By Danny_Byrne

It’s World Book Day! Want to get involved? Well, every year if you sign up you get a free token which lets you buy one book out of a selection for just £1. But more importantly World Book Day is a celebration of every thing book related; authors, illustrators, books and of course – reading. Let’s delve in further to this wondrous day…

World Book Day is the largest celebration of books. Appointed by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books, it currently happens in over 100 countries all over the world, and this year will be World Book Day’s 15th birthday.

As children all over the world gather and appreciate reading, we remember this is all because of National Book Tokens Ltd’s generosity in giving all young people and children book vouchers to get a book that maybe they wouldn’t have bought before because it’s too expensive or unattainable.

Read more…

By Danny.Byrne

Are you a gamer? If so then you should enjoy this piece. It’s all about my top ten newish games that would make great books. I hope you agree with my choices.

Crysis 3 - Crysis would be a good game to turn into a book. This is because it has a very action packed story. Basically, it’s a story about corruption and the extents that it can go to. I can imagine the opening chapter: “I return to New York it’s the year 2047 and C.E.L.L corporation is trying to take over the world.” It would be a book that appeals to people who read books like Hunger Games as it’s about wiping out the corrupt C.E.L.L corporation who want to overrun the world.

Yakuza 5 – I have a feeling that Yakuza 5 would make an awesome book because it’s Japanese and all Japanese movies and games would make smashing books. But unfortunately this trailer hasn’t come out in English yet so I can’t get a grasp on the story. But it seems to me that it’s about 5 different Yakuza and each Yakuza will be trying to take over the other Yakuza’s territory.

South Park Stick Of Truth – This game will be as excruciatingly funny as the series. With crude comments from all parties and offensive gestures and anything you can think of coming from the entity known as Cart-Man. In the game a war is being fought between the Wizards and High Jew Elves. As you probably would of guessed the game will be crazily fun but outrageously rude.

The Walking Dead Survival Instinct – Do you like Zombie games, do you enjoy the walking dead series. Do you LOVE Daryl and his brother? If so this game to book will be the perfect read for you. Plenty of adrenaline fuelled action.

G.T.A V – This book would be pure chaos. Murder, theft and worse. If you love the game you’ll never forget the book. It’ll be crazy good. Niko will thieve again, but where will the location be? Who will the target be? Will his family be safe? These will all be answered in GTA the book.

Halo 4 – Your best friend who is a hologram is beginning to deteriorate and is going haywire. How far would you go to save her and also the world from the evil Prometheans and the flood who just won’t go away.

Watch Dogs – Everything an be hacked. How far will you and your crew to hack to your hearts content. What will happen to you, will you go crazy with power or be a discreetful watch dog intervening when needed

Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception – You can’t go wrong with something that is like Indiana Jones can you, action packed and adrenaline fueled this book would give plenty to look forward to and plenty to enjoy.

Sleeping Dogs – This game would make a good book because it’s about a Japanese police man goes undercover in a Triad gang and faces many difficulties. Will he capture the Triad leader or will he get killed? This would also be a book for action fans.

Need For Speed  Most Wanted – If you’re a fan of Fast and Furious or a fan of Need For Speed this book would be perfect for you as it would have lots of races crashes and mocking the police in your lightning fast cars.

What game storylines do you think could be transformed into a book? Let us know with a comment below!

It seems almost every celebrity/high profile figure – however young or old – is publishing their autobiography these days, from Justin Bieber to Wayne Rooney, Tulisa Contostavlos to Tom Daley. With that in mind Lashelle Mcdonald looks ahead to the autobiographies yet to be written she can’t wait to read. Have a read and a thought – whose life story are you desperate to know more about…

Dani Harmer
I would love to read Dani’s autobiography to find out if being a child actress was her choice, or if she was forced (and if she has any regrets). I’d like to know was she the best in Drama class in school, or was she resented because of her success from the other kids. And I’d like to know her plans for the future, and if she wants her kids to be child actors.

Misha B
I would love to read Misha B’s autobiography to find out what she really thought of Simon Cowell, and what she thought of the negative comments that he fed her. I would also like to know if she likes any of the contestants that were also in the competition house and if she had any arguments with any of them.

Usain Bolt
I would love to read Usain Bolt’s autobiography to find out what he is really like behind all that fame and fortune, for not just being the fastest man ever living but to find out if Bolt has any other talents. For example, can Usain sing? I would also like to know if Usain had any doubts about running, is running really his passion or was he forced into pursing that career? Did he have any other options?

Bali Rai
I would love to read Bali Rai’s autobiography to find out what lies behind all those books that he has written, I want to find out why he bases his books on younger readers. What is the background on all the books that he has written and do they link to anything – is he trying to send out a message within the text that he has written to his readers.

