Reading with purpose

It has now been almost a year since I finished my MA and have been able to read what every I've wanted. Sure there have been some books I've been required to read for projects such as the Fact Not Fiction book club on Radio 2 but generally I've just been browsing the web, Netgalley and bookshops looking for things that appeal.

In the main this style of reading suits me fine, as soon as I am required to read something my obstinacy gene seems to kick in and I struggle mightily - I've failed as a member of so many book groups it is unbelievable, especially as I am such a bookworm generally!

I am feeling like I do need some sort of guide to my reading and so this morning I have been browsing the web, and other bookblogs to see what other readers have challenged themselves to.

Lots of the challenges appeal as they suggest reading from a genre rather than giving a title, and I might follow some of them 'unofficially' rather than signing up and feeling bad if I don't complete them.

The two that particularly appeal are the Bookriot #ReadHarder Challenge and then the Picture Book Challenge complete with a bingo card to keep track of your progress!

I particularly like the Picture Book bingo as these are books that I do rarely read, even when I was a bookseller I didn't read that many and so to get a little more familiar with this genre will be a 'good' challenge.

However the challenge that appealed the most to me was a really obvious one - read books from the year you were born.

This year does see me celebrate what is termed a 'mile stone' birthday and so what better way for a bookworm to celebrate than by reading books that are the same age?!

I'm just in the process of working out how to actually make this a manageable challenge but I'll post the details very soon and then try to remember to update my progress regularly!

Theatre 2014: Review Twenty-Five

The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Lyric Theatre, London. August 2014.

Attending theatre events aimed at the under ten audience is becoming a real treat and I am so happy that my nephew is becoming an ardent theatre-goer.

Unlike the other shows I've attended with him this one was more typical of a children's play and I wasn't quite sure what to expect, especially after having read The Tiger Who Came to Tea out loud so many times at work story times it isn't one of my top 10 picture books (it is in the top 50 however).

This was, again, magical. There was lots and lots of audience participation but unlike at panto this was totally integral to the story and not at all cringe worthy.

The special effects were wonderful - watching the Tiger eat all of the food and the gasps of amazement that accompanied this made it worth the ticket price without a doubt!

The other thing that amazed me was the audience, a full theatre of children and yet the audience were so well behaved and much less disruptive than many at serious shows full of, supposedly, adults. Very few people fidgeted or left and I didn't hear/see a single mobile phone.

I was worried how such a short, and lets be honest quite old fashioned book, would work but it was brilliant.

Once more the programme was a copy of the original book - another plus for seeing children's theatre and I love the idea of using theatres in the morning (or in the afternoons on non-matinee days) to introduce a new generation to the delights of the theatre and the excitement of seeing plays in London's West End.

This was the last trip for a while I'll be making to the theatre with my nephew as he starts school in a month but I'm already looking out for plays suitable for him that will be on stage in the school holidays but shhhh... don't tell his mum!