We want to promote the importance of reading for your health and well being!  Not only can books broaden your mind, but they can be very therapeutic, giving you an escape to somewhere else for a while, even if only within your own head.

Joseph Addison

The LRC Reading Tree

We’ve missed sharing our reading tree with you over the last few months, so have decided to create a digital one!  All of the featured books are available to borrow from the LRC with our Click and Collect service; simply select the title you want on the image below and it’ll take you to the catalogue to reserve your copy!

This Tree: Fantasy Books

If you fancy watching a film after your reading, head over to the More Than Just Books page to get our latest related film suggestions.

Below you will find some more suggested reading lists from your members of the LRC staff:

• 20 Comfort Reading Books
• Black History Month Book List
• Children’s Diversity Book List
• Halloween Book List
• Poetry Books
• Animals of War Book List
• Festive Reading Suggestions
• Sci-Fi Suggestions
• Valentine’s Day
• Dystopia
• April Showers
• Crime Book List

Are there any that you feel we’ve missed?  It would be great to hear your suggestions and recommendations!  Feel free to email us with your thoughts or even a review of any titles that you’ve read so we can share the love of reading with other students.

email: heritagelrc@barnsley.ac.uk

Audio Books

Sometimes you might not have time to read your favorite book, but did you know there’s a wealth of audio books to choose from too?  Amazon offer audio books for a subscription for £7.99 p/m that allows you to download and keep your selection.  If you don’t want to sign up to anything though, here are a few suggestions that you can listen to for free on YouTube, to get you started on your audio journey:

• • • • • • • Science Fiction Audio Book List
            • Romance Audio Book List
            • Dystopian Audio Book List
            • April Showers
            • Crime Audio Book List

Podcasts (a series of spoken word, audio episodes, all focused on a particular topic or theme) have also become very popular during Lockdown.  Here are a few links to the best we’ve found:

• https://bookriot.com/listen/shows/sffyeah/
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds
• Grounded with Louis Theroux
• NY Times Book Review Podcast

Book Review competition

Over the last few weeks, the LRC have been running a book review competition for the chance to win a £50 Amazon voucher.  We’ve had some fantastic entries and hope you’ll all keep reading and sharing your thoughts with us so we can share the love of reading.  So, without further ado,

THE WINNER IS….

Isabelle Clayton!

A huge congratulations to you Isabelle, we’ll be in touch soon to arrange the delivery of your voucher!

If you’d like to read Isabelle’s winning reviews, please check them out here.

Thank you to everyone who entered, the competition was really fierce and more than one member of the LRC staff have been inspired by your review choices!

Staff Suggestions

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that many of your library staff members are avid readers! We will, of course, always keep you updated with the latest film and book suggestions on our various themed displays throughout the year, but have you ever wondered what we read ourselves when we want to escape reality? Each month over the next few months this academic year, a few of us will be writing brief reviews about our favorite ‘Go-to’ books in the hopes to inspire you to try something new!

This month’s review comes from our mum of four, Karen Owen, who not surprisingly, doesn’t get much time to sit down with a good book.  When she’s done her multiple school runs, finished creating our amazing displays, reading and film lists and been dragged out for long walks by her little dog Ezra, however, she is drawn to Labyrinth – a novel based on Jim Henson’s film, a real hidden gem.  Read her review HERE or by selecting the image from the shelf below.

• Review 1 – Green Rider
• Review 2 – The Great Gatsby
• Review 3 – Labyrinth

Select the title on the shelf below to read the review:

Finding Resources

We realize that you might not have copies of the titles we’ve mentioned, but did you know that you can find loads of free electronic books online?  Just make sure you read the small print and T&Cs on what you find to make sure you’re not charged for your download!

For a limited time only, Barnsley Libraries are opening up their ebook and audiobook collections to non-library members.  All you need to do is download the LibbyApp from your local app store and use the code: barnsleylibs  You can find more information here.

We’ve also bought lots of new ebooks for you on Browns and Dawsons and for those more academic reads, EBSCO Discovery and Harvard Business Review have kindly given free access to their ebooks and resources too, so make use of them while you can!

Back to Lockdown Page

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, or trouble accessing resources, please get in touch: heritagelrc@barnsley.ac.uk

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Hands, Face, Space – stay safe!