Reading for Pleasure - November 2015 "The Rosie Project"

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

On first glance, The Rosie Project looks like it is to be typical chic-lit about finding love.  However, it is refreshingly quirky and told from the male perspective, albeit a slightly awkward male, in the form of Don Tillman.

Don Tillman is a 39 year old geneticist, living on a rigid schedule who “never drinks coffee after 3.48pm” and is “very comfortable with repetition”.  Graeme Simsion hints at Don having Asperger’s syndrome, but this is left for the reader to decide.  It certainly makes for an endearing and amusing protagonist, who is often blind to things we see as the reader, but has his own warmth and charm.

The Rosie Project is an entertaining, funny read, which makes you want to get behind the underdog.  Don, reminiscent of Adrian Mole, is brilliantly brought to life and my only slight criticism is that the female characters are not quite as well developed.  However, it is certainly a book to lighten your mood and makes you want to keep reading and rooting for Don…

Reading for Pleasure - Last Days of Rabbit Hayes

“The Last days of Rabbit Hayes” by Anna McPartlin

Books can help people come to terms with many aspects of life which may be difficult to deal with. This book is about someone dying, but Anna McPartlin tells the story of Rabbit Hayes’ final days with empathy and humour. Anyone who has lost someone close to them will relate to the way Rabbit and her family deal with the inevitable.  The roller-coaster of emotions which the family and friends, and Rabbit herself, go through are ones which families are going through every day. This is a book about loss but it is also about love and how, even when (or especially when) times are difficult people can bring the best out in each other.

If you want some perspective in your life, read this book.

November 2015 - Reading for Pleasure

Learning Resources has designated November as “Reading for Pleasure” month. Learning Resources offers resources for all course studied at the University so it is easy to forget that reading can be a leisure activity. This month Learning Resources is suggesting another leisure option instead of switching on the television or going to the movies. Reading is a skill and like any skill it needs practice. In a way we’re all still learning to read as we come across new words new ways of expressing ourselves through the written word. Our technologically rich world would seem to diminish the need for reading for pleasure. Finding the motivation and right choice to read fiction rather than watch something is key to the aims of this month.

The National Literacy Trust has done some research into the benefits of reading for pleasure, they include:

·         Increased general knowledge;  better understanding of other cultures; a greater insight into human nature and decision making

·         reading can have a major impact on an individual’s future eg if you read well you write well, deepens comprehension and grammar, broader vocabulary and  greater self confidence

·          a lifelong habit where you are a participant in a community that views reading as a significant and enjoyable activity

·         helpful factors in developing a love of reading, include: freedom to choose reading materials; a print-rich environment; access to a variety of texts; time for reading; encouragement to readers; and quiet, comfortable places to read

November’s focus hopes to encourage that and offer a range of new fiction titles which may help you develop a reading habit.

What have you read recently?