books – Page 13 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Central Library pumps up the volume today

Still have an image of libraries as dark, sombre, serious and – above all – silent places? Well, think again – there will be lots of noisy fun activities at Central Library today …

The City of Edinburgh Council will turn up the volume at the Central Library as it opens its doors to live music and book readings for an Open Day celebration.

The Open Day will mark the recent refurbishment of the Library, which has brand new spaces to house the children’s and music collections. For the first time in 40 years, all of the Central Library facilities will be housed in the same building.

Highlights of the Open Day include live music throughout the day from choir Octavoce, Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin’ and the Scottish Fiddle Festival Group, plus a visit from award winning author Catherine Rayner (external link) whose animal illustrations decorate the new ‘under 5s’ area of the children’s collection, and Janis Mackay, author of the ‘Magnus Fin’ trilogy.

Visitors to the Open Day will have the chance to view some of the library’s most precious treasures, which include a copy of the first bible ever printed in Scotland. Experts will also on hand to help guide people through their own WW1 family history or to help explain the background behind any family memorabilia from WW1 they may have.

Central Library staff will also be on hand to offer visitors an overview of library e-resources including the new Naxos service. The streaming service provides access to a back catalogue of over one million classical and jazz tracks, with latest releases added every week. A soundproof acoustic pod for musicians to practice in is also available to book, and visitors will for the first time be able to try a CD before borrowing.

Councillor Richard Lewis, the city’s Culture and Sport Convener, said: “The new children’s and music collections have transformed the Central Library and will offer visitors a unique space for relaxing, reading, and so much more.

“The new areas have been designed as welcoming spaces for people to visit and feel inspired to discover music and reading in their own way. I am especially excited to welcome live music and collaboration between performers to the library Open Day, which will include a set from the fantastic Octavoce vocal group, young local musicians, and the fantastic Scottish Fiddle Festival Group.

“The refurbishment allows the Council to house all of the Central Library facilities under one roof for the first time in 40 years and I am sure the City will enjoy all that the building has to offer.”

The Open Day kicks off at 10.30 – SOUNDS LIKE FUN!

Read all about it! Julia Donaldson visits Forthview

Former Children’s Laureate Julia Donaldson, creator of the much-loved Gruffalo and other brilliant children’s books, was a welcome visitor at Forthview Primary School yesterday. Julia worked with P3 classes during her visit to promote Reading Culture, a new initiative to encourage families to enjoy reading together.

Forthview is holding a series of reading events this month in a bid to encourage both pupils and their parents to read. The school has been working on the development of a Reading Culture, involving school pupils, parents, the local public library and the wider community.

The project aims to encourage children to read for pleasure and to involve parents in the hope that they will also be encouraged to read to their children and read for their own enjoyment. This work is funded by The Scottish Government as part of The City of Edinburgh’s involvement in the South-East Scotland Inter-authority Literacy Hub.

Edinburgh author Lari Don has agreed to be the school’s Patron of Reading. There was a day of events to launch this last week followed by author visits and library visits for every stage, as well as the setting up of a parents’ book group.

Other authors confirmed so far to take part in the Scottish Book Trust Live Literature funded sessions are Simon Puttock, John Fardell (who will also work with the school’s fathers’ group), Joan Lennon, Barry Hutchison and Roy Gill.

Mind you, Forthview parents have a proud record of writing stories themselves – remember the Pathway to Pilton project in 2012 (pictured below)?

City to (book)mark World Book Night

Edinburgh libraries will be joining the celebrations to mark World Book Night 2014 tomorrow (23 April) by hosting free events across the Capital to encourage reading in local communities.

The celebrations will be led by the Central Library, which will be welcoming visitors to attend a debate with world leading psychology writer Richard Wiseman, whose book ‘59 Seconds’ is one of the top 20 titles being celebrated through Community Book Giving on World Book Night.

The event, which will be chaired by journalist Claire Black, will look closely at the modern day mind myths promoted by the self-help industry, and outline quick and quirky ideas to help people achieve their aims in minutes not months.

Elsewhere in Edinburgh, Oxgangs Library will be hosting a free World Book Night Quiz and Book Swap, while Leith and McDonald Road Libraries will be inviting visitors to discuss their favourite books with staff. Staff from Wester Hailes Library will also be visiting Tynecastle Boys Football Club to hand out books and promote Edinburgh libraries’ teenage reading programme.

Councillor Richard Lewis, the city’s Culture and Sport Convener, said: “World Book Night is a great opportunity for everyone in Edinburgh to share or even start their love of reading and encourage others to get involved. It is very appropriate that Edinburgh, the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, are hosting this event to get people excited about reading, writing and literature.”

Sue Wilkinson, CEO of The Reading Agency, said: “World Book Night is one of the highlights of the year for us and for all our partners; this year it promises to be more exciting than ever. All over the country people are coming together to celebrate and share their love of reading. The generous tradition of volunteer book giving inspired and supported by publishers is being extended this year to include community book givers all of whom will give away a book of their own to inspire someone in their community to love reading.

“We hope that this, together with the events taking place in libraries across the UK, will ensure that April 23rd is an evening we will all long remember; the night when many more people realise that everything changes when we read.”

