Month: January 2019

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Desert Island Books – Podcast 33

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Hello and welcome to the Falkirk Libraries podcast with Tanya, Vikki and Lynne.

Today’s episode is our Desert Island Books episode – probably our trickiest to decide on. The items mentioned here can be found on our library catalogue

What we have been reading and listening to:

Vikki has been reading:

The Darkness by  Ragnar Jonasson 

Tanya has been listening to and reading:

Peace Out Podcast

The Third Nero by Lindsay Davis

Lynne has been reading:

Picturing Prince by Steve Parke

New and forthcoming adult books:

  • A Gift for Dying, M J. Arlidge,
  • Storm Cursed, Patricia Briggs
  • Accidental Agent,  Alan Judd
  • The Stowaway: A Young Man’s Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica, Laurie Gwen Shapiro
  • Scottish Highlands and Islands, Neil Wilson (Lonely Planet Series)

New and forthcoming children’s titles:

  • Please, please save the bees! , Janey Jones, Illustrator Jennie Poh (0 – 5 yrs)
  • Bumblebee the Boss  (5-8 years)
  • The Bolds go Wild, Julian Clary, Illustrator David Roberts (7 – 9 years)
  • The Girl Who Thought her Mother was a Mermaid, Tania Unsworth, Helen Crawford- White (9 – 12 years)
  • Peadar O Guilin, The invasion  (Teen)

DVD recommendations:

  • Blackclansman (15)
  • Yardie (15)
  • Christopher Robin (U)

Our Reading Agony this week: ‘Can you help me beat my Post Christmas slump?’

We have some brilliant books on healthy eating, goal setting, exercise and hobbies – get into your local library and get motivated.  You might like:

  • Spark Joy by Marie Kondo
  • Get fit, get happy by Harry Judd
  • The kindness method: changing habits for good by Shahroo Izadi
  • Add one stitch knitting : build up your skills stitch by stitch by Alina Schneider

Or check out one of our groups in the library – maybe try a reading group or a knitting group (there’s a new one starting in Larbert Library called Chronicles of Yarnia, which is my favourite group name ever).  Or maybe use one of our pcs for free to look up some local clubs, or to tidy up your cv and look for a new job.

Staff quotes of the day: “I’m at work for a rest”

Our discussion was all about our 4 books that we’d each take to a desert island (and there was a lot of complaints that 4 books was nowhere near enough):

  • Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
  • Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance by Robert M Pirsig
  • A book on how to build your own boat to escape the island
  • Any collection of Jeeves novels by P G Wodehouse 
  • Persuasion by Jane Austen
  • War and Peace  by Leo Tolstoy
  • Lord of the Rings by JR Tolkein 
  • Collected works of Momintroll by Tove Jansson
  • A book on raw food recipes…in case I can’t build a fire
  • Collected Calvin and Hobbes
  • A book by Ben Law
  • Movie encyclopedia
  • A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Did you know?

Book Rivers on our catalogue and our blog

Thank you for listening to the Library Love podcast, we hope you’ve enjoyed yourself and if you did, then rate and review us on Apple so that more people can find out about us.  We love to hear from you and if you’d like to get in touch with us, or if you’ve got a Reader Agony of your very own then go to www.librarylovefalkirk.com, Falkirk Libraries on Facebook or @LibFalkirk on Twitter

 We love to hear from you and if you’d like to get in touch with us, or if you’ve got a Reader Agony of your very own then go to www.librarylovefalkirk.com, Falkirk Libraries on Facebook or @LibFalkirk on Twitter

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New for 2019 – podcast 32

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Hello and welcome to the Falkirk Libraries podcast with Tanya and Vikki.
Today’s episode is all about the books we can’t wait to read in 2019.  All the books mentioned are (or will be) on our library catalogue
What we have been reading and listening to:
Vikki and Tanya have been reading:
• An Easy Death, Charlaine Harris

New and forthcoming adult books:
• I Owe You One, Sophie Kinsella
• The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern
• Black Leopard, Red Wolf – Dark Star Trilogy 1 by Marlon James
• The Binding, Bridget Collins
• The Skills: From First Job to Dream Job – What Every Woman Needs to Know,
Mishal Husain

New and forthcoming children’s titles:
• I Need a New Bum!, Dawn McMillan (author), Ross Kinnaird (illustrator) (0 – 5 yrs)
• Julian Is a Mermaid, Jessica Love (5-8 years)
• The King of Sting, Coyote Peterson (9 – 12 years)
• King of Scars, Leigh Bardugo (Teen)

DVD recommendations:
• The Meg (12)
• Hotel Transylvania 3 A Monster Vacation (U)

