St. David's Day

 Friday 1st March is St. David's Day. Saint David is the patron saint of Wales. To mark this occasion there is a display in the Library with information about Saint David and about the mythology of the Welsh dragon which can be seen on the Welsh flag. There are also books on display with a dragon theme. Remember the Library is in Room F21.

Chinese New Year

 Celebrate the Year of the Dragon with some brilliant fiction books featuring...dragons!!! If you love fantasy fiction you will find a book on the display that is just right for you. Come along to the Library in Room F21 and meet the dragons in person.

Books on Netflix

 One of my favourite fantasy books by Jonathan Stroud is now a Netflix programme. Check out the book series  - Lockwood &Co.- as well as the Netflix version. The books are currently on display in the Library (Room F21).

First Line Friday

 "Sean had grown accustomed to the violence, but he didn't yet enjoy it the way his Viking ancestor did." 'Last descendants: Fate of the gods.' by Matthew J. Kirby.

First Line Friday

 "I heard the owl cry last night," Maggie Finch said, her gnarled hands clenched in her shawl. "That means a death to come."

St George's Day

April 23rd is St George's Day. St George is the Patron saint of  England and Ethiopia amongst others and died on 23rd April 303. He was a Roman soldier and is probably best known for the legend in which he slays a dragon. Some books featuring dragons:

The fire within by Chris d'Lacey; How to train your dragon by Cressida Cowell; The dragon whisperer by Lucinda Hare.

Ferno the fire dragon by Adam Blade; DarkIsle by D.A. Nelson; Dragon fire by Charles Ashton.

Dragon rider by Cornelia Funke; Dragonborn born by Toby Forward; Eragon by Christopher Paolini.

#invyreads

 Mr Dunlop of the Mathematics Department has made a video talking about his love of reading and sharing some of his best loved books with us. Enjoy!

#invyreads

 Many thanks to Mr Wood from the Science Department gives us a 'tour' of his home library and shares some of the books he has enjoyed reading over the last 12 months.

Harry Potter Book Night

 Harry Potter fans may have been looking forward to Harry Potter Book Night which was to be held on 4th February 2021. Due to the restrictions of the pandemic the date has been changed. It will now take place on Thursday 24th of June 2021. If you were looking forward to this event you can still read the books and enjoy the movies today. The change of date also means that you have more time to consider how to celebrate the theme for this year's Harry Potter Book Night which is DIAGON ALLEY. 

#invyreads Book Recommendation

 One of our S2 students highly recommends 'Ready player one' and Ready player two' by Ernest Cline. She says, "I would definitely recommend these books for people who are into science fiction and fantasy and I would also recommend it to all the gamers out there."

Convinced? Want to know a bit more about the story? Watch this book trailer for Ready Player One.

Book Week Scotland

 Celebrate Book Week Scotland this week in the Library. Come along and read some futuristic books from the displays. Talk about the books you are reading with your friends, your family, your teachers and Mrs Aitken.

Terry Pratchett 1948-2015

Sad news, the death of Sir Terry Pratchett author of some of the most amusing and imaginative fantasy fiction. If you have never read one of his Discworld novels why not borrow one from the Library. There are some amazingly inventive characters including the Librarian (an orang utan) - my favourite of course and Death!

'And Death said: "AT LAST SIR TERRY WE MUST WALK TOGETHER." Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night. The end."'

Book of the week - 14th October

'Far rockaway' by Charlie Fletcher is this week's featured book. When Cat and her grandfather are knocked down by a truck in central Manhattan they find themselves fighting for their lives in two worlds: a hospital in Manhattan and a strange world full of heroes and villains from some literary classics such as 'The three musketeers' and 'Treasure Island'. Cat has to find a way to survive in this fantasy world and find her way home and back to consciousness. This is an exciting fantasy adventure and will appeal to your inner swashbuckler!!

If you like this story you might also enjoy 'Stoneheart'  by Charlie Fletcher.

Black October

In October as the nights get darker thoughts start to turn to all things "Halloween". The display in the fiction section this month focuses on books which are scary, or frightening,  and which, by coincidence, have predominantly black book jackets! So if you want something creepy or ghostly to read come along to the Library and see the selection of books on display.

Book of the week - 2nd September

The book of the week this week is a thrilling adventure story with the tag line "Death is not the end..."!!
It is 'Mortlock' by Jon Mayhew. If you like adventure or fantasy books then you are sure to enjoy this book.
From the blurb-
"Josie is a knife thrower in a magician's stage act. Alfie is an undertaker's assistant.
They are both orphans and have never met, but they are about to be given a clue to the secret of their shared past.
A past which has come to seek them out.
And while they flee for their lives, they must unravel the burning mysteries surrounding the legacy that threatens to consume them."

Don't be put off by the historical setting because once you get into the story I am sure that you will discover that it is a real page-turner.

Book of the week - 6th May

As it is a short school week I thought we might just use one of my favourite books EVER as book of the week. It is the wonderous steampunk novel 'Mortal engines' by Philip Reeve. If you have not read any of the series then why not start with this one - the first and best! If you love fantasy or science fiction then you are bound to enjoy 'Mortal engines'. Even if you don't think that you like these genres this book is worth trying, it worked for me. It was one of the first "steampunk" novels I ever read and it had me hooked from the opening line - "It was a dark, blustery afternoon in spring, and the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea." How could you fail to want to read on?? A thrilling read with great characters both good and bad (Tom and Hester are the heroes and Shrike is one scary baddie!) Let me know what you think!

Book of the week - 22nd April

Bone quill by John and Carol Barrowman is the second book in the Hollow Earth series. Twins Matt and Emily Calder have such vivid imaginations that they can make art come to life and enter into the paintings themselves, not always a good thing you will know if you read the first book!
In this second adventure Matt and Emily have to try and prevent all the creatures and demons in Hollow Earth from escaping by finding and protecting an ancient bone quill. In the end they face a terrible decision; save their father or save Hollow Earth!
Although Bone quill can be read without having read Hollow Earth first you will get far more out of the story and the development of the characters if you read the books in order. The books are good fantasy reads with a bit of history and art appreciation thrown in to the mix, all-in-all a good adventure story.

Bone quill (book 2)

Hollow Earth (book 1)

Book of the week - 11th March

The book of the week this week is the winner of the 12-16 age group of the Scottish Children's Book Awards - The 13th horseman by Barry Hutchison (author of the Invisible Fiends series). This book is is funny,scary, imaginative and very, very good!
What is it about? Well, to sum up in as few words as possible:
One boy...
One shed...
Four horsemen of the apocalypse.
Death wants Armageddon...
...Pestilence, Famine and War are not so sure!
Can Drake fulfil his destiny AND Save the world?

Book of the week - 4th March

This week's book is The call by Michael Grant. It is the first book in the series 'The magnificent 12'.
It is a laugh out loud, fantasy/adventure story. Mack MacAvoy is an American school student with so many phobias it is a wonder that he gets through a school day at all. Being afraid of so many things does not make for a good hero, or does it? When Mack encounters a three thousand year old man in the school corridor and then discovers a golem in his bedroom at home he realises his life may never be the same again.In fact it is up to Mack to find the other eleven members of the elite team (the Magnificent Twelve) because they are needed to save the world from a terrible evil.
This book did make me laugh and was an enjoyable read, once I got over my own phobia - all the 'Americanisms'!! But it is set in America so ...

Fae Fiction

Love the Twilight series, but want something a bit different? If so why not try some 'fae fiction'? Same mix of fantasy and romance as Twilight but with faeries taking centre stage instead of vampires.

Thanks to our S6 fae fiction expert for the display and book selection.