Category Archives: Student Book Club

Our Tree Runneth Over!

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The University Mental Health & Wellbeing Day a couple of weeks ago was, by all accounts, a rampant success, and our own little stand down at the SU Building, to promote the joys of our Leisure Reading collection and its own section of mood-boosting books and ‘Books On Prescription’, went down really well – as you can tell from the number of suggestions we had stuck on our very own Mood-Boosting Tree above!

We asked you to name the book or novel that has done the most to lift your spirits or boost your mood, and to write down why and then stick it on the tree. Well, we were overwhelmed with fantastic entries (just compare & contrast the image above with the image we took here before we took the tree down to the SU!) and we’re now happy to announce that the winner of our £25 Amazon Kindle voucher was Katie Burns from English and Drama, who was inspired while growing up by The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson. Well done Katie!

We haven’t forgotten about the other entries, though, as we’ll be checking through them all to see which of these inspirational works we currently don’t hold in stock, and look to purchase them for addition to our collection. So a big THANK YOU for everyone who helped inspire us – we hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did!

Tell Us Your Novel Experiences for a Chance to Win a £25 Kindle Voucher!

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treeTomorrow is University Mental Health & Wellbeing Day, and to mark the occasion there’s a day of fun-filled events happening down at the Student Union Building between 12-4pm.

We’ll be running a stand down there too, to promote our Leisure Reading collection and its new section of Mood-Boosting books (recognisible upstairs by their new shiny stickers!) and another section of ‘Books on Prescription’ (self help titles based on cognitive behavioural therapy), as well as our student book club, Club 790. To find us, just look for the tree! It’s not just any old tree, though – we’ll be asking you to name the book or novel that has done the most to lift your spirits or boost your mood, write down why and stick it on the tree (pictured just opposite). The most creative & inspiring response will receive a prize of a £25 Amazon Kindle voucher.

If that isn’t enough to put a smile on your face, then there’s bound to something else happening down at the SU that will, including a tasty Farmer’s Market by the fountain, a bouncy castle, a chance to learn some circus skills, and a wide programme of uplifting talks and advice sessions, all set to the soundtrack of live acoustic music. And the Vice Chancellor himself will be signing the Time to Change pledge on behalf of the University and the Students Union at 1pm. What more could you ask for to brighten your day?

The ultimate aim of University Mental Health & Wellbeing Day is to inspire people to think about and challenge the stigma which unfortunately still surrounds mental health issues. For further information about the day, take a peek at this poster. And to find out more about our new Mood-Boosting selection, visit this site by the Reading Agency which tells you more about the scheme.

Play the Hunger Game with Club 790

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hunger games by bookmouseOur Student Book Club, Club 790, meets for the first time in 2014 next month, and we’ve opted to start a new year’s reading with a bang with Suzanne Collins’ fast-paced dystopian science-fiction thriller The Hunger Games.

We’ll be meeting up in the Library on Wednesday 5th February at 5.30pm. We’ve still got some copies of the novel available to be borrowed for the meeting from the main Customer Services Desk on Level 3 – just ask a member of staff on duty there for a copy.

Club 790 meets up every six weeks during term time in the Library. It costs nothing to join and all books will be provided free-of-charge (although we do ask that you return the books to us after the meeting). All you have to do is read the book and turn up!

For more information email Sharon Reid: S.D.Reid@lboro.ac.uk, or why not join our Facebook page?

Hunger Games cover by Bookmouse, reproduced under CC License from Flickr.

Sing You Home to Club 790

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Club 790, our student book club, will be meeting for the second time this term in December. The novel chosen for discussion this time is Jodi Picoult’s morality drama, Sing You Home.

We’ll be meeting up on Wednesday 4th December at 5.30pm in the Library and again on Wednesday 11th December (time TBC). Copies of the book are now available to be borrowed for the meeting from the main Customer Services Desk on Level 3.

Club 790 meets up every six weeks during term time in the Library. It costs nothing to join and all books will be provided free-of-charge (although we do ask that you return the books to us after the meeting). All you have to do is read the book and turn up!

For more information email Sharon Reid: S.D.Reid@lboro.ac.uk, or why not join our Facebook page?

Catch The Book Thief with Club 790!

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For anyone who enjoys discussing books, Club 790 is our book club launched last year exclusively for students. 

If you enjoy reading novels and exchanging views in a friendly and relaxed environment we meet every six weeks during term time in the Library. Club 790 costs nothing to join and all books will be provided free-of-charge. All you have to do is read the book and turn up!

The Club will be meeting for the first time this academic year this Wednesday 6th November at both 2pm and 5.30pm – come at whichever time suits you best. This year we’ve decided to hold all meetings in the light and spacious Library staff room. It’s well-equipped so we can make teas and coffees all round for the bargain price of 20p per-cup! If we’re feeling really generous we might even throw in some free biscuits! Everyone welcome, even if you didn’t manage to make it to any of the meetings last year.

