St Andrew's Day V

The chaos clock by Gill Arbuthnot is another fantasy adventure, this time set in Edinburgh where time is coming unstuck. A war is raging between the Lords of Chaos and the Guardians of Time and this all centres round a strange Millennium Clock. Will an old golden necklace be enough to help Kate and David overcome the Chaos and retore order and time?

One of my favourite books is Kate Atkinson's Case histories. It is the first of her novels to feature retired policeman Jackson Brodie now operating as a private investigator. The opening chapter is very powerful and is the first of three linked cases which Jackson is drawn into and which only he can solve. The novel is beautifully written and once you start to read you have to keep going to find out what it is that the cases have in common.

St Andrew's Day IV

The chess piece magician by Douglas Bruton

Set on the Isle of Lewis this is an exciting adventure which tells a fictional story about the iconic Lewis chessmen. The hero of the story is Corrie who is not looking forward to the annual family holiday on the wet and windy island. Until he finds a carved chess piece on the beach that is and gets drawn into a battle as legendary creatures from the past appear in the present.

Being Emily by Anne Donovan is a story about life, love and family relationships. The novel explores how happy domesticity can be turned on its head in the course of a single day. When her family is thrown into turmoil Emily must try and find her own place in the world.

St Andrew's Day - Scottish Authors III

The Nostradamus prophecy by Theresa Breslin is set in sixteenth century France in the court of the young king Charles. The king's mother, Catherine de' Medici , believes that Nostradamus can foresee the future and that her son is in danger. Melisande is a minstrel's daughter whose fate is inextricably linked to that of Nostradamus. Before he dies Nostradamus gives Melisande important papers which relate to the French royal line. Will Melisande be brave enough to fulfil the prophecy foretold by Nostradamus?

Iain Banks - Espedair Street Daniel Weir was a famous rock star and at 31 maybe still is. As he contemplates his life Daniel realises how bad the past has been, but has he the energy and indeed the ability to change his future? (S4 -Staff)

St Andrew's Day - Scottish Authors II

J.A. Henderson - Colony: Living on remote Kirkfallen Island Gene Stapleton's curious nature is going to get the better of him. The more he finds out about the destruction of a secret research station which was overrun by ants, the more he realises that his whole lfe has been a lie. Will knowing the truth save him or end in the demise of all on Kirkfallen Island? A gripping thriller for students in S1 -3.

Matthew Fitt - But n ben a-go-go: In the year 2090 most of Scotland is under water as a result of global flooding the survivors live in fear of Senga, a supervirus whose victims are kept in a giant hospital warehouse. Written in Scots this tells the story of Paolo Broon's quest to save his beloved Nadia by uncovering the secret of his family's past and freeing her from Senga's grip.

St Andrew's Day - Scottish Authors I

St Andrew's Day is celebrated on 30th November each year. Over the next week I will recommend 2 books a day (one for S1-3 and one for S4 and above) by Scottish authors as part of the countdown to St Andrew's Day.

Fleshmarket by Nicola Morgan is set in early nineteenth century Edinburgh, a period when operations were carried out without anaesthetic and surgeons relied on body snatchers to supply them with corpses for their anatomy lectures. Robbie's mother dies in agony whilst being operated on by Dr Robert Knox and Robbie is intent on revenge. (S1-S3)

Fleshmarket Close is Ian Rankin's 15th Inspector Rebus novel. Set in Edinburgh there are more murders and sub-plots than you can shake a stick at. An illegal immigrant is murdered in a housing scheme, is it a racist attack? A teenager has disappeared from home; two skeletons are found buried under a cellar floor in Fleshmarket close and Rebus is under pressure to retire! (S4-Staff)

If you like The hunger games

Why not try
Patrick Ness’s
Chaos Walking series

The hunger games by Suzanne Collins

I have just finished the first and second books in this trilogy and have thoroughly enjoyed both. The hunger games is set in a post-apocalyptic world in a country divided into 12 main districts which supply goods to the rich central Capitol. Each year the 12 districts have to supply 2 teenagers to take part in the "hunger games" a televised event in which they have to survive in an unknown landscape and basically kill each other in order to survive. There can only be one winner. The plot is based around the feisty Katniss Everdeen who takes her 12 year old sister's place in the hunger games as one of the tribunes from District 12. On a roller coaster journey we follow Katniss from her life in subsistence life in District 12 through the lavish preparations for the games and on to her fight to survive.

