time-to-read

Caution-contains spoilers!

2012-01-26T13:30:00.005Z

aagh- too much to do & say, too little time, what with work and life and Facebook and reading David Copperfield! Every spare moment over the last month has been absorbed by reading aforementioned DC. But I'm so glad I did, as I've never read it before. As I read, flashes came into my memory of a b&w film version I must have seen a very very long time ago- young DC up on a horse & cart next to "is willin'" Barkis. I also seem to remember crying over a BBC version as Dora died with her Doady by her bedside. But memory is fickle. I would have sworn Dora died early on in the story leaving David free to discover who he really ought to be married to for much of the novel. But its not like that at all. Dora dies towards the end and his second marriage seems short-changed, even though we've seen it coming for a very long time.

I'm glad I read this early in Dickens' bi-centenary year as it was so jolly and fast-moving and entertaining, despite the serious themes and extreme length. It has made me keen to read more. Just as well, as I have undertaken to assemble a reading group of Dickens' champions which will read 5 novels this year. We will meet to talk about them and share our thoughts on a website . So its The Old Curiosity Shop next which I don't think I know anything about, except isn't it the one in which Little Nell.....shhhhh.

Can't finish without mentioning Robert Burns' birthday yesterday. I was so pleased to read a Guardian column by Paul Kingsnorth [Gaurdian 25.1.12] comparing Robert Burns with Dorset poet William Barnes. This also took me back, to my own Dorset days and to digging out my "Selected Poems of WB, edited by Geoffrey Grigson". Tucked inside was a newspaper column dated 28.1.84- a comment piece by Roy Hattersley talking about Philip Larkin, and William Barnes ( & briefly Thos. Hardy and E.M. Forster). This column flagged up Barnes' extraordinary facility with language- knowing some of at least 60 and conversing regularly in Persian & Hindusthani with a local neighbour. Seems extraordinary in the Dorset I remember.

For those of you who don't know him, here's a link to enable you to download one of his collections for free.

So there we have it: I have read and remembered 3 extraordinarily energetic & influential writers this week- Robert Burns, William Barnes and Charles Dickens. I wonder who fits their mould today?

Keep the sparkle going

2011-12-01T14:14:00.005Z

On Tuesday night I found myself on the 5th Floor of the Piccadilly (London) branch of Waterstones at a glittering gathering of publishers, writers, librarians (current & former) Reading Agency staff and assorted "literary" supporters. All had gathered to celebrate the publisher & library partnership Reading Partners and to hear details of future co-operation for 2012.

Despite the current uncertainty about, in both local government and publishing, the tone of the evening was resolutely positive and optimistic ( to quote Tony Durcan of Society of Chief Librarians). At least 40 new or significantly re-furbished libraries will open in 2012 and The Reading Agency will continue to be energetic, supporting a strategic reading year with high impact events and promotions. We were reminded that across the UK's public library network there remain over 4,100 library sites and 12 million active borrowers

Reading Partners involves 40 UK publishers and will now embrace Waterstones as a retail partner. There is still room to work with Independent booksellers, many of whom will continue to work closely with their local libraries. It was heart-warming to hear Joanna Prior , Managing Director of Penguin (General Division) state that libraries are a vital partner for publishers and are always considered and included in marketing campaigns.

The short series of speeches was rounded off by novelist Kate Mosse who spoke passionately about libraries role in providing access to the written word and declared "authors and readers of today will not let down the writers and readers of tomorrow".

Yes, everyone there was committed to the future of libraries and as far as I could tell, understood the vital role libraries play in generating readers for writers across the spectrum of publishing. But in these hard times when much of the future seems uncertain, it was wonderfully reassuring, as well as an increasingly rare opprtunity, to meet work colleagues and make new contacts. Fantastic as well to talk to writers such as Hardeep Singh Kohli and Patrick Ness (pictured with me here) who had enjoyed visits to libraries in this region and are keen to return.

Literature & Philosophy in Rochdale

2011-11-11T12:15:00.008Z

A few years ago Rochdale Library Service was delighted to discover that it had been left a substantial legacy by a local couple Mr Frank and Mrs Annie Maskew for a collection of works of Literature & Philosophy. Monday evening this week saw the formal launch of the collection and the fruition of long-held dreams.

Frank and Annie Maskew who originally met in Rochdale library, shared a passion for reading and thinking . Annie, a long-serving teacher at the former Queen Elizabeth High School died in 2006, after leaving a bequest to the library service to be used on English literature and philosophy, to ensure classic works are available for future generations. Several of her former pupils attended Monday's launch and spoke movingly about the long-standing love of classic literature she had instilled in them. She had clearly been an inspirational teacher of the sort we might all wish we had encountered.

Rochdale Council has now recruited Suzi Heslan as project manager and launched an extended ‘Maskew Collection’ which includes literature & philosophy titles for adults and children together with CDs and DVDs. The collection includes prize-winning books alongside popular philosophy titles, and is being used as an opportunity to develop innovative new ways of using library services. Suzi has planned and begun a series of events including Philosophy Coffee and Classic Reads discussion groups. The week of November 21st sees a whole week of activity to 'Get Rochdale Reading' and in January there will be an event on Lord Byron's birthday, marking his understated links with the area.

Monday's well-attended launch brought poets and musicians together for a cool set of jazz and poetry from local writers, in a corner of the library where we were surrounded by the first books to have been purchased through the bequest. I'm sure the evening would have made Mr and Mrs Maskew feel very proud and it certainly felt like a beacon of cultural enjoyment and optimism amidst all the recent more gloomy news stories about the decline of libraries.

For more information about the Maskew Collection or to find out about more about planned activities please contact Suzi Heslan on (01706) 924 933

Dickens matters

2011-10-28T15:26:00.004+01:00

Well- where did all those weeks go? I can't believe 6 weeks have passed since I last wrote here. A couple of them were spent very happily attending Manchester Literature Festival events, bigger and better than ever this year. One of the great features of this festival for me, is that someone writes up a blog for every event which all give a really good flavour. These are brilliant for confirming or challenging your own experience, or for describing an event you may have missed. Please take a look at some or all of them here.

As for the other weeks, they are lost in routine and activity planning for next year. Which brings me to Dickens. Anyone interested in books will already know that we will all be celebrating the bi-centenary of Dickens' birth on 7th Feb 2012. The BBC is making splendid plans for some new productions , publishers will be re-issuing and promoting his titles, London is holding a Cultural Olympiad Festival. One of the Manchester Literature Festival events I attended was a talk by Clare Tomalin about Dicken's life and I have since been reading her thorough and detailed biography. This in turn has led me back to his fiction, in audio form. Many a librarian has said to me that they think people are put off reading him because of the sheer size of his volumes. But today there are so many ways to "access" Dickens. There are marvellous recorded readings of all his titles, brilliant TV productions on DVD, condensed and illustrated graphic versions for younger readers and of course e-book versions for those readers attracted to new lightweight formats.

I am all in favour of people discovering Dickens in whatever way suits them best. Most of his books are door-stop sized and somewhat intimidating for the casual reader. But the themes and subjects of his books are important and relevant to our current times. Here in the NW I hope that all our libraries will celebrate Dickens both for what he was and for what he wrote about. He visited the region many times and was particularly fond of both Manchester & Liverpool. I will be trying to trace all the other places he visited locally as well.

For a brilliant summary of why he matters you just need to read the final paragraph of Claire Tomalin's biography which starts He left a trail like a meteor, and everyone finds their own version of Charles Dickens. More anon...

Great American Novels

2011-09-16T12:30:00.008+01:00

Yesterday in my reading group we were talking about Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. A lively group of 15 people all seemed to have enjoyed the characters, the wit and the important and perennial themes it tackles. Linda, a fairly new member of the group who has lived half her life in the US, felt it highlighted the fundamental pragmatism of American people. Lots of people commented on the river as metaphor for constant movement and freedom.

Of course we also talked about the racism it highlights and attitudes between white and black people which remain as a subject matter for modern writing, as well as the now shocking un-pc language it is written in. We had read The Help by Kathryn Stockett earlier in the year and there was much to be said about how black people can still be treated by land-owning whites. Clare, as she often does, compared it with her favorite William Faulkner and found it wanting.

What puzzled me as the discussion went on was why I hadn't read it earlier. I had ostensibly studied American literature at University (along with English) but had managed to avoid both Uncle Tom's Cabin and Huckleberry Finn, both widely regarded as seminal works, not only of anti-slavery literature, but also of American Literature in its entirety. Twain's house in Hartford, Connecticut pictured here, stands directly next door to that of Harriet Beecher Stowe and now I understand what an influence she must have had on his thinking and writing. I haven't thought about my university days for many years but this really made me wonder if we weren't pointed at these books because of some politically correct anxiety about the content or language. If that was the case, it was a pity and an omission.

But perhaps it was just me. Perhaps we were given options which I have now forgotten. All I remember is that for a very long time I immersed myself in Moby Dick and for decades have enthused about that as greatest ever American novel. In recent years its status in my eyes was challenged by Jonathan Franzen's Freedom, but I still think I would take MD to my desert island. But now that certainty has been shaken. Once again a reading group discussion has caused me to question what I thought I knew, admire other people's perception and judgement, bemoan my own ignorance. I know it has all been said before in other places, but when they work well, reading groups really can be an amazing source of inspiration and learning. And if you think Huckleberry Finn is a children's book you are in for a surprise.

