for books sake – and so she thinks

Why reading won't die

admin — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 16:29:33 +0000

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the art of the written word, or at least the art of consuming that written word is over. But it seems that some people in some places are determined to ensure that books continue to be explored.
Until now only used by shady-looking characters exchanging presents, or the kind of elderly for whom technology post 1985 never really happened, phone boxes are considered by many to be redundant.
But one such red box in Horsley in Surrey is now the home of The Phone Boox Exchange, courtesy of James Econs. Armed with a free Saturday afternoon, a plank of wood, and a few quid to spend on books at the local charity shop, he set about transforming the phone box at the end of his road into an informal book exchange.
James calls it ‘Socially Beneficial Creative Vandalism,’ the idea having popped into his head and from there it was ‘manifestation to deployment in one lazy Saturday afternoon.’
Perhaps part of the problem is that authors aren’t writing what people want to read. It’s all very well going through the cathartic process, but that’s what writing is for…reading, and the other end of the chain requires a customer.
Three book lovers from the UK have set up Unbound, a take on crowd funding that lets authors (who have to have an agent or have previously published) pitch their idea on the site, and the number of supporters and finance needed to make it a reality.
Depending upon their level of investment, readers who pledge get rewarding by a credit in the book, all the way up to launch parties. There’s nothing like handing over your hard earned cash to get you reading.
Manchester is a lucky city, with For Book’s Sake having launched their very own library at Nexus Art Cafe, so punters can peruse a new story or two over their coffee and cake.
In Glasgow a pop-up library was set up for International Women’s Day, and earlier this summer the Covent Garden piazza was converted into a haven for bibliophiles.
Set up to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of Penguin, and to highlight the importance of literacy and libraries in the face of governmental penny-pinching, the Covent Garden Lawn Library proved a success in the city.
So whilst a search for ‘is reading dead’ on Google reveals 750 million results, and thus would seem affirmative, a search in the community reveals otherwise…
Originally published on For Book’s Sake

Reading Will Never Die

admin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:17:44 +0000

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the art of the written word, or at least the art of consuming that written word is over. But it seems that some people in some places are determined to ensure that books continue to be explored.
Until now only used by shady-looking characters exchanging presents, or the kind of elderly for whom technology post 1985 never really happened, phone boxes are considered by many to be redundant.
But one such red box in Horsley in Surrey is now the home of The Phone Boox Exchange, courtesy of James Econs. Armed with a free Saturday afternoon, a plank of wood, and a few quid to spend on books at the local charity shop, he set about transforming the phone box at the end of his road into an informal book exchange.
James calls it ‘Socially Beneficial Creative Vandalism,’ the idea having popped into his head and from there it was ‘manifestation to deployment in one lazy Saturday afternoon.’
Perhaps part of the problem is that authors aren’t writing what people want to read. It’s all very well going through the cathartic process, but that’s what writing is for…reading, and the other end of the chain requires a customer.
Three book lovers from the UK have set up Unbound, a take on crowd funding that lets authors (who have to have an agent or have previously published) pitch their idea on the site, and the number of supporters and finance needed to make it a reality.
Depending upon their level of investment, readers who pledge get rewarding by a credit in the book, all the way up to launch parties. There’s nothing like handing over your hard earned cash to get you reading.
Manchester is a lucky city, with For Book’s Sake having launched their very own library at Nexus Art Cafe, so punters can peruse a new story or two over their coffee and cake.
In Glasgow a pop-up library was set up for International Women’s Day, and earlier this summer the Covent Garden piazza was converted into a haven for bibliophiles.
Set up to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of Penguin, and to highlight the importance of literacy and libraries in the face of governmental penny-pinching, the Covent Garden Lawn Libraryproved a success in the city.
So whilst a search for ‘is reading dead’ on Google reveals 750 million results, and thus would seem affirmative, a search in the community reveals otherwise…
See the original post on For Books Sake

