Armchair BEA Day Five: The Importance of Discussion

Today is the final day of discussion topics for Armchair BEA, which I'm pretty sad about to be honest. It's been great having prompts to make me think and blog more, and getting to browse through some great blogs I'd never heard of before. Today's topic is open, so I thought I'd talk a little bit about something that's sprung up a lot in the last few days; discussion. 

If you're in the UK, or on Twitter, or just generally around, you will probably have heard about the recent changes made to the GCSE English Literature syllabuses by our wonderful (heavy, heavy sarcasm) Education Secretary, Michael Gove. Basically what's happened is that certain works of literature have been removed from the new syllabus, apparently in the interests of 'broadening education'. Such works include Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Crucible among others. I'd like to clarify at this point, because there are a lot of people going round saying they've been banned and they haven't. THERE IS NO BANNING ISSUE HERE. The issue is one of narrow mindedness, ethnocentrism and why on earth Michael Gove, a Conservative politician and somebody who is not involved in the actual teaching of children and never has been, has the power to just have books removed from the syllabus because he doesn't like them. 

My initial reaction when the story broke was fury. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favourite books of all time and without doubt the book I've heard people say has made them fall in love with reading the most often. I don't think there are many works of literature which have as much to teach and offer children in terms of expanding their world view and helping them to learn to empathise as it does. As the days have passed and I've read more about the story, I've been thinking, and I've decided that the thing that I really have the problem with is the inherent... I don't want to say racism, but British - centric attitude being promoted by these syllabus changes. Yes, literature from the British Isles is important, and of course students should learn about our literary heritage. In all honesty I quite like the new list, but I don't think it offers as much variety and insight into other cultures as previously, and in these mad days of the UK Independence Party gaining so much support, I'd rather we were 'broadening education' to be more, not less, inclusive. I don't want my children growing up in an education system where all the people they learn about are exactly like them. I have to say, though, that if 90% of kids are really studying Of Mice and Men for GCSE, I'd also see that as a problem as it suggests that teachers and students are taking it as the easy option, as it's such a little book and there are so many past exam papers/SparkNotes etc for students to use. There's a whole world of literature out there, use it!

However, the thing that really bugs me is how intelligent people have stooped to just shouting at each other and hurling insults in the comment sections of online articles. This week I had a chat on twitter with somebody because I've been reading Steinbeck since the story broke, and she really dislikes Steinbeck. We talked about the issues she had with him, and the issues I had previously had with him and why I loved him now, and neither of us felt the need to insult the other or bash their reading tastes. I don't understand why so many fully grown adults in the UK are incapable of having a rational debate without resorting to name calling and abuse. For me, possibly my favourite thing about reading, and especially about reading works such as those which have been removed is that they stimulate thought and discussion. Freedom to read is freedom to think and freedom to express yourself and this is so vitally important to teach kids and teenagers. 

I could go on about this for a while, but instead just in case you're interested in reading more about the story, here are a few links for you! 

The original Story

Michael Gove's response to the backlash

The New AQA Syllabus (and some silly comments)

Armchair BEA Day 4: Beyond the Borders

Today's topic for Armchair BEA is Beyond the Borders. Actually I've just been looking at lists of World Literature and trying to improve my whole reading of non-British or American authors, but there are a few things that spring to mind already and fit the subject:

Books Which Taught Me About Another Culture

This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz 

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

Maus by Art Spiegelman

Books Which Transported Me to Another World

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis

Inkheart, Inkspell & Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

Also represented in this category in a slightly different way, books about books, which make me dream of all the different places I will be transported to while reading:

Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch

Books Which Made Me Step Into the Shoes of Someone Different

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Naming Monsters by Hannah Eaton

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Apologies for the listishness of this, but due to my current stage of pregnancy and exhaustion, lists are pretty much as far as I get now. If it helps, all the titles link through to Waterstone's website where you can read a synopsis :-) 

For me, this list kind of sums up one of the major points of reading, which is to expand your experience beyond the things you have actually physically experienced and to give you understanding and empathy of the situations of others, as well as providing total escapism when necessary. Whether it be from the point of view of a child with Asperger's syndrome, a teenager living with abuse, a repressed Iranian woman, or literally transporting you to the magical land of Narnia, they all take you out of your own experience and add somebody else's to it. There's not much more magical than that!

