In this National Year of Reading we’re asking colleagues and library members to join us as we Go All In by sharing their love of reading.

We’ve posed a series of questions about reading habits and discoveries and asked contributors to get involved by sharing their responses.

Today, we hand over to an anonymous contributor to give their answers –

What do you like to read? News, magazines, books, audio books, articles, essays, blogs…
Stories on my kindle or kindle app to escape and stop thinking about all the stuff to be done.

Has reading helped you learn a new skill?
Pre-digital generation so all our learning was reading in school.  Parenting – read loads but turns out there wasnae a book that could really equip anyone for parenthood As an adult I have read things to learn about hobbies – horses and gardens mostly.

Tell us about a book or a story that stayed with you from childhood?
I was lucky and my mum read to us all the time – too many books to mention.  As a P7 – a friend’s older sister passed us a Judy Blume book. If you know, you know – that is all I will say on that one.

Where or when do you most enjoy reading?
In the garden under the sitooterie even if it rains – or in the caravan parked up in the woods.

Is there a type of reading you’ve come back to as an adult or discovered recently?
Has to have no trauma, no violence, and has to have a happy ending – life is tricky enough without being sad when you read – it is an escape.

What book would you give as a gift to everyone?
That is impossible – there are books for different things and different people or situations. 
Mother of any new baby boy = Raising Boys by Steve Biddulph
Anyone getting a puppy = The Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey
Any lady friend who wants to escape = anything by Mhairi McFarlane or Shari Low
Anyone reading to toddlers = got to be Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler books – do the voices. 
Read with your 11-13ish old = Orbiting Jupiter – is sad but also so much good in there, one to read in tandem or together. 
Young adults 18 plus, probably The Alchemist, The Beach (not the film).

Couple of cookbooks that were my gran’s, then mum, now mine that anyone leaving home could do with.

I could go on and on. 

Look out for further articles in this series as we share how colleagues and library members Go All In for reading.

Browse the library catalogue and escape to a literary world.

Stanley George Jackman was active as a photographer for most of his life. The collection given to us contains different photographic media from film and glass negatives through to printed images and postcards. It also contains several notebooks, with meticulously written notes detailing each and every photograph he had taken. These notes contained location information, what kind of film used, exposure details and even in some cases small maps of the area. These have proved invaluable in helping date and locate the majority of the images. Using the reference numbers on the images, we were able to look them up in the notebooks to enable us to identify the places depicted within the photographs.

Jackman was born in 1910 in Portsmouth and started photography at an early age, with some of the images in the collection dating from the early 1930s. In later years he became a commercial photographer capturing some of Edinburgh’s buildings that in the early 1950s and 60s were state of the art designs. The University of Edinburgh’s Main Library at George Square designed by Sir Basil Spence features in a few of the images, as does the Forth Road Bridge just before it opened in 1964. There is also the concourse of what was Turnhouse Airport, now Edinburgh Airport, looking a lot different from the international airport it is now.

He was also it seems an avid enthusiast of buses and trams as pages of his books refer to photographs taken of these forms of transport. This part of his collection was donated to the Science Museum in London.

Unfortunately, over the years some of the photographic film negatives had become badly affected by Vinegar Syndrome, so called because of the distinctive vinegary odour it produces. Cellulose acetate used in photographic film can be chemically unstable and deterioration of the cellulose acetate triggered by heat, moisture or acidity, can lead to Vinegar Syndrome. These negatives were digitised to preserve Jackman’s photographic record of Edinburgh and then disposed of to prevent further contamination. Sadly, the Vinegar Syndrome effects are very evident in some of these images showing the crackling and bubbling on the surface of the film. However, we have included some of the affected negatives in the exhibition as they show interesting and recognisable views of the city from a period under-represented in our collections.

There were also a large number of glass negatives in the donation. These were cleaned and inserted into new protective pockets. We have mounted and encapsulated the photographs and a small collection of postcards belonging to Jackman. This entailed transcribing any information that we could find and mounting the prints using acid-free board and pockets so that they can be handled by staff and library visitors.

We hope you enjoy viewing the digitised items from these new additions in the S.G. Jackman – a photographic record exhibition on Capital Collections.

Project overview

Plus ça change is a contemplative 3D installation comprising hand-cut miniature paper silhouettes set against over 100 fragments of ephemera collected over a 25-year period of living in Edinburgh. Ticket stubs, business cards, leaflets and flyers – ordinary objects once intended to be temporary and disposable – become stages for small moments of everyday life. Together, these fragments form a personal archive of a city in continual transformation, where fleeting objects become records of enduring human experience.