Event fatigue? I hope not.

2011-09-09T13:56:00.003+01:00

As someone involved in helping to make "live literature " events happen, from time to time I take an interest in audience numbers at book and reading events. Perhaps its because I work within local government which is currently having to justify every penny of expenditure more than ever before, but am I alone in detecting a worrying trend? Are fewer people attending literature events? Perhaps fewer people are attending events in general? Is everyone so concerned about their security & their finances that they aren't going out as much. Or is it just that we have had a wet and disappointing summer?

Last week I was in Fife, not too far from Edinburgh and managed to squeeze in a visit to the Edinburgh Book Festival on its last day. The site was looking a bit bedraggled and muddy, but there seemed to be a healthy number of people there and the bookshop was busy. But I read in the press that 10,000 fewer people had attended in total this year (n.b. total was a healthy sounding 190,000) when compared with last, even though record numbers attended the Fringe. Was this all to do with rain?

Closer to home, a reading this week in a large and busy town centre library with a good track record of hosting successful activity, only attracted 5 people. And a forthcoming event which I would have expected to be almost sold out by now, has only attracted a quarter of its target audience so far.

Is this all coincidence, or is it a trend? It would be good to hear some other recent experiences.

Manchester Literature Festival is only a month way. I really hope people locally will be excited enough by the programme to come along to as many events as possible. View the programme here. For those who are part of a reading group or want to arrange a night out with a group of book-loving friends, there is a special Reading Group Ticket Offer.

The Offer: Book for 4 or more people and get all your tickets at the concessionary rate. The offer is available on the following events and can be booked via the website or by phoning our Box Office on 0843 208 0500 and quoting MLF Reading Group offer at the time of booking.

Manchester Sermon – Manchester Cathedral, Tuesday 11th October, 7pm
Michael Frayn – Manchester Town Hall, Thursday 13th October, 5pm
Roma Tearne – International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Friday 14th October, 6pm
Emma Jane Unsworth & John Niven – Waterstone’s Deansgate, Saturday 15th October, 6pm
Sacred Hearts – Manchester Cathedral, Sunday 16th October, 7.30pm
Navtej Sarna & Shrabani Basu – Waterstone’s Deansgate, Monday 17th October, 6pm
Mimi Khalvati & Carola Luther – International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Thursday 20th October, 6pm
David Lodge – Whitworth Art Gallery, Friday 21st October, 7.30pm
The Devil’s Garden – Manchester Museum, Saturday 22nd October, 1pm
Catherine O’Flynn – Waterstone’s Deasngate, Saturday 22nd October, 6pm

Love Libraries Day

2011-08-04T19:02:00.003+01:00

Saturday 4th February 2012 will be a national day of celebration of local libraries, preceeded by a week of activity in schools and colleges. Library campaigner Alan Gibbons says " it will be a celebration of libraries and librarians... a day when families and communities flock to their local library to use it, join it, love it."

This could be a really exciting opportunity for lots of reading -related events, which could include readings, story-telling and family centred fun and games, but could also be really imaginative.

A large number of organisations have already pledged support including The Bookseller, National Federation of Women's Institutes, National Literacy Trust, The Reading Agency, Society of Authors, Unison, Voices for the Library. A national website is planned for September.

Time To Read would love to try and help co-ordinate some innovative activity across North West Libraries and would like to hear from anyone with interesting ideas to offer. Time To Read has some funds to support activity but is short of time, so ideas must be easy to understand & organise, with plenty of publicity potential as well as impact.

Please get in touch if you have any suggestions.

Wherever the plot takes you

2011-07-08T16:49:00.007+01:00

Where does time go? More than 3 weeks already since I last wrote anything here. That's not because, regrettably that I've been on holiday, but there has been so much going on and so much news to keep up with, that its tricky getting time to reflect. Every day at the moment , or so it seems, there is news of library closure decisions being reversed or delayed, judicial reviews and new authors joining campaigns. Its really encouraging that there seems to be so much support for library services and so many writers who realise the important role libraries play in giving access to books to people of all ages.

To our own activity here in the NW: reading The Observer yesterday I was pleased to find a double-page spread about books to read in top holiday destinations. This fits perfectly with our own Reading Places promotion. 10 writers have picked 10 top holiday destinations and recommended some relevant reading. You can see the whole list and additional reader comments here.

I note in the comments, Claire Armitstead of The Guardian says:
Please do ask everyone you know to contribute to this list of suggestions. If we get enough we'll make a dinky little map with all your recommended reads on it next week, which would be a great resource for all those holiday-bound readers over the next few weeks. I'm off to Germany - just north of Nuremberg. Any suggestions welcome. Preferably not involving rallies, of any sort!

From a Reader Development point of view, the recommendations given are varied, with most of the writers choosing something classic alongside a fiction & non-fiction title, offering a range of substantial reads. Even if, like me, you aren't heading off abroad this year, this list can help take you to some favourite destinations, in your imagination.

Elsewhere library staff in the region are starting to organise Reading Places events. Keep an eye on the listings for news of these.

Greatest non-fiction books

2011-06-16T10:30:00.005+01:00

There is an interesting discussion going on this week over on the Guardian Books website.
They have compiled a list they are calling The 100 greatest non-fiction books. Obviously lists such as these are always biased to the interests and knowledge of the people compiling them, hence the greatest number of titles appear in History, Memoir, Philosophy and Politics while sections on Music, Maths, Environment and Religion are alarmingly short.

Also noticeable is the great age of many of the chosen books, which makes it a difficult list for public libraries to promote, though many of the titles will still be in print in new editions. The most recent title I spotted is Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky (2008) on the social media revolution.

There are already lots of comments about the list over on the Guardian site, most of them bemoaning the lack of individual people's personal favourites. More interesting to me are all the comments about the lack of readability of many of the titles which seem to have been picked because they are "classic" but not necessarily because they are an enjoyable good read.

So there is work to be done- can we flag up alternative titles in libraries? Titles which still inform and educate and which more people might actually finish reading; titles which complement this very worthy list. If there are any public libraries which take on this task please let me know here.

Women Write

2011-05-27T14:39:00.004+01:00

Last night I attended City Library, Manchester for the launch of an anthology “Life, Death… The Whole Damn Thing”, featuring short stories from members of the award-winning writing group at Commonword in Manchester. The room was packed with writers, their friends and family members as well as some of us there as supporters and admirers.

The womanswrite group has existed for decades, encouraging many women to find their writing voices and in some cases develop their writing careers. Cathy Bolton, now Director of Manchester Literature Festival, kicked off the proceedings with some of her award-winning poetry. Novelist Cath Staincliffe rounded the event off by acknowledging the importance of womanswrite to her own successful career.What came through strongly throughout the event was the value of this supportive network in helping numerous writers to improve their work and gain in confidence.

In between Cathy and Cath, 7 members of the group read extracts from the stories appearing in the anthology. There was great variety in the work, some being very real, others rooted in fantasy or fairytale. In a way though, what was read, although enjoyable, wasn't really the essence of this event. What mattered was the sense of achievement and the pride everyone , from publisher, editor to all the writers felt in having published.

While most of the work of a librarian is dealing with published work, it was great that this event celebrating creative writing happened in a library. Without the valuable work going on in writing groups, workshops and masterclasses all over the country, sometimes in libraries, many successful writers might not come to light. Writers need to read. Many writers need to test their work in friendly and supportive groups. Writers need to promote their early work when it is published. Libraries can and do support the creative act of writing. With all the cutbacks and change currently happening to libraries in many parts of the UK, I hope this important function won't be lost.

Reading & Travel

2011-05-16T12:53:00.010+01:00

Funny how here in NW Libraries we have just launched Reading Places, a promotion of travel writing and in the same week The Independent published in its "i" paper (Thurs p 35) a top ten list of travel books:
Arabian Sands – William Thesiger
Homage to Catalonia – George Orwell
Notes from a Small Island – Bill Bryson
Journey to Portugal – Jose Saramago
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – Hunter S Thompson
Travels with Charley – John Steinbeck
A Wounded Civilization – V S Naipaul
The Great Railway Bazaar – Paul Theroux
The Road to Oxiana – Robert Byron
The Journals of Captain Cook – James Cook

This is a mixed selection of good writing and includes some classics and older titles as well as contemporary ones and I had selected a number of these myself to feature in our own list, but where are the women? I find it a bit remiss of the Indie not to have included even one woman.

I must admit that a lack of female writers to choose from struck me too while I was looking for titles to promote on our own site. There are obvious reasons why women found it harder to travel in the past and I LOVE this qoutation from George Eliot Daniel Deronda, Book II, Chapter 13, p135 (Penguin).
We women can't go in search of adventure - to find out the North-West Passage or the source of the Nile, or to hunt tigers in the East. We must stay where we grow, or where the gardeners like to transplant us. We are brought up like the flowers, to look as pretty as we can, and be dull without complaining. That is my notion about the plants: they are often bored, and that is the reason why some of them have got poisonous.

