1. We are not exactly dead. Probably unconscious and will continue to be so over the hols.
2. We will be back – hopefully bigger and better – next year

Enjoy the holidays and remember to READ!

Mathway is a web application that not only solves maths problems for you, but also shows you how it is done step-by-step. Isn’t that just nifty? Try it out and let me know!

Coraline is feeling a little neglected by her parents. It’s the holidays and she has nothing to do. Coraline spends most of her time exploring her new house and discovers a door, behind which lies a brick wall.

Or does it?

One day, Coraline opens the door and the wall is gone and she finds herself in her other house with her other parents – duplicates of her own parents except with buttons sewn over her eyes. They give her attention and food and it turns out that they plan to keep her. Forever.

It’s creepy, nightmarish, spooky and a treat to read. Once you start, you get sucked into Coraline’s quest to return to her own world. You can’t help but shudder at the things she sees on her journey to get home. It’s easy to read and scary. What more could you want from a book?

Well, it’s ok. It was interesting enough and I was invested enough into the story that I finished the book, although not interesting enough for me to bring it wherever I went. It’s essentially about an American Indian boy and his life as a second-generation immigrant in America. His parents are traditional Indians who migrated to the US and the novel reflects upon the pull the two, quite different cultures have on him.

Better readers might want to pick up this book as it does ponder the question of whether we should be faithful to our parents’ culture and practices or if we should abandon it all in view of moving with the times - a topic I am sure many students may have struggled with themselves.

So if you want to link yourself to a group of readers, where should you go? Goodreads is a great social media tool you might want to consider. Use it to catalogue the books you are reading, are going to read or have read and write reviews of books to share with your friends. See what your friends are reading or want to read.

Do try it out. It’s free and fun!

A new batch of books have come into the library.

FIrstly, Slam by Nick Hornby is now in the library. I have also received feedback that Runaways is quite popular so we have purchased new volumes. No. 5 and 7 are in the library now with No. 4 and 6 on its way. New volumes of Bleach and Naruto have arrived as well.

Remember to let us know what you want to see in the library. Tell us in the comments, drop a suggestion into the suggestion box or simply email us at siglaplibrary@gmail.com.

By the way, if you like reading, let me know. Again, you can do so by the above means.

Happy reading!

And even through it has been years since I touched the book, I still remember it and I still look at it fondly whenever I see it on bookshelves. So when I was pondering what book I should read next, it seems only logical that I should revisit my childhood and pick up Anne of Green Gables again.

I have finally finished Slam which is an achievement in itself, seeing how bogged down I have been with the Racial Harmony Celebrations (shamless plug: come to the carnival on Saturday!). I think I have mixed feelings about the book. It’s typical Nick Hornby – made me look like a demented person laughing to myself while huddling under a bus shelter in Orchard Road – yet I did not come away totally satisfied with the book. Maybe it was the time-travelling. I am not sure.

Would I recommend the book? Yeah because it is well-written and explores an important teenage issue and incredibly funny in parts. Overall I enjoyed it and if you like a book that tackles serious teen issues in an entertaining way, this is for you.

Now the question is, what should I read next?

ETA: You must leave your name (real) and class in order to get the prize. People called xxcoolboixx will not receive prizes!