The book did remind me of a science fiction film I have seen - so not original, nor is the love triangle that pervades the book. But that said it is an exciting read with some really clever ideas. To draw all teenagers in, the book has reviews by Stephanie Meyer and Stephen King on the cover!

I have said nothing about the second book because this is one trilogy where it is best to start at the beginning and enjoy the journey.

National Non-Fiction Day

Thursday the 4th November is National Non-Fiction Day. There is a huge display of information books in the Library for you browse through. Subjects cover everything from acids to zebras via cookery, guinea pigs, the middle ages and racing cars. There is possibly a book for every interest and every hobby you can think of and more!

For more information and fun facts: http://nnfd.org/

It's Halloween...

Afraid of bats or spiders? Then approach the Halloween display slowly and cautiously! Overcome your fear and discover some scary reads for Halloween. Titles to make your hair stand on end include:

Malcolm Rose - The tortured wood

Nick Shadow- Blood and sand

Sarah Wray - The trap

Linda Cargill - The dark

Victoriana

Unable to decide what to read next? Have a look at our display of books in the imaginatively titled "What should I read next" section of the Library. The Victorian era is a fascinating one and there are some non-fiction books which can satisfy even the most curious mind as well as some excellent fiction books by modern authors which are set in Victorian times. If you would like to find more books on a similar theme just ask the Librarian.




Try these fiction titles:

Joan Lingard - The eleventh orphan

Catherine Webb - The obsidian dagger

Eleanor Updale - Montmorency

Philip Pullman - The ruby in the smoke


Some non-fiction (information) books:


Victorian children by Brenda Withing

Victorian Britain by Sean Connolly

The facts about the Victorians by Kay Woodward.

National Poetry day

Thursday 7th October is National Poetry Day. This year the theme is 'home'. Come to the Library to see our display of poetry on the theme of home - you might feel inspired to write your own poem!

For more information and further inspiration visit the Scottish Poetry Library website http://www.spl.org.uk/

Avast, me hearties

Did yer be knowin' that 19th September be "Talk like a pirate day"? Maybes yer did and maybes yer didn't. But to celebrate this event yer Library has a display of some mighty magnificent pirate tales and blood-curdling pirate facts for yer entertainment. So hurry on down scurvey rat and grab yerself some pirate booty.

Geoffrey Malone's book Pirates is a thrilling tale set in the South China Seas. Can Tom Lee's knowledge of the seas enable him to overcome the sinister pirate leader, the Dragon Lady?

Prefer to be terrified by true facts? The Horrible Histories Handbook on Pirates tells you all you ever wanted to know about pirates (and lots more you would probably have preferred not to know!) Find out about keel-hauling and dragging - fine examples of pirate punishments.

But be warned land-lubbers these books be not for the faint-of-heart!

Royal Mail Book Awards

The shortlists for this year's Royal Mail Book Awards were announced on Thursday 9th September. Students can take part in the judging process to decide which book should win. To take part you have to read all 3 books in a category between now and January. All votes have to be sent in by the 28th of January and the winners are announced on 22nd February. As well as voting for your favourite there are review competitions both national and here in the school. If you are interested in taking part please come and see me in the Library.

The shortlisted books are:

Category 1 - John Fardell The secret of the black moon moth

Lucinda Hare The dragon whisperer

Barry Hutchinson Invisible fiends:Mr Mumbles

Caetgory 2 - Elizabeth Laird The witching hour

Cathy MacPhail Grass

Gillian Philip Crossing the line

For more information about the books come to the Library or visit the Scottish Book Trust's website: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/

HOWL...ing good books

The new display in the Library this week highlights books featuring wolves. There is a mixture of fact and fiction all about wolves - good wolves, bad wolves, prehistoric wolves and the last Scottish wolf. If you find wolves as fascinating as I do, why not come along and borrow one of the books?