Our first book this year will be The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, a hugely popular book kindly suggested by one of the group. 

For more information email Sharon Reid: S.D.Reid@lboro.ac.uk, or why not join our Facebook page?

Blake's Heaven at the Martin Hall Theatre

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Award-winning poet, novelist and journalist Blake Morrison will be talking about his life and work during a two-hour event entitled Life Writing and the Life of a Writer in the Martin Hall Theatre this coming Thursday evening (24th October, 7.30-9.30PM).

His latest books are a collection of poems, A Discoverie of Witches, and a novel, The Last Weekend, which was recently serialised on ITV.  But his previous work includes play adaptations, libretti, essays, narrative non-fiction and the acclaimed memoir And When Did You Last See Your Father?, which in 2007 was successfully adapted into a movie starring Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent and Carey Mulligan.

During the evening Blake will be reading from his works and afterwards will be signing copies of his books.

Coincidentally, Radar, the University’s Book Club, is presently reading And When Did You Last See Your Father?, and members of the Library’s own Club 790 Book Club will also be attending. The Library has copies of several of Blake’s work among our stock, including that particular work. So if you’re not familiar with his writing but are tempted to attend, now’s the perfect opportunity to catch up!

To book your tickets for the evening, visit the Loughborough Arts page here:

http://www.arts.lboro.ac.uk/art_events/

Child's Play with Club 790

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jack reacher by timothy valentine

The student book club, Club 790, will be meeting twice before the end of term to discuss the first in the Jack Reacher series, Killing Floor by Lee Child.

If you’d like to see first-hand what goes on at a book club, feel free to drop in to either of these meetings. The first is an afternoon session at 2pm on Wednesday 5th June in the soft seating area of the Village Dining room. If you’d prefer an evening session, we’ll be meeting in the Library at 5.30pm the following Wednesday 12th June (come to the Customer Services desk when you arrive).

For more information, please contact Sharon Reid at the Library: S.D.Reid@lboro.ac.uk, ext. 222352.

Image by Timothy Valentine, reproduced under CC License from Flickr.

Club 790 Rides Again!

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Reluctant_FundamentalistTerm starts this week and with it comes the first meeting of the summer term of our student reading group, Club 790, with a new book up for discussion – Mohsin Hamid’s 2007 Booker Award nominated best-seller The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

The club is actually meeting twice over the next two weeks – an afternoon session at 2PM on Wednesday 17th April, in the soft seating area of the Village Bar, and then an evening session in the Library from 5.30PM on Wednesday 24th April (just ask at the Customer Services desk for directions as to where we’re meeting).

We’re still getting plenty of enquiries from people wishing to join the club, so if you’d like to take part, or just want more information, contact Sharon Reid at the Library (S.D.Reid@lboro.ac.uk, ext. 222352).

Club 790 Up & Running!

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Our new student book club, Club 790, got off to a lively start yesterday afternoon with a free-wheeling discussion of Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time over coffee & snacks at the Village restaurant. The group ultimately gave the novel a rousing thumbs-up, considering the story to be thought-provoking and very unique in style.

Thanks indeed to everyone who turned up and took part. We’re still getting enquiries from people wishing to join in with future discussions, so if you’d like to take part, or just want more information, contact Sharon Reid at the Library (S.D.Reid@lboro.ac.uk, ext. 222352).

Remember that if you’re short of a little light reading for Easter, our Leisure Reading section contains books & novels to meet every possible taste. And don’t forget that you can pick up a free book from one of our BookCrossing stations around campus. You can find wicker boxes of donated novels in three food-outlets: the Village Bar, Fuel Box (EHB) and Martin Hall Bistro. The only (minor!) obligation is that once you’ve finished reading one of these, pass it on for someone else to enjoy. To add to the fun, every book has been given its own ID number, so you can track its journey via the website.

Club 790 Beats the Winter Blues (and Fergie's Reds too!)

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students16 (2)Despite the worst efforts of the winter weather (and Manchester United on the telly!) our new student Book Club 790 got off to a wonderful start last Wednesday evening. We had so many budding clubbers that we actually ran out of copies of our first novel up for discussion, Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and nearly every book we brought along from our Book Crossing selection was taken home too! In addition, the Village Bar did a roaring trade with their half price food & drink offer and we were standing room only for much of the evening in our little corner (as the picture above shows!)

A big THANK YOU to everybody who turned up and signed on – indeed, we’re still getting enquiries from people wishing to join in, and are amassing quite a waiting list! However, If you would like to participate, or just want more information, contact Sharon Reid at the Library (S.D.Reid@lboro.ac.uk, ext. 222352).

To the lucky people who have signed up, don’t forget that we’re holding our first meeting in the Village Bar to discuss The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at 2PM on Wednesday 6th March. See you there!