Our Reading Agony this week: ‘I love your recommendations and suggestions, but I need more that could be tailored to me. Could you come round to mine and look at my book shelves and give me suggestions?’
Real answer, ‘no’. You wouldn’t want us in your house, we’d read all your books, lie on your sofa, drink your tea and biscuits and chocolate. However, we would totally recommend Good Reads online – you can put in the books you like and it’ll make suggestions just for you, or you could ask staff at your local library for help

Staff quotes of the day: “That plant has fleas”

Our discussion was all about:
• The October Man: A Rivers of London Novella, Ben Aaronovitch
• No Mercy, Martina Cole
• Stormcursed (Mercy Thompson) Patricia Briggs
• The Big Kahuna (Fox and O’Hare), Janet Evanovich & Peter Evanovich
• Fallen Angel, Chrisopher Brookmyre
• Big Sky, Kate Atkinson
• Never tell, Lisa Gardner
• Surgeons‘ Hall, E S Thomson
• The Testaments (sequel to the Handmaids Tale), Margaret Atwood
• The Stalker, Alex Gray
• The Adventures of Maud West, Lady Detective, Susannah Stapleton
• The Doll Factory Elizabeth Macneal

Did you know?
Most libraries have a little booksale section where we sell off some of our withdrawn stock to make space for new items. Books, DVDs and audiobooks are really cheap and are usually in reasonable condition. You can get some great bargains

Coming Soon:
Season Four of the Hurricane Book Club.
See our upcoming blog and website for details of how to get involved.

Thank you for listening to the Library Love podcast, we hope you’ve enjoyed yourself and if you did, then rate and review us on Apple so that more people can find out about us.
We love to hear from you and if you’d like to get in touch with us, or if you’ve got a Reader Agony of your very own then go to www.librarylovefalkirk.com, Falkirk Libraries on Facebook or @LibFalkirk on Twitter

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Picture books we love – podcast 31

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This episode was made with our colleague, Karyn, who died in November.  Karyn was a wonderful friend and colleague who did so much for us at Falkirk Libraries – we all miss her.

Hello and welcome to the Falkirk Libraries podcast with Tanya and Karyn.
Today’s episode is all about picture books that we love.  All the books we talk about today can be found at our library catalogue.

What we have been reading and listening to

Tanya has been reading:
• Thirty-one Kings by Robert J Harris

Karyn has been reading:
• Fireproof by Alex Kava

New and forthcoming adult books:
• Heads you Win by Jeffrey Archer
• Master of his Fate by Barbara Taylor Bradford
• The Sewing Room Girl by Susanna Bavin
• Points of Danger by Edward Marston
• House of Glass by Susan Fletcher

New and forthcoming children’s titles:
• Ten Minutes to Bed: Little Monster by Chris Chatterton (illustrator), Rhiannon Fielding (author) (0 – 5 years)
• The First Christmas Jumper and the Sheep Who Changed Everything by Ryan Tubridy and Chris Judge (Illustrator) (5 – 7 yrs)
• The Ice Monster by David Walliams and Tony Ross (illustrator) (7 – 10 yrs)
• Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow Book 2 – Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend (9 – 13 yrs)
• The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm: Tales from Alagaesia Volume 1: Eragon – The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini (Teen)

DVD recommendations:
• Mission: Impossible – Fallout (12)

Our Reading Agony this week: ‘I’m so bored by reading the same books over and over to my 3 yr old – any ideas?’
Get into your local library and choose some different ones with them, so you can mix the well loved and the new. Know that at this age, hearing the same book is a normal part of development and it gives them a feeling of comfort. They’ll feel a sense of control and knowledge and it helps them develop as a future reader. And, finally, know that it will pass, there will be different books, but your child will always have lovely memories of sitting with you sharing a beloved book.

Staff quote of the day: ‘I’m off to butcher this’

Our discussion was all about picture books that we love to read.
• My Humongous Hamster by Lorna Freytag
• Burger Boy by Alan Durant
• Winnie’s Haunted House by Valerie Thomas Illustrated by Valerie Thomas
• Spells-a-popping Granny’s shopping by Tracey Corderoy and illustrated by Joe Berger
• Daddy, I can’t sleep by Alan Durant
• Dave’s breakfast blast off! by Sue Hendra and illustrated by Lee Wildish
• Max and Zap at the museum by Natasha Rimmington
• Worries go away by Kes Gray and illustrated by Lee Wildish
• Odd socks by Michelle Robinson and illustrated by Rebecca Ashdown
• Pete the cat and his four groovy buttons by Eric Litwin and illustrated by James Dean

