Books - Libraries on the Radio and Books on TV

Yesterday we launched our book related #SaveTheCulture and now comes news of schemes by BBC Local Radio and TV across the UK championing books, libraries and reading...

BBC Local Radio stations in England are encouraging their listeners to get reading as part of a major new partnership with the country’s public libraries by launching a new “Book of the Month” slot. Each month a different book will be selected and listeners will be encouraged to borrow it from their local library, read it and then join in on air discussions about it on their local radio station.

The aim is to get people reading, encourage people to talk about books and draw people to use their local library service more. Public libraries have a wealth of resources and activities including reading groups, challenges, promotions and author events. This new partnership will also see BBC stations broadcasting from libraries, joint story-writing competitions and story-telling events.

David Holdsworth, controller of BBC English Regions, said, “This is an exciting new partnership for BBC Local Radio, which I hope our listeners will enjoy being part of. We want them to get involved by reading along with us and then, most importantly, telling us what they think about the books. I hope eventually BBC Local Radio will have one of the biggest book clubs in the country.”

Neil MacInnes, President of SCL, the Society of Chief Librarians who are partnering BBC Local Radio in this event, added “We are really pleased to be working with BBC Local Radio. We hope this will encourage people to read more and talk about books more. Libraries provide information that enables people to change their lives: improve health, find a job, upgrade skills, learn a new language, travel, learn a new skill, share in the digital world, open a business and succeed in education. We hope this will encourage more people to come to their libraries and see the range of services they offer such as digital access and information about health and financial issues.”

BBC Local Radio stations are starting their book clubs over the next few weeks. Library staff from each station’s area will pick the Book of the Month and make sure their libraries are stocked with enough copies of the book for people to borrow.

Meanwhile, in Scotland, as part of the BBC #LovetoRead campaign, an expert panel has chosen 30 books from Scottish authors, representing some of the finest writing Scotland has to offer.

Drawing from a rich seam of literature stretching from Robert Louis Stevenson to Denise Mina, the panel have selected a cross section of Scotland’s best-loved novels. Now the public are being asked to decide which books should make the top ten.

Pauline Law, Executive Producer, Arts said “This is a list that will get people talking and reading. There is such a vast range of good writing in Scotland that choosing which books to include was incredibly difficult. I am really looking forward to seeing how the public will vote.”

So will Harry Potter trump Sunset Song? Will Scotland’s Makar, Jackie Kay triumph over Sir Walter Scott or will it be Arthur Conan Doyle and Ian Rankin vying for a place in the top ten?

Voting is online only from August 1st to August 26th at bbc.co.uk/scotlandsfavouritebook

The top ten books will be revealed in a special BBC Two Scotland programme which will broadcast in October.

LIST OF SELECTED NOVELS

1 An Oidhche Mus Do Sheol Sinn (The Night Before We Sailed). Angus Peter Campbell
2 Garnethill. Denise Mina
3 Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone. J.K. Rowling
4 How Late It Was, How Late. James Kelman
5 Imagined Corners. Willa Muir
6 Knots and Crosses. Ian Rankin
7 Laidlaw. William McIlvanney
8 Lanark: A Life in Four Books. Alasdair Gray
9 Life After Life. Kate Atkinson
10 Morvern Callar. Alan Warner
11 Rob Roy. Sir Walter Scott
12 So I Am Glad. A.L. Kennedy
13 Sunset Song. Lewis Grassic Gibbon
14 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle
15 The Cone-Gatherers. Robin Jenkins
16 The Cutting Room. Louise Welsh
17 The Panopticon. Jenni Fagan
18 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Muriel Spark
19 The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. James Hogg
20 The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Robert Louis Stevenson
21 The Testament of Gideon Mack. James Robertson
22 The Thirty-Nine Steps. John Buchan
23 The Trick is to Keep Breathing. Janice Galloway
24 The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. Maggie O'Farrell
25 The Wasp Factory. Iain Banks
26 The White Bird Passes. Jessie Kesson
27 Trainspotting. Irvine Welsh
28 Trumpet. Jackie Kay
29 Under the Skin. Michel Faber
30 Wire in the Blood. Val McDermid

Image  - BBC