Conceptual background

Growing up in the 1980s, the artist was influenced by a belief in progress as a largely linear process: greater effort would bring greater reward, and technological and social development would lead to a better future. Yet the lived reality of the past quarter-century has proved far more complex than this notion of predictable, linear progress. The skyline of the city has changed considerably; modernisation has reshaped the ways in which we live and interact, yet the hopes, anxieties and fundamental experiences of being human remain remarkably familiar. The work emerged from this tension between visible change and the persistence of human experience. Themes and Intentions Plus ça change explores the tension between permanence and impermanence, and between modernity and the emotional experience of being human. The juxtaposition of ephemeral materials with the exacting and time-intensive process of hand-cutting embodies this tension. The transient nature of the businesses and events recorded in these remnants contrasts with Edinburgh’s stone buildings and metal fixtures – a city that is both ancient and in perpetual flux.

At its core, the work asks what remains of a moment once it has passed. How do memories change as the places in which they were formed disappear? And as the world around us becomes increasingly transformed by technology and modernisation, what remains unchanged in the experience of being human? Perhaps the more things change, the more we return to the same fundamental questions: What does it mean to live? To connect? To remember? To be here, now?

Eriko Kono  writes of her practice:

“Born in Japan, I moved to the UK in 1992 and have been based in Edinburgh since 2000. I am a self-taught paper artist working across papermaking, papercutting, artist books, illustration and shadow puppetry. My work often carries a strong sense of place. Onto a piece of paper, I commit memories and observations as visual narratives – they are tangible yet fragile and fleeting, much like the material itself. I am drawn to the tension between permanence and impermanence, and to the way paper can hold something as intangible as a memory while remaining physically delicate.

I often work in monochromatic papercutting. It leaves little room for ambiguity or overcomplication. I need to focus on the stories held within both positive and negative space. The act of cutting with a craft knife becomes a way of navigating intricacy, gradually opening up the paper and allowing light to pass through. In this process, the negative space becomes as important as what remains, revealing the image through absence as much as presence. This is a reminder that seemingly opposing elements can coexist to create a complete picture— much as they do in life. I am interested in how meaning can emerge from this balance, and how something as simple as a cut-out shape or a fragment of paper can suggest a much larger story.

In Plus Ça Change, I have moved away from my usual two-dimensional work and begun to explore the possibilities of physical space. Working with miniature figures has made me think differently about scale, distance and what can be communicated through the spaces between objects. It has been fascinating to consider how much a small, carefully constructed space can hold – and how much of a story can be told often without words.”

The Mezzanine is located one floor down adjacent to the Music Library at Central Library.

Angel Kwan is a Hong Kong-born, Edinburgh-based artist and the founder of Calligraphy AK. Since moving to Scotland in 2021, she has found endless inspiration in its landscapes, architecture, wildlife, artistic heritage and the everyday moments that make a place feel like home.

The Stories We Walk Through brings together Angel’s colourful paintings inspired by the places, people and little moments she encounters in everyday life. From familiar Edinburgh streets and Highland landscapes to her much-loved Highland cows and playful reinterpretations of famous artworks, her paintings combine observation with imagination, humour and expressive brushwork.

Angel believes that happiness can often be found in the smallest moments, a familiar street, a beautiful landscape, a shared laugh or a curious animal. Her aim is not simply to paint what she sees, but to share how these moments make her feel.

“If someone walks away from my work feeling lighter, happier, or inspired to look at the world with fresh eyes, then I feel I have succeeded as an artist.”

Angel’s original paintings and prints have been exhibited across Scotland and are collected by visitors from around the world.

You can follow Angel on Instagram at @calligraphyAK2022 or find out more about her work at www.calligraphyak.com

If you wish to purchase an image on show please speak to the staff in the Art and Design Library.

The Art and Design Library hosts a monthly programme of exhibitions by local artists and community groups. We are always interested to hear from artists wanting to exhibit their work. The space is free to use and we charge no commission on works sold.

Contact the Art and Design Library for an application form and further information by phoning 0131 242 8040 or email Central.artanddesign.library@edinburgh.gov.uk

Edinburgh Libraries are supporting the national reading moment, Wee Read, to share in the joy of reading as part of the National Year of Reading 2026.

Ahead of Wednesday 7 October, everyone is encouraged to make one simple pledge: to read. Whether it’s five minutes or fifty, a whole book or a few pages, a comic, magazine, newspaper, recipe or poem, every read counts.

Whatever your age, ability or interests, Wee Read is for everyone.
Make your pledge at www.WeeRead.scot

Visit your local library to discover your next read and then join us as we stop, take a few minutes, and enjoy a Wee Read on 7 October!