Times have most definitely changed and a moment's research soon comes up with plenty of female travel writers . The easiest possible hunt on Amazon today displays 2,829 results for Women Travellers in a list that includes lots of handbooks and guides for independent women, especially those travelling alone. There are collections of comic writing, descriptions by fearless adventurers and cautionary tales for the inexperienced and unwary.

Wonderful Virago published a collection in the early 1990s edited by Mary Morris, surveying 300 years of travel writing in which women are observers of the world in which they wander; their prose rich in description, remarkable in detail. This is now on my "books to read soon" list.

What also strikes me about the Indie's list is that several of the writers included are known as novelists as well- George Orwell, Jose Saramago, Joseph Steinbeck, VS Naipaul. Is this something that men find easier than women- moving seemlessly between different sorts of writing? I wonder. There are probably lots of female novelists who have also published memoirs and travel descriptions- but who are they? I can think of Kate Grenville who wrote the highly recommended novel about early settlers in Australia The Secret River, and then followed up with a memoir Searching For the Secret River, about her family and the inspiration for the novel. Are there other examples like this?

It would be good to be able to add to the short list of Women travel writers on this website, so do get in touch with your own ideas.

In the meantime I hope you will discover one or two titles to read on our site- we have given you a lot more than 10 to select from. And please send us a photo of yourself reading on your travels, whether that's to somewhere exotic or just as far as your back garden.

Reading Places

2011-05-06T12:26:00.005+01:00

This time last week I was in New York, and find I am still recovering from what was a very hectic trip. Apparently there are 5 time zones between here and there and consequently it will take me 5 days to feel normal (!) again.

On our trip we did squeeze in a couple of bookshops as well as the very grand New York Public Library building, which somehow felt strangely familiar. The Strand Bookshop off Union Square boasts 18 miles of books. It was certainly densely packed and I was able to spot lots of titles by American authors I now want to read. This store has a great website too with lots of book choice information.

All of which is preamble to telling you more about Reading Places which launches on Monday. If you revisit this website on Monday 9th May you should spot a new banner and link to our new promotion. If you follow through, you will have approximately 100 books promoted to you, all linked to the theme of travel. I have tried to match Fiction & Non- Fiction titles, so for example if you are planning a trip to Easter Island you will be able to find both a novel and a factual account flagged up for you. We can add more titles through the year so please get in touch if you read a particularly evocative novel while on your travels.

We also want people to send us photos from their travels, pictures of books or people reading in unusual places. These will go up on our Facebook site, NOW that's what I call READING.

More next week

Are writers born or made?

2011-04-13T11:56:00.002+01:00

I attended a riveting event at City Library Manchester last night which was part book launch and part debate about the value of creative writing MAs. The room was packed, not sure who by, but I guess lots of people either already on, or who may be had considered and rejected going on, a Creative Writing course.

First-time novelist Rachel Genn, a recent participant on the Novel Writing MA at Sheffield Hallam University was launching her novel The Cure. Also launching her most recent novel The Testament of Jessie Lamb, was her former tutor at Sheffield Hallam, Jane Rogers.

Both writers read from their books. The Cure is set on and around building sites in Shoreditch but is really about loss, isolation and displacement.
...Jessie Lamb is set just in the future- 6 months on from where any reader starts- and is told through the voice of a 16 year old girl. Is Jessie heroic? Or is she, as her father fears, impressionable, innocent, incapable of understanding where her actions will lead? This was the issue Jane most wanted to address in this book.

After the readings, chair Sherry Ashworth, herself a writer and creative writing teacher at MMU, led the duo through a series of probing questions, asking them to address the value of Creative Writing courses and the perennial issue of whether or not a writer can be "created" through teaching.

The exchange was fascinating to me, as someone who feels instinctively that writers are born. Jane seemed to back my instinct by saying that writers can be helped and improved, for example with how to build characters or how to structure a plot, but need to arrive with an innate feeling for language and a vision for what they want to communicate. Rachel agreed that she was someone who definitely needed support with how to control and shape her words, but the strong drive to write was what drew her to a course

Questions from the audience quickly drew out some strong feelings, particularly around the question of whether it is now almost essential for a new writer to attend a creative writing course, if they want to be "discovered" by an agent. Jane tried to allay fears on that score but I'm not sure everyone was convinced. Agents do, it seems, visit Creative Writing schools to make new contacts with aspiring writers.

The overall impression from the evening was that writing is b.....y hard work! Students on creative writing courses need to work hard, take criticism and persevere. Tutors must work hard at being even-handed and supportive, while giving criticism where its needed. We readers are indeed the lucky ones, enjoying the fruits of all that effort.

Reading Places

2011-03-25T08:29:00.005Z

After much angst and changes of direction, Time To Read has now decided on its focus for activity for this year. Reading Places will promote all sorts of travel writing, in the broadest sense. We will promote books which support travel to far flung parts of the world, but we also promote books to the armchair traveler: those books which transport you to other countries, real and imaginary from the comfort of your own front room, or, let's hope, the garden deckchair.
I am currently spending much time researching fiction set in other countries to pair up with the more self-evident travel guides and directories. So yes, I am still searching for a, so far elusive, novel set in Fiji. Any ideas anyone?
In the meantime I have just finished reading Freedom by Jonathan Franzen which I have been waiting to do since its release last autumn. I loved it. Like The Corrections its an absorbing read about the complex relationships between people in an introspective middle-class American family. So much is familiar and at the same time I wanted to scream at them for not communicating better with each other. The bits that really grabbed me though were set in a lakeside summer-house which, both Patty and Walter at various times retreat to. This seems to be a recurring motif in American Literature, from Thoreau's Walden to the most recent novels I have read. In both Freedom and the very bleak Caribou Island (David Vann), the need for a lakeside retreat is obsessive. And yet in neither of these is "retreat" really possible. The outside world really can't be avoided.

World Book Night Successes

2011-03-10T09:48:00.003Z

Everyone who took part in WBN seems to be rating it as a success. Although it will be impossible to know how many of the books given away on Saturday are read, certainly the spirit in which they were given and received seems to have been very positive.
I was at a charity for homeless people , where, not only were they eager to receive books, but also wanted to know about them and were keeen to find out more about what was being given away. Picture shows giver David with some of the "receivers".

Warrington Libraries had 2 success stories, not only getting books given away at a Wolves RUFC match but also inspiring comedian Sarah Millican to announce WBN and encourage people to pick up books from library staff at the interval. Janet said The books went so fast we couldn't believe it!

Sarah from Salford took books and staff to The Lowry and said Just wish I'd had more books! They all went in about an hour! Five hundred!

I was in a meeting in London yesterday with some publisher representatives. The feeling at that was also that it had been successful in creating a buzz about books. I suppose they will be eagerly looking for an upsurge in sales now. We need to feedback our thoughts on the whole scheme which was hugely ambitious. Some of the glitches were probably inevitable in a project of this size. It will be important to hang on to the core purpose which was to get books into the hands of more people and enthuse them about reading.

time-to-read: World Book Night

2011-03-04T09:17:00.000Z

time-to-read: World Book Night: "Its almost here. Tomorrow sees the first World Book Night and a million books being given away. The organisation must have been a logistical..."

World Book Night

2011-03-04T09:12:00.003Z

Its almost here. Tomorrow sees the first World Book Night and a million books being given away. The organisation must have been a logistical Everest but certainly we have lots of books in Manchester and have seen a long list of other book givers so there should be lots of books "on the streets".

Lots of library services are organising events. The latest I have heard of is a Quiz Night at Wallasey Central Library on the Wirral. See www.wirral.gov.uk to find the details on the libraries' pages.

I shall be at The Mustard Tree which we hope will be featured on the BBC 2 World Book Night programme just before 9pm.

I'll report back next week on how it goes.

the World of Books Day & Night

2011-02-28T10:01:00.006Z

Its potentially a big week for books. Thursday is the UK's World Book Day. Always thought it was odd that we didn't fit with the rest of the world which holds WBD on April 23rd, but its to do with schools & Easter hols I believe. That aside, World Book Day in the UK has seen massive publisher support for children's reading and in recent years the launch of a new set of Quick Reads.

Quick Reads are a great series of books for people who have never had, or who have lost the habit of reading. Each year 10 titles are published on World Book Day and libraries and learning organisations work hard to get them into the hands of people who may not discover them on their own.

The list of new titles for this year can be seen on the QR website. I notice this year's list includes books by top borrowed author James Patterson, alongside former Monty Python star Terry Jones and a Martial Arts Adventure from Benjamin Zephania. So there should be some really varied and interesting reading to be found.

WBD will be closely followed on Saturday by the first World Book Night
The intention of WBN is that a million books will be given away by a "army of passionate book givers". While there have been some murmurings of scepticism about this venture by some booksellers, writers and librarians ( after all libraries are full of free books all the time- the only difference is we ask you to bring them back), it does seem that it should be successful at getting books into people's hands in some unusual and imaginative ways. Book givers have been recruited in sufficient numbers and certainly from where I am in Manchester, there is a long list of givers who have opted to collect their books from libraries and take them who knows where?

I am excited to be supporting a project which hopefully really will get books into the hands of people who are not already regular book buyers, though we are told, are often voracious readers. Manchester Libraries are supporting The Mustard Tree , a charity which supports homeless and marginalised people. The library service is working in partnership with the Mustard Tree to present an open mic night at which clients of the charity can perform their work. The library service is delighted that the BBC has chosen this event as one to highlight on their special BBC 2 World Book Night programme.

