Ways of Reading

Mr Shouler

Back to the future: forward to the past?

Blogging about books can seem quite an incongruous activity – like talking about music or dancing about architecture, perhaps. A new, rapid, provisional medium meets an old, revered, established one. But many of the great works of literature weren’t published as books in the first place: some, like Homer, began as oral poetry; others started their life on the stage; and many first appeared in magazines, periodicals, or newspapers. Dickens’ novels, for example, were published section by section in places like All the Year Round, and crowds gathered in Liverpool to await ships delivering the latest instalments of his works.



Modern technology offers us new ways of reading – e-readers allow people to go on holiday with their whole library; apps offer interactive, collaborative experiences. It also, perhaps, gives us a chance to rediscover some of the old ways of encountering texts. Sites like Journal Lists allow you to sign up to receive instalments of works by Dickens, John Clare, and Addison, for example, in the same frequency as their original readers. You can be emailed a couple of chapters a week of Hard Times, for example, and see whether the experience of reading it in this way alters your perception of the work. On sites like modjourn.org, you can find pdfs of the magazines in which modernist poems and short stories were first published, and it’s fascinating to read them alongside each other and alongside the advertising and journalism of the time. Katherine Mansfield’s ‘Bliss’ and Yeats’ ‘In Memory of Major Robert Gregory’, both now considered classics, first appeared in the very same issue of The English Review, for example, where they were cheek by jowl with advertisements for Tatcho hair growth, military jewellery, and the League of Nations pride essay. And the British Library offers facsimiles of texts through the ages, presented interactively on screen, giving a vastly different experience from the stultifying, hushed reverence implied by imprints like Penguin Classics.

Try reading a book you know, or have studied, in a different format. How does it alter your experience of the work? How does it make you rethink your understanding of its concerns, its context and its texture?

Book of the Week: Vernon God Little

Vernon God Little by D.B.C. Pierre
Reviewed by Luke Osborne

Vernon God Little is a brilliant satirical novel by D.B.C. Pierre, published in 2003. It won the Man Booker Prize in 2003 along with many other awards.

The story follows a 15-year-old boy named Vernon Little who lives in a small town in Texas. The book starts with Vernon sitting in the Sheriff's office waiting to be questioned about his involvement as an ‘accessory to murder’. We learn that this is to do with the tragedy following a school shooting the town recently has suffered, that killed many pupils. He is being questioned as the shooting was committed by Vernon’s close friend Jesus, who killed himself after shooting fellow classmates. The book is written in the first person and shows the thoughts of our protagonist as he continues life in Texas; these thoughts are often funny as they satirize the stereotypical Texan lifestyle. As the days pass the whole world seems to be against Vernon: he becomes a co-suspect to the shootings, and the media turns against him. The media coverage of Vernon is presented by someone called Mr. Ledesma, who appears first as a friend to Vernon but eventually turns against him.

With the whole world seemingly against him, Vernon decides to run away Mexico and get a house on a beach, something which he first heard about in the movies. On the bus ride to Mexico he stops off in Houston to meet his crush, Taylor. He tells her of his plans and wants her to join him. She says no, crushing his spirit. After this he continues onto Mexico. After a few days in Mexico he is caught and taken into custody. He later learns that he is being accused of almost every single murder in Texas since he ran away. He is put on trial with death penalty crimes in his name. I won’t spoil the story, so I’ll leave it at that.

I like this book as it gives a very honest and funny take on today’s world, from the opinion of someone of a similar age to me, with sometimes strong language, making it all very easy to relate to. It also tells the story of what it is like to have everyone against you. It has an exciting and page-turning plot that keeps you on edge every step of the way. It is one of the best books I have ever read, and a definite must-read recommendation.

A* for Ian McEwan's Nutshell?

Ian McEwan's latest novel, Nutshell, re-works Shakespeare's Hamlet, from an unusual point of view.  Here's Mr O'Keeffe's response. 

Well, Ian, what can I say? You’ve done it again – out smarted your clever class-mates and dazzled your teacher with a real tour-de-force.

Your classmates chose a more predictable approach. Many wrote as Gertrude (the closet scene being a particular favourite). Some opted for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, despite my warning that this had been very successfully tackled by a former student some years ago. There were a few Horatios, a couple of gravediggers, an Osric, a Laertes, and several Claudiuses. One smart-arse chose Yorick’s skull and another decided to be the arras.

But you, Ian, have outdone them all. You have outsmarted the smartest.

Book of the Week

Wonder by R J Palacio
Recommended by Xavier Chaudhary

'My name is August. I won't describe what I look like.  Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.'  Wonder charts the emotional and social turmoils of ten year old August 'Auggie' Pullman, a boy born with a rare facial deformity, who, despite having gone through twenty-seven corrective surgical procedures, and behaving a feeling like a 'normal' child, will never look even close to normal.