Armchair BEA Day 2: More than Just Words

I don't normally double post, but this morning's post was a list so I thought I'd complement it with another list! For Armchair BEA today there are two topics; Author Interaction and More than Just Words. Since I don't really do much author interaction (beyond getting slightly hysterical one time Rainbow Rowell favourited a tweet of mine, or the time Jon McGregor tweeted me back), I thought I'd stick with the More than Just Words category, which gives me a chance to talk about graphic novels! Yay! 

 My husband and I are both big fans of graphic novels, so we've compiled a little list of our favourites for you :-) They really are worth reading and there are so many spanning so many genres that even if you're convinced you won't like them, I can pretty much guarantee you'll be able to find something. All titles link through to Goodreads as I'm not very eloquent today!

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (and also watch Hugo if you haven't already. Such a stunning film.)

Scott Pilgrim vs the World (series starts with Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life and continues through 5 more books) & Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O'Malley - The film of Scott Pilgrim vs the World is another one you really ought to see, EVEN if you don't like Michael Cera. 

The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman & various - starts with Preludes & Nocturnes and continues through ten more volumes plus three spin offs. This is the series that originally got me into reading graphic novels and it contains lots of fairytale and folklore references as well as being quite graphically violent in parts. Don't let that put you off, though, it's worth it!

Fables by Bill Willingham 

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi - this was the first non-fantasy graphic novel I read and it is amazing and hilarious despite it's super serious subject matter. Read it and thank me later. 

Naming Monsters Hannah Eaton

The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman - it should be pointed out that this only applies to the first four volumes written by Gaiman. There are a load more written by other people, but Rhys tried a few and didn't like them much...

Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Brilliant film too :-) 

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - the first book I ever reviewed on my blog! Also a truly excellent film you should see if you can. 

Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo & K.G Campbell - we're currently having a debate about whether this counts, as it's not fully graphic, but it does have fairly regular pages done in graphic novel style, plus it's awesome and about a superhero squirrel. Enough said, really.

Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way & Gabriel Ba - Awesome series about a group of superhero siblings. 

Also lots of things I'm looking forward to reading & have heard tons of good things about:

Peter Panzerfaust Kurtis Wiebe & Tyler Jenkins - recommended to me by a friend at work, it's basically Peter Pan in the Second World War as a resistance fighter and it sounds epic. 

Fairest by Bill Willingham & others - a spin off of the Fables series, focusing on the female fables. 

The Unwritten by Mike Carey & Peter Gross - originally recommended to me in a Twitter conversation I think. The series just sounds really cool. 

Blankets & Habibi by Craig Thompson - So many people love Blankets and I keep eyeing up Habibi in Waterstone's...

Tamara Drewe by Posy Simmonds - I saw the movie for the first time over Christmas and I'm just really interested to see where the book is similar/different 

I love graphic novels because they are such a different form of expression and there is so much beauty in them and complexity of experience. They're really worth reading, and not just because they're short and make you feel great about having finished an entire book in an hour, but because you can get so much from them, and different things each time you read. Anybody else a graphic novel fan? What's your favourite?

My Summer Reading List

A few days ago I posted about the idea of making a summer reading list and then linking them up and either picking someone else's reading list to read from, or taking suggestions from their reading lists to add to your own. I've been thinking about mine a bit, and I've divided it into two halves. The first half are books that I would recommend to other people to read, and the second is books I'd like to make a start on myself over the summer. It would be great if you wanted to join in, you can see the initial post and linky list here or use #srlchallenge on twitter to talk about what you're reading :-) 

Also, I spent this morning trying to make a button for this event, but I have realised that I suck at making graphics, so if anybody else feels like making one, please do!!