Omar Tyree
I would love to read Omar Tyree’s autobiography to find out why he wanted to pursue his career as a writer and what made him write such deep books that made him reflect onto a much older age. I would also like to find out if Omar Tyree has any other hobbies or talents other then writing books. Does Tyree have any drinking problems that might reflect on the image he puts out in his books?

Adam Deacon
I defiantly would love to read Adam Deacon’s autobiography to find out if he is really that ‘hood rat’ he sets out to be on the TV screen, or the characters that he may play in the films. I would also like to find out if he had any celebrity crushes while on set with the other actresses.

Tia and Tamera
I would love to read Tia and Tamera’s autobiography to find out do Tia and Tamera actually feel each other’s pain when they get hurt or is it just a myth (in their case)? I would also like to find out what lies behind all that acting that the two do, such as have they felt for any actors on set with them, and have they ever fought over one guy? I would also like to know when growing up did they play tricks on the teachers such as pretending to be the other person (twin).

Ciara
I would like to find out if Ciara is dedicated to her singing or more to her dancing because right now it seems like she is doing very good at both. Furthermore I wonder if Ciara has ever dreamt of having any children, who she views as the ideal father, and if she’d like her children to follow in her footsteps.

Noel Clark
I would love to read Noel Clark’s autobiography to find out why he turned to acting and directing, and what inspired his films ‘Kidulthood’ and ‘Adulthood’. I would like to know his view on ‘gang life’, and if he thinks gang crime is a real problem in the UK. I’d also like to know what he was like in school, the smart ‘boffin’ or troublemaker – both of which I can see him being…

Whose autobiography would you like to read? Let us know with a comment below!

By Laura

So we celebrated Pride and Prejudice’s 200th anniversary not so long ago and after hearing numerous debates about whether or not Austen’s books were really worth reading, it got me thinking. Is Jane Austen overrated? All her books are essentially about the same thing: family, love and marriage. They focus on the upper classes but her heroines are always set apart from the society in which they live in. Despite this, Austen is arguably the most influential writers of the nineteenth century. Read more…

Now that the (glitter) dust has finally settled after the spectacle of the 85^th Academy Awards, it’s now time to reveal the results everyone’s really been talking about…the Spinebreakers Academy Awards! Over the last couple of months we’ve been asking you to vote for your winners and the cotes have been counted and verified and we have the results.

So put your hands together for these worthy winners…

BEST FILM: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Your winner is an epic fantasy adventure film, which was released last year in 2012 and directed by Peter Jackson. It’s the first of a three-part film adaptation of the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, to be followed by The Desolation of Smaug and There and Back Again, due for theatrical release in 2013 and 2014.

BEST ACTOR: Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables)
Hugh Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who has many acting strings to his bow including film, musical theatre, and television. Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in big blockbuster films, notably as superhero, period, and romance characters. He is well known for his long-running role as Wolverine  the the X- Men film series, but he has won this coveted Spinebreakers award for his role as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables.

BEST ACTRESS: Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
Your winner is an American actress who came to prominence after playing Mia Thermopolis in the Disney film The Princess Diaries and in its 2004 sequel The Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement. Since then, Hathaway has starred in dramatic films such as Havoc and Brokeback Mountain, in 2005. She has also starred in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and played Jane Austenin Becoming Jane (2007). She has won the Spinebreakers Academy Award for her role as Fantine in Les Miserables.

BEST BOOK: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
This is the fourth novel by John Green and was published in January 2012. It tells the story of a sixteen-year-old cancer patient named Hazel, who is forced by her parents to attend a support group, where she subsequently meets, befriends and falls in love with the seventeen-year-old Augustus Waters, an ex-basketball player and amputee.

BEST MALE AUTHOR: John Green (The Fault In Our Stars)
John Green is an American author of young adult fiction and also a YouTube vlogger with a huge (and well deserved) following. As well as the Spinebreakers Oscar, his writings have been recognised with the Michael L. Printz Award and as the Stonewall Honor Book in Children & Young Adult Literature. He is also a #1 best selling author on the New York Times Bestseller list.

BEST FEMALE AUTHOR: Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games Trilogy)
Your winner is an American novelist and television writer, best known as the author of the best selling series The Underland Chronicles and The Hunger Games Trilogy (which consists of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay).

BEST BOOK CHARACTER: Augustus Waters from The Fault In Our Stars
Augustus was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at a young age and lost his right leg to the disease. He loves video games but loves Hazel Grace far more. A very deserving winner!

Well done all and thank you for casting your votes!