In a frankly brutal world, where appearances really do count, August finds himself being stared at in horror and avoided by others, and with even August's father likening August's situation to a 'lamb to the slaughter', we learn how August overcomes his middle school struggles. 

And the school's favourite Roald Dahl novel is ...

... Fantastic Mr Fox.

Many thanks to everyone who voted. The final results were:

1. Fantastic Mr Fox (20% of the votes)
2. Matilda (15%)
3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (14%)
4. The Twits (12%)
5. The Witches (8%)
6. Boy, The BFG and James and the Giant Peach (each with 5%)
7. Going Solo (4%)
8. Tales of the Unexpected (3%)
9. The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar (1%)
10. The Magic Finger (0%)

And yes, we know that doesn't quite add up to 100%.  And we're sorry we didn't include Esio Trot or George's Marvellous Medicine in the list - but thanks to all of you for participating! 

Happy Birthday Roald Dahl!

Today is Roald Dahl day - and this year, the celebrations are jumpsquifflingly huge, because it's 100 years since the writer's birth on 13th September, 1916.

Not only was Dahl one of the greatest children's writers of all time, he was also a spy, a fighter-pilot, a medical inventor and recipe deviser, and his two excellent and entertaining autobiographies, Boy and Going Solo are highly recommended, if you haven't read them already.

Library news

Alex Aslett

There are two new displays in the Walker library.

In the outside cabinet, there's a display of books by and about the dramatist Samuel Beckett, whose  play Endgame, along with some of the writer's shorter works, was performed in this week's drama festival.

Inside the library, there is a display linked to this year's commemoration of the Battle of the Somme.  It includes the biographies of six Old Paulines who fought in the battle, two of whom died.

Book of the Week

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Recommended by Thomas O'Sullivan

Written in 2006, John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a story about friendship, tragedy, and life during the Holocaust.

Having reached number one on the New York Times bestsellers list, as well as in the UK and Australia, this powerful book stands out in part because of its unusual perspective. It's told through the eyes of Bruno, the 9-year-old son of the horrible, murderous commander at Auschwitz concentration camp. Bruno is completely clueless and has no idea about the horrible things going on around him or why they are happening. This perspective allows the readers to feel a strong sense of foreboding, long before they know how big the terror surrounding Bruno’s world is. The readers will be amazed by the great differences between Bruno's normality and lack of experience, and the extreme horrors throughout the novel.

Some people reading this book will be able to quickly relate to Bruno, who is moved from his home and sent somewhere 'nasty and cold' where he has no friends; he is lonely, his sister bugs him, and adults treat him as if he's not there. He wants to do art and read books rather than history and geography. He wants to go outside and explore. At one point Bruno is even jealous of the life of the boy on the other side of the fence because at least he has other boys who he can play with.

Overall, this book is about the importance of friends and family, and whilst there are sad moments throughout the book, it is still very touching, and gives a sense as to how hard life was during that period in time. If you are looking for a touching, tragic book about life during the Holocaust, this is definitely the book for you.

Welcome back

For those of you new to the school, today's post is an introduction to the book blog - telling you a bit more about what it does and how you can get involved. 

The blog publishes regular posts, usually on Tuesdays and Fridays, covering all matters book-related.  Our Tuesday post is usually a 'book of the week' post: anyone can submit a review of any book they've enjoyed and want to recommend.  Some of our posts feature creative writing: Pandemonium and Areo, magazines written and produced by the junior and senior year groups, are published on the blog (click on the magazine names to read the most recent issues).

 
Other occasional posts have focussed on individual writers or genres - such as Charles Cavalla's article on the evolution of the graphic novel or Conrad Barclay's comparison of fiction and non-fiction murder mysteries. Our regular 'Fist of Five' series offers a selection of five books that have a common link: for instance, Mr Hager's five books with the word 'road' in the title, or Ben Phillips's five short stories by H P Lovecraft. Other posts focus on literary events or anniversaries - such as our celebration of 400 years of Shakespeare. The tag cloud on the right hand side of the home page groups blogposts by keyword - so feel free to browse. Beneath that, there's a list of posts by date, if you want to browse chronologically.

The book blog also offers a huge range of suggestions for reading: if you're stuck for ideas, have a look at our Reading Lists tab: there you'll find lots of recommendations - including top ten books in a particular subject (Politics, Chemistry or Drama, for instance), and the English Dept's suggestions for wider reading, organised by theme and genre.   The Links tab takes you to other useful websites - such as the Guardian's top 100 books, or the Book Trust's bookfinder page. 

The blog is open to everyone in the school community - pupils, staff, parents.  If you'd like to write something for the blog, just e-mail us at spsbookblog@stpaulsschool.org.uk, or contact any member of the English Department.  Have a great term!