Here's my list:

Recommended for others:

- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Despite all the recent Michael Gove idiocy, I still think this is one of the most important books you can read, at any age. It teaches so much about justice, bravery, self-awareness and a plethora of other things. Also Atticus Finch is my hero. 

- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Just beautiful writing and the story is incredible. 

- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

- If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor. A story of an event which happens on a street one day, told in the most amazingly poetic way. Aged 18, this book blew my mind. 

- Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. This book will be on both my lists, because I read it as a teenager and thought it was amazing, but don't remember a lot about it. 

- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

- Wild Swans by Jung Chang. This is a hefty autobiography and tells about three generations of Chinese women; Chang herself, her mother who was a member of the Communist party, and her grandmother who was involved in the Royal Court. It looks like it's going to be heavy going but I promise it's not and the stories in it are just incredible. 

- The Good Women of China by Xinran. A little non-fiction book, really important reading if you're interested in hearing the stories of things which happen to women in China. 

- Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. Brilliant memoir of Nafisi's experiences reading banned literature with her female book group in Iran. 

- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. A graphic novel, and the first I read outside of the fantasy genre. Also about Iran it somehow manages to be intensely moving and hilarious. 

- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. 

- Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I love the way he writes characters and especially the ones who are a bit damaged. Beautiful writing. 

- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. Actually has a lot more to it than I expected and is vaguely hilarious at various points as well as having a pretty strong female protagonist. 

- The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. Beautiful, beautiful writing and a gorgeous story. Especially if you're interested in fairytales and folklore, like I am, read it!

- Maus by Art Spiegelman. Another graphic novel, and yes, it is about the Holocaust which put me off reading it for a long time, but it shouldn't have. It's beautifully told and very cleverly drawn. 

- The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke. 

- This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz. Really little volume of awesome short stories, all of which are somehow intertwined and very well written. 

- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

- Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan. In my opinion, much better than The Fault in Our Stars. 

So that's my recommended list, and here's a (much shorter) list of things I'd like to read this summer:

- Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher and  

- The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides (for Mental Health Awareness Month)

- 1Q84 Parts 1,2,& 3 by Haruki Murakami 

- Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

- Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs by Jeremy Mercer

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Five I've already picked, and five I plan to pick from other people's lists :-) Why not make your own list and link up? Join in the fun!

Armchair BEA: Introductions and Literature

To distract from the fact that I've not yet managed to review Geek Girl or Second Chance or finish reading Peter Duck, I'm going to be participating, at least sporadically, in Armchair BEA this week. This is the online event for those of us who can't get to BEA in New York. I participated last year and it was lots of fun so here's hoping this year will be the same! 

Today is introduction day, so here are a few questions and answers to let you get to know me a little better!

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? Where in the world are you blogging from? 

Hi! I'm Bex, I've been blogging for about 3.5 years now (eek), since relocating to a different part of the country over 100 miles from my family and all my friends with my then - fiance. We're now married with a 19 month old and another on the way any day now and still living on the coast of Kent, England, while all of my family are still in London. Blogging's really been my support and escape since moving and although I don't get to blog as much as I'd like since having kids, I love the fact that this is still my space to ramble about the books I've loved and connect with other literary minded people. 

     4. What was your favorite book read last year? What’s your favorite book so far this year? 

I can't choose one favourite book of last year so it will have to be a three way tie between Wild:A Journey from Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed, The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman and Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. My favourite book of this year is probably Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome, which was a reread so kind of extra exciting because it was still as good as I remember. 

      7. Spread the love by naming your favorite blogs/bloggers (doesn’t necessarily have to be book blogs/bloggers).

Ooh this is always a fun question! There are a fair few blogs that I really love, mostly run by bloggers who have become friends and whose opinions on books are my first port of call. These include Laura of Devouring Texts, Hanna of Booking in Heels, Ellie of Book Addicted Blonde, Charlotte of Lit Addicted Brit, another Ellie of Lit Nerd  and Katie of Katie Who Can Read. There are many other lovely bloggers out there, and other blogs I read every post from include Estella's Revenge, Book Riot, Nylon Admiral, Etudesque, Reading Rambo, Sophisticated Dorkiness and Tiny Library. 

