Book Bonanza!

Forty lucky ticketholders were the first to sample hundreds of new fiction books at a special lunchtime event in The Queen’s Library.

During the Book Bonanza, which was hosted by Librarian Ciara Murray and the 25 pupil librarians, the Library was closed to the rest of the School. The fortunate 40 therefore had exclusive access to the new books purchased following a substantial donation from the School’s trustees. Library staff have been busily cataloguing these books since October.

The event also featured a Who’s that author? quiz and the pupil librarians’ Mystery Books – the boys had chosen a little-known book that they had enjoyed, wrapped it in paper (so that people could not judge it by its cover) and written a recommendation, which was stuck on the front of the book.

“The Book Bonanza really highlighted how much reading is treasured here at QE,” said Ms Murray. “There was a lot of excitement, with over 250 applications for tickets in the first two days – I had to pick names out of a hat!

“It was a real pleasure to see the pupil librarians in their element, recommending reading to their peers and creating a buzz around books. We are very grateful to the trustees, whose donation has allowed us to purchase a wealth of up-to-date, exciting fiction.”

Other talking points at the event included the pupil librarians’ Christmas Reading Advent Calendar – with a different book behind each window.

Members of the staff book club and QE’s senior management team were invited to join the boys for mince pies and to chat about what they were reading.