of titles on a huge variety of subjects. Check each collection's description for details of borrowing procedures and limitations.

Don't forget: You can browse the full range of databases and resources with the A-Z databases list: