Study Saviours!

Well, it's that time again... 

With exams just around the corner, remember we are here to support you with all your study needs from 8.30-5.15 daily!  We have many resources to help, such as study guides, Past Papers and that wonderful font of all knowledge, the librarian ;)

Drop in any time during opening hours to use our study space, PCs or books.  Best of luck!

Poetry Slam!

Come along to the Library this World Poetry Day, Thursday 21st March, at lunchtime to hear readings from staff and pupils' favourite poets as well as some of their own work.  Entry is by donation to the school charity, the Lauren Currie Twilight Foundation (http://www.thelaurencurrietwilightfoundation.org) and there will be donation buckets on the door.  Anthologies of favourite poems will also be sold after the event, and we are looking for contributions.  If you have a favourite poem or have written something you're really proud of, why not submit it?

We're all mad here...World Book Day 2013

Photograph by G. Tooth, 2013

A great time was had by all at our recent 'Wonderland'-themed World Book Day celebration!  At the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, cakes were purchased by the bucketload raising over £150 for the school charity, the Lauren Currie Twilight Foundation.  Teachers and librarians got in on the act by dressing as book characters, and many members of the school community read extracts from their favourite books to a captivated audience.  This was all topped off by a fun Book Day Quiz.

Thanks to all who participated in this fantastic event, making it a huge success!

Watch this space for information about our plans for World Poetry Day on the 21st of March...

World Book Day 2013

Suddenly, March is upon us and that means...World Book Day.  Join us on Thursday the 7th for activities, readings, a lucky book dip and a Mad Hatter-themed cake sale!  All money raised will be going to the school charity, so drop in for a day of fun!

National Libraries Day

Why not celebrate National Libraries Day (http://www.nationallibrariesday.org.uk/) by using some of the many facilities available to you in the school library?  If you're stuck for a good read, we can help! We also run book groups every week and provide research skills sessions to help you with those tricky bits of homework.  Sometimes we even know the answers ourselves!  There really is something for everyone, so the next time you find yourself wondering where to get that vital piece of information or the next book in your favourite series, remember that we're open from 8.30 until 5.15 every school day.

The 12 Book Series of Christmas

Stuck for a book to keep you entertained over the winter months?  The S3-S4 Book Group recommend their favourite book series:  read one and you're bound to be hooked!

1 book:  My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher
2 books (so far!):  Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth
3 books:  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4 books:  The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
5 books:  The Ingo Chronicles by Helen Dunmore
6 books:  The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver
7 books:  The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
8 books:  The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
9 books:  The Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowtiz
10 books (so far!):  The House of Night series by P.C. Cast
11 books (so far!):  The 39 Clues series (various authors)
12 books:  The Saga of Darren Shan

Happy Holiday Reading!

Book Week Scotland

 

This week, 26th November - 2nd December, is the first ever Book Week Scotland. To celebrate, we are having a Book Amnesty! Return any overdue books to us this week and get a reward...We are also joining in with the National Reading Hour, in conjunction with the English Department.

There has not been a better time to pop into the library and borrow from our wide range of fiction and non-fiction books, or simply get a recommendation.  So what are you waiting for?!

Spook of the Week!

As it's Hallowe'en this week, why not check out our range of spooky books?  We have everything from vampires, to ghosts, to werewolves, to golems!  Enjoy!

Book of the Week

A new term, and a new book as Book of the Week!

This week's new addition is The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett.  The book was shortlisted for the 2012 CILIP Carnegie medal, a prestigious prize for children's writers.

From the blurb:

'Under cover of darkness, two brothers cross a war-ravaged countryside carrying a secret bundle. One night, they stumble across a deserted town reduced to smouldering ruins...but at the end of a blackened street, they find a small green miracle: a zoo filled with animals in need of hope.'

Particularly good if you like a historical novel or an adventure story, snap it up before someone else does!

Scottish Children's Book Awards Shortlist

The Shortlist for the Scottish Children's Book Awards has been announced- In the Older Readers Category the shortlist is as follows:

-The 13^th Horseman by Barry Hutchison

-Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

-The Prince Who Walked With Lions by Elizabeth Laird

Carnegie 2012

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness has won the 2012 Carnegie Prize. For the first time in the prizes history, the same book has also won the Carnegies sister prize, the Kate Greenaway Award for the illustrations by Jim Kay.

More information can be found here: http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/pressdesk/press.php?release=pres_2012_winner_carn.html

Synopsis:

The monster showed up after midnight. As they do. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming.... This monster is something different though. Something wild. And it wants the truth.

Book of the Week

Our Book of the Week is:  'City of Bones' by Cassandra Clare. This series come highly recommended by Eilidh and Rachel, two S5 pupils.

Sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is an ordinary teenager, who likes hanging out in Brooklyn with her friends. But everything changes the night she witnesses a murder, committed by a group of teens armed with medieval weaponry. The murderous group are Shadowhunters, secret warriors dedicated to driving demons out of this dimension and back into their own. Drawn inexorably into a terrifying world, Clary slowly begins to learn the truth about her family - and the battle for the fate of the world. We have all of the books in the Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices series in the library. Please ask to reserve.

New Books in May

Lots of new books came into the library this week. New titles are on the 'New in the Library' table- If the book you wish to borrow is not there please ask and we can put you on the reservation list. A list of new titles is below.

Junior Fiction

Black Dawn- Rachel Caine

Out of Sight, Out of Time- Ally Carter

VIII- Harriet Castor

City of Lost Souls- Cassandra Clare

The Death Cure- James Dashner

Fear- Michael Grant

Paper Towns- John Green

We'll always have summer- Jenny Han

Department 19: The Rising- Will Hill

The Intern- Dillon Khan

Falling Fast- Sophie McKenzie

Killing Honour- Bali Rai

The Kane Chronicles: The Serpents Shadow- Rick Riordan

Under the Never Sky- Veronica Rossi

Insurgent- Veronica Roth

Brothers to the death- Darren Shan

The One Dollar Horse- Lauren St John

Senior Fiction

The land of the painted caves- Jean M Auel

On Canaan's side- Sebastian Barry

An invisible sign of my own- Aimee Bender

Red Mist- Patricia Cornwell

Neverwhere- Neil Gaiman

Pigeon English- Stephen Kelman

The Dogs of Riga- Henning Mankell

A Storm of Swords: Part 1- George RR Martin

A Storm of Swords: Part 2- George RR Martin

Pure- Andrew Miller

Graphic Novels

Bakuman Volume 1

Essential Avengers

Reference and Textbooks

Folio Writing Skills for Higher and Intermediate 2 English

How to pass. Flash Revise! Higher Biology

How to pass. Flash Revise! Higher Chemistry

How to pass. Flash Revise! Higher Maths

Stop what you're doing and read this

Book of the Week

This week's Book of the Week is:  'Ruby Redfort:  Look Into My Eyes' by Lauren Child.

If you liked the Clarice Bean books when you were younger, maybe you wished that her favourite fictional heroine, Ruby Redfort, really existed?  Well, wish no more, as Lauren Child gives life to this character in a book aimed at teens instead of tweens!

13-year-old Ruby is recruited by a secret agency to become a code breaker.  She's super-smart and always cool...but can she keep her mouth shut?

Book of the Week

This week's Book of the Week is:  'The Tiger's Wife' by Tea Obreht. 


A tiger escapes from the local zoo, padding through the ruined streets and onwards, to a ridge above the Balkan village of Galina. His nocturnal visits hold the villagers in a terrified thrall. But for one boy, the tiger is a thing of magic - Shere Khan awoken from the pages of The Jungle Book.
Natalia is the granddaughter of that boy. Now a doctor, she is visiting orphanages after another war has devastated the Balkans. On this journey, she receives word of her beloved grandfather's death, far from their home, in circumstances shrouded in mystery. From fragments of stories her grandfather told her as a child, Natalia realises he may have died searching for 'the deathless man', a vagabond who was said to be immortal. Struggling to understand why a man of science would undertake such a quest, she stumbles upon a clue that will lead her to a tattered copy of The Jungle Book, and then to the extraordinary story of the tiger's wife.

World Book Night

As you may already know, last night was the second official World Book Night.  The purpose of World Book Night is to get people to give away a book that they love to others, and so encourage more people to enjoy reading.  We are always big fans of reading promotion events at the Library, so we thought we'd make our own display of this year's chosen titles to celebrate!


For more information about World Book Night, visit:  http://www.worldbooknight.org/

Book of the Week

This week's book of the week is the thought-provoking 'My Name Is Mina' by David Almond.

Mina writes and writes in an empty notebook, and through her stories, thoughts, lessons and dreams, her journal grows into something extraordinary...

Recommended reading!

New Displays in the Library

We have a number of new displays in the library with different themes. We have one dedicated to dystopian fiction, another highlighting Sport books and a wall display showing the release date of much anticipated books!


Why not come into the library to have a look?

Book of the Week

In honour of Sport Your Trainers Day (in support of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games), this week's Book of the Week is: 'The Sports Book', a compendium of sports facts, rules and stats.

All you ever wanted to know about almost every conceivable sport is here! Even if you aren't the world's biggest sports fan, what's not to love about a book covered in genuine astroturf?

Come along to the library and take a look :)

Connections Book Club

Connections Book club runs every Tuesday at 1pm here in the library. It is open to all S1 and S2s (S3s who are passionate about reading are always welcome too!)

Over the last few weeks a number of books have been recommended including:






All are available to be borrowed from the library and come highly recommended!