Self-Evident Truths About Reading

Without the sunshine of literature children cannot grow as they should. We know that from books come knowledge and understanding, that they are a source of infinite joy and fun, that they stimulate imagination and creativity, that they open eyes and minds and hearts. It is through the power and music and magic of stories and poems that children can expand their own intellectual curiosity, develop the empathy and awareness that they will need to tackle the complexities of their own emotions, of the human condition in which they find themselves. And it's through books that we can learn the mastery of words, the essential skill that will enable us to express ourselves well enough to achieve our potential in the classroom and beyond.

This is of course, self-evident, says children's author Michael Morpurgo in The Times yet a high proportion of children in British schools are functionally illiterate. He suggests that the best way to bring up standards is through helping children to enjoy literature :

Give the children the books early, give them the love of books early. Let the spelling and the punctuation and the comprehension, important though they are, let them come later, and be taught in such a way that all the wonder and the magic and the fun are not lost in the process.

And of course I post this hoping that the same message will get through to teachers and educational planners here, where even more kids leave school subliterate. Say the same thing often enough ...

Also in The Times, Amanda Craig has tips on finding the right books for your child.

Digital Literacy?

As teenagers' scores on standardized reading tests have declined or stagnated, some argue that the hours spent prowling the Internet are the enemy of reading - diminishing literacy, wrecking attention spans and destroying a precious common culture that exists only through the reading of books.

But others say the Internet has created a new kind of reading, one that schools and society should not discount. The Web inspires a teenager ... who might otherwise spend most of her leisure time watching television, to read and write.

At least since the invention of television, critics have warned that electronic media would destroy reading. What is different now, some literacy experts say, is that spending time on the Web, whether it is looking up something on Google or even britneyspears.org, entails some engagement with text.

Some months ago I posted a link to Matthew Kirschenbaum's article about the changing nature of reading in this wired age. Now Motoko Rich in the International Herald Tribune updates us on the debate being played out among educational policy makers and reading experts around the world.

The big question, does literacy need to be redefined?

The Death of Reading?

Is human society headed for a second age of orality, similar to that which existed before the emergence of the written text?

I found Caleb Crain's article in the New Yorker very unsettling because so much of the writing is on the wall already.

Poll after poll is showing that around the world, people are reading less than they did in previous decades in the face of increasing exposure to visual media.

The report compiled by the National Endowments for the Arts is just one piece of evidence Crain considers to conclude:

We are reading less as we age, and we are reading less than people who were our age ten or twenty years ago.

He doesn't think that reading will die out altogether, but points out that:

... some sociologists speculate that reading books for pleasure will one day be the province of a special “reading class,” much as it was before the arrival of mass literacy, in the second half of the nineteenth century. They warn that it probably won’t regain the prestige of exclusivity; it may just become “an increasingly arcane hobby.”

And this will have implications for the way we are able think and the whole way our brain is wired.

And perhaps too for the whole way society operates, because as the NEA survey discovered:

... readers are more likely than non-readers to play sports, exercise, visit art museums, attend theatre, paint, go to music events, take photographs, and volunteer. Proficient readers are also more likely to vote.

(Thanks Umapagan for forwarding the link.)

What Counts as Reading?

Matthew Kirschenbaum in the Australian (in a piece which originally appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education) argues that with the coming of new technology (particularly developments with Google and Amazon's Kindle), our reading habits just cannot be judged according to old criteria.

He sets out, he says, not to debunk the US National Endowment for the Arts report To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence released last month (very scary reading indeed), which:

... synthesises a number of studies to conclude that Americans, especially younger ones, are reading less, that they are reading less well and that these trends have disturbing implications for culture, civics and the national economy

Rather, he sets out to explore the fact that:

... reading and conversations about reading are in a state of flux.

He makes the point that we tend to value reading in depth rather more than the equally valid reading laterally (i.e. across a much larger number of sources, comparing and cross-checking).

He points out the the NEA report is very much concerned with the reading of novels and other literary works. Yet, he says, in historical terms this is a relatively recent phenomena:

Until well into the 19th century, novel reading was regarded in Europe as a pastime fit mostly for women and the indolent, and a potentially dangerous one, as women in particular could not be trusted to distinguish fiction from reality.

He also asks:

...what it means to read and what it means to have read something. When can we claim a book has been read? What is the dividing line between reading and skimming? Must we consume a book in its entirety - start to finish, cover to cover - to say we have read it?