Around the NW region there are plenty of other WBN events as well. It makes me proud as a librarian to see so many library staff, currently working under great pressure, still willing and able to pick up an external opportunity like this and create lively events which will bring books to more readers.

I shall try to give as much publicity as I can to all the events taking place "on my patch".

Time for some reader development?

2011-02-09T14:26:00.006Z

Listening to the very positive You and Yours phone-in and discussion about public libraries yesterday, one caller 's remarks jumped out at me. I didn't catch where she called from- but by the sound of her voice she was older, well-educated (mentioned Oxford University) and a keen user of library services- both her small local branch and a larger town centre one. She had moved recently and commented that her local library did not offer her a choice of books. I hope this was over-stating the case. I'm not aware there are any public libraries yet with no books at all. What I suspect she meant was that there were lots of other things more obvious- such as computers, DVDs, music and that she struggled to find a book that she felt she wanted to borrow.

The experts in the studio didn't have time to follow up this person's comments, but I think she was making 2 points. The question of whether libraries have given away too much space to ICT and other services has been in the air for many years now. My own interest in reader development was spurred on by trying to defend the need for books against a policy of expansion for ICT services and the belief by some managers that demand for books would spiral downwards rapidly. Most of us in the profession with a deep love of books have always felt that the two can and should exist side by side. A library isn't a library without books, but we recognise and value ICT services for all that they offer, and yes, libraries should be offering them. Other collections such as DVDs and music are a valuable part of our cultural offer and sit happily within our lending services, providing additional choices to a wide range of people.

Why this person felt she couldn't find a book she wanted to borrow is a more interesting reader development question. Unless this library literally had no books or had bought no new stock for many years, then surely there should have been at least one tempting title. Was it to do with the way the books were presented- all spine -on, leaving the browser no clues as to their content? Or was it to do with the selection- possibly all popular & genre fiction, leaving nothing apparently serious for a demanding reader? Or may be this reader was limiting her browsing to only writers she had heard of previously?

All these questions can be addressed by a library service taking reader development seriously. Consideration of presentation is obvious. Publishers know that covers sell books and many libraries have long been trying to offer more face-on display. Libraries do need to remain aware of looking attractive, contemporary and yes, tidy. Potential borrowers can be very quickly deterred if its difficult to see what might be interesting behind a barrage of For Sale trolleys or beyond a bank of computer desks

If the selection of titles is small and in the face of shrinking bookfunds, this is going to become a problem in most places, then library staff have to work at enticing people to pick up something different. They need to describe books, perhaps on shelf-talkers or by pulling them together into " If you like x you'll love y " displays or lists. They need to "market" books to readers by any means available, through mailing lists, social networking, text messages, by putting on events and activities where books are discussed. Readers are understandably reluctant to try books they know nothing about or which don't seem to match with anything they might have enjoyed before.We need to encourage them to dare something different.

I'm sure even the most narrowly focused reader can be encouraged to try something else for a change, if its presented to them in the right way. Maybe if its won a prize or been reviewed by a serious critic: the library needs to know that and present the information. Perhaps the reader could be asked to read something on behalf of the service and provide a review for a library website or to inform the library's readers groups. By joining a reading group themselves they might soon be able to influence the choice of books being offered. So many ideas come to mind, so quickly.

But all of this requires work and effort. This is reader development in action. The current round of spending cuts is having a massive effect on staffing structures and the sheer capacity of services to deliver. In a time of austerity those libraries which do survive, need to put more effort into retaining existing enthusiastic readers and creating new ones, not less. There is a huge groundswell of vocal support for library services currently and we must surely reflect on whether or not their continued support is deserved.

Pages Ago reviewed

2011-01-21T13:49:00.009Z

Apologies that posts on this blog have been rather infrequent lately. As well as the distractions caused by trying to keep up with the news about threats to libraries nationwide and the growing numbers of campaigns and messages of support from writers, publishers etc, I have spent much of the last couple of months deep in surveys and evaluation reports.

One of the major reports I have been writing is an evaluation of the Pages Ago promotion, where this blog began back in April 2010. In terms of the number of events held and opportunities for writers to appear in libraries, Pages Ago has been the most successful reading promotion we have delivered across the North West's libraries. While my evaluation still isn't quite complete I am happy to report that because of Pages Ago there were at least 110 events which focussed on reading and writing about history, in NW libraries during 2010. Of these, at least 55 offered opportunities for writers based here in the NW to gain employment and promote themselves and their work. All these events were encouraged by Time To Read, the NW public libraries' reading network, and many were supported with Arts Council GFA lottery funding.

These events ranged from single writers reading from their books, such as Harry Sidebottom talking about his new Roman-set title in Macclesfield & Bury, creative writing workshops such as Jo Bell's (pictured) Curses, Cures and Wills workshop using historical documents as inspiration, imaginative events such as Stockport's trip into Air Raid Shelters featuring staff in costume and carefully chosen readings, to my personal highlights such as Manchester's Readers Day featuring 10 historical writers and the Big Family Book Day held in the Tenant's Hall at Tatton Park.

Many librarians who worked on Pages Ago have said that they found the historical theme a really fruitful one to work with. They enjoyed pairing up fiction and non-fiction books and found the range of potential writers keen to work with us, inspiring.

We are now in a new year which seems to be posing major challenges to us in public libraries. Time To Read's main task is to maintain the enthusiasm for promoting books and reading which was so clearly demonstrated through Pages Ago. To keep our spirits up we have decided to focus on Humour and will be planning our new activity over the coming weeks.

New Year of Reading

2011-01-04T11:47:00.005Z

After what has been the longest Xmas/New Year break I have ever enjoyed, I am back at my desk and raring to go with a new year of reading and promotion of books/writers.

One thing I have just found time to do has been to review the stats of how many people are reading this blog and have been pleasantly surprised. Although not many people are leaving comments, the blog is being read in some surprising places. Can I just say hello to whoever is following this from S.Korea and Armenia!

For reasons which must remain under wraps I have spent Xmas reading romance. This has been a real indulgence. My understanding of the world of regency dress, manners and morals has till now been confined to what I've learned through Jane Austen. I now know far more than I did about the importance of the horse-racing world as a means to meeting new beaux. And Scottish lairds still exude the irresistible charisma which caused me to fall for my own scotsman more than 30 years ago. Pity he wasn't a laird with his own loch.

When my heap of romantic novels has all been read, I hope to spend much of 2011 seeking out and reading feelgood books with a humorous edge. Libraries here in NW England want to promote the reading of "humour" as a means to countering the economic gloom we all seem to be facing, especially here in public libraries. We intend to launch our hunt for the funniest book we have read. Details of this will follow in due course, but in the meantime if anyone wants to recommend a really funny read to take us cheerfully into 2011 please do so here or on our Facebook page NOW that's what I call READING.

Voices From the Mill

2010-12-15T08:38:00.003Z

Yesterday I visited Marple Library (Stockport MBC) to hand over the first prize for the Flashback Fiction short story which we have been running as part of Pages Ago. The winner was Joyce Reed who is a writer of poetry and short stories with some previous success in competitions. You can see some of her earlier work on her own website as well as her winning story on our own Promotions page.

Chatting to Joyce yesterday I discovered that although already experienced in writing as well as running the annual Marple Writing Competition, which attracts 100s of entries from around the world, she had found time to attend the Marple Festival/Pages Ago workshop led by Jo Bell held in September. It was at this workshop she found out about and was inspired to enter, Flashback Fiction. So well done to Jo too for inspiring a worthy winner.

If you read Joyce's story you will see that it is very short and the language is pure poetry. Patricia Duncker, an established writer and academic who judged the short-listed entries said that in short, short fiction every word needs to count. Certainly from all the entries received, Joyce's story stood out for its imaginative and thoughtful language which brings the historical context to life.

You can read this story as well as the runner up and the winners in the under-16 age group on our Promotions page.

Looking back

2010-11-19T13:55:00.003Z

With rumours that publishers are currently less willing than they used to be to take a risk on new writers, it is perhaps no coincidence that the new year will see the reissue of the works of 2 formerly best-selling historical authors.

Jean M Auel's The Clan of the Cave Bear was first published in the UK in 1980. Her story, set before the Ice Age, speculates on the possibility of interaction between Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon people. The story opens with an earthquake which orphans a 5 year old child who is found and cared for by the eponymous Neanderthal clan.

4 other titles have followed in the Earth's Children series , which will all be reissued early in 2011, heralding the publication of the 6th and final new volume The Land of Painted Caves in March.
This will conclude the story of Ayla, her mate Jondalar, and their little daughter, Jonayla.

Jean M. Auel's books are reputed to be tremendously well researched and have a loyal fanbase. The series so far has sold tens of millions copies world wide and the 3rd title in the series The Mammoth Hunters (1985) was the first hardcover title ever to achieve a 1st printing of more than a million. I wonder how many are planned for no 6?