Free parent and carer courses coming to our libraries 2026 to 2027, supporting children and young people’s mental health

Supporting Young People Who Self Harm – practical support for parents and carers – delivered by Penumbra (for parents of teenagers and pre-teens)

Wednesday 2 September from 6pm to 7pm at Craigmillar Library
Monday 5 October from 6.30pm to 7.30pm at Goodtrees Neighbourhood Centre
Monday 22 February from 5.30pm to 6.30pm at Wester Hailes Library

Understanding the Teenage Brain delivered by City of Edinburgh Council Development Officers (for parents of teenagers and pre-teens)

Monday 7 September from 6.30pm to 7.30pm at Fountainbridge Library
Tuesday 27 March from 5.30pm to 6.30pm at Portobello Library

Understanding and Supporting Anxiety in Children delivered by the School Counselling Service (for parents and carers of primary age children)

Tuesday 29 September from 6.30pm to 7.30pm at Portobello Library
Tuesday 10 November from 6pm to 7pm at Goodtrees Neighbourhood Centre
Monday 18 January from 5.30pm to 6.30pm at Wester Hailes Library

To find out more

Contact the libraries to book your place on one of these courses.
More courses are added all the time. Find out what other courses are available.

Free drop-in sessions for parents and carers coming to our libraries and other community venues, 2026 to 2027.

Early Years/Primary Bitesize Sessions

Weaning – delivered by Edinburgh Community Food

Monday 17 August 2026 from 10.30am to 11.30am at Portobello Library
Thursday 29 October 2026 from 12.30pm to 1.30pm at Goodtrees Neighbourhood Centre

Fussy Eaters – delivered by Edinburgh Community Food for parents and carers of primary age children

Friday 15 January 2027 from 10.30am to 11.30am at Drumbrae Library
Wednesday 17 March 2027 from 10.30am to 11.30am at Craigmillar Library

Toilet Training – delivered by the School Nursing and Health Visiting Service for parents and carers with early years or primary age children

Friday 4 September 2026 from 10.30am to 11.30am at Drumbrae Library
Friday 20 November 2026 from 10.30am to 11.30am at Portobello Library
Thursday 18 March 2027 from 1pm to 2pm at Goodtrees Neighbourhood Centre
Wednesday 21 April 2027 from 10.30am to 11.30am at Craigmillar Library

Supporting Healthy Digital Habits – delivered by Jen Myddleton, Health and Wellbeing Development Officer for parents and carers with children of all ages

Friday 30 October 2026 from 10.30am to 11.30am at Drumbrae Library
Friday 5 February 2027 from 10.30am to 11.30am at Fountainbridge Library

To find out more

Contact the libraries or venue to book your place on one of these courses.
More courses are added all the time. Find out what other courses are available.

To highlight the benefits of reading to people of all ages, we’re inviting readers to share how reading enhances their leisure time, has inspired their creativity or provided an escape from everyday pressures.

Today, we hand over to Bronwen, Library Development Leader for Music and Art and Design Libraries at Central Library –

What do you like to read? E.g. news, magazines, books, audio, articles, essays, blogs
Mostly I read fiction but every Saturday I also buy a printed newspaper because I like the reviews, weekend supplement and lengthier articles and essays – it takes me all week to read this.

Has reading helped you learn a new skill?
Working in the Art and Design Library at Central Library, I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by books on art and design which has been my passion since studying History of Art at university, but I missed out on the practical side. I really like teaching myself to draw and I use the books in the Art and Design Library to develop this skill.

One of the book’s I keep coming back to is Barrington Barber’s The Complete Book of Drawing because it covers all the essential techniques in a way that enables you to build up your skills.

We have a complete range of books for all levels of skill including lots of starter books and books that build up an image through basic visual shapes – Draw 30 dogs in easy steps by Susie Hodge is great for learning from a purely visual approach, no text, just circles, lines and shadows.

Tell us about a book or story that has stayed with you since childhood.
I love Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I love the way that each of the characters have different strengths and throughout my life I’ve aspired to be Jo, Amy or Meg at different times, and even Beth on occasions. I think the book has helped me to become resilient.

Where or when do you most enjoy reading?
Anywhere and all the time! Especially in the evening – reading settles my mind into a restful state. But I also can pick up a book first thing in the morning and read in bed before I get up and on the bus while travelling to work.

Is there a type of reading you’ve come back to as an adult or discovered recently?
I never thought I would ever like fantasy until I read Babel by R.F. Kuang. I love historical fiction that tells the stories of true events through the medium of fictional characters and I loved the way this story tells us about the Chinese opium wars and the traditions of Oxford University blended with such a clever fantastical idea of the gap between translation from one language to another and the power that this has to effect events.

What book would you give as a gift to everyone?
I wouldn’t. Library membership is my gift. You get access to so many books – fiction and non-fiction, ebook and physical copy, magazines and newspapers. The library opens a world to places you’ll never travel to, people you’ll never meet, and times – past and future – that you can’t live through.

Look out for further articles in this series as we share how colleagues and library members Go All In for reading.