The question is one I ponder constantly. I seem to be increasingly dipping into books, and I speed read most non-fiction. But I do slow right down to enjoy fiction when its well-written, even reading the same passage several times over.

We need to teach out kids in schools how to become flexible readers, able to enjoy the full richness of fiction, but equally at home carrying out tasks like consulting a variety of reference sources online, and reading for gist.

Book literacy as well as screen literacy. Both.

And organisations like the National Library which commission reading studies need to encourage researchers to take this variety into account as well, instead of measuring reading solely by the vague criteria of numbers of books read. (How do they measure anything? The last survey as far as I know is still a state secret when it should be available for the scrutiny of all interested parties!)

Is reading on screen any less valid that reading on paper? Kirschenbaum doesn't think so:

... anecdotally my instinct is that computer users are capable of projecting the same aura of deep concentration as the stereotypical bookworm.

Particularly when their first reaction to an online text is to talk back to it!

Now where did the whole bloody morning go?

(Kirschenbaum's blog, incidentally, is here.)

Postscript:

A very interesting response to Kirshenbaum's piece on the If:Book blog with a whole lot of good discussion in the comments.

(Painting by La tartine gourmand)

Bus Stop Libraries

How about a library at a bus stop?

The Spectacled Bear writes about how it's actually a reality on route W3 Norte in Brasilia:

The idea is simple: a stall at the bus stop where anyone, whether waiting for a bus or not, can borrow books for free. The idea came from the fact that many Brazilians do not have easy access to books. Municipal libraries in Brazil are rare, and when they do exist, book enthusiasts must battle through bureaucracy in order to use them.

The new bus stop libraries involve almost no paperwork. During the day a member of staff notes down the details of borrowed books and after 6pm the borrower can simply take a book and leave a note with contact details. Books are available 24 hours a day, there are no due dates, no charges for borrowing and no fines.

The project was set up by Luiz Amorim, and his story is an inspiration to those of us who fight the corner for books. Originally from Bahia, he arrived in Brasilia as a 12 year old in 1973:

He was a shoeshine boy before he moved into the back room of a small butcher’s shop and began work as an assistant. He taught himself to read and fell in love with books. In 1994 the owners sold up, Luiz bought the business, and set up the world’s first library in a butcher’s shop. In his first year as owner, he put a shelf of books next to the meat counter and allowed customers to borrow the books for free, with no bureaucracy involved. The library grew and grew with donations, and after a few years there were over a thousand books next to the meat counter. The library was then closed down for breaking health and safety regulations. Amorim pursued sponsors and in 2002 opened his library in another building. The space became a cultural centre, which now hosts Saraus, readings and other literary events.

I actually found this story via Global Voices Online and via Facebook's upgraded Blog Friends feature (which is still undergoing Beta testing). The Spectacled Bear is written by Sarah Kersley who realised that it was near impossible to find news about Brazilian books and writing in English on the internet.

826

Author Dave Eggers has just won an award worth US$250,000 ... but it isn't just for his writing. The 2007 Heinz Award in Arts and Humanities honours both his creative work and community involvement.

Mr. Eggers certainly doesn't lack literary credentials. He is the author of author of (among other works) the memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and the recent highly acclaimed novel What is the What (about the "lost boys" of Sudan), as well as the founder of literary quarterly McSweeney's.

Now an inspiring story from the Los Angeles Times tells how Eggers has been doing something really good for children across the US by setting up a chain of nonprofit literacy centers. The first, 826 Valencia, opened in San Francisco's Mission District in 2002 and he has gone on to found 826 centres, set up in retail shops with colourful and inviting store front windows. There's a pirate store, a space travel supply company, a superhero supply centre and even a boring store. (Egger's prize money is going directly to the centres.)

Doesn't this sound good? :

The playfulness of the retail shops is echoed in the work of the literacy centers. In addition to standard tutoring, they emphasize creativity and storytelling. 826LA has published two books of student work, with hands-on help from Lakers Coach Phil Jackson and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. In a popular workshop, kids can make a book and take it home the same day.

Hmmm ... are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Sunday Literary Fix from the Star

Also in Starmag today - a feature by Tan Karr Wei about the winners of the Apostrophe sixteen word short story competition and their Bali trip. (A shame there isn't a bit more about the actual festival apart from a passing mention. This is one of the major literary events in the region, and the Malaysian authors who attended did the country proud!)

