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  • [Book of the Week] Brotherband: The Outcasts

    23 April 2012

    Every week Ms Esterman, Library and Information Centre Manager at Scots College recommends a great read for boys. It will be posted in this blog, along with occasional contests and treats on our Facebook Page, so stay tuned.

    Brotherband: The Outcasts
    By John Flanagan

    Random House, 2011

    I have to confess that even though I work in a boys’ school library, I have not read John Flanagan before. He is one of our junior readers’ favourites, though, and so I was keen to try one. I wasn’t disappointed.

    The central theme running through this exciting read is that of brotherhood – not surprising given the title – and the power that working together...

  • [Book of the Week] Life: An Exploded Diagram

    22 November 2011

    Life: An Exploded Diagram
    By Mal Peet

    Published by Walker Books, 2011

    Clem is a working class boy from a council estate, conducting a high-risk relationship with Frankie, the wealthy landowner’s daughter. The world superpowers are moving towards nuclear confrontation. Will the world explode before Clem and Frankie have a chance? This novel flips between the time when Clem and Frankie are teenagers, and the present. It’s interwoven with great stories from history, relating to nuclear war, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and US government paranoia. It’s brilliant. Read it.

  • Book of the Week: Princes Among Men

    14 November 2011

    Princes Among Men: Journeys with Gypsy musicians
    By Garth Cartwright

    Published by Serpent’s Tail Publishing 2007

    I decided to review this one, as Garth Cartwright’s next book has just been released, and it reminded me how much I like this odd book. It’s specifically about the Roma gypsy musicians in the Balkan countries – Serbia, Macedonia, Romania, and Bulgaria, which interests me because I play some of that style of music in a klezmer band.

    It’s a wild ride through these countries, with some remarkable insights into the political systems which have damaged them. There’s an excellent bibliography, discography and...

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