Caution-contains spoilers!

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.