Reading (so far) in 2014

“An entire life spent reading would have fulfilled my every desire; I already knew that at the age of seven. The texture of the world is painful, inadequate; unalterable, or so it seems to me. Really, I believe that an entire life spent reading would have suited me best.”     Michel Houellebecq “I sink down […]

Eggs & baskets, Kobo & Calibre

It always concerned me that Amazon had such a monopoly on ebooks. However, my customer satisfaction since purchasing my first kindle in 2009, compared with the obvious inferiority of other e-readers, has been high. The price, ease and massive catalogue of ebooks available did not make it seems so bad to have all my eggs in one basket. I […]

RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!*

“We need librarians more than we ever did. What we don’t need are mere clerks who guard dead paper. Librarians are too important to be a dwindling voice in our culture. For the right librarian, this is the chance of a lifetime.” Seth Godin “If you can’t dance a step, you can’t teach it, and if […]

My Reading in 2013: Favourite Books

He didn’t want a television, he had no need of a radio. He didn’t want the world to come in….He couldn’t stand the false hysteria of soap operas, the forced hilarity of sitcoms, the feigned outrage of commentators and the hosts of current-affairs shows. He didn’t own a computer. He didn’t need its temptations. He […]

The Quiet Revolution at Your Local Library

The future of the book has been widely discussed in the last decade, as has that great democratic institution, the library. Both have been challenged by technological advances and societal change this century but are fighting off most suggestions of obsolescence by adapting successfully. My local libraries have made a number of innovations that I […]

What have you read (so far) in 2013?

Darcy tapped the page of his book and the next appeared. It had been years since he had to physically labour, turning page after page, of a novel or heavy non fiction tome and he knew he would resent having to make that much effort to read when his Kindle iPad app was so convenient. […]

Not a list (a reflective post with 2013 in mind)

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” “Fight evil, read books.” These two quotes are my favourites for the year. Pithy and profound, they seem to share great truths with some hope that one can start doing something positive right now. When so many issues […]

What has Miss 9 read in 2012?

After posting about my reading in 2012 I asked my eldest daughter, who is in 3rd class and 9 years of age, what she read this year. She did not look up from her book and turned a page. She clearly had no interest in telling me and I did get a “there’s 100s, I can’t […]

What have you read this year?

How many adults, especially teachers and parents, discuss their own reading or passion for literature with children? How much reading for professional or personal pleasure do adults actually do? How central is reading to their busy days? Every year, especially as I witness the growth and development of my own daughters’ ‘imaginary lives’, reading seems […]

Summer Holiday Reading

Because in my memory of childhood there is always the smell of bubbling tar, of Pinke Zinke, the briny smell of the sea. It is always summer and I am on Scarborough Beach, blinded by light, with my shirt off and my back a map of dried salt and peeling sunburn. There are waves cracking […]

Reading…

I can still see the poster on my own childhood primary school classroom wall: Kids who read succeeed The Conservative politician and current British Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, has recently said that, ‘children should read 50 books a year’. Who could possibly disagree? In my (not so) humble (on this issue) opinion […]

1 2 3