Wednesday 5 October 2016

#LoveToRead @ReadingHackers by Savita Kalhan


BBC #LoveToRead is a national campaign to get people reading and sharing the books they love. It was launched at the Hay Festival earlier this year. It's not just for kids, but for everyone. It's a campaign that's supported by libraries, booksellers, publishers, authors, and literary and reading agencies.



The Reading Agency is a charity whose mission it is to, 'inspire more people to read more, encourage them to share their enjoyment of reading and celebrate the difference that reading makes to all our lives. We support people at all stages of their reading journey. Because everything changes when we read.' You can find out more about them HERE.

Like the Reading Agency, I too believe that reading for pleasure is one of the most important things in a child's development. Reading for pleasure is something I spent much of my time doing when I was growing up, and it's something that can get lost as you get older. Fortunately for me I've never lost it, but I can see how it can be easily lost. Kids probably don't have as much time as they used to for reading for pleasure, and they have far more social media and gaming distractions than we ever had. This is one of the reasons why I started a teen reading group at Finchley Church End Library. A few pre-teens have joined too, which is brilliant, but if any more join, then I may have to seriously consider starting another group to cater for them. 

From October 24th to 6th November Reading Hack (from The Reading Agency) is promoting young people's volunteering in libraries in the run up to the BBC #LoveToRead weekend. Kids and young people aged between 13 to 24 can volunteer at their local library in lots of different ways: by talking to people about #LoveToRead, by helping to organise #LoveToRead activities and events in the library, by encouraging other young people to get involved, and by creating library displays and posters to promote #LoveToRead. They can log the time they've spent volunteering, earn a certificate, enter competitions etc. For more information, click HERE 


If you're aged between 13 and 24 and want to just share your favourite reads, use the tag @ReadingHackers and the hashtag #LoveToRead to share them with thousands of other readers.
And if you're an adult, you can still share your favourite read using the #LoveToRead hashtag.

In October, Saturday night will be Books Night on BBC Two, and will include profiles, interviews, documentaries and films, plus a documentary on Sue Townsend and much more. The culmination of the whole campaign will be a #LoveToRead weekend on the 5th and 6th November.

So in the spirit of the whole #LoveToRead campaign, here are a few book recommendations - one for adults, one for young adults, one for younger teens, and two for younger children.


1. Adult - Little Egypt by Lesley Glaister (I don't know how this author passed me by, but I've just devoured her Honour Thy Father).






2. YA - One of Us by Jeannie Waudby - I've been looking forward to reading this and now I will!









3. Teen - Railhead by Philip Reeve - my teen reading group loved this and are awaiting the sequel, which Mr. Reeve has promised will come out this autumn!



4. Picture Book - Pattan's Pumpkin by Chitra Soundar and illustrated by Frane Lessac, and A Jar of Pickles and a Pinch of Justice by Chitra Soundar and illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy.







I'd love to hear your recommendations for any age group!





Savita's website - savitakalhan.com





5 comments:

Mystica said...

Making a note of that adult recommendation. Thanks.

Penny Dolan said...

Thanks for letting me know there will be a Railhead sequel, Savita. I have a copy of Railhead here, saved as a "reading treat" - the kind of book you save for a moment when you'll have some good, angst-free time rather than rush through for a book group meeting etc? - but I'm not warm towards books where the plot leads too specifically into the next in the series, especially when the book isn't available yet. Unreasonable of me, I know! And probably my personal reaction to the "publisher's marketing suggestion" that sort of thing implies. Mind you, I don't think that Reeve's story-telling would do that in too obvious a way. Rant over.

However, #LoveToRead sounds a great initiative, and it's always useful to have some good, fresh suggestions for whatever age of reader.

Savita Kalhan said...

Mystica - Honour Thy Father is an exceptional book - dark, Gothic, but in a quieter and more disturbing way. I loved it!
Penny, I know what you mean! Railhead is a treat of a read - the teen reading group loved it and so did I! I usually wait until the writer has finished the series before starting on it, but I wasn't aware that this might have a sequel until Philip tweeted back.

Please leave your book recommendations, or the book you're currently reading here.

Unknown said...

I'm currently reading Sweet Caress by William Boyd and loving it. It's up there with Any Human Heart in its scope and characterisation.

Savita Kalhan said...

Kathy, thank you for the recommendation - it's going straight on to my rapidly growing list of books I must read!