Sir Terry!
Terry Pratchett, author of the Discworld series, has been awarded a knighthood.
Brilliant!
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2009 reading tip for the year - dare to be different
Well, 2009 is here. I tried to get a somewhat early night but my two littlies took turns waking up crying right through to 3am. I hope you all had a fantastic night.
I don’t know how many of you tend to make new years resolutions, but if you do, how about adding this to your list:
In 2009, read one book that is different in style or genre to your usual reading.
So, if you haven’t read a kid’s or YA book since you turned 18, maybe do that. And don’t just grab an Enid Blyton because that’s what you remember reading before. Grab something new. Something you didn’t already read as a kid. Due to my job, this is what I read most of the time. I’m happy to suggest some titles, or pop over to BookBoy.net or browse my LibraryThing catalog for some suggestions.
If you’ve never read a good illustrated book, or a graphic novel, try one. Grab something by Shaun Tan, it won’t take long to read and seriously, the guy is a genius. I don’t know much about graphic novel writers, so am not much help there.
Maybe you’ve managed to avoid the piles and piles of crime novels published each month. Grab one. My reading in this area is generally restricted to Michael Connelly. If you would like some more suggestions, browse your local library or bookshop, or pop over to batgirl’s book blog. She’s been known to read a crime novel or two.
What about romance? Horror? Family saga? I think my “different” book will come from one of these genres. Maybe I’ll try Stephen King.
Get the picture? As far as a resolution goes, it won’t take long. It’s a one off and depending on what book you choose and how fast you read, it may take a few minutes or a few weeks on and off. But, and here’s the good bit, it might just open your eyes to a whole new area of literature that you would never have tried.
I’d love to hear about your plans and experiences if you decide to try this and feel free to ask for book suggestions. If I can’t think of anything, other readers may.
Other than that, I hope you have a wonderful 2009. May you meet some interesting people, read some really good books, and generally enjoy yourself. If you find that the year does start to drag on or get you down, then read two good books and call your doctor if pain persists.
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Think you know plenty about books?
Then try The Guardian’s 2008 book quiz.
I scored 16 out of 33 which apparently is, “Not entirely bad. You’ve clearly read a few books. Just not very many”. Not many. Bah. 57 and counting!
I must confess though, several of my answers were guesses. Some educated. Some wild.
[via bookshelves of doom]
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Assorted linkage
A few bits & pieces from around the traps…
The Book Design Review has a list of favourite book covers of 2008, including one that nearly gave me vertigo:
Book Patrol has a post about some fascinating book-related art by Marina Camargo.
The appropriately named Bookshelf blog continues to post a fascinating collection of interesting bookshelves. This one caught my eye today. Probably not quite to my taste in terms of style, but I kind of liked the function.
Last but not least, DailyWritingTips attempt to cheer up rejected authors by listing how many times some famous books were rejected.
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When to start reading to your baby
In my role as a Youth Services Librarian, I am sometimes asked by new parents a question along the lines of, “When can I start reading to my baby?”.
The answer I give is simply, “now”. There is no such thing as too early to start reading to your baby.
No, they can’t understand the story. No, they can’t even understand the words. No, they probably can’t even focus on many of the pictures yet. They certainly can’t hold a book and turn pages, let alone interact with the subtle twists of plot.
What they can do is what babies are great at doing: learn, grow and develop. Like it or not our babies are learning from us all the time. They see us and hear us and when able, they mimic us.
Your child will not just wake up one morning and know how to open a book, turn pages, understand the pictures and read the words. When your child does learn to read independently it will be the latest step in a learning process that has been going on since birth. What I would like to suggest is this: if you want your child to grow up loving books, enjoying reading, and seeing it as a regular part of life, rather than just something they have to do for school, then expose them to books now. Read to them. Let them handle books. Let them look at books. Have books around your home. Let them see you reading.
Just like hearing us talk is a step on the road to learning language, hearing us read, looking at books, and seeing us handle books is a step on the road to literacy.
So if you have a baby (or a nephew, niece, grandchild, etc) and don’t read to them yet, now is the time to start.
(PS. Stay tuned for some pointers about what to look for in books for a new baby.)