On World Book Night, 250,000 titles will be given by a network of volunteer reading enthusiasts and institutions focusing on reaching the 35% of the population who don’t read for pleasure. As World Book Night plays out, strangers will become friends, colleagues will pause and reflect, libraries and bookshops will go the extra mile to ‘stay up late’, and authors of all genres will share their writings and love of the written word with audiences of all ages.

Since it began in 2011, World Book Night has created an extraordinary group of 46,000 volunteers, giving books away to over 2 million people. This will be a landmark year for World Book Night which has recently come under the guardianship of The Reading Agency: the charity with a mission to give everyone an equal chance to become a reader.

This year for the first time, The Reading Agency is launching Community Book Giving, a new way of getting involved in World Book Night which will widen the opportunity for volunteer participation further than ever before, allowing even more people to spread a love of reading to those who don’t normally read for pleasure or own books.

Community Book Giving means that anyone can take part in the annual gifting of books on April 23 without applying to give away copies of the official books donated by publishers for the occasion; anyone can sign up, and they will be responsible for giving their own book, which can be anything they choose, either taking it from their book shelves, or buying it new or second-hand. Special World Book Night branded stickers and bookplates will be available from libraries, participating bookshops – including Waterstones and independents – or available online to download so that books can be officially branded as part of the celebrations.

As in previous years, World Book Night will be celebrated on UNESCO International Day of the Book with many experiences unfolding simultaneously across the UK, the USA and Ireland. In the UK flagship events will be held in Birmingham and London.

Author Andy McNab’s ‘Today Everything Changes’ is one of twenty books included on this year’s list. He said: “I am delighted that one of my books has been included in World Book Night. I didn’t read my first book until the age of 17, but I clearly remember the feeling of pride and achievement when I closed the cover at the end. Books changed my life and if World Book Night puts books into the hands of people who otherwise might not discover them then it is achieving something incredibly important.”

For more information about World Book Night go to:

www.worldbooknight.org

Celebrate Book Week

A host of events are being held in libraries across Edinburgh to celebrate Book Week Scotland 2013 (25 November – 1 December).

Now a major date in Scotland’s cultural calendar, Book Week Scotland is a national celebration of reading created to highlight Scotland’s exceptional cultural, creative and literary talent, and to remind everyone of the unique pleasure that can be gained from a good book.

Throughout the week Edinburgh Libraries will be holding author events, talks, workshops and even hosting a pop-up bookshop in Central Library in celebration of this national event.

Highlights include an event held specifically for prisoners at Saughton Prison Library, a talk by Saltire prize winner James Robertson at Blackhall Library, an event with broadcaster and journalist Lesley Riddoch and a coffee and cake morning at Oxgangs Library with Edinburgh crime writer Lin Anderson.

Councillor Richard Lewis, the city’s Culture and Sport Convener, said: “Book Week Scotland is a great opportunity for everyone to share their love of reading with others. I can think of no better place than Edinburgh, the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, to get people excited about reading, writing and literature. The city’s libraries are hosting some fantastic events throughout the week and I hope everyone will join us to celebrate the love of a good book!”

Scottish Book Trust work with a range of partners across Scotland to deliver a packed programme of free projects and events, bringing people of all ages and from all walks of life together to celebrate books and reading.

For more information about Book Week Scotland, visit

www.bookweekscotland.com.

Follow @Bookweekscot on Twitter

check out #bookweekscot

or like the Book Week Scotland Facebook page.

Celebrate World Book Night at your local library

Edinburgh City Libraries are preparing for a day of celebration of books and reading as World book Night kicks off tonight (Tuesday 23 April) when a host (shouldn’t that be ‘chapter’ or ‘volume’? – Ed) of local authors will participate in a series of events in libraries across the city.

The annual World Book Night celebrates reading and books by recruiting tens of thousands of passionate volunteers across the country to give out specially chosen titles in the community and share their love of reading.

Councillor Richard Lewis, the city’s Culture and Sport Convener, said: “World Book Night is one of the key events in the literary events calendar and it involves tens of thousands of people across the country, putting books directly into the hands of those who might never otherwise engage with reading.

“Here in Edinburgh we’re gearing up for a fantastic evening of celebrations in a number of our libraries and I know many people are looking forward to our headline event – Alexander McCall Smith at the Central Library. It shows yet again that libraries are not just places to borrow books, but a hub of cultural and literary activity in the city, supporting and encouraging the development of reading in the community.”

Local World Book Night events include:

Leith Library (10am – 8pm)

World Book Night – Online Pirates of Leith Treasure Hunt

Solve all the clues about Leith using our fabulous Our Town Stories website (http://www.ourtownstories.co.uk/). Then come and claim your booty from some real live pirates! Successful adventurers will take home copies of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic ‘Treasure Island’. Yarrrr!

Keep an eye on the Leith Library blog at http://leithlibrary.wordpress.com/ and @LeithLibrary Twitter for more details! First clues due around 2pm.

