Jackie Collins Dies at 77

British born author, Jacqueline Jill "Jackie " Collins, has died of breast cancer  at the age of 77 Jackie was born 4th October 1937 in London England,She started writing as a teenager. Her first novel, "The world's full of married men" became a bestseller because of its open sexuality and the way it dealt honestly with the double standard. (www.fictiondb.com/author/jackie-collins) 

Collins died at Los Angeles on Saturday 19th September after being first diagnosed more that six years ago. Her fans would remember her by her 32 best selling novels of glamour, sex and affairs of Hollywood. In total, her books have sold over 500 million copies and have been translated into 40 languages. Eight of her novels have been adapted for screen either as films or as television, mini series including Hollywood wives.

Her best selling books include Lucky, The Power Trip,Lethal Seduction,Hollywood kids, Vendetta;Lucky's revenge,American Star, Rock Star, Hollywood Husbands Lovers and Gamblers e t c. Our Library has only three books on Jackie Collins thanks to the nature of her writing, otherwise we'd be having a whole lot more! Ms Collins has been criticised by many for her style of writing, but she never felt bashful writing about sex,.“Sex is a driving force in the world so I don’t think it’s unusual that I write about sex. I try to make it erotic, too,” she told the Associated Press in a 2011 interview.

In an interview with the Press Association earlier this month, Collins said she chose to celebrate life rather than mourn those close to her who had died. “I refuse to mourn people, because everybody dies. Death and taxes, you can’t avoid either,” she said.

May Ms Collin's soul rest in peace.

Examination Tips for students

Its that time of the year again, exams, and more exams. Now a lot of people tend to panic before and during examinations, but there really is no need for panic.The thing a student can do for themselves is to work on a schedule and avoid last minute timing. Just set out a timetable for your study, write down how many exams you have and the days which you're going to write them.The next thing you need to do is to organize your study accordingly because you may find out that some subjects are going to be given much attention than the others. Just workout a balance that you will feel comfortable with.

The following tips will help you through out your exams.

1) Sort out your study material

The first thing you need to find out is whether or not you have the relevant study material, This will include all handouts and all the notes that you have put together on a particular subject..You can also read the subject guide to help you organise the information you have collected.

2) Use Past Exam Papers

It will help to go through past exam paper to familiarise yourself with the paper structure as well as the questions. Your teacher should be able to help you with the past exam papers if they are not available in the school library. Practice answering the questions within the specified time limit and check your answers against your notes to see how you performed.

.

3) Ask For Help

It is perfectly fine to consult your friends or study buddies about a subject that is giving you a hard time. You can also talk to your teacher about anything that you think matters.

4) Don't Cram

Although some may stand firm about their cramming success stories. it might be unfortunate that the sane thing would note work out for you so well. Cramming might end up bringing masses of confusion, so just work on what you already know and perfect it if need be. 

5) Break The Questions Down

Often people fail because they have misunderstood the questions. Breaking the questions down make you understand what the question really wants from you. Look at the key parts of the question and this will give you clues on how to answer the question. For example in the question " Explain the difference between bee and wasp", the following will be how you will break down the question.

 A) Explain-give reasons to show how or why something is the way it is

 B)What are the distinguishing factors between a bee and a wasp?

 C)Bee- what is a bee?

 D)Wasp- what is a wasp?

6) Use Your Reading Time

The way you use your reading time could make you or break you in an exam. Use it to plan your writing time. Be sure also to read instructions carefully and scan the whole paper.. Also check out how many pages are there and how much each question is worth.You can start with the questions you're most confident with if you that's comfortable.

7) Keep Your Cool 

Before the exam, don't talk to other students about the exam . It could confuse you or make you feel less confident in youself. The same goes for after the exam, don't hang around talking about the exam with other students. You might begin to doubt yourself and stress out if you think you have made a mistake.

For more information about how to prepare for your exams please follow the link below,

 Top Ten Study Tips

IF YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE SAT COLLEGE

SAT (originally known as Scholastic Aptitude Test, then Scholastic  Assessment Test , then SAT reasoning, and now just SAT) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned and published by the College Board, a private and non- profit organization in the United States.

The SAT is taken by High school sophomores, Juniors and seniors. SAT basically measures literacy and writing skills that are needed for academic excellence in college. Many deem the SAT as the first step to higher learning for students of all backgrounds.

 The SAT College Board suggests  the following as some of the reasons to take up the SAT challenge.

