A stress-free Big Library Read!

Join millions of others around the world in reading a timely book about dealing with stress during the Big Library Read, the world’s largest digital book club. From 5-19 April, readers can borrow and read Dr Brian King’s ebook The Art of Taking it Easy from our OverDrive service with no waiting list. Find out how to cope with bears, traffic and the rest of life’s stressors with the Libby app or by visiting our OverDrive website. 

Psychologist and stand-up comedian Dr Brian King gives us a practical, yet laugh-out-loud guide to embracing humour to reduce stress and live a happier, fuller life. In this brilliant guide he presents hands-on techniques for managing stress by rewiring our brains to approach potentially difficult situations through a lens of positivity. Exploring what stress is, where it comes from, and what it does to our bodies and brains, he delves deep into how to address everyday stress—as well as anxiety, insecurities, repression, and negativity—and gives insight into resulting ailments such as anxiety disorders, depression, hypertension, obesity, substance abuse disorders, and more.

The book will be available on the home page of the Libby/OverDrive apps and the OverDrive website from the 5 April and with unlimited downloads is perfect for discussing with your friends and family. You can even discuss the book online or by using #biglibraryread on social media you’ll be entered into a prize draw for a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy tablet and book signed by the author!

Full instructions for using OverDrive can be found on our Your Library website.

 

Edinburgh’s City Read

This week is Book Week Scotland and we’d like you to join in by downloading our Edinburgh Reads ebook title! Specially picked with our readers in mind, See Them Run by Marion Todd, is a fantastic new crime novel set in Scotland. Download it through the Libby app or OverDrive website and read for free.

In St Andrews someone is bent on murder – but why? On the night of a wedding, one guest meets a grisly end when he’s killed in a hit-and-run. A card bearing the number ‘5’ has been placed on the victim’s chest. The following night number ‘4’ is also struck down. DI Clare Mackay and her team realise they’re against the clock to find a killer stalking the streets of the picturesque Scottish town and bent on carrying out three more murders.

Unlimited downloads are available from 18 November – 1 December, all you need is library membership so you can login with your library card and PIN. Full instructions for using OverDrive can be found on our Your Library website.

 

Together We Read!

Our ebook supplier OverDrive, are holding another UK Together We Read digital book club, giving unlimited access to a popular ebook from the 1-15 November.

They’ve chosen a brilliant title this time – Circe by Madeline Miller, which scores 4.4 stars on Good Reads and is a Guardian “Must Read” title of 2018! This is the latest novel from Orange Prize winner Miller, who continues with her previous theme of Greek mythology. Circe, daughter of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, has neither the look nor the voice of divinity, and is scorned and rejected by her kin. Increasingly isolated, she turns to mortals for companionship, leading her to discover a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft. It’s an intoxicating tale of gods and heroes, magic and monsters, survival and transformation!

As usual the ebook can be accessed on tablet, smartphone, computer or ereader (except regular Kindles!) and full instructions can be found on our OverDrive help pages. Why not encourage your friends and family to read it too and host your own book group get-together!

For further information contact informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk or 0131 242 8047

Listen to your book group!

Are you part of a book group or maybe thinking of starting one up? Why not try something different and listen to an audiobook this month instead of reading a printed book?

Our audiobook service RBdigital, has over 1000 multi-access titles meaning unlimited people can listen at the same time.

   

 

 

 

 

You’ll find it a great talking point, discussing the effect that the narrator has on your understanding and enjoyment of the story.

  

 

 

 

 

Browse through our Excel list of multi-access audiobooks today, you’ll be spoilt for choice!

Spring forward with Chatterbooks

Chatterbooks reading groups give children a chance to build a lifelong love for reading and to share their love of books with others. It’s estimated that there are almost 9000 children belonging to Chatterbooks groups across the UK. Contact your local library to find out about a Chatterbooks group near you!

As the clocks go forward this weekend some of our Chatterbooks groups will be reading books about time travel. Here are some of our favourite time travel stories to get you started:

A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle
A children’s sci-fi classic recently made into a film starring Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon.

When Charles Wallace Murry goes searching through a ‘wrinkle in time’ for his lost father, he finds himself on an evil planet where all life is enslaved by a huge pulsating brain known as ‘It’. How Charles, his sister Meg and friend Calvin find and free his father makes this a very special and exciting mixture of fantasy and science fiction, which all the way through is dominated by the funny and mysterious trio of guardian angels known as Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who and Mrs Which.

 

The Many Worlds of Albie Bright  – Christopher Edge
When Albie’s mum dies, it’s natural he should wonder where she’s gone. His parents are both scientists and they usually have all the answers. Dad mutters something about Albie’s mum being alive and with them in a parallel universe. So Albie finds a box, his mum’s computer and a rotting banana, and sends himself through time and space to find her.