Plans have also reached me of a reprint of Mary Stewart's backlist, coming from Hodder. Mary Stewart, now well into her nineties isn't publishing a new title, but her backlist definitely deserves to reach new readers. Her Merlin and Arthurian series, as well as those set in 15th Century Scotland certainly enthused me to read historical fiction more than many another writer.

No Redemption- remembering the miners' strike

2010-11-05T14:38:00.005Z

I helped with an event last night which took place at the Working Class History Library in Salford. That's a very interesting venue if you haven't been there already. Just ring the doorbell and someone will let you in (during their opening hours). Currently has a special Michael Foot exhibition on.

Last night's event was to promote a book of photos taken during the Miners' Strike in 1984/5 in Easington (Co.Durham) by Keith Pattison. He thought it would be good if they could be published to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the strike, as many hadn't been seen before. His publisher suggested David Peace, author of GB 84, a novel about the strike, would be an appropriate person to write the introduction. David was keen to be involved and suggested a return trip to Easington on Election Day (May 2010) where they carried out interviews with people who had been directly involved in the strike.

The resulting book, No Redemption (Flambard Press 2010) is impressive, as was last night's presentation which included a short film and readings by David Peace along with actress Maxine Peake.

David spoke passionately about his motivations for writing GB 84, as well as for getting involved in No Redemption. Keith and David both seemed pleased that the publication of No Redemption was providing opportunities for remembering such a key period in our relatively recent past, at a time when communities and life as we know it seem once more to be politically threatened.

The annexe of the Library was packed for the event which had been sponsored and organised by Unison as part of their "In Touch with Roots" campaign. This campaign is remembering key campaigns in Trade Union history and fits well with our own library "Pages Ago " promotion. Frank Hunt, the regional secretary of Unison spoke with conviction about the continuing value of Trade Unions and singled out libraries as a service which must be fought for.

Sweetens bookshop from Bolton sold lots of copies of No Redemption as well as a range of titles by David Peace, and both signed copies and chatted for some time after the formal talking was done.

Tatton Park- family book day

2010-11-01T15:52:00.002Z

Tatton Park's Tenants' Hall was the venue for a day of family activities last weekend. The whole day offered opportunities to have a go at writing and drawing history- historical characters and stories.

That Poetry Bloke, Craig Bradley warmed up the audience and got them thinking about words; illustrator Matt Buckingham described the processes involved in illustrating childrens' history books as well as doing a Rolf Harris act and creating some instant characters; storyteller Amy Douglas mesmerised with her tellings of traditional folk tales; author Jim Eldridge got the audience to create an instant history story- this one a wartime story about the only bomb to fall on Stockport in WW2. Alongside all this children could draw, make badges and find out about how people wrote through the centuries with the help of Janet Bradshaw.

Comments on the day included: Great event! Something for all the children. We loved the storytelling & the badge-making. We’ve gone home with lots of great ideas. I loved the drawing & the story was really good and Really enjoyable for adults & kids

Historical Readers Day raises the temperature

2010-10-18T11:10:00.006+01:00

Almost 100 keen readers packed a very warm room in the Mechanics'Institute, Manchester, eager to take part in the Pages Ago Historical Readers Day, programmed in partnership with Manchester Literature Festival and the Historical Novels Society. The audience was a happy mix of readers and writers- some with an expert interest in historical fiction and some attending a readers' event for the first time.

Alison Weir gave a keynote speech, in which she outlined her writing career, explaining how she now alternates writing biography with a linked fiction. Over the course of this talk she covered some of the key debates which dominate the territory- does historical fiction "dumb history down"? how much imagination is it OK to use? How do you fill in gaps in knowledge credibly?

This led seemlessly into a panel debate facilitated by Jerome de Groot. Describing the panel of Alison Weir, Douglas Jackson, Robyn Young, Maria McCann and Sarah Dunant as the "dream team" he asked them each to talk from their perspective about the renewed and very current popularity of historical fiction. A question about historical romance led to an impassioned conversation about researching sexual behaviour in the past. There is what we are told happened and what we can learn from pictures , but much harder to know is what actually went on.

It is what actually happened to ordinary people which is of most interest to most authors of contemporary historical fiction and everything has to be credible within what is known about the period. Passions ran high as each writer talked enthusiastically about their own work.

Following this very inspirational discussion everyone dipersed to lunch then into separate workshop sessions with the individual writers. These were intended to give participants opportunities to find out more about writers and their work. Our "celebrity" panel were joined by 4 other published writers who led workshops on specific aspects of historical writing; Adele Geras spoke on writing history for young people, Mary Sharratt talked about being inspired by place, Sarah Mallory talked on research for historical romance and Andrew Martin covered creating atmosphere.

People bought books, had them signed, met the writers as well as friends. The atmosphere was lively and the impression of an enjoyable and spirited day lingered in the room .

Mounting Excitement

2010-10-05T13:10:00.003+01:00

Two busy weekends are approaching.

Lots of Pages Ago activity around the North West currently. Library staff are so busy delivering events, they aren't finding the time to tell me very much about them. I'll see if I can get some feedback in to post here very soon.

In the meantime, those of you with children aged 7-11yrs should note our Pages Ago Family Day taking place at Tatton Park on Saturday 23rd October. There will be lots of reading and writing-related activity taking place in the Tenants' Hall with NW Library staff on hand to encourage participation.

Children will find out about researching, illustrating and writing about historical characters and events. They will have the chance to make up poetry, listen to stories and browse books. Parents will also enjoy all this I'm sure and be able to take part in our quiz.

Normal Park entry charges apply, with no additional costs for the Big Family Book Day.

Don't forget the Pages Ago Readers' Day and the Bernard Cornwell Book Launch both taking place on Saturday 16th October. Book your tickets now. Details at Manchester Literature Festival

Looking forward to....

2010-09-14T12:54:00.008+01:00

Time is marching on and there are lots of good things coming up over the next few weeks. This is just a selection:

19th Sept Jane Eagland talks about her cross-over novel Wildthorn in Bolton Council's Smithills Hall.

24th Sept Mary Sharratt runs a creative writing workshop in Blackburn's Museum, using some of their artefacts as inspiration.

Tameside libraries have a whole programme of historical activities going on, including on 28th Sept academic and historical fiction expert Jerome de Groot leads a readers discussion of Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novels in Tameside's Hyde Library

16th October- a historical readers' day at the Mechanics Institute in Manchester. An opportunity to hear, talk to and meet a host of writers- Sarah Dunant, Alison Weir, Douglas Jackson, Robyn Young, Maria McCann, Adele Geras, Andrew Martin, Mary Sharratt, Sarah Mallory - and who knows who else will be in the audience?

Then in the evening a unique opportunity to hear Bernard Cornwell launch his latest book The Fort Details of how to book for both these can be found on the Manchester Literature Festival website.

If you have stamina and want to make a weekend of it, the next day the Historical Novel Society annual conference is at the same venue.

23rd October, one week on and we host a big Family event at Tatton Park. This is a day full of activities for children all focused on the history of writing and hopefully inspiring participants to read and write more.

26th October and more to go to in Cheshire East as archaeologist Stephen Dean presents an illustrated talk in Macclesfield Library about the now famous anglo-saxon Staffordshire Hoard.

The Flashback Fiction writing competition runs to October 31st and Pages Ago events run on to the end of November.

I hope to write up something about all these events as they happen, but I do hope to see lots of other people at them as well.

More writers discovered

2010-09-03T15:11:00.009+01:00

On Saturday I attended an event in Liverpool, set up by Liverpool Libraries in partnership with the World Museum. The location was timely as some Central Library services have just moved on to the 2nd Floor of The World Museum, while their own building next door has closed for a major refurbishment.

Two Transworld published authors, Nick Drake and Paul Sussman,came along with their publicist Ben Willis to talk about their latest titles, both of which feature Ancient Egypt. The event was enhanced by the availability of Ancient Egyptian handling objects from the museum service.

Ben questioned both writers about their writing careers and their fascination with Ancient Egypt and gave them the opportunity to describe and read from their books. While both are passionate about the ancient past, their books and writing styles are very different which made for a lively discussion.

With a background in archaeology, and making his real living from Journalism Paul Sussman's title The Hidden Oasis links a contemporary suspense story with a mystery from the ancient past.
Believable characters, fascinating history and an evocative sense of place - especially Cairo and the dry heat of the Sahara. There's nothing dry about the visceral violence and thrilling action scenes, however, and best of all is the terrifying secret at the heart of the story - The Hidden Oasis itself. Michael Cordy, author of The Messiah Code

As a real archaeologist and someone who still spends 2 months every year in Egypt, Paul's attention to detail and accuracy is impressive. He told us how he broke an arm in 5 places earlier this year while trying to obtain a photograph which would give him the detail he needs to give his writing authenticity.

Nick Drake's style is more reflective of his other life as a poet and winner of the Foward Prize for best first collection in 1999. At this event he was promoting his second novel to be set wholly in Ancient Egypt, Tutankhamun . While Tutankhamun is a name we all know from our limited awareness of Egyptian history, in reality little is known about this character beyond the wonderful artefacts which were found in his tomb. As in his first novel Nefertiti, Nick Drake has been blessed with the opportunity to invent plausible solutions to real mysteries, while using his poet's ear for language to convey his stories.

I brought both books away with me and am looking forward to reading them as soon as possible. This was a great example of how hearing writers speak about their work can inspire readers to want to read books they didn't know about before they arrived.

