Amazon - Best Books of the Year

Over the past year we've read new release after new release, scoured customer reviews and made note of the books we loved. After thoughtful consideration and lengthy debate, we are pleased to present our picks for the Best Fiction Books of 2012.

Top 10 Editors' Picks in Fiction

Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel In the sequel to Wolf Hall, we return to the court of Henry VIII, to witness the irresistible rise of Thomas Cromwell as he contrives the destruction of Anne Boleyn. Negotiating the politics of the court, Cromwell must find a solution that will satisfy Henry, safeguard the nation and secure his own career. › Hardcover     › Kindle Edition The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson On his one-hundredth birthday, Allan Karlsson escapes out the window of his room in an old people's home. Soon he finds himself in possession of a suitcase full of cash and on the run from criminals and lawmen. As Allan makes his escape, we glimpse into his past and see how he both witnessed and influenced some of the most important events of the last century. › Paperback     › Kindle Edition Me Before You by Jojo Moyes Lou Clark likes her life and likes to know what is coming next. Will Traynor has recently lost his desire to live and knows that everything feels very small and rather joyless. When their lives collide in a riot of colour, neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time. › Paperback     › Kindle Edition A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy In the quiet seaside town of Stoneybridge, a disparate group of holidaymakers descend upon the beautiful Stone House hotel. Henry and Nicola are burdened with a terrible secret, eccentric Freda claims to be a psychic--and a part-time hairdresser, and then there's Nora, a watchful woman, ready to disapprove at any moment. › Hardcover     › Kindle Edition The Lighthouse by Alison Moore Futh, a middle-aged, recently separated man heads to Germany for a restorative walking holiday. While there he contemplates his childhood; a complicated friendship with the son of a lonely neighbour; his parents broken marriage and his own; and how his mother abandoned him as a boy. › Paperback     › Kindle Edition Toby's Room by Pat Barker Pat Barker returns to the First World War and to the characters of Life Class with this dark story of human desire, wartime horror and the power of friendship. When Toby is reported 'Missing, Believed Killed', Elinor determines to uncover exactly how he died--and why. › Hardcover     › Kindle Edition The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers Back home after a year in Iraq, John flinches when cars drive past. His fingers clasp around the rifle he hasn't held for months. The Yellow Birds vividly captures the desperation and brutality of war, and its terrible after-effects. But it is also a story of love, of great courage, and of extraordinary human survival. › Hardcover     › Kindle Edition Skagboys by Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh returns to familiar ground with this prequel to Trainspotting, in which we are introduced to the young Mark Renton, Spud, Tommy, Begbie and Sickboy. This darkly comic tale shows their dissatisfaction with the lives they find themselves living, and charts their eventual demise into a very dark future. › Hardcover     › Kindle Edition The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng Under the tutelage of the mysterious Aritomo, Japanese war camp survivor Yun Ting Leoh works to create a garden in memory of her dead sister. But who is Aritomo, what is the legend of Yamashita's Gold, and is the real story of how Yun Ling managed to survive the war perhaps the darkest secret of all? › Hardcover     › Kindle Edition The Cove by Ron Rash In a little cabin set in the shadow of a deep cove, Laurel Shelton and her brother Hank have built a home. When the mysterious Walter happens upon them they invite him to stay and he settles into life there. But soon a secret is uncovered that threatens to shatter their newly found happiness, and the three come to understand the terrible danger they are in. › Hardcover     › Kindle Edition

Meet the Author

Meet the Author - David Massey

David Massey’s Torn is a powerful, contemporary teen novel, set in Afghanistan and told from a unique perspective – that of nineteen-year-old army medic, Elinor Nielson.

On her first tour of duty in the war-torn country, Private Nielson is pulled into a dangerous intrigue surrounding a mysterious young Afghan girl. In her search for the truth, Elinor’s loyalties are divided between her colleagues and the displaced Afghan children she must protect. What she discovers makes her question everything she believes about love and war.

After heading up an aid expedition during the Romanian revolution, David Massey witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of conflict on young people. Their resilience and ability to be instruments of change inspired David to write Torn. His research for the novel revealed some startling realities for teens serving in the conflict in Afghanistan.

1.45pm - 2.45pm Thursday 15th November 2012

Birmingham Library Theatre

This is a free event for years 9 and 10.

For further information or to book please contact Gena Gaynor

gena.gaynor@birmingham.gov.uk   0121 303 2175

How to get free Kindle books

Fill it for free

A Kindle

 is a wonderful thing. It is the iPod of books, a means to transport the British Library around in your pocket. It can also be an expensive hobby.

Just like iTunes or any other content platform, getting conventional Kindlebooks is going to cost you, most of the time. But there's another way: here's our guide to getting free Kindle books and enjoying some of the best literature around on your Kindle without spending any cash. 