The Secrets They Kept – Joanne Tombrakos

admin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:04:18 +0000

‘Every family has its secrets’ starts the blurb. In Joanne Tombrakos’ self-published début novel The Secrets They Kept, she unravels those kept by the Poulous family, the vibrant and chaotic Greek-American family we follow through the story of Elena Poulous, a successful lawyer living in New York.
Solid and driven, Elena’s life is suddenly disrupted when she is informed of the death of Yannis Poulous. This is in itself is no big loss – she has never heard of him – but then she learns that he has listed her as his next of kin.
After discovering a box of letters in the Brooklyn apartment of this man who claimed to be her father, she starts to delve through layers of secrets that have been buried for decades.
Elena, the daughter and main protagonist, her mother Kristina and aunt Athena all take the lead in chapters from their point of view, the voices of the Greek women distinct and strong enough to not become confusing, but with enough Greek flavour to draw the story into a family saga.
Like many Mediterranean families (I can say this, I’m part of one) the Poulous’s are powerful women, fiercely proud of their families and their heritage, capable of fragility when this identity is threatened, and the multi-protagonist approach exposes the reader to both sides.
Although I never fell in love with Elena, I warmed to her enough to want to discover more, and the multiplicity of female perspectives means that the reader is certain to identify somewhere.
As well as rotating through the characters, the novel moves from the early fifties back in Greece, to the late 1990s in Manhattan, the movement in time being held together by a clear narrative thread.
This combination means that the reader is omniscient in one hand, all the perspectives and periods in their hands, but without knowing how to put the puzzle together, is compelled to keep reading.
Tombrakos is a business and life coach, and as Elena confronts her relationship with her mother, breaks down some of the boundaries with her boyfriend Matt, and questions the focus in her life, Tombrakos’ authorial voice can become a little directive and therapeutic, the reader too being prompted to explore their own frameworks for life.
At these moments, the sterility of the structure and syntax can dilute the warmth generated by the family. Overall, an engaging first novel, intelligent and in-depth. I’d be surprised if we do not hear more from Joanne Tombrakos.
Published in September, buy it in paperback for £5.05 or get the Kindle edition for £2.86.
See the original post on For Books’ Sake

Sonia Gandhi: An Extraordinary Life, An Indian Destiny – by Rani Singh

admin — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 11:42:00 +0000

Sonia Gandhi’s life story is the stuff of novels. Growing up in an Italian working class village, she met her Rajiv Gandhiwhilst learning English at college in Cambridge, and after a long distance relationship, married into the Gandhi family and its political life.
After her mother-in-law Indira’s assassination in 1984 and her husband’s death in 1991, when he was killed by a female suicide bomber in an attack that left only his shoes remaining, Sonia Gandhi has steadfastly and stoically taken the responsibility of India’s political progression as her own. As leader of the Congress Party, she rules over a billion people, ‘holding sway over one sixth of humanity.’
The plot is captivating, but the style of writing at times lets it down. Liberally scattered quotes from acquaintances, family, allies and enemies are taken from secondary sources, and as such is sometimes lacking in vivacity.
What Singh does very well is collate, weaving the comments and opinions together, merging the political and personal, and layering up interviews and testimonies, with the intention of portraying Sonia Gandhi as a real woman with fancies and flaws as well as the leader of the world’s largest democracy.
There are tender moments, especially in the earlier pages when we read about the young woman’s first steps into love and politics, as well as straightforward historical recording, textbook-style.
Singh clearly admires Sonia Gandhi as a powerful woman, but the politically correct and venerating tone is at times cloying. Singh describes the writing of this book as ‘the toughest challenge of my career.’
She has clearly approached the research process with vigour, but apparently without being selective about the information and evidence included. Overall the feeling is one of reading through a log of evidence, all biased towards one outcome.
By the end of the book I want to read more – but mainly because I feel that Sonia Gandhi: An Extraordinary Life, An Indian Destiny doesn’t answer all my questions. And perhaps no book will until Sonia Gandhi chooses to speak for herself.
Francesca Baker
Read the original post on For Book’s Sake