Fifty Five Books in 2015 by Savita Kalhan

In 2015 I did my usual thing of trying to read at least fifty five books, and I managed to reach my target. I love reading, but sometimes work and life can get in the way, so having a target and keeping a record helps keep me on track.

It's also interesting to look back at what I've spent the year reading. Some of it is work related, of course, and some constitutes research. But it's definitely quite an eclectic list that ranges from middle grade books, to teen books, young adult, and general fiction. 

Last year I also set up a teen reading group at my local library, and what I discovered was that the kids in my group not only share my love of reading, but that, like me, they love a huge range of location, theme and genres in the books they read.

Interestingly, what they don't like is being misled by the blurb on the back of a book - especially if it's written in a very different style to the book. They like an honest blurb that more accurately describes the book. Some of them like chapter headings, some of them glance at the last page - just to make sure that the ending isn't going to be one they're not going to like, which can make them put the book down before the end.

My group are mainly younger teens, so although we did shadow the Carnegie for a while, we moved on within a few months. We discussed all the books on the long list and short list, and the group read several of them, but there were a few books that they could not finish because, in the kids' words, 'they were for much older kids.' I'm glad they tried them and knew when to put them down. Some of them will come back to them in a few years, I'm sure.

So here are a few of mine and my teen library group's favourite reads last year:

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

Silent Saturday by Helen Grant

Looking at the Stars by Jo Cotterill

I Heard the Owl Call my Name by Margaret Craven
Buffalo Soldier by Tanya Landman

Cow Girl by G R Gemin

Whale Boy by Nicola Davies

Liccle Bit by Alex Wheatle

And some more:

Half Lives by Sara Grant
Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

The Fastest Boy in the World by Elizabeth Laird
Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan

Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar

She is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick
The Curious Tale of the Lady Caraboo by Catherine Johnson
13 Hours by Narinder Dhami

I wish I could fit in more than fifty five books. Maybe I'll raise the bar to sixty books this year...

Happy reading in 2016!


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At the Finchley Lit Fest by Savita Kalhan

It was a glorious Saturday morning with sunshine and late May warmth, and I was all set for my little event in North Finchley Waterstones. The event was organised by Finchley Literary Festival, just one of the many events over the course of five days.

I was expecting to stand at a table with two other authors and a pile of our books in the hope that people would see us and take pity on us and come over and chat. I’m sure every writer I know has been in that particular situation, and sometimes it can be surprising in a good way, and other times it can just be very awkward and demoralising.

As I left the house, the skies darkened and it began to spit, lightly at first, and then it gradually became heavier. Out came the brolly, the mild expletives, and the not so mild expletives. I managed to get to the shop without resembling a drowned rat only because my kind husband dropped me directly outside it.

Inside the shop, I met the authors who were going to be joining me – The Brixton Bard, Alex Wheatle, author of Liccle Bit, and local author Ellie Danes, author of Shine Izzy Shine. So even if the event ended up being just us chatting and occasionally talking to someone who took pity on us, at least it would be fun.

What I hadn’t realised was that the organisers had decided to make the event more of an event. Within minutes they were setting up chairs for the audience. Audience? Yes, it was to be a mainly seated event so we could talk about ourselves, our books, and do a reading, and take questions.

Wow. I hadn’t been expecting that, and I wasn’t at all sure if we would get much of an audience. But we did. It turned out to be a great event. Lots of people came, and not because the heavens had opened up at just the right time, lots of kids came too and asked questions. And to top it all the audience was as diverse as the three authors.

So a big thank you to Finchley Lit Fest!

I know literary festivals are run in many places, but generally you only hear of the big ones, like Hay, Edinburgh, Bath etc. The local libraries played a big part in the Finchley Lit Fest, hosting talks and workshops, and debates. Buzz, the local cafe hosted an evening of poetry reading, and a guided walk around Finchley itself revealed its literary landmarks and its links to writers from Charles Dickens, Keats and Will Self. Finchley’s green spaces provided the back-drop to an inspirational writing/reading walk.

It would be great to see more festivals like this utilising all the available local resources. Like the local library, it promotes all the many aspects of books, writing and reading, and it draws people together, gets children and teenagers involved in a lively interactive way. What better way to promote reading!

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