Project Gutenberg

If there is one place where you are sure to find a plentiful supply of freeKindle books, then it’s Project Gutenberg. This is the ultimate resource for just about anything you can think of book related that is out of copyright.

At the time of writing, there are more than 40,000 free eBooks on there to choose from, including plenty of classics. Just take the most downloaded books page, for example - there are titles such as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Pride and Prejudice, all for free.

Once you have content picked, click the relevant link and then download the Kindle format of the book. This will save a file to your PC which you can then copy across to your Kindle via USB. Just make sure to save it in your Kindle’s documents folder and it should appear on the home page once you next boot it up.

Openlibrary

This is a bit like the Linux of books. Openlibrary is all about user-contributed content and right now has more than 1 million texts available to download for free. Like Internet Archive, there is some seriously unusual stuff.

The home page alone is full of all sorts of fun - take, for example, The Complete Guide to the Miniature Schnauzer, which will provide excitement to many, we’re sure. You do need to create an account to get hold of it and a lot of the books are only available on loan.

Once you get hold of them, however, a lot can be sent directly to your Kindle - which is incredibly awesome. Simply click the relevant link, login to Amazon and get it delivered to your Kindle to read. We’ve already had The General Railroad Laws of Pennsylvania sent to ours, riveting stuff we assure you.

Google Play

If you can’t find it on Gutenberg, then Google Play should be your next stop. Amazingly, despite such a significant paid-for content push, Google still has a big library of free books to download.

Frankenstein, Treasure Island, all the usual out of copyright greats are there. Here is the problem though, you need to get them on to your Kindle. Google says they aren’t compatible yet, but we know a clever little workaround.

Download an application called Calibre, then find the book you want and click the "how to read" tab at the top of Google Play Books. From there, download the ePub form of the book. You then want to open up Calibre and click add books, add the ePub and convert the file to Mobi. You can then drag and drop the book onto your Kindle just as you did with Gutenberg books.

Internet Archive

If you are still struggling to get hold of the book you are after, then Internet Archive should be your last port of call. It is home to the rarities of the free eBook world and, like Gutenberg, stocks a lot of them in Kindle format.

Make sure to click the texts tab at the top of the website and there you have it, a rather random selection of books, the majority of which we have never heard of. Still though, the whole lot is there, for free, for you to download.

By Hunter Skipworth

Teen Debate

A highlight of the Young Readers events for schools is always the Teen Debate held in Birmingham Library Theatre.

The Teen Debate took place on Tuesday 12th June 2012

- This House believes that Rap and Song Lyrics are not Poetry!

Watch videos below of Chaucer arguing for the motion and Spoz arguing against the motion
 

The debate was chaired by Steve Ball,
Associate Director at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre (the REP)

Chaucer stated that:
"Not only is rap not poetry,
but that common, uneducated people
have no place to write poetry!"
but Spoz defended his stance
and proved the wonders of rap & lyrics!
(See biographies below)

What do you think? Vote now......

The event develops pupils' speaking and listening skills, providing them with the opportunity to contribute to the debate and take part in the vote.

FOR:
Chaucer was played by Matthew Ward, historical edutainer, best known for dying in many nasty ways in 'Horrible Histories'. He has also appeared on everything from Blue Peter to comedy shows with Johnny Vegas. When not being executed on TV, he appears regularly at the Community Museums of Birmingham as historical characters from Brum's past.

AGAINST:
Spoz. Spoz is not his real name. It’s actually Giovanni Esposito. ‘Spoz’ being the bit between the ‘E’ and the ‘ito’ (kind of).
Spoz is … a sort of poet. The sort, in fact, that has been published, recorded, been on the radio, won awards, is a member of the renowned ‘New October Poets’, taken part in so many festivals, he’s lost count and even had a commission from the BBC. The sort of poet that isn’t quite everybody’s cup of tea, though, could be yours.

CHAIR:
Steve Ball, is Associate Director at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. He trained as a teacher and taught in Essex and Barcelona before training as an actor at the Welsh College of Music and Drama. He worked for a number of children’s theatre and theatre in education companies before coming to Birmingham in 1986 and founding Language Alive! and Catalyst, two of the region’s leading educational theatre companies. He has also worked as a writer and producer for BBC Education, lectured at universities in the US and Australia and was Head of Arts for Birmingham City Council from 2001 to 2003. Steve has contributed to a number of journals and books, has an MA in Arts Management and a doctorate in Arts Education. He is Chair of TYA England and a governor at Harborne Academy and Summerhill School
(this article appears on the Birmingham Young Readers Blog http://www.youngreadersbirmingham.org/2007/06/teen-debate.html )