Mortal Engine series

You don't have to have been coming into the Library for long to find out that Philip Reeve is one of my favourite authors. In particular I love his Mortal Engines series. If you too have read the books from Mortal Engines to A Darkling Plain, why not read Fever Crumb the prequel to Mortal Engines?

Fever Crumb is set a generation before Mortal Engines and explains the origins of the traction cities and of the character the stalker Shrike. It is an exciting adventure which is also peppered with humour - look out for the cult that worships "Hari Potter"!!

Fever Crumb can be read without having read any of the other books. The series is of a genre known as "steampunk" this refers to books set in an age when steam power was still widely used, often the Victorian era, but features futuristic inventions and ideas.

For more information about the author Philip Reeve and all of his books:

http://www.philip-reeve.com/

http://www.mortalengines.co.uk

The bride's farewell by Meg Rosoff is one of a number of books on display throughout the Library united by the theme 'Journeys'. The bride's farewell is a beautifully written historical novel set in the 1850s in the area around Salisbury. On the morning of her wedding Pell Ridley rides out of her village on her horse -Jack- accompanied by her mute brother Bean. Their journey takes them on an adventure, through good times and bad, until they all find their rightful place in the world. I really adored this book, the characters are beautifully imagined - even the horse, Jack and Dicken the dog. The countryside and the poverty of the time are well described and Pell's family story is both shocking and moving.

Read more about all of Meg Rosoff's novels at her website http://www.megrosoff.co.uk

Do Nothing But Read Day

A new phenomenon that began last year via Facebook, the first Do Nothing But Read Day for 2010 is happening on Sunday 27th June.

I hope to take part and 'do nothing but read'! Why not take the challenge and spend all day reading. If it is warm and sunny you can read outside; cold and wet outside? then settle down indoors with a good book.

One of the books on my list is Deathwatch by Nicola Morgan. This promises to be a chilling read. Cat McPherson is being watched, but she doesn't know who the watcher is. It could be any one of a number of people who are linked only by an interest in insects. Unfortunately Cat has put a great deal of personal information about herself on a website, including the fact that she hates insects...

UK's all time favourite Puffin

As part of their 70th birthday celebrations Puffin books asked readers to choose their favourite Puffin book from a selction which represented the best, "most entertaining and inspirational children's books of all time." The short-listed books were :Eve Garnett-The family from One End Street, E.B. White - Charlotte's web, Clive King - Stig of the dump, Roald Dahl - Charlie and the chocolate factory, Michelle Magorian - Goodnight Mister Tom, Jeremy Strong - The hundred-mile-an-hour dog and Eoin Colfer - Artemis Fowl.

Over 10,000 votes were cast and the winner, with 68% of the vote was Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.

If you are a fan of the Artemis Fowl series the new book (Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex) is due out on the 20th of July and will be launched with a live webcast: www.eoincolfervirtuallylive.co.uk/

Artemis Fowl website: www.artenisfowl.co.uk/home.html

Nature watching

I am sure you have all been fascinated by the insight we are getting into the lives of the oystercatcher family who are currently in residence in the garden near the science department.

If you are interested in finding out more about birds why not look in the non-fiction section at code number 798 for books on all types of birds.
Find out more about ordinary garden birds like the blackbird in the book by Stephen Savage, part of the Animal Neighbours series.

World Cup

The 2010 World Cup kicks off this weekend in South Africa. Why not select a football book from the Library display to read between matches? There are both fiction and non-fiction books to choose from.

Score! is a book of short stories selected by Alan Durant. Inside the book you will find stories with a sports theme by authors such as : Jan Mark, Jacqueline Wilson, and Malorie Blackman to name but a few.


Or, try The kick off by Dan Freedman a book about Jamie Johnston who is desperate to be his school’s star football player and how he succeeds against the odds.

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