Posted in FAQ

NEW! DIGITAL LIBRARY

EXCITING NEWS FOR THE NEW YEAR!

We have finally gotten our very own digital library! And not a moment too soon!

The digital library will allow you to access a range of ebooks, all for free!

And the best part is, you don’t need to worry about due dates or damaged books!

You can access the digital library here.

For information on how to use the digital library, you can find instructions here.

Posted in Whole School

More Free eBooks

National Literary Trust Library

They will be releasing a new ebook/audio-book and reading/writing activities from famous authors every week.

You can find them here.

Smashwords

Smashwords is another website with lots of free or cheap ebooks. They carry both fiction and non-fiction books, for a range of age groups. The link provided here will directly take you to the page for free young adult fiction.

A list of recommended books that have already been emailed to you are:

City of the Fallen Sky (for fans of Harry Potter and Ready Player One, 10+)

First Job (superhero, adventure, 11/12+)

Run (short and fast-paced, thriller, 13+)

Matt Archer: Monster Hunter (13+)

Eve (13+)

Spoticus (comedy, 11+)

Nicholas and Company, Book 1: The Merman and the Moon Forgotten (10/11+)

Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy (11+)

Super Zombie Juice Mega Bomb (12+)

Posted in Whole School

The Storygraph

If you like the concept of Reading Journals but don’t feel like you have the time or want to spend the effort making one, The Storygraph is the way to go.

The Storygraph is a book cataloguing service, where you can track what you have read. You can receive tailored book recommendations, write/read reviews, and participate in reading challenges, but without the social pressure that comes from other similar sites.

When you go to write a review on The Storygraph, they helpfully give you prompts, such a selecting how fast the pace of the book was, or how diverse the characters are. This way, even if you don’t feel able to write your own piece on how you found the book, you will be able to provide some feedback on the book just by ticking some boxes and help others to decide whether that book is for them or not.

You can find books by filtering according to mood, which is an interesting way to find books. It also gives you the option to mark which books you own and which you don’t, and then search your ‘to read’ pile focusing only on one or the other.

While there isn’t a social media element to the site, you are able to follow others (though they won’t see you’re following them), so if you had similar taste to someone else and wanted to see what they were reading, you could do that.

The reading challenges are very interesting, such as the ‘Unread Shelf Challenge’ (maybe we’ll all finally feel motivated to read what we already have lying around) or the ‘Translated Fiction Challenge’ (a great way to read books from other cultures and find other books from said cultures!). They have also cleverly made a few challenges to help you read while also learning about all the features of the website, so after the challenge you’ll be a storygraphing pro! You are also able to create your own reading challenges.

All in all, The Storygraph is a great tool to help you get more out of your reading and organise what you’ll read next. The have recently come out with a mobile app so you can add books to your to-read pile while on the go. It’s certainly helped me out many times!

The Storygraph brings many benefits of Reading Journals in a quick and convenient place, so why not give it a go.

Posted in Whole School

Reading Journals

It’s the start of a new year so it’s the perfect time to begin a reading journal!

A reading journal is, as the name explains, a record of the books you have read (or listened to).

You can personalise the journal to fit what you want it to show, by adding different categories, statistics, prompts, and even in its design.

You can make on yourself, either by hand or digitally. However, I have prepared a template that can be printed or used digitally.

You can find the folder here containing:

  • The linked folder contains the Reading Journal template
  • Example version where it tells you how to use the spreads (there is also one on the last page on how to use them digitally. To print out, copy and paste onto word and it should be A5).
  • Instructions on the better method I’ve found on how to use it digitally using OneNote.
  • A OneNote with the template all ready to use (download it first).

You can find other templates online, as well as YouTube videos of people setting them up (if you want some inspiration).

We would love to see your reading journals, whether you make your own or use the template!

It would also be great to receive the reviews of some of the books you read!

Happy journaling!

Posted in Whole School

Free and Cheap eBooks

One of the benefits of eBooks is that, because they don’t have to use resources to print and ship them, they are usually cheaper than print copies. To the extent that you can find some for free or 99p!

Free eBooks

Leicester Libraries eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines/Comics

Project Gutenberg (many old books free)

A list of places to get free Audiobooks

This list has some free and some 99p eBooks (will need to check them)

We also have our own eBook platform coming very soon!

99p eBooks

Amazon First Reads– every month Amazon releases a selection of books not yet in print, or newly printed, and offers them for 99p. They have a range of genres. Once the month is over, the offer is gone, so you need to get the books while you can! (They also release the print version of these books for half price during the month, so if you are not fond of eBooks, you can still get a bargain). The books are usually those for adults but they do have at least one for Young Adults each month

Bookdrop and Bookbub both allow you to sign up to email updates. You select your preference of what you like to read (one of them even lets you select your favourite authors) and will update you once there are offers on these.

Amazon: Today’s Deals – If you go on this tab on Amazon, there is some text at the top that asks if you would like to receive email updates. You can ask your parents to sign up to these (selecting only the options for books). These will be any books on sale, not specifically the genres you like.

There are also many other places to find free or cheap eBooks, so have a look. Make sure to ask for permission from your guardian before buying any eBooks.