Did you know? E Offer – Adults and children
Some of you who may use our e-books, eaudiobooks and emags service will have noticed that we now have all our books, magazines and audiobooks in the same place. On Thursday 01/11/18, we moved our E-Books onto the RB Digital site so if you haven’t had a look go onto our website and download the RBDigital app onto your smartphone or tablet and you will have something to read or listen to on the go. They’re all free so you can save money when downloading our magazines. We have a wide range of titles to suit all tastes and if you’re looking for some Xmas inspiration then download BBC Good Food for recipes, Molly Makes for Xmas crafts and Homes and Gardens for Xmas decorations. You’ll never be stuck for ideas again. You can download as many magazines as you want and keep the mag as long as you want or need.
Our E-Books range is so easy to download onto your tablet using the RB app. All you need to do is register on the RB website with your details and your library card and you can start downloading straight away.
If you have a commuter journey or travelling by car then download one of our EAudiobooks and you can listen to the story while you’re travelling.
You can download up to 10 EBooks and EAudiobooks and you have the flexibility to whether you want to download from 1 day up to 21 days, it’s really up to you.
Go on, give it a try.

Thank you for listening to the Library Love podcast, we hope you’ve enjoyed yourself and if you did, then please go to your podcast app and rate and review us so that other people find out about us and more people get to have their bit of Library Love. We love to hear from you and if you’d like to get in touch with us, go to www.librarylovefalkirk.com, Falkirk Libraries on fb or @LibFalkirk on twitter

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Favourite reads 2018: Crime and Thriller Fiction

Favourite Reads 2018: Crime and Thriller fiction

The final list of our 2018 favourites is here! We’re looking at probably the most popular genre in our libraries: crime and thriller fiction. Here are staff and customer picks from 2018.

We’ve made it really easy for you to get your hands on these titles. Head to our library catalogue Best of Year slideshow to click and collect your copy from your local library.

Each of the book titles below also link directly to our catalogue where you’ll find several are available on audiobook too.

Standalone novels

Librarian Vikki, and several of our borrowers, have loved Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane ‘Big Little Lies‘ Moriarty. A witty, suspensful tale about the dark dealings behind the perfect facade of a glamorous spa.

Paul David found two dead bodies in the back of car and has been seeing and hearing things that no-one else does. Is he losing his mind, or is that what someone wants him to think? A Noise Downstairs is another taught, compelling novel from the masterful Linwood Barclay.

Paper Ghosts is a creepy pshychological thriller from Julia Heaberlin. A young woman tries to trigger the memories of an elderly man in an attempt to find out if he really is guilty of the murders of which he was acquitted.

Stephen King‘s The Outsider may have a touch of the supernatural, but it’s a suspenseful and original crime novel at heart that will keep you guessing to the end.

The series continues…

One of the best things about reading fiction is when you find a series that you love. It’s even better to find that series a bit late in the game, because you have a whole world spread out in front of you and you don’t need to wait for the next book to be written! Here’s our staff and customer recommendations:

Ben Aaronvitch: Lies Sleeping (seventh in the London Met-meets magic, Rivers of London series).

John Connolly: The Woman in the Woods. The Charlie Parker series is beautifully written, has a supernatural element and, while dark, has humour and a strong emotional core. This is the 16th book. Chosen by Librarian Lynne.

Janet Evanovich: Look Alive Twenty-Five Number 25 in the witty, pacy Stephanie Plum series. Chosen by Librarian Tanya.

Quintin Jardine: State Secrets. Edinburgh cop, Bob Skinner, is pulled into Westminster intrigue in the 28th book in the series. 28 was released in paperback this year and 29 is already out too!

Stuart McBride: The Blood Road. The 11th book in the Logan McRae series has been widely thought to be his very best yet.

Kirkland Ciccone Jeff NoonThe Body Library

Jeff Noon: The Body Library. If you like your crime a bit different look no further than the hugely imaginative Nyquist Mysteries. This is the second of his detective noir novels sent in an extraordinary alternate world. Nominated by author Kirkland Ciccone following his Book Week Scotland appearance at Grangemouth Library in November (right).

Louise Penny: Kingdom of the Blind. The Chief Inspector Gamache series, set in a small Quebec town is on book 14. Recommended by Libraries’ Team Leader, Anna

Peter Robinson: Careless Love. Few people write a police procedural as well as Peter Robinson. Number 25 in the DCI Banks series is no different and everyone, from Jeffrey Deaver to Stephen King, seems to agree.

ES Thomson at Larbert Library
Elaine Thomson with Larbert Library’s Laura (left)

ES Thomson: The Blood. Laura from Larbert Library loves ES Thomson’s Jem Flockhart books, so we invited the author herself to join us for Book Week Scotland. The Blood is the latest in the series of vividly-written Victorian gothic fiction, where the character poses as a man to work as an apothecary.

Martin Walker : A Taste for Vengeance. Number 11 in the rural France-set Bruno, Chief of Police mysteries. You’ll wish you were there!

If you’ve any further recommendations, we’d love to hear them! Comment below.