28 posts tagged “reading”
I have recently joined a book club at my local library. I have yet to attend a meeting but have been reading books on the list in preparation. The first one I was able to get my hands on was this one:
The normal print copy was out on loan but I was lucky enough to find a copy in the Large Print section (which is mostly patronised by the library's older borrowers). According to a librarian friend, this generation of borrowers like to write little notes to themselves (and to others?) in the books that they borrow - partly as a memory jogger in case they can't remember reading a particular book and perhaps also as a warning to their fellow citizens. The warning in the back of Lucky Jim was quite succinct and to the point and just said "silly book" in large old lady handwriting. My husband thought it might have been her speaking notes for her book club.
I am glad I didn't heed this review though as I am finding the book hilarious. The titular character (a young academic) is sooo negative and lethargic that I feel I know him well from working in the public service. I keep telling my husband he should read it too.
Very interesting book! I like the Australian cover better though, ie, features some of the bushland creatures who narrate some of the story. Quite a bizarre touch but strangely effective. Apparently it was nominated for the Orange Prize when it was published.
Oh and apparently PABBIS stands for Parents Against Bad Books in Schools. Some good books on this list. Something else that I notice about this list is that it seems to include a lot of what is termed 'multicultural fiction' in the US including important writers such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Chinua Achebe etc etc. It doesn't include the most unsuitable books I read as a 14yo which were The Flowers in the Attic series. Books like this are much more likely to be read by the average 14yo as they are written in such a sensationalist and simplistic style. I would be extremely impressed with any 14yo who wanted to read Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. This is set as a Year 11 text in Australia and you should hear the moans and groans of the students forced to read it as it is quite a difficult book. I notice Clockwork Orange is also missing. I think the film of this was previously banned in the UK although the book has been studied as a Year 10 text in Australia. No Lolita either!
I noticed that some of my vox neighbours and also my facebook friends based in the US have been posting about latest attempts to remove or ban certain books from libraries so as not to corrupt the minds of young readers. I am currently reading this novel by Tom Perotta (who also wrote Election and Little Children) which is all about attempts by a religious group to control the sex eduction curriculum in an American high school. It also touches on the issue of book banning (with particular reference to Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me Margaret). Apart from being topical, The Abstinence Teacher is also a great read.
So you probably know by now that I am an Enid Blyton fan from way back (I just pretend I am re-reading the books for the sake of my children). UK author Jane Beaton was a fan too and has written this book which Sophie Kinsella has described as "Malory Towers for grown-ups". It was really a fun read - set in a very Malory Towers like girls boarding school but in the present day. Instead of telling the story from the point of view of the popular girls, it alternates between a few characters including Simone the scholarship student, Maggie the new teacher fresh from a Scottish housing estate, the dignified principal, Veronica, who has a secret in her past and Fliss who is the most 'Blyton'ish' out of all the narrators (but rebels in a very un-Blyton'ish way). I don't think this book is out in Australia - I got my copy from the fantastic UK website, Book Depository, which posts free of charge all over the world. The books themselves are much cheaper than buying the same book in Australia (even books by Australian authors). Anyway, I highly recommend this to any grown up Blyton boarding school book fans and anyone else just after a fun (but not insulting) read.
This is not new. I just thought it was interesting in light of the discussion on my post on school starting age. I have also been reading up on the Steiner educational philosophy and understand that are quite opposed to pushing reading too early. I do think in my son's case, there is a real danger of him turning off reading with the boring readers he is having to plod through each night. Things have improved a little bit in terms of interest level but I still don't really envy him having to read books that are so far removed from his interest level. I suppose as long as I supplement this 'going through the motions' reading with more fun reading of our own (ie, generally me reading books of his choice to him), hopefully this will be enough to maintain his interest in books and reading generally.
who is nearly as old as me!
Here are some cakes I baked for the occasion:
(Actually, I tell a lie. These are cakes I made a few years ago and have posted on vox previously - several times!).
I can't understand why so many people, particularly men, seem to look down their noses at fiction. Theories and hard facts are all very well in their place but the world also needs people with vision and imagination and I think reading fiction helps to encourage this.
I can't speak highly enough of these Rascal books for encouraging reluctant readers. My son was never particularly keen on his 'home readers' in kindergarten nor in reading himself (much preferred being read to). However he recently selected a box set of these Rascal books to buy with his Christmas book voucher from his uncle. They are cleverly designed to look like novels from the outside when in fact they are picture books with vibrant, detailed illustrations and very little text on each page. They also push all the right buttons for an almost 6 year old boy, eg, dragons as pets, dragons that fly and poo on people, boy and dragon conspiring to trick dad etc etc. My son's favourite is Rascal and the Cheese which he has (voluntarily) read aloud to all of us on a number of occasions (only briefly interrupting his reading to laugh at the illustrations). He has even made an offer to his teacher to bring it into school and read it aloud to the class (who I am sure will find Rascal's antics just as hilarious).
My results:
At the moment the results are split:
You are JACK TRENT of the Adventure series. Brave, independent and a bit of a dreamer, you hunger for adventure and love a challenge. You don't mind roughing it and would be happy to go travelling in remote regions, enjoying nature and wildlife. Follow your heart by all means, but weigh things up carefully before putting yourself — and perhaps others too — in unnecessary danger.
Recommended reading: The Adventurous Four
You are ALICIA JOHNS of the Malory Towers series. Bright and quick-witted, things come to you easily and you enjoy life to the full. You are brimming over with enthusiasm and ideas and you have a daredevil streak, which makes life fun for those around you. You don't always work as hard as you could but you still manage to achieve good results, and an element of competition will always spur you on to do your best. Impatience is your downfall — you are so quick yourself that you easily become irritated with those who are slower. Try to bite your tongue and give people more of a chance!
Recommended reading: Fifth Formers of St. Clare's
I am not familiar with Jack Trent but was a huge fan of the Malory Towers and St Clares series. I thought a boarding school in England sounded like the best fun ever! My husband's 10yo niece is currently devouring all the Famous Five books. I might see if I can find some Adventurous Four books for her. It is a pity so many of the books are now out of print. One that had a particular effect on me as a child was one of my mother's books called Hollow Tree House. It was extremely dark for an Enid Blyton and I think was out of print even back when I read it in the 1970s. I recently managed to find a second hand copy on ebay and re-read it and was quite surprised at some of the themes, eg, covering things like child abuse, neglect and divorce. The Enid Blyton Society website has a review of it here.
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