‘Written in the Stars’
23rd April is World Book Night and to
join in with the national celebration of reading for adults we have acquired
this year’s World Book Night titles to inspire you to read something new or
different this month. Reading is widely accepted as a way to improve mental
well-being, so why not escape for an hour or even just a few minutes and choose
something from our collection “because everything changes when we read”.
The World
Book Night titles are on display for you to borrow at our Bedford, Luton and
Aylesbury campuses and you can view them all here http://worldbooknight.org/books
If these
books don’t grab you, our libraries have a great selection of other books that
can be read for pleasure. The Bedford library has a selection on the 1st
floor, showcasing some ‘Quick Reads’ if you are short on time, some other
titles similar to the WBN titles, and a selection of Young Adult fiction from
our Teaching Practice collection – not just for teaching students or young
adults!
Why not share a review of a book you love
too and think others would enjoy too? Here are a few reviews of this year’s
World Book Night from members of the library staff:
5 High school children
get a detention but only 4 leave the detention room.
The book is read from the
prospective of 4 different High School students, Bronwyn, Nate, Copper and
Addy. This book doesn’t contain chapters but is set out instead as narratives
from each different student. Each narrative has the Students name as a heading
and the date. I sometimes over looked
this as I was reading, which caused me some confusion and I found this quite
difficult to get used too. I enjoyed the book and it did keep me hooked, it is
a very good ‘who done it’ with a lot of twists. I found it easy enough to
visualise the Characters and surroundings. I thought it was very well written
once I got used to the layout of the text. I would recommend this book to young
adults and adults. It isn’t that graphic
but it does contain adult themes in places.
The
underworld was a man’s game, now its Maura’s.
The book starts in the year 1950
and is based in London. 1950 is the year that Maura Ryan was born. As the book progresses you follow Maura as
she grows up in a poor family of 8 older brothers. Different trials and tribulations through her
life cause her to choose a path which is unthought-of for a woman in the 70’s.
I absolutely love this book and have read it twice. It is a really good page
turner and even when you get to the end of a chapter
it is very hard to put down. I have read
all of Martina Cole’s books and think she is an excellent author. This book is
defiantly for adults who are not easily offended, it is very graphic and has
adult themes and language throughout. I would recommend it and all of her books
to those who love a good gangland story.
A
moving story of a boy trying to find his way against the odds.
Leon is a boy struggling to come to terms with the constant feeling of
not being good enough and the challenges that he faces as a mixed-race, taller
than average nine-year-old boy growing up in the care system in the 80’s, who
just wants the love and comfort of his family. The book jacket and description
didn’t make me instinctively want to read this book but I’m glad I did. The chapters are short so it was easy to pick
up and put down—but I couldn’t put it down!
It’s an
incredibly moving story that saddened me but also inspired me and showed the
softer side of humanity. I found myself really rooting for Leon and those who
had shown him kindness and can truly say it was a page-turner.
You’ve
probably heard of Mindfulness—this book really does try to explain it guide you
through it
I tried this book after having little success with another
Mindfulness title. I found having the CD to help with some of the exercises
particularly useful. I think it would be well-worth reading this alongside
mindfulness sessions (the University offers these at Bedford campus) as it can
be a daunting topic to enter into on its own but has so many uses.
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| Aylesbury Library |
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| Luton Library |
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| Bedford Library |
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| Bedford Library |
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