At York St John University, we recognise that generative artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the way we learn, create, and communicate. Whether you’re using tools like ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas, Grammarly to refine your writing, or image generators to
This blog post will delve into the spine-chilling digital training initiatives undertaken at York St John University. As we are into our fifth week of terrifying teaching for the autumn semester, York St John University’s digital training team has been
It’s Green Libraries Week! This week celebrates the sustainable contributions made by libraries, and how they can foster greater understanding of climate resilience, ecology and climate justice. To mark the week, we’ve put together a display of climate-focused resources, covering
I finished this book less than 12-hours ago so it’s pretty fresh in my mind and will remain there for a long time as I loved it. It tells the story of an academic who wrote a paper in the
A challenging welcome week puzzle! But nothing in we couldn’t handle! The white portion was especially hard leaving little room for error! But we got there thanks so much for always having these out and I hope too see the
VIA MAGICA – 2-6 players – 30 minutes – Game Designer: Paolo Mori. Games In Teaching – how this game relates to courses Illustration, Graphic Design, Publishing, Product Design, Marketing: the use of artwork, theme, physical design and packaging compared
To celebrate Black History Month, we have curated a selection of books and DVDs encompassing diverse stories from Black history. Spanning fiction, history, criticism, poetry and memoir, the books reflect this year’s theme ‘Standing Firm in Power and Pride’. This
We’re delighted to announce the launch of Curiositas, York St John’s new Open Access, peer-reviewed journal celebrating postgraduate research in the School of Humanities. Created by postgraduates and for postgraduates, Curiositas provides a supportive platform to share work, experiment with
We’ve collated our data from the Welcome Week Botanical Bookworms event and we are happy to say it was a great success! 206 people attended the event. 332 free plants were given away to new homes. As we kept things
I got this tiny baby spider plant in the previous Botanical Bookworms in April. I repotted them to a old pot which I picked up from a car boot sale. Five months later now, they are really happy on a
The library was transformed into a temporary greenhouse last week, as we ran our biannual Botanical Bookworms event. It was great to see so many of you take home plants for your kitchen windowsills, bookshelves, gardens and bathrooms. As well
If you attended our Botanical Bookworms event in the library last week, you may have picked up one of our handy recipe bookmarks to accompany your new edible plant (if not, we have plenty more at the library information desk
York – Relaxed Reads – Ground Floor 823.92/ROO London – Third Floor 823.92/ROO I’ve always been more of a non-fiction reader but, encouraged by my library colleagues, I’ve recently dived into the world of fiction again and rediscovered the pleasure
The Ophelia Girls – Jane Healey From a carefree summer following of a group of girls with a fascination with recreating Millais’ painting of Ophelia, to how things can take a sudden turn for the worse and the effects that
Our YSJ London students will have noticed some changes in the library over the summer. Here are the key updates – watch this space for more! The YSJ London Campus Library space has undergone a few physical changes. This includes
Here’s a handy overview of what has changed in the Fountains Library in the last few months: Advice Team: Your Go-To Support for Smarter Studying Navigating the library can sometimes feel overwhelming—especially when you’re juggling deadlines, research, and new digital
Need to take a break? As the new academic year begins and we dive in to a new semester of study, it’s important to take some time to relax and recharge. Our Relaxed Reads collection consists of primarily fiction books,
We thought it couldn’t be done… our super challenging bookshelf jigsaw is complete! Sadly there is one piece missing – if anyone finds it in the library, please let us know. We have moved on to an easier puzzle for
We nearly put away this jigsaw as we thought it might be too challenging (this is supposed to be the wellbeing table, not the frustration table) – but progress has been made! It’s now got to the easy part. Come
Library updates: what’s changed and what’s new? The way you contact the Library, IT and support teams has changed: Please read about how to submit your queries. Over the summer 2025, we have been working to further improve your library.
