Go Greener - With Lovereading

To say Planet Earth is feeling a bit iffy at the moment would be an understatement - we all know we need to do our bit to help the environment. With this in mind we're pleased to present our Green Reads genre where you'll find topical fiction and non-fiction books that highlight green issues and give inspiration to make positive changes to the way we live. We hope you enjoy the selection.

If you're after a 'quick fix' of classic literature, or you'd like your children to take more of an interest in some classic books, why not visit the Real Reads genre on our Lovereading4kids site? These are 64-page illustrated retellings of some of the best-known classics, including stories by Dickens, Jane Austen and, later this year, H G Wells. It's a new and brilliantly exciting way to experience books you might not otherwise get around to reading.

Next the shortlists for the Galaxy Book Awards have just been announced. There are six categories ranging from Crime Thriller of the Year to Newcomer of the Year and you can see the shortlisted books we have already featured in our Prize Winners section or visit the Galaxy Awards site for the full list. In the Crime Thriller of the Year we can't decide between Ian Rankin's Exit Music, Lee Child's Bad Luck and Trouble or Book of the Dead from Patricia Cornwell. But in the Popular Fiction Award we love Penny Vincenzi's, An Absolute Scandal, and in the Popular Non Fiction the modern day adventure from Ewan McGregor & Charlie Boorman, A Long Way Down , is definitely worth a second and third look!

Finally, have you ever wanted to appear in a best-selling novel? Well now your chance has finally come! From 23 March literary lovers have the opportunity of a lifetime to have a character named after them in a novel writen by a top author. The unique fundraiser, which is the brainchild of Henley based charity Autism Speaks, will take place on eBay. Jodi Picoult, Louis de Bernieres and Patricia Wood are among the fifteen top-selling writers from across the globe taking part in the event titled 'Authors for Autism Research' and all the money raised at the online auction will be used to fund bio-medical research into the causes of autism. Click here to find out more.