Favourite Book Review Winner

Congratulations to Alisha Wall who has won our 2015 Favourite Book Competition for her review "Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fenu.  She won a £10 Amazon voucher for this great piece of writing:

"To say that 'life and death are mysterious states' is to say that the little comprehension we have of both can lead to our downfall. In the case of Le Fanu's 'Carmilla', the idea that 'love will have its sacrifices' is an understatement. Pre-dating Stoker's 'Dracula', the short novella explores the lures of female attraction and confronts gothic archetypes, setting a bookmark for the subversive gothic breakthrough novel. The characteristically heterosexual male is relatively non-existent as 'Carmilla' delves into a study of not only female sexuality, but also the strength of women and the lures of the supernatural. From the legend of Nosferatu, tales of the vampire have been told for centuries, but none so fluid or subversive as that of Carmilla, the female vampire seductress, whose meek and mild appearance is thoroughly juxtaposed by her thirst for blood and habitual murder of innocent women. Upon searching deeper, however, you find that Carmilla is the antithesis of what is expected of her, and under her hardened exterior, lies a creature searching for love and a sense of self-worth that no life of immortality can sustain. In a society still dominated by the patriarchy, Le Fanu's controversial tale empowers women and girls through an era when women are becoming stronger and gaining power nationally. Such a powerful read can't help but evoke such a feeling of nostalgia and raw emotion that if I were to recommend someone to read any one book, it would have to be 'Carmilla'. There really is nothing like the rush of emotion that keeps a reader so captivated and enthralled by such a perfect blend of fantasy and reality, not only is 'Carmilla' a classic piece of literature, but also a ground breaking novella, easily one of the best of its time"

And well done to our two runner-ups: Emily Rayson who wrote about Rainbow Powell's "Eleanor and Park" and Carmen Walbyoff who reviewed "Fullmetal Alchemist" by Hiromu Arakawa.  I'll print their reviews shortly.

First Story

If you like writing as much as you like reading ... then you'll be interested in this National Competition.  Top price is a creative writing course for the winners and three of their friends.  You'll get published too.

This year's theme is "Echoes".  To enter, send your poem or story (850 words max) to English teacher, Paul Maiden.  The best three will be forwarded to the Competition.

For more details follow this link: First Story
and come to a meeting in the Library on 14th October at 12.30 pm.

College Deadline for your poems and stories is Friday, 30th November.

Readers and Volunteers Fair

On Wednesday 7th October we'll be holding a Readers and Volunteers Fair in the Library at lunchtime.  There will be representatives from local organisations including Mary Ann Evans Hospice, Warwickshire Libraries, Volunteer Bureau and Nuneaton care homes.  Some of our own volunteers will be on hand too - to tell you about the benefits of joining-in.

We'll also be launching "Reading Ahead" (formerly the Six Book Challenge). This scheme will encourage you to complete six reads by May - with incentives and prizes along the way.  For more information follow this link: http://readingahead.org.uk/

Readers and Volunteers Event

The Readers and Volunteers Event we held in the Library on 22nd May was a real success.  Congratulations to all our prize winners and to everyone else who completed the Six Book Challenge or participated in one of our Volunteer Groups.  And a big thank you to all our speakers, presenters and sponsors.

One of our guests said:
"I thoroughly enjoyed being part of this celebration of volunteers and readers.  It was really encouraging to see these students giving so much of their time to these projects" Stella Thebridge, Principal Librarian, Warwickshire Libraries.
Stella came to promote the local library "Reading Buddy" Scheme.  If you'd like to donate 10-15 hours to helping young children read this summer, please collect a form from me.

Special thanks also go to Sarah Garrett, a photography student who took lots of pictures during the event.  I'll be posting some soon.

Reading Challenges

Congratulations to everyone who has completed their five books in the Six Book Challenge and especially to Tim Myton won this month's raffle.  The deadline for all six books is 16th May; the Prize-Giving will be at 12.15-1.00 pm on Friday, 22nd May. I am delighted that Stella from Warwickshire Libraries will be joining us at the Prize-Giving to talk about the Reading Buddies Scheme:
"A group of 14-19 year old volunteers from across Warwickshire are set to help children aged up to twelve on an epic adventure with the Summer Reading Challenge. Throughout the summer holidays teenage reading buddies will be giving up their time at Warwickshire Libraries to inspire and support younger readers".

If you'd like to get involved you can sign-up with Stella (whether you are a Six Book Challenger or not).  And watch out for our volunteers on Thursday, 23rd April - they'll be handing out FREE NOVELS to celebrate World Book Night.

Book Review - MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner

“Maze Runner” is a gripping, engaging read, ideal for fans of the Hunger Games & Divergent books. It creates a future dystopian world which challenges morals - & questions what is right (& wrong). With surprising cliff-hangers & unprecedented conclusions, it draws you in unwittingly, creating a thrilling read. Accompanied by the theatrical release, this book definitely deserves a read through, even if fantasy, dystopian or teen fiction isn't your ideal book genre. The book is suitable for all levels of reading experience, with some dashes of post-apocalyptic humour & violence (available to borrow from the Library)

Sarah Brown

Book Review - SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller

I've always loved Greek mythology, ancient Greek history and the story of Achilles. This book is by far the best telling of the myth. One fact in the original tale is interpreted differently which causes a massive difference to the overall story. This, together with the fact that it’s so cleverly written, has made me never want to read another book about Achilles again: alternative versions couldn't possibly hold anything to this one.

Jake Jerrard-Dinn (this book is available in the Library)

Snaps and Swaps

To Celebrate World Book Day the Photography Department and the Library have teamed up to create the 

Books of March #Shelfie Photography Competition! 

 

Interpret  #Shelfie as creatively as you wish and post your images onto Instagram. Use the tag:  #Kecnuneaton and #Shelfie to enter into the College competition. 

 

Prizes  Winner: £10 Amazon or Waterstones vouchers; Runner Up: £5 Amazon or Waterstones vouchers

Deadline: Tuesday 31st March 2015

The Library is also hosting a Book Swap

on Thursday, 5th March

Wrap up an unwanted novel & swap it - maybe take a picture too

and enter it into the above competition!

Six Book Challengers Go Shopping

John, Warona and Natalia in Waterstones

Last week three 6 Book Challengers went (with Tracey) to buy some new novels. If you'd like to see the books they bought, and maybe even borrow one, they are on display in the Library.





Book Review: Knife of Never Letting Go

This is the first in a new series of book reviews by students ... and of you like the sound of it, you'll find a copy in the Library:

"It's a dystopian-type novel that encompasses the right amount of thrill, action and emotional moments. It's the first book in the trilogy of "Chaos Walking" and is tremendous. Ness balances writing from an illiterate boy's perspective, with interesting writing, perfectly.  Full of suspense, tension, controversial themes and really well-developed characters - it's definitely worth a read"  Meg Wainwright

Get creative in 2015

The Reading Agency has come with 8 ideas to get you reading and writing in 2015. 

Over 20 of you have already written book reviews for us - and we'll be posting them soon; selective comments have also been added to the books you love. 

So if you are feeling creative ... please send your reviews, stories, photos, etc so we can share them with other book lovers.

Best Book Borrowers

Congratulations to Gurpal Khera who tops our Top Twenty chart of Best Borrowers - she borrowed 59 books last term.  Second spot goes to Natalie Payne (55 books) and Third to Taran Bajwa (53). 

Grant Hale (38), Francis Ssuna (30) and Jack Payne (28) also deserve a special mention for being our best male borrowers.