The battle of the performing poets at Wayang Kata IV is featured in a very entertaining piece by Daphne Lee.

I do like her little diversion about the Sylvia Plath film where a poetry recital leads to some passionate table-top sex! Rest assured though, nothing happened like that the other night. You'd have to go to the Ubud Writers' Festival to find that!

(Divya, the one poet I didn't manage to get a photo of the other night, is pictured here, right. And of course, that's Priya K. to her left.)

The education section of the Star has a very nice article by Sarah Chew about some of the excellent initiatives in Malaysian schools to encourage kids to get their hands on books.

I was really pleased too, to read about how some schools are encouraging parents to get in on the act. The student-teachers I was working with earlier this year had seen parents helping in UK schools and knew what a big difference such involvement can make. And now it seems that the idea is percolating into Malaysian classrooms. Great!

Cosy Reading Corners

Because I haven't much time or mental space to blog anything more meaningful at the moment, thought I'd leave you with photos of a couple of places where some kind people set up areas where folks can sit and read without having to join any library.

Let's turn this into a mini-quiz - do you know where (in the Klang Valley) these places are?

Reading Corner 1

Clue: This is in a space dedicated to the arts.



Reading Corner 2

Clues - here's everything you need to know about foreign travel, the muffins are great and Sharanya hangs out here a lot.


If you know of any other reading spaces, or if you have set one up yourself, take a photo and I'll post it up.

Why So Expensive Ah?

Elizabeth John and Nurris Ishak asked the post-HP7 question on everyone's lips here in the NST yesterday: just how are book prices determined here? :

For locally published books, about a fifth of the RM30 or so a reader pays goes to paper, typesetting, cover design and printing, says Raman Krishnan, who runs independent bookstore Silverfish Books.

Another 20 per cent is shared between the author and publisher, though the publisher shoulders all the risk if the book flops.

The lion’s share, about 60 per cent, is generally shared between the distributor and retailer.

The distributor takes care of transport, warehousing and marketing the book.

The bookseller keeps the books on the shelf and in the public eye in their inviting stores.

Distributors and bookshops aren’t paid. What happens is they buy the book from the publisher at a discount –– of up to 60 per cent of the cover price.

But every publisher has a different cost structure, says MPH’s Donald Kee. So the percentage taken varies from one to the next.

“Publishers and booksellers don’t earn much after paying for the high cost of paper, printing, rental and store set-up.

“Readership in Malaysia is low, as is our turnover. It’s not like the US or Britain where a far larger number of readers helps reduce cost,” says the corporate affairs manager.

If imported, the price is set like this: The cover price, noted on the book in pound sterling, US or Australian dollars, is converted using an 90-day average exchange rate.

Another 30 per cent is added on, explains Kevin Sugumaran of the Malaysian Book Exporters and Importers Association.

“So a £10 book could come up to RM60 after applying the conversion rate and reach RM78, when the 30 per cent is added.

“That percentage is a gross margin that covers freight, warehouse costs, distribution and the profit that goes to bookshops.”

The exchange rate is controlled by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry and importers have been charging the same rate for the past three decades, says Sugumaran.

“Since 2001, the fuel surcharge, shipping, air freight and security charges have all increased but we live with it because we try and depend on volume of sales."

All well and good, but what happened with the latest Harry Potter? - which Raman reckons that it isn't just a book but:

.. a fashion statement, a product, a must-have toy.

Ouch! (Quickly grab the anti-Muggle antidote!)

Chia Thye Wee acknowledges these problems but points out that the RM109.90 price for the latest Potter book wasn’t something booksellers pulled out of a hat.

The figure was negotiated with publishers. The discounts booksellers received depended on how many they bought and how quickly, says the president of the Malaysian Booksellers Association.

Their margin was shared with customers through discounts and was also used to cover the events for children, heralding the arrival of the book.

“Books like this come by only once in a while and stores have been waiting two years for this book. They ordered large numbers and paid a long time ago.

“Then hypermarkets slashed the prices. And if the big bookshops had trouble managing, what more the smaller ones. There was no way they could fight back

“It’s not that hypermarkets can’t sell books but to do this to booksellers on the launch day is simply taking away their bread and butter.”

Tesco, one of the hypermarkets selling the book for RM69.90 says: .

... it just wanted to make the book more affordable.

