Reading for pleasure and the rights of a reader

​Reading for pleasure - for those who know how to choose a book, it's easy, but ​it needs time.

A​n experienced​ reader knows what to do - are the cover, the blurb, the pictures important? It's what the author is writing that counts. Those who know how to choose will start to read the book to see if it grips them. When I'm asked for a recommendation I often offer three suggestions and tell the pupil to go and start reading all three to see which they want to read, and what's more, I tell them, they have the right to come back and say 'No,' to all of them and choose again.

Reading for pleasure needs a free choice of books, easily accessible, a​nd knowing how to select a book to enjoy is made easier if there has been a​ background of having seen people enjoying reading (parents, teachers, friends), ideally having grown up enjoying the pleasure of hearing books read aloud​. When making their selection the reader can respond, yes or no, to recommendations from family, friends, teachers, book groups and reviews, or simply opt for something totally new. Excitement, thrills, empathy, understanding and learning about the wider world can all be experienced between the pages of a book.

See the 10-point manifesto, illustrated by Quentin Blake, the Rights of the Reader. The Rights of the Reader were penned by French writer Daniel Pennac.
The Reader's Bill of Rights
1. The right to not read
2. The right to skip pages
3. The right to not finish
4. The right to reread
5. The right to read anything
6. The right to escapism
7. The right to read anywhere
8. The right to browse
9. The right to read out loud
10. The right to not defend your tastes.

Book launch

Oxford-based children's authors M.G. Harris and Sally Nicholls launched their latest books at Blackwells bookshop this evening.
Gemini Force I: Black Horizon is the first of three books, based on an idea by Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson, written by M.G. Harris - exciting tales of adventure and action for the 21st century.
In Sally Nicholl's An Island of Our Own, three children search for family jewellery left to them. A contemporary adventure story with themes of family and friendship, where the 19-year-old older brother is guardian of his younger siblings.

A great treat to hear both authors read extracts from their own books, plus meet a host of other authors present, name dropping Korky Paul, Carnegie shortlisted author Frances Hardinge, OLA's own Jo Cotterill, Susie Day, Dennis Hamley ...


... and oh yes, there was cake too!

Joint Schools' Carnegie Tea

It's not about the cake, but it helps! One hundred children from the six secondary schools in Abingdon came together for the launch of our local Abingdon Carnegie Forum. After a brief interactive talk about what makes a good book review, the shadowers from the schools got to know each other by giving their first reactions to the covers, blurbs and opening paragraph of the shortlisted titles.

Group votes:
Most popular title: More Than This
Most popular cover: More Than This
Most popular blurb: Cuckoo Song

Individual votes for the 'Book I would Most like to Read' went jointly to More Than This and Cuckoo Son.

The current shortlist.

Let the reading commence!

OLA shadowers rushed to the Ratcliffe Library to find out which books had made the shortlist for the prestigious Carnegie Medal. As they settled down to read what I can only describe as a 'delicious silence' descended; that quiet which comes from an absorbing activity, which every reader experiences at some time. Are we reading a future classic, a title which will become as well known as The Borrowers or Watership Down? Challenging themes including war, sickness and adversity run through the shortlist. But to quote part of the criteria, "The book that wins the Carnegie Medal should be a book of outstanding literary quality. The whole work should provide pleasure, not merely from the surface enjoyment of a good read, but also the deeper subconscious satisfaction of having gone through a vicarious, but at the time of reading, a real experience that is retained afterwards."

Shadowing the Carnegie Medal

On Tuesday 17 March come to the Library and find out which books are on the shortlist for this prestigious book award.

What does Shadowing the Carnegie Medal involve?

• Reading Books. Past Carnegie Medal winners have become classics. These include The Borrowers, Watership Down, Skellig, Flour Babies, and Northern Lights. You will be reading future classics!

• Meetings. There will be ‘shadowing’ meetings in the Library on Mondays, at 4.05, where you can come to change your books, chat about the books you have read, write reviews and persuade others why your favourite should win the Medal.

• Writing Reviews. You post your review on a special shadowing website, where other ‘shadowers’ around the country are doing the same.