Both writers and audience alike took the opportunity to look at some of Liverpool's World Museum's fantastic Egyptology collection. Through this event the library service has strengthened its link with the Museum Service and given the current increasing public interest in history and archaeology, there will surely be other mutually appropriate events which could be arranged in the future.

Historical Fiction gets academic

2010-08-26T13:40:00.004+01:00

I must thank US blogger Sarah Johnson for highlighting 2 interesting articles in the recent UK press which discuss Historical Fiction. Pages Ago is all about finding links between factual and fiction books, so seeing a current debate in the press is rewarding.

In the Independent Saul David illustrates the potential difficulty academic historians such as himself face when trying to turn to writing fiction. His particular struggle seems to focus on the amount of accurate detail it is appropriate to include and what sorts of detail bring fictional writing to life.
Historical facts are the vital framework around which non-fiction writers construct their narratives; they are, quite simply, indispensable. Yet now I was being told that if I wanted to write decent historical fiction I had to avoid being constrained by events as they actually happened.

Eventually I saw the sense of this. I wasn't being asked to sacrifice historical accuracy per se. Just to accept that a historical novel, or any novel for that matter, stands or falls on plot and characterisation; period detail is important, but only in so far as it gives a sense of authenticity. It must remain in the background and never be allowed to dominate the story.

It was gratifying to see that 2 of the authors he quotes have both appeared in NW libraries recently. Kate Williams- see blog entry for 15th July and Harry Sidebottom- see blog entry 5th August. Both these writers are academic historians who discovered that they needed to research new aspects of history to animate their fictions- essentially in both cases, the domestic detail, sights, sounds, smells of the periods they are imagining.

We must read Saul David's book Zulu Hart for ourselves to see whether or not his cross-over from academia has been successful.

The other article was from A.N Wilson in The Financial Times
He takes Wolf Hall as his starting point but also points us towards other recently published novels such as Sacred Treason by James Forrester (aka Dr Ian Mortimer) and The Courier's Tale by Peter Walker. He highlights the same issue as Saul David above, saying
If reading a work of history is like being guided round an old house by an expert, reading a good historical novel offers the illusion that we have stepped back in time to inhabit that house with its original residents.

He is less convinced by Phillipa Gregory's The Red Queen but seems in sympathy with her approach to challenging accepted historical fact. In a lengthy article which points us towards a number of older books and writers, Wilson celebrates Historical Fiction for its imaginative and creative use of historical fact.

These books surely contribute not merely to our enjoyment but to our historical understanding. Mantel, too, has shown that the phenomenon of genuine historical understanding conveyed by art still has effectiveness. Perhaps, then, the ideal holiday reading would be one history book for every historical novel – David Starkey’s volumes on Henry VIII, alongside Wolf Hall. Or you might decide that you have had enough of “Enerey the Eighth” for one summer and turn back to War and Peace.

I think A.N Wilson might like our Pages Ago promotion!

Holidays are over, the future is almost here

2010-08-23T15:09:00.007+01:00

My re-awakened interest in history was indulged on a trip to The Trossachs last week. As well as lots of fresh air on some not-too steep hill walks, we also visited Stirling and Doune castles which couldn't have been more different from each other, as well as the towering Wallace Monument which can be seen across a huge area. We used the very informative audio-guides on visits, but still came away with questions which need to be followed up., so Neil Oliver's History of Scotland should be a good starting point. If I still want more, Christopher Winn's I Never Knew That About Scotland, sounds entertaining and Nigel Tranter's The Wallace, though old now, sounds as if it would satisfy my need for fiction.

I was delighted to find a copy of the brochure for Manchester Literature Festival on my desk this morning. Saturday 16th October is going to be a very indulgent day for anyone who loves reading history. You can find full details of the readers' day, the historical & literary pub walk and the visit by Bernard Cornwell here. Book now to be sure of your places.

Warrior of Rome

2010-08-05T13:22:00.006+01:00

Harry Sidebottom isn't the most glamorous name a best selling novelist or senior academic classicist could have, but Harry is proud of his name and was determined that it was the one he wanted on the cover of his books, when offered a 3 book deal by Penguin.

This was just one of the personal asides offered during 2 talks given yesterday on a visit to Macclesfield and Bury Libraries to launch no 3 in the Warrior of Rome series Lion of the Sun. Harry spoke with honesty and humour about the apparent ease with which he got published, the downsides of academic life (yes, even at Oxford), some of the plotting and character decisions he took in planning this series and some of his literary heroes ( Patrick O'Brian and Mary Renault are top of his tree). All of this underplayed his expert scholarship and facility with language, which has so obviously contributed to making his books into the best sellers they are. Lion in the Sun has gone straight into the top five best seller rankings and is the current Waterstone's book of the week.

The Warrior of Rome novels are set during the great crisis of the Roman empire in the mid-Third Century AD and Harry admitted that this period has not had much written about it. Easy therefore to write what he wants without fear of contradiction. However, Harry is a serious historian and gets deeply annoyed if he discovers that he has made a factual error, as he did in No 2 King of Kings with some Eucalyptus Trees which he has since been told would never have been found anywhere but the Antipodes at this time.

In Lion of the Sun, the series' central character Ballista is facing up to threats to the survival of the Roman Empire- from an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman! Yet, while Harry can't resist these moments of playfulness, these are hard-hitting books tackling serious subject matter, such as how far can the west go to protect its freedom before it destroys the very thing it is defending? He says on his own website All the novels seek to raise big questions, but each is driven by suspense and action.

Both audiences seemed enthralled by Harry's talks and had plenty of questions for him. While there were some existing fans in the audiences I think many people will have been introduced to this writer for the first time and inspired to go away and read his work.

Read this with Robin Lane Fox The Classical World: an Epic History of Greece and Rome

The Lacuna

2010-08-03T16:15:00.008+01:00

I took The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, winner of this year's Orange Prize, away with me on holiday. I have enjoyed this writer's books before so was optimistic that this would be an engrossing read.

I must admit to being a bit disappointed at first; the swimming scenes at the start did not grip me and I struggled to keep reading, but once the central character Harrison Shepherd grew up and found his independence in Mexico, in the home of Diego Rivera the book really took off for me. The real historical background observing some of the life of artists Rivera and Frida Kahlo, followed by the arrival of Trotsky, opened up a colourful and eccentric world. Kingsolver's gift lies in not over-burdening us with fact, but in allowing us to know just enough of this real history to ground the story in reality, describing it through the eyes of an unusual and engaging fictional narrator.

This Mexican section of the book was satisfying in itself and at the end (roughly half way through the total length) I wondered how Kingsolver would keep my interest. I need not have worried. Now set in the USA, the narrative focused on the quiet writing life of the old-fashioned but very perceptive secretary, Violet Brown, who protects him from the outside world. Alongside this the relentless surveillance by the FBI seemed bizarre but full of suspense.

The novel is all about the mismatch between reality and public perception and
the constant shifts in tone as it unfolds through letters, reports and diaries, as well as vividly illustrating this 'lacuna', keep testing your own reactions as a reader. It forced me to think how important it is to read newspapers critically and never to take reports of events at face value. What would I have thought of this writer if I had lived through this period of extreme nervousness and political anxiety?

Its a long time since I felt I didn't want a book to end, but I certainly felt it with this one. Kingsolver has been criticised for being too didactic and she certainly came in for criticism for comments she made after the events of 9/11. But for me, the quality of her writing and the sympathy she has for her characters override any sense of being lectured. Reading this has also made me want to see some of the work of both artsists, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo as well as read more factual history about Mexico at this time. It has opened my eyes. It is a perfect read for Pages Ago.

Image shows cover of American edition of The Lacuna which is more interesting than the UK cover, in my view

An heir was needed

2010-07-15T16:11:00.006+01:00

On July 8th the final Trafford Wordfest ‘Pages Ago’ event took place when Dr Kate Williams gave a talk at Urmston Library on her book Becoming Queen about the young Queen Victoria ( see review from The Independent by Lorraine Fletcher here) . Her description of the events of the family strife behind Victoria’s birth, childhood and accession to the throne was vivid and humorous.

George III produced 15 children who had 56 children of their own between them, not one of whom was legitimate. The Prince Regent’s unhappy marriage did produce an heir, Princess Charlotte of Wales , but her death giving birth to a still-born son in 1817 led to an unseemly dash among George III’s remaining children to produce an heir. This was won by Edward, Duke of Kent, the fourth son, who fathered the future Queen Victoria, but died less than a year later leaving the young heiress to be brought up in a strict and unhappy childhood.

This was an absolutely fascinating talk, very much enjoyed by its audience.

Vintage Penrith

2010-07-15T15:19:00.006+01:00

Penrith Library Assistant Rae Lusby says she has enjoyed putting together a display of history books with a Victorian and Edwardian theme, ready for the 'Vintage Penrith' festival at the end of the month. The library will be hosting several talks and a display of old photographs so we thought that it would be good to connect this to a Pages Ago display. She has initally displayed about 30 pairs of titles, but may have to put some more together depending on how well they issue. It was hard to include talking books and large print, but have managed one set of each and Rae says she will keep looking for more!

