Wednesday is when we would normally have our Book Club at JPA. The book club was created when pupils asked for a quiet place and time in a busy and hectic school day to just switch off, sit down and enjoy a good book. I think we can all agree that this is something we definitely still need in our day, especially in this difficult and stressful situation.
During Book Club we would talk about what we are reading, make demands of the librarian (me!) for what we would like to read, and of course: READ! With lockdown in place, we can’t meet up in the library at lunch time for now, but Book Club is not cancelled!
Join us on Twitter on Wednesdays for #VirtualBookClub – everyone is welcome! Staff, pupils, families and librarians alike can join in and talk about what they’re reading – I would love to hear what people are reading on lockdown, and listen to any recommendations for books.
(Psst! You can read this series at home through the eLibrary!)
You can also keep track of your reading at home to tell me all about it when schools reopen! All of my Book Club pupils will have their Reading Passports to do this in, but keep a record in any way you like to join in. You can also talk about what you’re reading and read together with the people at home. Start your own mini Book Clubs at home!
Feeling impatient? Want to read something right now and not wait? Have a look at the No Wait, No Problems collection of the Glasgow Libraries eLibrary – all the books here are available to read RIGHT NOW so you don’t have to wait! Some Book Club favourites are on this list, including Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Big Nate comics by Lincoln Pierce and The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon. Just look for the orange banner at the top of the book cover to see if you can read it right away!
Of course, if you have something specific in mind, but it’s not available right now, you can reserve it for when it’s returned. Just select ‘Place a Hold’ on any books with the white ‘Wait List’ banner, like the Dog Man graphic novel – another much loved favourite in the library!
Can’t find what you want? Don’t worry – you can still demand the books you want! Just like your regular library, the eLibrary doesn’t have everything, but you can still ask for it! If you have something specific in mind but when you search for it, it says ‘Not Owned’ in a black banner at the top then you can recommend it to the Glasgow Librarians. For example, I know a few of our Book Club members have and definitely would recommend The School for Good and Evil series by Soman Chainani, and there were loads of requests for My Hero Academia throughout the year – get online and get recommending!
Standard Book Club rules apply at home as in school – read whatever you want! It doesn’t matter what format or genre, so long as you enjoy it! Prefer audiobooks or graphic novels? Excellent! Fantasy instead of Mystery? Brilliant! Try something new or stick to what you know, it’s up to you. Stop at least once a week, maybe even Wednesday lunch time, or join the Scottish BookTrust #readinglunch on Thursdays, and enjoy reading a book – and talk about it if you can. Just keep reading!