Sure. In Britain and the US supermarkets/hypermarkets slashed prices in the same way so that:

... small bookshops struggled to keep up with discounts offered by the big players but did sell it at a loss anyway. ... Big chains like Waterstones were forced to follow ... because they did not want to appear uncompetitive. How on earth can you get so many retailers selling a product they make no profit on at all, and may even be selling at a loss? Cock-eyed logic for sure!

That aside, one of the reasons for higher book prices in Malaysia is the low volume that can be sold. And beneath that lies the problem that Malaysians are not reading a great deal.

People don't read because books are expensive. Books are expensive because people don't read. Chicken egg chicken egg chick-

In a related piece, however, the assistant director of the National Book Council, Roselan Zainal Abidin, talks about Malaysian reading habits being:

not so bad any more lah ... Some local magazines and books have a 15,000 print run. School books sell by the thousands as do the popular Bahasa Malaysia romance novels.

We are much consoled.

Also interviewed is:

Self-confessed book addict Sharon Bakar ... (who) forces herself to stay focused in a bookstore for fear of suffering a deep and irreparable hole in her pocket

She (whoever she is) reckons the key lies in reader education and also believes that there is no use any one interested party pointing a finger of blame at any other ... teachers, booksellers, writers, parents, librarians, friends of books ... because we are all in this together.

So here I have to agree with Raman:

... Stores need to start employing people who read. Knowledgeable people can advise buyers and organise activities that really connect with people ... Engage schools and school-children. Do whatever it takes. ... It’s time to walk the extra mile.

Baby, that means you.

Reading Almost Nothing in Tehran

When Time journalist and author Azadeh Moaveni moved to Iran to work as a journalist, she says that she aspired to belong to a literary circle:

... not unlike that of the engaged women of Azar Nafisi’s “Reading Lolita in Tehran,” who found relief from their authoritarian society in the imaginative world of novels.

In the New York Times she describes the impoverished reading culture of the country. For a start, there were few bookshops per se, most doubling as stationary or toy stores. And what sells?:

Self-help books and their eclectic offshoots, on topics like Indian spirituality and feng shui, enjoy the most prominent position on bookstore front tables. The emergence of the genre, which did not exist before the 1979 Islamic revolution, may suggest a culture trying to cope with the erosion of traditional gender roles, or with rising rates of divorce and premarital sex. But Iranian intellectuals are quick to blame “cultural repression and spiritual crisis,” as one prominent magazine editor said to me, or as a friend who owns a bookstore put it, Iranians who have “lost their minds.” The success of translated titles like “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus” has given rise to some homegrown authors’ specializing in more culturally specific advice. ... When Iranians aren’t reading about depression or the harmonious arrangement of furniture, they’re drawn to soap-opera-ish novels about family life and chaste, unrequited love, bearing titles like “The Solitude of Lonely Nights.” After the revolution, which created a caste of literate women with no more social clubs or cultural centers to frequent, the market for women’s popular fiction swelled. Demand is highest for Persian translations of Danielle Steel (with intimate scenes either blotted out or obliterated by euphemism) and her Iranian equivalents, Fahimeh Rahimi and M. Moaddabpour, neither of whom has ever been seen on television (used in Iran mainly to promote state ideology, soap and rice). The most popular novel of the last two decades, Fattaneh Haj Seyyed Javadi’s “Listless Morning,” about an idle aristocratic family under the 19th-century Qajar monarchy, has sold an unheard-of 185,000 copies since 1998 and spawned dozens of imitations.

And we think things are dismal on the reading front in Malaysia? says Moaveni:

When I arrived seven years ago, writers and publishers were making the same predictions about the impending death of reading heard perennially in the United States. In a nation of 70 million with a nearly 80 percent literacy rate and a centuries-old literary tradition, they argued, book sales — 40,000 copies for a typical commercial best seller and 2,000 to 5,000 for novels and literary nonfiction — were dismal. According to Mohammad-Reza Neymatpour of the Nashr-e Nay publishing house, sales have been declining steadily since 1979. Though books are inexpensive by any standard — generally costing no more than the price of a couple of sandwiches — little in public life encourages reading. There are few public libraries, no reading contests in schools and scarce promotion of any book apart from the book. (Billboards inform Iranians that if they can memorize the Koran in its entirety, they will be awarded a formal university degree.) Even the government is growing concerned. In advance of the Tehran Book Fair, held earlier this month, the state newspaper, Iran, published a scolding article under the headline “Let Us Learn How to Read.”

