I'm now sitting at Ganache, a lovely chocolate and tea shop, having a well earned cuppa and three choccies. It's my usual reward for going out to buy books for the kids.
It was hard enough to get them to request what they felt like reading next - I have had more enthusiastic book clubbers in previous years. I mean, yes, they turn up at meetings and chat quite happily about things bookish, but there aren't the same cries of joy as they dive into a box of new books and too many of them read one book at a time and firmly refuse to borrow another one till it's finished.
But in the end, I had a decent shopping list from them - and, oddly, from some non members who turned up today, just in time, asking for such things as the next Magisterium novel(Holly Black and Cassndra Clare) and a series by a Polish gentleman which inspired a video game. And I found both! I bought the first novel in the series, and Book 2 of Magisterium(it was in the children's section instead of the YA and the Polish novel was in the SF). In the SF also I easily found a Terry Goodkind book for one of my book clubbers who wanted to read it because she had seen a TV show based on it. Fine. I imagine some of my spec fic lovers will read it after her.
There was a request for "more Diary of A Wimpy Kid, miss" from a Year 7 - I bought the latest, which we don't have.
I'm afraid the vampire fans will miss out yet again. I did find a couple of the requested books, but not all, and the only Morganville Vampire book they had was the first, which we have. I must ask our bookseller if she can get hold of some more. I keep disappointing that young lady.
My young history lover, who was in my class in Year 8 the other year, asked for "anything about war." I found a couple of books about WWI which he should find of interest but which Year 9 students can also use after him. One of them was actually on the CBCA short list a few years ago, but I must have missed it - I mostly read and buy the Older Readers books.
Speaking of which, I suddenly realised that they had some of this Year's Short List which I had missed. Two were Younger Reader books, but I bought them anyway. It's surprising what turns up there.
It was hard enough to get them to request what they felt like reading next - I have had more enthusiastic book clubbers in previous years. I mean, yes, they turn up at meetings and chat quite happily about things bookish, but there aren't the same cries of joy as they dive into a box of new books and too many of them read one book at a time and firmly refuse to borrow another one till it's finished.
But in the end, I had a decent shopping list from them - and, oddly, from some non members who turned up today, just in time, asking for such things as the next Magisterium novel(Holly Black and Cassndra Clare) and a series by a Polish gentleman which inspired a video game. And I found both! I bought the first novel in the series, and Book 2 of Magisterium(it was in the children's section instead of the YA and the Polish novel was in the SF). In the SF also I easily found a Terry Goodkind book for one of my book clubbers who wanted to read it because she had seen a TV show based on it. Fine. I imagine some of my spec fic lovers will read it after her.
There was a request for "more Diary of A Wimpy Kid, miss" from a Year 7 - I bought the latest, which we don't have.
I'm afraid the vampire fans will miss out yet again. I did find a couple of the requested books, but not all, and the only Morganville Vampire book they had was the first, which we have. I must ask our bookseller if she can get hold of some more. I keep disappointing that young lady.
My young history lover, who was in my class in Year 8 the other year, asked for "anything about war." I found a couple of books about WWI which he should find of interest but which Year 9 students can also use after him. One of them was actually on the CBCA short list a few years ago, but I must have missed it - I mostly read and buy the Older Readers books.
Speaking of which, I suddenly realised that they had some of this Year's Short List which I had missed. Two were Younger Reader books, but I bought them anyway. It's surprising what turns up there.
Anyway, time for tea and we will have some lovely new books early next term!
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oh that treat was sure deserved^^
ReplyDeleteCertainly a great excuse to get off my feet for a while before heading home - and out of the cold! Today, by the way, a student came to ask me if I'd found the books he requested and I had! Lovely to be able to say yes.
ReplyDeleteI never knew what "ganache" was till I watched Master Chef. I love the Australian version of that! I'm glad you enjoyed your day out and got lots of new books for the kids. Our school had never bought books, but we had a great public library and I was always taking out piles of books when I was young. ;)
ReplyDeleteI never knew I was making ganache till recently. It's all about my mum's recipe for birthday cake covered in chocolate. But in this case, Ganache is the name of the shop. I believe they run short courses in chocolate making, which I mean to try some time,
ReplyDeleteMy school library was just a classroom with books in it. I used to borrow my fiction there and do my research at the State Library. You couldn't borrow anything, but an afternoon's research in the warm semi-darkness of the Reading Room was pleasant.