Rae had a beautiful a jacket dating from 1886 that belonged to her Great Grandmother and thought it would make a good focal point for the display and tie in well with the 'Vintage Penrith' theme, so this is on top of the display along with a photo of the family.

Time To Read particularly likes the way that Cumbria Libraries are literally tying together fiction and non-fiction titles, leaving readers no option but to take them together. The service has created a feedback form which goes out with the books, asking readers to tell us if they have read something out of the ordinary for them as a result of this. If they do, the displays will have been a big success.

Radio discussion and other news

2010-07-08T09:16:00.003+01:00

The Radio Lancashire Book Club supported by the Blackburn with Darwen Library Authority, is currently reading The Red Necklace: a story of the French Revolution by Sally Gardner, to tie in with Pages Ago. Although ostensibly a teenage book, it can equally be enjoyed by adult readers - 'the drama moves from Paris to London and back, as the Revolution gathers momentum, and the hope of liberty and the dream of equality are crushed beneath the wheel of terror. Too many secrets, too many murders, and the blade of the guillotine is yet to fall .....'

Radio Lancs broadcasts across Lancashire and Blackpool as well as Blackburn, so other authorities may have some demand for the title. Some of our reading group members go along for the live broadcast and the discussion of The Red Necklace will be on Tuesday, July 20 from 11am - 1 pm so there is still time for readers/listeners to go along to their library for the book.

On 1st July Access Trafford Libraries were very pleased to welcome Anne O’Brien to Timperley Library to give a talk on her new historical novel as part of Trafford’s Wordfest and Pages Ago. Her book : ‘Virgin Widow: England’s Forgotten Queen’ is the story of Anne Neville, daughter of the Earl of Warwick (the ‘Kingmaker’). Caught up in the shifting fortunes of the Wars of the Roses, Anne was married first to Edward, the Lancastrian Prince of Wales, and then to the Yorkist Richard of Gloucester (later Richard III).

Anne O’Brien talked about her experiences as a writer – how she started out, getting an agent, as well as why she chose the subject for this novel. She gave background to the lives of women in powerful families at this time, and highlighted the careers of some particularly formidable ladies in the fifteenth century.

Anne is an excellent speaker, measured, informed and thoughtful, who provided our audience with an enjoyable and instructive event. We look forward to her next novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Pages Ago makes Flikr

2010-07-07T14:09:00.003+01:00

Warrington Libraries wanted to widen access to the Pages Ago promotion and bring in an Equality & Diversity dimension. So, working with an ESOL tutor, we set up a session at Warrington Central Library to look at our local studies photographs on Flickr. 4 women attended – 2 Indian and 2 Bangladeshi. The session focused on developing IT skills, speaking and listening skills, reading (through looking at comments posted) and writing (through search terms and posting comments). We also talked about library use and looked at some local history books with lots of illustrations.

They took back photos and history books to use as inspiration for writing in class and to read for pleasure. 3 of the women were already library members, but the fourth one joined. We are now looking at turning their favourite pictures and their comments into a book, which we will add into our Quick Reads section for future use by adult learners.

Another legacy outcome was an offer by one of the learners to take photos of her community eg festivals, dress, and give copies to us for our archives. She also offered to set up an event at which I could come along to talk about reading and the library with members of her community. We also got good feedback on what sort of books they’d like to see in the library.

The tutor was thrilled and all the women said they really enjoyed the session and learnt a lot. One said “ I’m going to go back and share everything I’ve learnt today with my community”.

Trafford Libraries are hosting great History Book events

2010-06-29T13:27:00.004+01:00

Access Trafford libraries’ first ‘Pages Ago’ event in Wordfest 2010 took place on June 24th at Urmston Library. It was a talk by Andrew Davies, about his book The Gangs of Manchester. Sixty people attended and the feedback has been excellent; lots of people have said how much they appreciate this kind of event in libraries, and how much they would like to see more.

The talk itself was absolutely fascinating, and became not only about the book, but also about things that have happened since the book was published, such as the author being approached by people descended from the same families as some of the people described, and a play called Angels with Manky Faces which will be held on 15th July:

Still to come in Wordfest are talks from Anne O'Brien, author of Virgin Widow- England's Forgotten Queen ( about Anne Neville who married Richard III) and Kate Williams, author of Becoming Queen, about the young Queen Victoria.

Thanks to Liz McKay of Trafford Libraries for supplying this information. Liz can be contacted on Liz.McKay@trafford.gov.uk

Wolf Hall wins Walter Scott prize

2010-06-21T12:57:00.012+01:00

Hilary Mantels' novel Wolf Hall has been named as the winner of the inaugural Walter Scott prize for historical fiction sponsored by the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch – distant descendants of Scott. As the organisers of Pages Ago, our own promotion of historical reading of all sorts, we have had a particular interest in following the development of this prize.

Our very supportive partner from Manchester University, Jerome de Groot, published a piece in The Scotsman on Saturday to coincide with the prize -winner announcement. His article entitled The new time-travellers says "Historical fiction works by presenting something familiar but simultaneously distant from our lives. Its world must have heft and authenticity – it must feel right – but at the same time, the reader knows that the novel is a representation of something that is lost, that cannot be reconstructed but only guessed at. This dissonance, it seems to me, lies at the heart of historical fiction and makes it one of the most interesting genres around."

While delighted that one of our launch speakers, Sarah Dunant, was also on the shortlist, I can't admit to being surprised that Wolf Hall was the eventual winner. The sheer scale and scope of the novel is impressive and it seems to be written with such authority and concern for historical detail that it seems to be in a class of its own. At the same time it demonstrates the complex humanity of its central characters, which is needed to make all that detail so readable.

Other Bloggers have already been busy commenting on this win, notably Sarah Johnson on the excellent Blog Reading the Past

It must be clear by now that Hilary Mantel has performed a tremendous service to the "genre" historical novel. Particularly by winning the ManBooker 2009 prize, Wolf Hall must have been read and discussed by everyone who considers that they must keep up with their reading of literary fiction, as well as by 1000s of other "ordinary" readers. Certainly it makes our promotion of a wider range of historical reading of all sorts, seem very timely.

Pages Ago Plans for Wigan

2010-06-17T09:14:00.002+01:00

It’s gone kind of quiet in here...
Like a lot of us, I can’t blog at work. (I can view the blog, but not post, reblog, comment, or interact in any way). This is from home...
But we still have a great promotion with tons of potential to engage with new readers, cross boundaries, and generally increase happiness. Let’s enjoy it!
We (Wigan) have some things in development...
I am starting a History Reading Group in, and in partnership with, our new Museum of Wigan Life (The fully refurbished, very nice, former History Shop).
I’m also starting a Shakespeare Reading Group in Leigh.
And we are hosting a Victorian Murder Mystery Evening during the Ashton Festival in September, with more stuff to come.
A book recommendation: I’ve just finished Michael Chabon’s excellent “Amazing adventures of Kavalier & Clay”. It’s set between 1939 and the 1950’s, and is about two Jewish cousins in New York . Their perspective on events in Europe and their attempts to help their families left behind, and to urge an end to America’s neutrality before Pearl Harbor contrast with the utter pointlessness of their war service.
The novel is also a love song to the golden age of Comics, a wry and well-observed look at the complexities of family life, and a tender and understanding account of emerging homosexuality.
Like all MC’s work, “Kavalier and Clay” is remarkably well-written in rich and exhilarating prose that the reader can roll about in.. It won the Pulitzer Prize, and deserved to. Pure pleasure!
Stephen L

Writing Falco

2010-06-08T14:16:00.004+01:00

Every chair in Chester Library was squeezed into the reference area upstairs to seat an audience of over 50 keen readers, eager to hear and talk to Lindsey Davis.

This was a launch event in a series of activities planned by Cheshire West and Chester Libraries for Pages Ago and it felt very right to be listening to a writer of Roman period novels, in the North West's most Roman city

Another happy coincidence (bearing in mind Pages Ago's purpose to promote Fic and Non-Fic equally) was that Lindsey was launching, not one, but 2 books; no 20 in The Falco series Nemesis and a non-fiction volume Falco The Official Companion

Lindsey gave a well-practised talk about her writing career which entertained and informed readers and writers alike. What came through most strongly was her apparent enjoyment of her writing life; she doesn't plan too meticulously but allows the stories and characters to take their own course. She enjoys visits to the places she writes about, regularly and makes sure she builds in variety to what she writes.

Although describing the Falco series as "the Roman Archers" and playing down any notion of hard work, she clearly does take the responsibility of being a historical novelist seriously and believes that she should get the details right. If she doesn't, she gets plenty of feedback from her readers, which might inspire a new storyline in the next book. Story always comes first, followed by careful research.

Unusually, in my experience, she seemed to listen to her readers more than many a writer, writing the Falco Companion to answer questions that crop up from them. Because of readers, she claimed, characters have become much more important than plot and readers who want to follow the fortunes of Falco's large extended family, need to read the series in chronological order.

It felt as if the questions could have gone on for a long time but after an hour the formal proceedings were brought to a close, so that readers could talk to Lindsey individually and of course buy books. I don't know what time the library managed to finally close its doors, as yours truly had to leave for a train. I guess it was quite a late evening.