If you’re not a library member already, or perhaps it’s a while since you last visited, pop in and join in person, or join online – a world of reading awaits!

See something you like? Simply click to reserve it and request to pick it up from your local library!

Ever Land by Amy Abdelnoor – general fiction
Dinah, a Jewish teenager from London, is heartbroken by the death of her father. When she travels to Israel with her family she doesn’t feel at home in this seemingly pristine place. Safa, a fourteen-year-old Palestinian who was killed decades ago in the Six Day War, watches Dina settle in. Safa needs Dina’s help to find answers about what happened to her sister so that she is finally able to move on to the afterlife. A tale of identity and displacement.

Witch Season by Julia Bianco – fantasy
Katherine Barnes works to uphold the rules of the notorious Los Angeles-based Aestas coven and works to bring new witches, surprised by their new-found powers, into the fold. Silas Khatri, heir to Noctis, the most powerful coven in the world, has a bone to pick with the Aestas coven. Katherine can’t stand him. Can the two coven’s unit to face a threat that is more insidious than the power struggle within their own hidden world?

The Troop by Nick Cutter – horror
Tim Riggs is a scoutmaster, and every year he leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping trip. But this year is different. A horrible visitor intrudes on their campsite in the night – a man who is so thin and pale he looks barely human. Whatever has made him sick is contagious, and so begins an agonising struggle for survival…

The Winged Game by Sophie Kim – fantasy/romance
Taissa Cho was once the top UK player of Carriwitchet – a violent game played atop winged beasts. Until an altercation with her rival Kion leaves her expelled from the sport in disgrace. But when an opportunity arises for her to redeem herself, she can’t refuse, even if it means she must enter a fake relationship with Kion in order to gain some positive PR…

Nothing To My Name by Kangkang Li Kovacs – general fiction
Set across four decades, following the lives or ordinary young women as they are caught up in extraordinary moments in history. In 1948, in Zhoushan, China twelve-year-old Ah Xue grows up against the backdrop of the rising Communist revolution as her mum works to earn a living combing the hair of wealthy women. Years later, Mimosa grows up in the shadow of the Cultural Revolution. And Fei, a trans girl grapples with her sense of self in the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

The Best We Could Hope For by Nicola Kraus – general fiction
Bunny Linden is a teen runaway. She knows she isn’t fit to be a mother, so she abandons her three children with her older sister, Jayne. Jayne strives to give the children every opportunity and a home that is full of love. But when Bunny comes back into their lives almost a decade later, she sets a chain of events in motion that detonates all their lives. A moving novel of rage and hope.

Leave and Come Back by Lavanya Lakshmi – romance
Simran finally has her Bollywood romance. Ever since college, she has been pining after the handsome Leo. Finally, he loves her back. But Simran’s family can’t know that she’s dating, so when Leo accidentally finds himself alongside Simran at her cousin’s two-week long wedding they must pretend to be strangers. Simran hatches a plan… Can she live happily ever after with the love of her life and reconcile with her family?

The Scottish Strawberry Farm by Bonnie Woods – romance/spicy
Rae has been working overseas in high-end restaurants, and when she comes back home to the Highlands everything she remembers about her small town has changed. She bumps into Struan, her childhood friend’s older brother, who is working as a local mountain guide. Rae is busy working hard on her families failing fruit farm but is continually distracted by thoughts of Struan. Can she save the farm without hurting anyone she loves?

The Heart of the Nhaga by Lee Young-do – fantasy
The world is divided by the so-called Line of Limit. The North is home to three races: the Tokkebifie, the Rekons, and the humans – the least unified of all the races. To the south live the Nhaga – a reptilian species who sacrifice their hearts for immortality. For centuries, this line was never crossed. But now a Nhaga is being sent North and a representative from each of the Northern races are tasked with keeping them alive. But everything is turned on its head when the Nhaga that the rag-tag team were meant to be escorting is mysteriously murdered.

Find your next favourite read, whether in print, ebook or audiobook, via the library catalogue.

Did you know that there was a castle at Granton? Granton Castle, otherwise known as Royston Castle, dated from the 15th Century. The doocot, sections of the boundary wall and walled garden are all that remain.

There are remnants of a castle at Lochend too and the area has an ancient past, as it lies within the lands of South Leith granted by David I to an Anglo-Norman knight named De Lestalric. Within Lochend Park, the dovecot built sometime in the 1500s, still stands.

And perhaps, most surprising of all, had you heard of another medieval fortification called Dingwall Castle? It was roughly sited where Waverley Gate (former G.P.O building) is now. In the civil war of 1571-3, it was used as a blockhouse and later as a prison. Its stones were reused for the repair of Trinity College Church in 1643.

Take an historical tour of all the former Castles of Edinburgh on Our Town Stories!