• It tests what you already know

The SAT tests the reading, writing and math skills that you learn in school and that are critical for success in college and beyond.

It gives both you and colleges a sense of how you’ll be able to apply the thinking, writing and study skills required for college course work.

• It’s fair to everyone

The questions are rigorously researched and tested to make sure students from all backgrounds have an equal chance to do well.

The test is straightforward. There are no tricks designed to trip you up. Students who do well in the classroom are often the same ones who will do well on the SAT.

• It’s more than just a test

The SAT also provides the opportunity for you to connect to scholarship opportunities, place out of certain college courses and learn more about your academic strengths.

• It helps you select the right fit for college

SAT scores are among the factors considered in college admission. Many schools’ websites share the range of SAT scores reported by their admitted students. You can also find this information in College Search. This valuable information allows you to research which colleges might be the best fit for you.

Now in the LKC library we do have Text books on SAT questions. This can be very helpful especially to individuals who're completing their studies and getting ready for higher learning.  One can also go online to check out the SAT questions of the day. 

 SAT QUESTION OF THE DAY

For more information follow the link below..

https://sat.collegeboard.org/home?navid=sat-sat

Welcome everybody to the final term of the year. We all know how busy its going to get so we all have to find a way to hang in there. The popular word for this term is ' Examinations', yeah everybody is on that tip. One could cal it a transitional period, given the fact that for example, Form 4's will be moving on to Form 5, Form 5th's to Form 6, and Form 6ths to Tertiary.

The best thing right now is for each of our students to study hard,this is the time for them to think through their future,, plan ahead, because like it or not in today's world education is key. Without any qualification its obvious how life will get difficult, and how the future will seem unpromising. 

God speed everyone!

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

There are so many books recommendable for personal development but today I'll stick to Dr Spencer Johnson's "who moved my cheese?

Yeah the title gets one wondering.."who moved my cheese?"

Cheese? what cheese?

Dr Spencer Johnson wrote this book to help him deal with a difficult change in his life, and now the book is helping change many people's lives across the world. What matters is not in the story of 'who moved my cheese' but the way one interprets and apply the story to their own situations in life. 

It is indeed true that ...

"Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages" A.J. Cronin

Cheese is being used as a metaphor for what you have in life, for example, a job, a relationship money, health or anything that maybe of value to you. The maze is where you look or search for what you want out of life.

Characters in this book are made up of Mice named "Sniff" and "Scurry" and Little people, who were beings small as mice but looked  and acted like people today. Their names were "Hem" and "Haw". So everyday the Mice and the little people spent their time in the Maze looking for cheese.The Mice with good instincts and simple minds, looked for the hard nibbling cheese that they liked. The Little people on the other hand,  used their complex brains, filled with many beliefs and emotions, searched for a different kind of cheese with a capital C, which they believed would make them feel very happy and successful. Of course in a maze one is bound to get lost, but the Mice.used the simple trial and error method of finding the cheese. In a little while both the Mice and the Little people found the cheese with a capital C( Cheese at station C). They had both found the cheese, The Mice's approach to accessing the cheese did not change at all, they went on with their normal routine. But the little people woke up a little later, dressed slowly and walked to cheese Station C to get the cheese. They were so comfortable now that they had found the cheese. After a while, their confidence grew in to arrogance of success.

The Mice on the other hand continued with their routine. They arrived early and inspected Cheese station C to see if there were any changes in the area, that's when they can sit down and nibble on the cheese. One morning they discovered that there was no cheese at all. But they were not surprised since all along they had been inspecting the station, and realised that the supply of cheese was declining by day. They were prepared and knew exactly what to do next.

,The problem and the answer were both simple, the situation had changed so the Mice  decided o change as well. They became quick in their search of New cheese.

Later that day the Little People arrived at cheese station C. They had not been paying attention so they were very unprepared. When they found that there was no cheese yaaaay!! there was some yelling and shouting.

"What! no cheese?

"no cheese? no cheese?"

"who moved my cheese?

"it's not fair!"

 And so they yelling continued Cheese was their way of being happy, but now because the cheese was no more it meant that there was now zero happiness. They spent a lot of time trying to decide what to do next because cheese was so important to them. All they could think was to keep looking around the cheese statio as if to see if the cheese was really gone., they were so in denial. But the Mice had moved on, looking for another cheese.

When the Little people left the station they wrote on the wall "the more important your cheese is to you the more you want to hold o to it."

