Readers Around - Spring 2008

Newsletter for Tameside Libraries Readers' Group

Author June Francis Visits Tameside

Popular saga writer June Francis will visit Dukinfield Library on Monday 3rd March,
2 - 3.30pm. The author lives in Liverpool and sets her books there. To date she has written 21 books which are also available in large print and as audio books. To find out more about the June Francis's life and work  visit her website. To reserve your free place phone the library on 0161 330 3257

Pure Passion

Voting for the region’s favourite romantic novel ended in December 2007. The winner will be announced at a finale event on 21st February at Manchester Town Hall.

The prize draw from a vote earlier in 2007 which asked people to nominate their
favourite romantic novel from the last 10 years was won by Ann Bailey from the
Waterloo Readers’ Group.

A second prize draw from the second round of voting for the favourite novel from a list of 20 titles was also won by a reader from Tameside, Val Aris. The prize is an invitation to the finale event which will be attended by authors, publishers and organisations and individuals involved in the promotion.

Richard and Judy

It’s Richard and Judy time again and as usual a very interesting mix of titles have been chosen for discussion. The first book to be discussed, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini was reviewed in the last newsletter. It’s a harrowing account of life for women in Afghanistan. Like its predecessor, The Kite Runner (now an brilliant film!) it is an excellent book for readers’ group discussion.

Another title in the current series, Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale has been very much enjoyed by colleagues: A troubled artist dies painting obsessively in her attic studio leaving behind an extraordinary body of work…. and a legacy of secrets.

World Book Day

Celebrate World Book Day on Thursday 6th March. This year readers are being asked to take part in an on-line poll to select the book to talk about in 2008. Those voting will be entered into a prize draw. Visit the World Book Day  website. 

National Year of Reading

This year, in particular, there should be a real ‘buzz’ around books and reading as the Government have announced that 2008 will be a National Year of Reading. The ‘year’ starts officially in April and Tameside Libraries are currently planning a range of exciting events for all the family. There will be a launch on Wednesday 23rd April when everyone in Tameside will be asked to read for ten minutes. Look out for information in What’s On, the Tameside website and the local papers.

Ray French comes to Mossley

Author Ray French will join Mossley Readers’ Group on Thursday 13th March 10.30am - 12noon. Ray has written several books and is an entertaining speaker. He will be talking about his writing, books he enjoys and also about his top 10 ‘black comedies’ which he recently reviewed for The Guardian newspaper.
If anyone would like to join the group for the morning they will be more than welcome.

10th Anniversary

Mottram Readers’ Group will be celebrating their 10th birthday on 15th April with a visit by local author, Dolores Gordon-Smith. Coincidentally it is the author’s birthday too that day so it’s cakes all round! Dolores will be discussing her book A Fête Worse Than Death. The book is the first in the Jack Haldean series. The second will be published in June.

Readers are enjoying...

Several people have told me how much they enjoyed The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It is an epic book, a story of passion and idealism, which describes a group of men and women in the Middle Ages whose destinies are fatefully linked with the building of a cathedral. In a country torn by civil war, two generations struggle to rise above their primitive circumstances and create something beautiful.

The descriptive power of the novel and the wonderful and varied characters will take you back to medieval England for the duration of your reading! Although the book was first published a number of years ago, its popularity has been renewed with the publication of World without End recently - also set in medieval times and receiving great reviews.

I’ve just read Little Face by Sophie Hannah . The author was born in Manchester and now lives in West Yorkshire. She is a poet who has now branched out into writing thrillers. This first novel keeps you guessing until the end as the tension grows and I’m definitely going to read her other books soon! Her other thrillers are Hurting Distance and The Point of Rescue.

Dukinfield Readers’ Group enjoy reading crime books and have decided to re-designate themselves a crime readers’ group. If anybody is interested in joining them they meet on the first Tuesday of each month at Dukinfield Library, 2 - 3pm. The next books for discussion are titles by Sue Grafton, Peter Lovesey and Donna Leon.

100 years of Mills & Boon

Another birthday celebration! Publisher Mills and Boon is now in its centenary year. In 1908, the company was launched as a publisher of general fiction, as well as etiquette guides and manuals for modern living. One contributor wrote under the rather progressive pseudonym of 'Gentleman With a Duster', but its list also featured Jack London, PG Wodehouse and Hugh Walpole. It became clear very quickly, however, that romances outsold all else and the rest, as they say, is history - and a fascinating one at that!

The company are putting together an exhibition which they will use to launch their centenary at Manchester Central Library in June this year. So, if you are in Manchester over the summer, a visit to the exhibition should make a fascinating stop.

Chris Smith, Reader Development Co-ordinator