      8. Share your favorite book or reading related quote.

I have a fair few, but in light of the recent controversy with Michael Gove and To Kill a Mockingbird, this one is probably my favourite this week: 

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what."

      10. What book would you love to see as a movie? 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. There's been talk about it for a while, but nothing concrete yet and I just love it. It would be an amazing film if done properly. 

The second topic of the day is literature. They've left it pretty open to us to interpret what we want to talk about here, and I love that. I studied literature for my entire academic career until five years ago, and I still don't know what the difference is between 'literature' and 'books'. I'm starting to think there might not be one... For me, what keeps a book on my shelves once I've read it and makes me recommend it to others left right and centre is that it makes me think more deeply about myself and the world around me, or that I fell in love with the characters, or that the storyline blew my mind, or that the writing was incredibly beautiful, or that it just gave my brain cells a workout! There are a lot of things. I think that literature should be widely defined because the more widely we read, the more we learn and the more empathy for others we gain. Literature is a brilliant way to learn to connect with the world around us, to imagine unimaginable situations, and to relate to unrelatable people. Examples of books which have stayed on my shelves for years and are recommended to everyone who asks me what they should read are:

- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (made me think about myself, social justice and the world at large)

- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (fell in love with the characters, especially Jo and Marmee)

- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K Rowling (the story line was incredible. The first time I read it I couldn't believe how she'd linked up tiny things you barely remembered from the first book and made them into major plot points in the seventh)

- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (beautiful, beautiful writing)

- Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas (brain workout)

These are just the first books I thought of for each category. There are lots more! Now I'm off to catch up with some other first day posts :-) 

The Summer Reading List Challenge

I put a thought out on Twitter a few days back about the idea of making myself a summer reading list, like the ones you used to get for school/college/university, or getting someone else to make one for me. Because I'm a massive geek I really loved the fact of having an actual physical list full of titles - some of which I'd inevitably already read, some I already planned to read and a few I'd never heard of, and heading off the library to see what they had from it. Crossing books off of it gave me a bit of a thrill. I know, I'm making myself sound super cool here, right?

Anyway, a few years back my sister, whose coolness factor is similar to my own, asked me to make her one of the books I'd recommend her to read over her summer break. I know that most of us don't get summer breaks now, but it's still nice to have a list and use the summer to try out books we wouldn't necessarily read otherwise, and I know lots of bloggers are as weird about lists as I am myself, so I had a thought. Although making lists for yourself is fun, and I'm sure there are hundreds of lists already on the internet, I thought it might be fun to have a challenge where we all make a list of books we'd recommend as summer reading and then we could look through each others' and either pick someone else's to read from or create one for ourselves from everybody's suggestions, whatever we prefer.

Obviously this is designed to be fun and nobody's saying you have to read exclusively from the list, or really from the list at all if life doesn't go that way. The geeky kid in me just really wanted an excuse to make a list :-p Also in light of the whole stupid Michael Gove situation here in the UK, this seemed even more fitting!

If you're interested, leave me a comment saying hi, and link your list through the linky below :-) Happy summer, everybody!

Mental Health Awareness Month

Because I'm on Twitter like a fiend at the moment touting for Ninja Book Swap sign ups (you have till Sunday to get your sign up emails in, you know you want to), I was lucky enough to see a tweet about this event being hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Blog of Erised and of course I had to join in. Mental health is an incredibly important topic to me, purely because of the amount of people I know (myself included) who have been or are being affected by mental health issues, and because of the stigma attached to that. 

The basic idea is that bloggers dedicate time during the month of June to read, review and discuss books dealing with mental health issues. Despite my imminent baby having (and probably resulting slight mental health issues!) I am going to attempt to read Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, which I got a couple of Ninja Swaps ago, and also The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, which I saw the film of years ago but have never read. Both are not that long, and I'm hoping to be on twitter a lot joining in discussions using #MHAMJUNE and helping to spread awareness :-)