CMIS Evaluation Fiction Focus

A new Canadian television series, Empire of the Word, will be one to watch for on our screens.

Alberto Manguel will host the TVO series that is based on his History of Reading. The press release sounds enticing:

Empire of the Word explores how reading and writing were born; how we learn to read; who or what might prevent us from reading; and the future of reading. Eight years in the making and shot in 15 countries, the series journeys from prehistory to present day and beyond, illustrating how reading and writing are inextricably linked to human evolution and existence.

The fourth and final episode looks at the future of reading, with reference to the terrific interactive webiste Inanimate Alice.

Empire of the Word has an accompanying interactive mystery, Lehka’s Journey. The first two of eight episodes are already online along with some interactive word games.

The program airs in Canada at the end of this month. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long to see it here.

Manguel’s 2007 Massey lecture series, The City of Words, can be purchased from several sources as a CD, but does not seem to be available in mp3 format.

Here’s another terrific free resource from the UK. Everyone’s Reading Plus is a 108-page PDF document listing titles suitable for readers of both genders aged between 11 and 18.  A few Australian authors are included.

This School Library Association publication complements previous free lists Boys into Books 5-11 and Boys into Books 11-14. All are part of the SLA Riveting Reads series.

The titles on the Everyone’s Reading list can also be browsed online in a searchable database on the dedicated website. UK schools can select 15 titles from the list as part of a gifting program.

Everyone’s Reading has recently started on twitter.

Most of us love reading lists. Lists compiled by people we respect that we can take to the bookshop or library and tick off titles as we work our way through them.

Earlier this week we commented on Newsweek’s choice of Jenna Bush to suggest suitable titles for readers in the northern summer.

The UK Telegraph has gone 22 better, with no fewer than three Children’s Laureates and many other distinguished authors and illustrators creating a terrific reading list for holidays, or any time. And yes, some of ours make the cut. Here’s Meg Rosoff on Margo Lanagan’s Tender Morsels:

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan is a genre-smashing novel. Set in the dark, dark fairy tale world of the Brothers Grimm, it raises questions about the price of living without risk, and how unspeakable trauma can be passed on to children. The sexual content, though not exactly explicit, made me gasp with shock, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone under 15. But everyone else? Definitely.

This is a list ideal for a lazy (northern) summer day that can just as easily be enjoyed in front of a cosy fire in (southern) winter.

Image used under Creative Commons licence.

The current issue of Newsweek has another of those lists – you know, the best 100 books. Best. Books. Ever. Always good for a debate.

If you check the links on the right hand side of the page, you’ll note that nine authors are commenting on their favourite books:

We asked nine authors to tell us the essential books in their chosen areas of expertise.

Patricia Cornwell on True Crime, Bob Woodward on Political Scandal – you get the drift. So far, so good.

Children’s literature gets a mention, too. The expert here? None other than the former First Daughter, Jenna Bush. Well, she has written a book. And her mum was a school librarian, so that’s OK.

The Child_Lit listserv brought this one to our attention. We share their incredulity.

Flickr image used under Creative Commons licence.

If you are looking for reading material over the summer break, Radio National’s Book Show has lists of books recommended by listeners as the best of the past year. The fiction list includes Tim Winton’s Breath, Graeme Base’s Enigma and Shaun Tan’s Tales from Outer Suburbia among the suggestions. I would add Debra Adelaide’s A Household Guide to Dying to any list of reading ideas this summer. It’s at once poignant, funny and deeply moving. Here’s a profile of Debra Adelaide and the book, although it does contain a spoiler.

British author Alan Gibbons has initiated a Campaign for the Book, which is receiving considerable press coverage in the UK.  Details are on his blog, which has a who’s who of children’s writers as signatories.

In response to an Independent on Sunday books special feature, Can Intelligent Literature Survive in a Digital Age, Gibbons has penned a letter which is also on the blog.

The UK issue of putting recommended ages on books for children just will not go away. Now the Minister for Children, Ed Balls, has weighed into the debate :

“While we are broadly supportive of any measures which help parents to choose the right books for their children, we advise caution in this area”, Balls wrote, backing author concerns that age guidance can demoralise children who read below their supposed age group, and that it can encourage complacency if children are reading above their age group.

The children’s minister recommended that “parents seeking guidance about this contact librarians or teachers who know about the full range of children’s literature”.

In the past week, an entertaining debate has been raging between Philip Pullman and J. L. Bell on the Child Lit Listserv.

The No To Age Banding website is worth a visit for those new to the issue.

From Radio National’s Book Show:

David Malouf talking at the Melbourne Writers Festival about the books he grew up with in Brisbane and their influence on his writing.

The podcast will be available for a short time.

Earlier in the week former Children’s Laureate Anne Fine was interviewed at the Edinburgh Book Festival about the books she has written for adults.

Editorial from Canada’s leading newspaper.

We all love lists, so Philip Pullman’s ‘essential reading list‘ produced for UK bookstore Waterstone’s is required reading, even if we can’t manage all 40 titles. But which Australian classic makes the cut with this annotation?

The best thing yet to come out of Australia, and that includes Shane Warne. If anyone can read this without laughing, heaven help them.

Shane who?

The related links are worth a look, too. Pullman discusses how he chose his titles for the above list, his foray into the world of comic strips and what he thinks of The Golden Compass film.