Today we are celebrating UNESCO International Literacy Day Literacy is a lot more than just knowing how to read – UNESCO defines it as “the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated
If you’ve been in the library over the summer, you may have noticed the second floor windowsills being transformed into a temporary plant nursery… We’ve been growing herb seedlings for a free event during Welcome Week. Come along to the
Translated by Eric Ozawa, Manilla Press 2003Relaxed Reads – Ground Floor 895.636/YAG Twenty-five year-old Takako starts living in the dusty little room above her uncle’s second-hand bookshop after a life changing crisis – breaking up with her boyfriend and losing
‘You Are Here’ is a really apt title as it really does get a grip on you and won’t let you go until the final page. It’s a book I still think about over a year after reading it for
University life can be exciting, full of opportunities, and a chance to grow both academically and personally. But it also comes with its challenges—managing deadlines, balancing study with work or social life, and sometimes just finding space to breathe. That’s
Martin MacInnes, In Ascension (London: Atlantic Books, 2023), Second Floor 823.92/MAC I picked this book up under the incorrect assumption that sci-fi offers escape from the stresses of daily life. Instead, I was sucked into an engaging 500-page novel full
Behind the Scenes at the Archives: working on a digitisation project at York St John’s Historical Archive By Suzie McKenzie and Charlotte O’Brien, 2nd year History students at York St John Over the course of semester 1 this year, we
Black History at York St John – an archive display for Black History Month 2024 Come to the library to see our display of resources from our archive uncovering the history of early Black students at York St John. Introduction
Learning Success @ YSJ Podcast: Series 1 Episode 1: Preparing to study [transcript] [Welcome music] 00:00:15 [Host] Tom A topic that’s on the mind of every new student – preparing to study at university. Whether you’re packing your bags for
Behind the scenes at the archives: transcribing the diary of former student William Holmes, 1892-3 By Raluca-Maria Corcea, 2nd year English Literature student at York St John As part of the Literature at Work module I undertook this year, I
Forbidden Island – a cooperative board game Can you help rescue the four sacred treasures from the perils of Forbidden Island? The waters lap up and over the land, covering the gardens and gates, swamping the sites where the treasures
Review of Circe by Madeleine Miller One of our personal favourites from Lucy’s recommendations for retellings of Greek myth , Circe is a captivating retelling of Homer’s Odyssey that tells the story of how Circe transforms a woman into a
Getting Things Done: the art of stress-free productivity by David Allen This book will change your life for the better. Probably. Getting Things Done (GTD) certainly made me feel much better and helped me sort stuff out. My office job
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson For a book of less than 200 pages, there is plenty to this story. A tale of family dynamics, expectations and disappointments. How parents shape their children, and the effects of absence, loss
The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth By Phillip Pullman The second in Philip Pullman’s Book of Dust trilogy, this one is my favourite (out of two, as we’re still waiting for the third part). I read his original trilogy,
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood The Love Hypothesis was, ironically, an experimental reading for me. I am not usually a big fan of romance novels; However, with Valentine’s Day around the corner, I thought it would be an excellent
Diversity in information resources: working towards inclusion This blog post is a revision of one written by Tom and Clare, two of our librarians, in 2019. As librarians our job is to source and acquire information resources, and to work
Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel Emily St. John Mandel’s novel Station Eleven is and will always be one of my favourite novels. It was a perspective-changing read that heavily impacted how I view apocalypse fiction and society. I
Behind the scenes at the archives: doing work experience with York St John’s Historical Archive collections By Jasmine Reed and Connor Brown, second year History students at YSJ As part of our History, Community and Culture module, history students such
A Boy Called Christmas – Matt Haig You’re never too old for this magical Christmas tale by Matt Haig. Following Nikolas, a boy from Finland, as he uncovers the true story of Father Christmas and how to believe in the
This is the second in a series of blog posts about York St John’s male students through history. The first post, ‘Discipline and Defiance’ focused on the 19th and early 20th century, when students were subject to strict rules, while
Following my International Women’s Day post on our female students last year, I thought I’d write next about the contrasting experience of the male students. From the original founding of the York Diocesan Training College in the 1840s, men and
The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafón Any story that begins in a mysterious library of forgotten books is a winner for me. Full of intrigue and mystery from the outset. How one book, more particularly one author,
Review of “How to Kill Your Family” by Bella Mackie Grace Bernard is currently languishing in Limehouse Prison for a murder she didn’t commit, which is ironic, given she decides to spend the time she is waiting on her appeal
Review of Kabu Kabu by Nnedi Okorafor The magnificent collection Kabu Kabu is a thrilling testament to Nnedi Okorafor as a writer of fiction, particularly short story fiction. Okorafor’s short stories test the bounds of the Sci-Fi genre through imaginative
5 Exciting New Fiction Books A round-up of some of the new and prize-winning fiction we’re most excited about. All available either from our Curl Up with a Good Book collection on the Ground Floor of Fountains or in our
Review of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Homegoing begins with two sisters born in different villages in Ghana and goes on to trace the lives of their descendants as they diverge and interweave across eight generations. It is painfully and painstakingly
Review of Spoiled Brats by Simon Rich I will admit that I was skeptical about ‘Spoiled Brats’ when it was added to my reading list, but it impressed me so much that I have decided to recommend it here! Spoiled
Why I Chose YSJ for my English Literature PhD I think it was as early as the second year of my undergraduate degree when I decided that I wanted to do a PhD. I didn’t have a topic in mind
Review of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro This novel is hauntingly bittersweet as it follows Kathy’s joys and disappointments in life as she learns to live with the confronting reality that her life or the lives of her
Four books that will make you love Greek mythology Greek mythology can be seen as a dusty subject, difficult to dive into and impossible to navigate through the sheer amount of names and diabolical creatures it expects you to know.