And get this:

In April, an announcer on state radio lamented that the average Iranian spends only 16 seconds a day reading.

!

Boys Into Books

Getting boys to read and keeping them at it is a huge challenge.

In the UK it's been found that:

... boys who were enthusiastic readers at primary school tend to put down their books and forget to pick them up again.

To help combat the problem, the School Library Association has compiled a list of 160 titles expected will appeal to the 11-to-14 age group to encourage boys to read for pleasure. Some are old favourites, but many are newer classics, and according to the Guardian, every state school in the country is going to be allowed to choose any 20 of these books for:

... a dedicated "boys' bookshelf" in the library

The government initiative will cost £600,000 (RM 4,049,919).

The full list is here and I hope it will be useful to teacher, librarians, parents ... and bookshops on this side of the world too.

An Architect on Library Design

Malaysians might read more, says architect and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia lecturer Prof Dr Mohamad Tajuddin if only libraries were better designed.

The space within which reading takes place – the home, school or community – must nurture, encourage and supplement this important habit.

He has some very sensible things to say about the design and location of school libraries and community libraries in Malaysia. One just hopes the right people are reading the Star today!

Libraries Not a Major Turn On

A piece in the Malay Mail on Monday reports that:

The numbers prove that the National Library is not a hot spot with city folk.Only 491,497 people visited the place last year. A quick calculation: divide the total by 365 days and the library gets only 1,347 visitors a day. ... In 2005, the number of visitors recorded painted a sadder picture at 285,688 people but the National Library had a valid reason as some sections were closed due to an overhaul of its roofing system which extended into the early months of 2006.

One of the problems mentioned in the article is accessibility - many people who would like to use the facilities just don't have the means of transport to get there.

National Library director Siti Zakiah Aman outlines plans to bring more visitors to the library including educational interactive programmes with exhibitions, games and performances by a children ’s theatre group. Outreach reading programmes will also be organised.

A related article looks at the low visitor numbers of the Raja Tun Uda Library in Shah Alam, Selangor, while another polls fifty members of the public and asks them when was the last time they used a public library. For most it was when they were still at school or studying. One of the respondents points out that the dress-code enforced in libraries (no shorts, revealing t-shirts or slippers*) is a sticking-point. Many readers prefer to buy books or find the information they read on-line.

But Deputy PM Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak seems to me a bit merajuk**when he says that there is no point in building more libraries or providing more tax relief for books if most Malaysians do not care to read.

Maybe Klang's new 13m E-library (left with Klang Municipal Council (MPK) president Abdul Bakir Zin pictured in front of it) will be more successful?

(Translations for those from elsewhere: * Local word for flip-flops/thongs; **Untranslatable Malay word, the closest meaning in English being "to sulk".)

Little Books with a Big Mission

My article about World Book Day and how we get to celebrate it twice in Malaysia is in StarMag today. I have to tell you that it was written in record time (for me, anyway! Had to pretend to myself I was writing a blog entry between first and second cups of tea!)

Anyway, the article allowed me to do a little bit of tub-thumping over a couple of issues close to my heart - reading campaigns and books for marginal readers.

The Quick Reads series I mention in the article is I think a very exciting innovation - short, exciting reads by top writers, which are accessible to those who might find a longer book a bit of a struggle. They are not in any sense simplified readers and there is nothing dumbed down about them. This I think is a very important point.

New titles have just been released in conjunction with World Book Day 2007 including Lily by Adele Geras, Twenty Tales from the War Zone by John Simpson, Dr Who: Made of Steel by Terrance Dicks, The Sun Book of Short Stories and the delightfully titled Reading: My Arse! a novel by Ricky Thomlinson. The series is also supported by extensive resource material.

I have seen the books in Times in Bangsar Shopping Complex, but they were just mixed in with everything else. Other bookstores seem to sadly have missed the boat. (I have, though, ordered the whole set for the British Council Library and feel they will be ideal for the language learners who use the resources there.)

I reckon that if Britain has almost a fifth of the population who are sub-literate, Malaysia is likely to have a much higher proportion. You can't simply issue a government directive and tell people that they should read books. Many people can't read books!

But perhaps they can be lead to reading books if the stepping stones are put in place for them.

The simple equation is this: if a marginal reader picks up a little book that they can finish without too much of a struggle, and has a very enjoyable reading experience, they will be looking to repeat the experience.

