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Tuesday 15 June 2010

What's your favourite book?

Can I let you into a little secret? I don’t like ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee. From reporting like this it would appear that I’m in the minority. I studied it at school and was never transported or uplifted by the story, as this article suggests you should be. To be fair, I didn’t develop a passion for many of the books that we studied (‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood is the only one). I did A-level English Literature and after that gave it up, tired of pulling apart a novel or poem rather than reading for enjoyment. Did I miss something? Is analysing a text and getting to know it thoroughly the only basis for truly appreciating a novel?

This author certainly seems to think that studying a set text can be the start of a life-long love of a book. I suppose I already read widely anyway so the books we studied at school were generally not introducing me to new authors. Looking at the new GCSE specifications, that doesn’t have to be the case. There is the potential (money and stock cupboards permitting) to study some books that are definitely not mainstream and the average student is unlikely to have read. It's interesting that some books crop up again and again at GCSE, clearly old favourites that stand the test of time and the analysis of 15 year olds. I studied 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck for GCSE and recently re-read it to help with the online resources we produced in Kerboodle! Have the added years and experience given me greater insight? I think I can create a better mental image of what's going on in the story, and feel sympathy for different characters. Perhaps I should re-read some of my other set texts, and give them another chance.

Most of us have a favourite book, but why? What is it about that book that you like so much? Mine is ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier. I love the mysteriousness that surrounds the storyteller, the intrigue of the tale and essentially sad ending. There’s nothing quite as disappointing as an author who chickens out at the last minute and finishes with a ‘happily ever after’ when it doesn’t fit the story. I’ve loved the book even more since staying at ‘Manderley’ on holiday last year and walking on the beach where Rebecca dies. I’m a sucker for anything that says ‘psychological’ in the blurb – I like a little bit of angst and quite a lot of thinking about it.

My sister-in-law cornered me on a recent visit and asked me to list my 20 favourite books, and I have to admit that I was stuck. I know what my favourite book is, but don’t have much of a list beyond that. We resorted to looking at the BBC’s Big Read list and talking through what might appeal to her. She does a lot of driving to and from work so I introduced her to Librivox, a website where books (generally those out of copyright) are read by enthusiastic amateurs. I’m currently working my way through by ‘Glimpses of the Moon’ by Edith Wharton as I do the ironing, and it’s a very respectable version.

And to finish with perhaps the most fundamental question of all, what is the point of reading novels? I once asked a 11 year old boy this question, and he answered that it gave you experience of places and people that you couldn’t or wouldn’t otherwise know about. I think he was wise beyond his years.

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