• Meeting Carnegie Shadowers from other schools and the Carnegie Forum. The six secondary schools in Abingdon have worked together over the Carnegie Medal for over 10 years. We have three joint meetings: a launch 'tea' to introduce the books, a quiz a few weeks into the shadowing, and a joint Abingdon Carnegie Forum in the Guildhall, where 100 students from local schools discuss and vote for their Abingdon winner.

Caroline Lawrence at the Abingdon Joint Author event 2015

Year 7 pupils picked up some powerful writing tips from best-selling author Caroline Lawrence, best known for her Roman Mystery series. An avid film fan, and former classics teacher, Caroline set out her seven screenwriting ‘beats’ for moving along a story, afterwards using the example of her first book The Thieves of Ostia. This was a richly illustrated interactive talk with images from film and books demonstrating archetypal characters, as well as telling us about her research, favourite places of the classic world and her books.
Her current series is set in the Wild West of Virginia City in 1862, with a 12-year-old Private Investigator, P.K. Pinkerton. Her next series, out next year, will be set in Roman Britain in 94 AD. 'Seekers' will be about five children investigating mysteries.
The Joint Author visit is an annual event co-organised by OLA, Abingdon and St Helen & St Katharine school librarians, inviting other local schools. Over 600 school children attended her two talks.

The sponge on a stick caused great hilarity, but was in regular use by Ancient Romans.
More about the author
Inspiring tips here

OLA Festival of Reading

A week of exciting visits for the 2014 OLA Festival of Reading.

On Monday 22 September the author Michael Malaghan both entertained and challenged Year 7 and Year 8 pupils. He read extracts from two of his books 'The Lost Prophecies' and 'Greek Ransom'. Explaining his personal pathway into becoming a writer of children's' books gave an insight into the various routes a budding author could take. With some additional amusing anecdotes, particularly regarding his family cat, lead to two interesting workshops. Oliver in Year 7 had already read one of Michael's books which he'd enjoyed, having also shared the cat-humour with all, and was looking forward to picking up the next one.
How does one write an ending to a story? This was one of the tasks set. Michael complimented many on their group contributions. Given a scenario, how does one continue and develop a story in short steps? Many pupils took up this other challenge and may have recognised the satisfaction it gives to work towards accomplishing such a task.

On Wednesday 24 September Guy de Beaujeu, the producer of the film 'Private Peaceful' (written by Michael Morpurgo, author of 'War Horse')gave Year 10 pupils an insight into being a film producer, comparing it to the role of a 'Headmaster', and the differences between a producer and director. The Producer is in charge of financial budgets, where millions of pounds are the norm! Examples of the variety of a producer's work and stresses include gaining rights to a book/screen play to film; health and safety issues - including stopping the stars from playing football in case they break a leg and hold up the production; hiring a crane with driver at £1500 per day and finding the weather is not suitable to film! It was fascinating to hear . Guy showed examples of how sections were filmed in the film 'Private Peaceful', for example how the father of Tommie and Charlie was killed by a tree. Screening of the film in the evening was well attended and a moving experience. After the film a fascinating half hour or so of Q&A.

Neill Cameron is the comic book illustrator who writes and draws for the weekly Phoenix Cartoon Comic and is illustrator in residence at the Story Museum in Oxford. Spending the day at OLA he engaged pupils with his humour and amazing skills with the pen, transforming the young people’s ideas into a cartoon. He explained how, at the age of eight, he started drawing cartoons with his brother, and their greatest fan was MUM. Neill insists that all people can draw; creativity and sense of humour are important facets and a story can be drawn in four squares, demonstrating this with the story of Beatrice the Ninja Cupcake.

Andy Mulligan, the author of 'Trash', soon to be released as a major film, explained to his audience at OLA that for his writing he 'steals' observations to put into his books, giving examples from his Ribblestrop series and Trash. When he worked as a teacher in the Philippines an outing to the city dump, for the privileged pupils he taught, gave him an opportunity to meet and speak to the children who spent their day picking through the rubbish to extract items which could be sold for a few cents in order to survive. He incorporated this experience his thriller Trash. Some anecdotes and background about the making of the film left us all eager to see the film when it comes out. Andy also lead some writing workshops with Year 9 resulting in some great characters and story openers.