Many thanks to Cheshire West and Chester Libraries for arranging such an appropriate and enjoyable event.

Lindsey Davis visit to Chester

2010-06-04T15:50:00.001+01:00

Best selling author of Roman historical crime novels will be speaking in Chester Library on Monday evening (7th June). Unusually Lindsey is launching not one but two books. Nemesis is the 20th title in her series featuring Marcus Didius Falco, perhaps the most well-known Roman investigator in fiction. She is also launching Falco; the Official Companion, perfect for fans and Falco-first-timers alike, giving all the background to Lindsey Davis the writer as well as her characters.

This talk by Lindsey launches Cheshire West and Chester's programme of Pages Ago events. Do come along if you can, but in case you miss it, I will report back here next week.

More listening at Making History

2010-05-27T11:02:00.004+01:00

If you have had your appetite for listening to people talk about history whetted, then you might be interested in the BBC's Making History website where you can listen again to the Radio 4 broadcasts.

Pages Ago gets a mention on the programme dated 18/5/10 and features Jerome de Groot, who seemingly managed the extraordinary feat of being on Radio 4 and at our launch event at The Bluecoat simultaneously.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qxrc

Pages Ago launch discussion

2010-05-26T14:21:00.010+01:00

Please listen to a podcast of some of the Pages Ago Launch event with Jerome de Groot, Joyce Tyldesley, Juliet Gardiner and Sarah Dunant.
I'm sorry we lost the beginning, but much of the content is here.

Pages Ago is launched

2010-05-19T12:50:00.000+01:00

Tuesday 18th May and the sun was shining really brightly and warmly for the first time this year. This was surely a good omen for the event taking place at The Bluecoat Arts Centre, Liverpool, launching Time To Read's latest reading promotion Pages Ago.

Billed as a panel discussion about historical fiction, the (almost) full house of library staff, museum and adult learning staff, as well as members of the public, was treated to an inspirational conversation about what makes good writing about history.

Jerome de Groot, an academic expert in Historical Fiction led the questioning covering the value and purpose of historical fiction, the definition of ‘historical’, as well as the virtue of research and scholarship in writing fiction.

Juliet Gardiner, an editor and reviewer, as well as respected author of non-fiction such as the recent The Thirties: an Intimate History talked about the responsibilities of presenting "fingertip history" i.e. that history which some people alive still remember and can challenge the author's interpretations of .

Joyce Tyldesley, an expert Egyptologist and author of Cleopatra, Last Queen of Egypt talked in detail about the difficulties of presenting history to an audience which thinks it knows a lot, from varying sources (film, theatre etc) but actually knows very little which is evidenced from the past.

Sarah Dunant, author of several renaissance - set novels, including her most recent title Sacred Hearts spoke passionately about the writers' need to place themselves in the time of their characters and to forget all "future thinking", so that what she is writing "stops being history and becomes the present".

All the panellists were suspicious of many film and TV presentations of history but spoke more warmly about many writers, both those which had inspired them to become writers early in their lives (Agatha Christie, Jean Plaidy, Umberto Eco) as well as more contemporary titles
(Restoration, Waterland, Suspicions of Mr Whicher).

The final plea from the panel in support of history, linked us with the present. "If we look back at the past, we can interrogate the present better" and we were reminded throughout that there is never just one version of historical events, but all history is an "endlessly dissolving story".

Pressed on the 60 year rule, first posited by Sir Walter Scott, that to be truly historical a novel must be set at least 60 years earlier than the time of writing, Jerome de Groot argued that a historical novel only needs to be firmly rooted in a particular moment, even if that is yesterday.

At events such as this, it is always possible to tell whether the majority of the audience is engaged or not. I think its no exaggeration to say that the audience for this inspirational conversation were concentrating to the end and more than one person was heard to say that they could have listened for much longer.

As a final treat, Bryan Biggs, Artistic Director of The Bluecoat spoke briefly to the audience about the history of the building and some of the many influential and artistic "celebrities" who have performed and exhibited there since it became an Arts Centre in the early 20th Century. Where better to launch Pages Ago than in the oldest surviving building in the City of Liverpool and England's earliest Arts Centre?

Tea and cakes rounded off a memorable afternoon.

So many literary, book and reading events present just one writer talking about their own work. The quality of this event for me lay in the fact that all 3 panelists took an overview beyond their own work and really thought about what makes for honest historical writing, whether fiction or non-fiction. We pushed them to think beyond their own work and came away inspired to read a wide range of new titles, both fiction and non-fiction, which is, after all, the purpose of Pages Ago.

Launch of Pages Ago

2010-05-14T15:36:00.000+01:00

May is rushing by and I have spent much of this week preparing for our launch event which is on Tuesday 18th May at The Bluecoat in Liverpool.

I am looking forward to a thought-provoking discussion led by Jerome de Groot between Sarah Dunant, Joyce Tyldesley and Juliet Gardiner. The complimentary tickets are all taken, but there are still a few left for sale. I'll write something from the discussion up for this blog.

Pages Ago is developing

2010-04-30T11:36:00.000+01:00

So its the end of April and nearly time for the Pages Ago promotion to be launched. I feel as if some progress has been made this week, though there is still plenty that could be done. Quite a few library authorities have been telling me about their plans. Bolton Libraries have put some confirmed events up on the website. Wirral have planned an ambitious Victorian themed day for July. I had a very productive meeting in Liverpool's World History Museum this week and they are keen to work with the library service there. We were also delighted to hear in Manchester that Bernard Cornwell will make a rare appearance here during the big Readers Day/Historical Novel Society conference weekend which is very exciting.

But the more that gets organised the more I think of things which still could be done. For example I've just had the notion of collecting together information about all the historical reading websites and blogs out there which deserve more readers. I'm sure that there's work to be done researching and listing them all.

In the land that is the crossover zone between work and leisure I am trying to build up my own reading of historical fiction. I just finished Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold, a fictionalised interpretation of Charles' Dickens family life and treatment of his wife. While slightly overlong and a bit repetetive, I enjoyed this and found it a very interesting expose of how married women at the time had no control of their own circumstances, in this case to the extremity of losing contact with much-loved children.

Next I'm going to read some Roman History from Robert Harris, then I must read a Lindsay Davis in preparation for introducing her in Chester; the list will grow and grow this year.

Pages Ago

2010-04-15T16:00:00.000+01:00

Well- I am now settled in my new office. Still some teething problems with the phone, but otherwise beginning to get used to things in my new surroundings.

So this week I have managed some concentrated effort on the Pages Ago project which will launch on May 18th. Display headers are ordered, the launch and a big Readers' Day in Manchester are organised, guests are starting to be invited to the launch, a writing competition is set up. It would be great to hear from some of my colleagues in NW Libraries about ideas they are discussing for their Pages Ago activity. If you want to share any thoughts this might be the place to do it.

On the Move

2010-04-15T15:59:00.000+01:00

Well- its been an eventful week in the on-going history of Time To Read, I have been moved to a new office, along with many of Manchester Library Service's "back office staff". Its been a big change for me and for the first time in my career means I am no longer physically based in a library. So no more instant access to books for me, no more browsing the shelves or displays to come across something I didn't know I wanted at (occasional) odd moments during the working day.

In fact I've suddenly become more like a real public library user. I will now need to plan my visits to a library and fit them into my busy working life. I'll need to remember to write down the names of books I want to read and take my lists with me, or increasingly reserve my books on-line and remember to pick them up.
Perhaps this will give me a new perspective on my local services. Are they open at times when I can get to them outside my own working hours? are they located in the best places for me? are the displays enticing when I walk in? do the staff treat me differently if they don't know I work for the service?

It would be great to hear from some other people out there who work for library services, but don't physically sit in libraries. Has this made a difference to your own reading habits? Has it given you a new perspective on the services you deliver?

Welcome

2010-04-15T15:57:00.000+01:00

This is the new blog for Time To Read. For anyone who doesn't know, Time To Read is a partnership of enthusiastic people working in public libraries in NW England, trying to develop the audience for reading. Time To Read members have lots of good ideas, loads of experience collectively and plenty of opportunities to share information with each other. We meet together every 2 months and of course the Time To Read website is an opportunity to showcase activities they are particularly pleased with.

Sometimes, however, Time To Read members want to discuss opportunities and ideas with each other before they get down to detailed planning. This blog area is intended to allow for more general discussions and general airing of opinions, without having to wait for the next meeting.

Views expressed on this blog will be the personal views of library practitioners. They won't officially reflect the opinions of employers, specifically local authority management. I personally hope that some contributions will reflect the impact that our reading activities have on readers and ourselves. There are so few opportunities for us to record some of the positive feelings and emotions which our "work" inspires. For me, there is no greater reward from organising a visit by a writer to a library than hearing audience members say how much they were inspired and motivated by the speaker. Audiences should leave wanting to read more, do more in their local area and visit libraries more often.

In the meantime, the role of reading as an Art form, is clearly moving up the radar. I found out today about what looks like a sizeable event taking place in Manchester over 4 days in early April. I read that "Reading for readings sake aims to unfold the activity of reading, the situations in which we read, reading as a shared event, a private passion, concentration, interpretation, sound and voice, the symbolic and emotional value of the act". Sounds fascinating and I will try to get along to some of it and report back here.