Anyway, it's World Book Day tomorrow, so why not buy a book for a close friend as a gift and present it with a red rose?

MILS and Book Boon

Oh the frustration! Nurjehan Mohamed's articles in the Learning Curve section Sunday Times today haven't been put up on line, so I can't link to them and can't do a quick cut and paste of the interesting bits. Here though are highlights.

(Note: have since found links thanks to Lydia!)

In a piece called Bringing Reading to the Masses, Jehan interviews Raman of Silverfish and Professor Lim Chee Seng about the setting up of the Malaysian International Literary Society (MILS) which co-organised the KL Literary Festival (KLILF).

Prof. Lim said the organisation wants to help Malaysians cultivate the reading habit.

He says that one of the ideas the group keeps coming back to is to collaborate with Keretapi Tanah Melayu (Malayan Railways) to provide a "travelling book box" which will be transported to small towns along the line and then opened by a volunteer with a key so that "local children who never the privilege of handling a book, will have a chance to read one."

MILS also plans to conduct a range of workshops "for teaching, storytelling and writing."

Lim talks about setting up the Malaysian Shakespeare Society (MSS) to introduce Malaysians to the bard through the sponsorship of performances and readings. Raman adds that MILS want to set up mini-libraries in the suburbs and small towns, have literary events in other towns.

A round of applause for anyone who promotes books and reading.

Jehan's other piece (The Familiar and the Unknown) is an overview of KLILF itself The feedback from participants she spoke to (including me!) is very positive.

Still am wondering why only the education section of this national newspaper bothered to cover the story. It's heart-breaking when folks have put so much effort into organising an event like this.

(All pics nicked from the NST. Top Raman and Prof. Lim. Bottom Brian Castro with KLILF participants.)

DPM Displays His Library!

June Wong and Daphne Lee interview Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Naguib Tun Razak about his personal library in today's StarMag.

The lowdown? Three thousand books despite frequent book culls. Political analyses, books on management stategy and biographies of world leaders predominate. Very little fiction as he doesn't have time for it. Favourite bookshop in Malaysia is Kinokuniya, but he also goes to MPH and Borders. Favourite bookshop overseas Hatchards in London, while he finds Foyles too big.

Some soundbites about reading in Malaysia:

We Malaysians don’t read as much as we should (because) we think we can get by without reading. And most of our children think that just by studying and mugging, they can get through exams.

... even if there are books, people don’t read because we switched to the Malay medium and this is the problem, especially with Malay kids. Practically all the books are in English and since their ability to read in English is somewhat limited, they feel it would be an uphill task to comprehend them.

... As for books in Bahasa, although there are some very good ones, they are more on the literary side. ... The emphasis is on style and they’re more emotive; they arouse emotions. They don’t really contain ideas, facts or knowledge, as much as English books do.

... we need literature teachers, and the teachers who are products of the Malay medium cannot teach English lit. So, before we can introduce lit we need to train the teachers and we need to wait for the next generation of teachers who have gone through the system and are proficient in English.

... Reading is a habit that has to be ingrained. Unless you can create an environment and a system that encourage reading and reward people who read, I don’t think much can be achieved by a campaign. Campaigns by nature are short-lived.

The Satisfaction of Finishing a Book

KayKay forwarded a really nice piece from John Connolly's blog about the satisfaction of finishing a book. His thoughts after finishing and enjoying Wilbur Smith's River God:

I ... felt a degree of satisfaction as I closed the book and put it to one side. There, I thought: another book read, and a lengthy one at that. For a moment, I was one step closer to reading every book in my house, albeit a step forwards that would soon be nullified. River God will probably go to my local Oxfam shop, and there is now a space where it once sat on my bookshelves, a space that can be occupied by a new book as soon as I find the time to amble into one of my native city's many bookstores.

Alas, it is a satisfaction I'm very far from feeling this week. I've never been so part way through so many books.

Believe it or not I'm still reading my first book from the TBR Challenge Martin Amis' Money, but I'm well past half way which is not bad.

I bought the book because I thought I oughta. Had heard stories of Amis being obnoxious and his protagonist is obsessed with ... yes, filthy lucre, and you can't get more crass than that.

Didn't expect to be laughing myself stupid so often, delighting in the bad-boy voice (Amir Hafizi has to read this! making a mental note to pass him my scrunched up pizza-decorated copy when I buy a shiny new one), the dialogue, and the craft of every sentence.