 

Fortunately, the Milk – Neil Gaiman
You know what it’s like when your mum goes away on a business trip and Dad’s in charge. She leaves a really, really long list of what he’s got to do. And the most important thing is DON’T FORGET TO GET THE MILK. Unfortunately, Dad forgets. So the next morning, before breakfast, he has to go to the corner shop, and this is the story of why it takes him a very, very long time to get back.

 

Felix Frost, Time Detective: Roman Riddle – Eleanor Hawken
Join Felix Frost, secret boy genius, his chameleon Einstein and his classmate Missy as they travel back in time to Ancient Rome, where terrifying danger and embarrassing togas await.

But can they solve the riddle of a mysterious gladiator skeleton without getting themselves skewered in the gladiator arena?

 

Myth Raiders: Claw of the Sphinx  – A.J. Hunter
Geology-mad Sam and her American cousin Trey are the Chosen Ones, destined to save the world from destruction by gathering together the scattered fragments of The Warrior’s Shield. They’ve already rescued one section of the enchanted shield from the terrifying Medusa, and now learn that the second piece is being guarded by a fearsome sphinx – a creature with the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle and the face of a human. So Sam and Trey must travel to Ancient Egypt, and face mummies, beast-headed warriors… and the deadly sphinx itself!

Solo or group reading!

We’ve just finished updating our Book Group Collections list so thought we’d flag it up to you all again as a really useful resource. Obviously its a brilliant source of information about the collections that you can borrow through the library for you and 14 members of your book group. All for free, with 4 week loans and easy collection from your local library thrown in.

It’s also really handy for non-book group members though as it’s a fantastic list of “must-read” titles. Perfect for dipping into when you’re not sure what to read next. Many of the titles are also available to borrow in ebook or downloadable audiobook format and there’s information about the formats available beside each title.

So if you are planning a cozy Christmas filled with lots of reading why not check out our book group collections list and get some first class reading ideas.

Together We Read!

Edinburgh Libraries are taking part in Together We Read, a digital book club, being run by participating UK libraries from 11–25 May 2017. The club connects readers by them reading the same ebook in OverDrive, at the same time. Once you begin reading, you can connect with other readers and join the conversation on the discussion board.

We are delighted that the first Together We Read title is a Scottish crime novel by a Scottish author – Whisky from Small Glasses by Denzil Meyrick. The book centres on DCI Jim Daley, who is sent to investigate a murder after the body of a woman is washed up on an idyllic beach on the West Coast of Scotland. Far away from urban resources, he finds himself a stranger in a close-knit community. Love, betrayal, fear and death stalk the small town, as Daley investigates a case that becomes more deadly than he could possibly imagine.

There will be no waiting lists and no holds for this ebook – simply download the book via the OverDrive app or start reading in your browser. Find full instructions on how to use OverDrive on our Your Library website.

Check out the Together We Read site to see an interview by the author; to download a discussion sheet for hosting your own book group or to join in with the chat about the book on the discussion board.

Love the book? Then read the rest of the books in the DCI Jim Daley series on OverDrive. If you’d rather have the audiobook versions you can find the first few titles on BorrowBox another of our audiobook services.

Join in with the Big Library Read

The next OverDrive Big Library Read is kicking off on 13th October, and its a Young Adult title this time – the #1 New York Times bestseller This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp. There will be unlimited access to this ebook from 13th – 27th October so get online and download it!

The story features an American high school shooting told from four perspectives over the course of 54 harrowing minutes. The students of a fictional high school struggle to both survive and understand why one boy started shooting at 10:00 am. The author provides a unique look into what it’s like to experience a school shooting through the eyes of students. It confronts this subject realistically but without graphic depictions of the violence the students experience.

There is a discussion board available for readers to post their thoughts and there will also be a podcast with the author. Instruction sheets are available online to help you get started with OverDrive. Why not encourage your friends and family to download it too and host your own book club evening.

Your summer reading adventure starts here…

It’s time once again for our children’s summer reading challenge – hurrah! 🙂  

The adventure starts in your local library, where you’ll join young Quest Seekers Raj, Belle and Louis as they attempt to locate the precious golden book for Cadmus the Gatekeeper.  As an official Quest Seeker you’ll be entrusted with a special holographic membership card and a poster to help you on your way.

You’ll need to be prepared for an exciting five week journey, during which time you’ll encounter three perilous places; Firebird Rising, Mountain Mission and Dragon’s Lair. Throughout your journey you’ll be able to collect stickers; and after fulfilling the ultimate challenge of reading six books to locate the prized golden book,  you’ll be rewarded with a ‘magic colour change’ pen, a certificate and a gold medal!!

And as if that wasn’t enough…there’s also some excellent prizes up for grabs this year including family passes to Deep Sea World, Our Dynamic Earth, Leith Waterworld, Camera Obscura and the World of Illusions.  We’ll also be offering an opportunity to win £10 of Blackwell Books vouchers and tickets to Edinburgh Wolves American Football matches!!!

Your Quest Seekers adventure starts on 29th June and runs until 30th August. For more information, or to find out how to get involved click here.