Review of The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling Things a witch should absolutely not do: 1. Mix Vodka and Witchcraft 2. See above. Things Vivi and her cousin Gwyn did under the influence of Vodka? Yup, you guessed it, ignored the
Review of One Day by David Nicholls I first read One Day in 2011 leaning against the luggage rack in a train carriage. Two trains had been combined into one and it wasn’t the most comfortable journey. Perhaps that’s what
Maths Confidence: Tips for Overcoming Maths Anxiety Lots of people will tell you that they hate maths. As a maths tutor, I hear this all the time, and to be fair, I’ve felt that way myself a few times! I’m
Review of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë Do you enjoy stories with untraditional endings? Does it make you happy when the main characters do not come together at the plot’s climax? If you answered yes to both of these, then
YSJ Women – an archive display for International Women’s Day, 8th March 2022 I first started thinking about doing a display on Women at YSJ when the Alumni Office asked for some information about the earliest women students at York
Review of The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré The voice of Adunni, the 14 year-old Nigerian girl, has stayed in my head since I finished this book. She is fiercely resilient, funny and inspiring as she confronts
Review of Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin I first became aware of Maupin’s gay classic Tales of the City after watching the recent TV adaptation on Netflix, which follows the original characters in to the present day. The
Review of The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker Pat Barker’s novel The Silence of the Girls is a rewriting of the Iliad, the Greek classic that tells the story of the Trojan war. In interviews, Barker has talked
Review of The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman If you have read Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy you are guaranteed to love the prequel, La Belle Sauvage. The novel tells the story of the events
Review of One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston This month I have been enjoying ‘One Last Stop’ by Casey McQuiston. The story focuses on a restless August as she moves to New York, trying to find a place to call
Review of Reputation by Lex Croucher Georgiana or ‘George’ is a heroine straight out of Austen, a young girl of middle class background staying with down-at-heel relatives for her first ‘season’. She falls in with upper-class Frances and her friends,
Review of Kindred by Octavia Butler I would highly recommend reading Kindred because the way that Octavia Butler uses time travel as a way to explore the contemporary effect of slavery is truly unique and thought provoking. The narrator, Dana, suddenly
A Day in the Life of a Student Researcher at York St John In 2021 I was a part of a Students as Researchers project exploring the York St John University’s connections to colonialism. The aim of the project was
Review of Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams Over the summer, I read Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams. It is a fun and easy-to-read coming of age novel. The book follows Queenie, a London woman in her twenties, as she discovers her own
Review of The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin N K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season is the first book in an epic fantasy trilogy about a world wracked by earthquakes and volcanoes. Certain people – known as orogenes – have the
Review of Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut This satiric tale follows the journey of Kilgore Trout, a struggling science fiction writer who answers an invitation to the Midland City Arts Festival. Meeting with a prominent business owner (Dwayne Hoover),
Review of Dawn by Octavia E. Butler Dawn is a brilliant Sci-fi novel that imagines the survival of the human species after Earth has become inhabitable. The portrayal of Lilith’s awakening on an alien ship and her struggle to overcome