The book is set during the Summer of the Charles and Di wedding and the riots which swept the country. The novel captures the early 80's and Thatcher's Britain so well.

It isn't my first Amis, because I read Time's Arrow years back. That's a bit of clever writing, a whole novel told in reverse chronological order from the protagonist's death to his birth. (Try imagining eating backwards for e.g. ... but that's not the worst). Just like a movie being rewound.

I've got to read The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy because Kaykay said so.

Okay then, it's our book club choice and the meeting is next week. Crime fiction so isn't my thing. And this is very much a sweat soaked testosterone drenched bloke book. But it is very well written and I'm not a quitter. So.

I'm also trying to read Yang-May Ooi's Mind Game before Saturday and the Breakfast for Litbloggers thing at MPH and then the readings at Seksan's.

Thrillers aren't my thing either. When I was in Nigeria I overdosed on them because they were the only books available, thanks to my neighbour.

Anyway, am finding Yang-May's novel (which I managed to borrow from my friend Soo Choon) an intriguing read. I appreciate the contemporary Malaysian setting, and find the Asian Values Alliance, bent on world domination, most sinister. And I like that its an unashamedly lesbian love-story!

Have started reading Camilla Gibbs Sweetness in the Belly as I will be interviewing the author when she comes for the KL Literary Festival at the end of March so this is homework, but nice homework as I am enjoying its African setting.

So a lot of books hanging halfway ...

Oh yes, I did finish one book, Richard Posners Little Book of Plagiarism. A legal mind tackles who did and who did not plagiarise in literary history. (Shakespeare gets off the hook you'll be pleased to know!) and just what constitutes plagiarism in the legal context. It's an extremely readable guide, fascinating for litbuffs and invaluable for academics.

One little quote I'll leave you with:

The reader has to care about being deceived about authorial identity in order for deceit to cross the line to fraud and thus constitute plagiarism.

That's right. The ball is in the reader's court.

And talking of readers, what have you finished, and what have you not?

The British Council Book Hunt

World Book Day is coming up - well the British version of it, at least and to mark the event, the British Council is organising a Book Hunt:

Secrets lie hidden in the British Council library and nearby KLCC Park. Find them all and solve the riddles and you could win up to RM1500 worth of British Council vouchers to redeem for free courses, library memberships, show tickets and more! ... To join the Hunt, you’ll need to form a group of four, so get your friends and family to be your team members.

More info here, or contact the British Council Library (library@britishcouncil.org.my).

10 Books a Year

I missed link to an article in the Star the other day, till I spotted a link on Raman's website. (Shows how carefully I read the paper!)

According to the report, Culture, Arts and Heritage Deputy Minister Datuk Wong Kam Hoong says the Malaysian Government is:

... targeting to have Malaysians read at least 10 books yearly from 2010. ... Malaysians only read an average of five books last year, this should gradually increase to reach the targeted number in four years from now.

My take? If you don't set your sights very high, you can't fall very far.

Why Schools Fail to Produce Readers

Animah pointed me in the direction of this letter by Yap S.H. in the education section of Sunday's Star. Yap reflects on her own experience to talk about how schools here fail children by not providing enough support for extensive reading and how libraries aren't accessible enough:

Although we had “readers” in school, these were often simplified versions of novels which we were not allowed to take home.

Once a week, my English teacher would distribute the books and students took turns to read paragraphs aloud. At the end of the class, the teacher collected the books back.

Naturally, we never got through more than one to three pages each week; I do not recall my class ever finishing a book.

Does anyone truly think this exercise anything more than a token effort?

In my primary school, we visited the school library every week. However, my secondary school library was usually locked. I do not think we entered the library more than twice a year!

This failure to encourage reading extends beyond the school system. There are insufficient libraries throughout the country. Ideally, nobody should need to travel more than 30 minutes to get to a good library.

The Perpustakaan Bergerak that we have might be more effective if they were better stocked and their routes well-publicised.

Without convenient and cheap access to a good library, how many books do we expect the less fortunate to buy?

Reading is essential, not only to facilitate mastery of a language but also to provide our nation with critical minds that are pivotal to the development of our nation.

In view of the failure of the authorities to encourage reading, Yap suggests a few self-help measures:

Start a book club. Organise carpools to the state library. Share your book collection with others. Ensure schools fully utilise their libraries. Be proactive for the future of your children, for our nation. Do not just rely on the government. We can all do our bit!