The big question now is can you relate? Can you think of a similar situation in your life?or somebody else's life? Can you imagine what happened next to both the Mice and the Little people? 

There's more to the story, but the lessons in here are that you should anticipate change, adapt to change quickly, enjoy change and be ready to change quickly, again and again. There is so much value in this book, especially if you get to understand and relate. It could be anything at all in your life. For example relationships. Often after a break up, people tend to cry over and over again, conclude that it's unfair and that they do not deserve to be dumped and everything else that you may think of.  But remember what the Mice did when they found out that their cheese was no more? they moved on and looked for a new cheese to make them happy. They did not dwell on the past. They adapted to change. This goes on for every other situation that one may find themselves in. it can be difficult and frustrating yes but you must adapt to change as quick as you can do not dwell in one place or station, even if you did not anticipate the change, move on. Orelse you're going to be stuck at that one station like the Little people. This is a great book, i enjoyed it, and most importantly, it changed my way of thinking. 

ON AFRICAN LITERATURE

African literature is literature of and from Africa and includes oral literature (http://www.infoplease.com)

Many of us were lucky enough to have grew up in an era of oral literatures,myths,folk tales, and proverbs. Of course in rural areas the expectation is that the existence or practice of the latter is still hefty.

The LKC library has a collection of African literature, which i have to admit is my favorite across all our collection. Five years ago, i had just completed my Cambridge and while awaiting my results, i came across an Anthology of short stories titled ' ENCOUNTERS FROM AFRICA'. The book is a collection of nine short stories from fourteen authors across Africa. Some of the popula authors from the book include of course my favorite, Chinua Achebe, Bessie Head, Grace Ogot and Ezekiel Mphahlele.

 The first story i read in the book was titled 'Tekayo' written by Grace Ogot from land of the Maasai Kenya.

Tekayo is the story of a man who went to graze his cows out of his village. On the way he saw an eagle flying above his head with a large piece of  liver on its claws, Tekayo robbed the eagle its piece of delicious looking meat and roasted it on a log fire and consumed the meat under the shade of the ober tree. As the sun got hot , Tekayo got overpowered by the heat and fell asleep under the tree while his cows chew the cud under tree shades. While asleep, Tekayo had a dream. In his dream, he sat before a log of fire roasting a large piece of liver like the one he had eaten earlier on.He found out that he could not wait any longer for the meat to be fully roasted so he removed the meat and from the fire and cut it up with his knife. Just as he was about to consume it he woke up.

Realising that it was just a dream, Tekayo became frustrated that he had to look around just to confirm that it was not just a dream. In him there was a burning desire to hunt for the animal whose liver was so delicious. On the quest to find the liver his mouth watered for, Tekayo came upon a baby wildebeest the next day at the forest.He killed the animal, skinned it ,extracted the liver and abandoned the rest of the carcass right there. Back at his head, Tekayo roasted the liver and took a bite once it was cooked, but did bot swallow. Instead, he spat it all out . The liver was bitter and nowhere close to the liver he had eaten the previous day.Tekayo became depressed, but determined to find the animal whose liver was so delicious. Tekayo hunted for many months in desperation to eat the so tasteful liver that he had once eaten. This craving changed the man he once was, he became a stranger before his entire family. His wife died, Tekayo lamented. It was during this time of grief that he decided not to hunt for this animal with the most delicious livre, but to stay home and take care of his family.

Once during a little sleep, his grand daughter stood beside Tekayo;s bed calling him, but when he woke up the little girl was no where to be seen.When he went to sleep again, the little girl showed up again calling for Tekayo, but the girl disappeared when he woke up. Now one of them days Tekayo sat warming himself on the morning sun. His grandchildren played  and again the craving for the delicious liver was back. Tekayo had called the little girl he had dreamt about to get him some water in her mother' hut. In the hut, Tekayo strangled the life out of the little gil's body, and at a nearby anthill he extracted the liver and buried the body in a shallow grave. At  home, Tekayo roasted the liver, ate it greedily and found out that it was just the liver he had been craving for all this time.

The story continues, i just do not want to spoil it any longer!it is undoubtedly a great African story that i have read over and over again.  I just don't remember reading an African story and got disappointed. In the LKC Library we have great books by many African writers, stories which reflect our continent's rich cultural heritage.

I'm enjoying myself basking under the large scope of literature from the African continent.

NOVELS TO READ

                                                                Mrs  Jennifer Crusie