Muirhouse Library (6 – 7pm)

World Book Night with Allan Guthrie

Prize winning Edinburgh based crime writer, author of many gripping stories including ‘Slammer’ and ‘Bye Bye Baby’, will read from and talk about his books. His books have been described as having the power to ‘make you writhe in agony’ while dealing ‘heart stopping suspense’.

To book a place call 0131 529 5528 or email muirhouse.library@edinburgh.gov.uk

Blackhall Library (6.30 – 7.30pm)

World Book Night with Andrew Greig

Listen to this Scottish novelist, poet and writer, read and discuss prose from ‘At the Loch of the Green Corrie’ and ‘Found At Sea’, a book-length sequence of narrative poems. The event will be chaired by Ryan Van Winkle, Edinburgh City Libraries’ writer in residence.

To book a place call 0131 529 5595 or email blackhall.library@edinburgh.gov.uk

Crime writer to visit Muirhouse Library on World Book Night

Muirhouse Library will welcome a special guest to mark World Book Night tommorow evening – come and meet Edinburgh-based crime writer Allan Guthrie (pictured below) at 6.00pm. Free tickets available at the library.

World Book Night, a celebration of reading and books which sees tens of thousands of passionate volunteers gift specially chosen and printed books in their communities to share their love of reading.

World Book Night is about giving books and encouraging reading in those who don’t regularly do so. But it is also about more than that: it’s about people, communities and connections, about reaching out to others and touching lives in the simplest of ways, through the sharing of stories.

World Book Night aims to raise the profile of reading through a mass engagement project which works at a grass roots level to inspire those who don’t regularly read to do so, placing books into the hands of those who don’t regularly read. It also raises the profile of reading for pleasure through a series of celebratory events, which helps to improve literacy and can also bring communities together.

Get set for Book Week Scotland

Scottish crime writer Alex Gray’s visit (see previous post ‘Top Crime Writer to visit Muirhouse Library’) is the perfect start to Book Week Scotland, Scotland’s first-ever celebration of reading. And whether you want to spend the entire week celebrating books and reading – or if you have just have a single hour to spare – there’s time enough to fall in love with books!

Book Week Scotland runs from Monday November 26 until Sunday December 2, 2012, and people the length and breadth of Scotland will be encouraged to engage in the first ever week-long national celebration of reading and participate in a range of free events.

Initiated by the Scottish Government, Book Week Scotland will be delivered on behalf of Creative Scotland by Scottish Book Trust, the leading agency for the promotion of literature, reading and writing in Scotland. Scottish Book Trust is working with authors, workplaces, libraries and schools across the country to deliver a packed programme of free projects and events, bringing Scots of all ages and from all walks of life together to celebrate books and reading.

Key partners including Scottish Libraries and Information Council, Publishing Scotland, and Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature will help to deliver Book Week Scotland activity.

Launching the initiave earlier this year, Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, said: “Book Week Scotland will be a national, inclusive celebration of reading. It will encourage Scots from all backgrounds, of all ages and with all interests, to embark or continue on a reading journey. It will also provide a platform – in our Year of Creative Scotland – to celebrate our nation’s exceptional cultural, creative and literary talent.

“The Scottish Government is firmly committed to increasing learning through the arts and culture, and to promoting the value of taking part in cultural activity. Through Book Week Scotland, we hope to engage the whole of Scotland in these important aims.”

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: “Above all, Book Week Scotland will be a celebration of books and reading, providing everyone across Scotland with the opportunity to get involved, and with the inspiration to begin or continue their reading journey, to share old favourites and to discover new must-reads.”

Andrew Dixon, Chief Executive of Creative Scotland, said: “Book Week Scotland will celebrate Scotland’s love of writers and reading. It’s a great national initiative for this Year of Creative Scotland and has the potential to grow into another calendar event for Scotland.”

The development of Book Week Scotland is being supported with £150,000 from Creative Scotland’s Year of Creative Scotland programme, which is funded with investment from the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. Scottish Book Trust is working with a range of partners to lever additional funding and support.

As part of the national celebration, Scottish Book Trust will publish an anthology of writing celebrating Scotland‘s favourite places. Written by members of the public and commissioned authors, thousands of copies of My Favourite Place will be distributed free throughout Scotland during Book Week Scotland.

If a week of books and reading is too much, how about just an hour? At 11 a.m. on St Andrew’s Day (Friday 30 November) thousands of people across Scotland will stop what they’re doing and read. The Reading Hour will happen anywhere and everywhere and you can easily be a part of it. Whether you’re on a train, bus or ferry; in a library, at work or at school, or simply at home in your favourite chair; all you need to do is sit down with a good book.

If you’d like some advice on choosing a book then get in touch with the League of Extraordinary Booklovers, Scottish Book Trust’s band of citizen book experts who are on hand to make sure your next book is a good one.

Events are also happening across the country to mark the nation’s first ever Reading Hour. Come along to the Read-In at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh or click here to find other Reading Hour events throughout Scotland.

For more information about Book Week Scotland, visit the website here. Follow @Bookweekscot on Twitter, check out the #happyreading hashtag or ‘like’ the Book Week Scotland Facebook page.

Will you be taking part in Book Week Scotland? Reading Hour, then?

What’s your favourite book?

Let us know!