Celebrate the joy of reading in Leicester this year as part of the National Year if Reading 2008.
Events will be running through out the year including a special visit from acclaimed novelist Haif Kureishi, performance poetry from Attila the Stockbroker, romantic writing with Carole Matthews and a host of opportunities to read great books and even try out creative writing.
You can also have your say in the search for Leicester’s favourite book. What will win – Lord of the Rings? Pride and Prejudice? You decide.
Young people are at the heart of the celebrations. The 7th annual Teenage Fiction awards, and the Team Reads summer scheme library scheme are two great ways for young people to enjoy reading.
View a full listing of events here
Vote for Leicester’s favourite book here
My favourite book of all time has to be: ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night Time’ by Mark Haddon. Granted, it is “famous” as your article mentioned, but just happens to be the best book ever written- fact! On a serious note I feel that it is a brilliant novel due to the fact that it captures the view of a child with autism exceptionally- I think anyway as it might not truly be how one thinks, and has been criticised as such- but it’d a good attempt! It is exciting, funny, sad and utimately uplifitng with good morals- a ingredients of a classic if I say so myself. ***** stars.
Being an avid reader it’s difficult to pick a single favourite from the many I have read – probably sitting around the 1000 mark now. Legend (David Gemmell), Armor (John Steakley), Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card) and the short story A Painter’s Vision (Barbara + Scott Siegel, from Love and War Dragonlance anthology) all make my top 5, but just making the top of the pack is Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind.
The sixth book in his Sword of Truth series, in my opinion it marks the peak of his writing. The five preceeding books are impressive works of fantasy, though otherwise not particularly outstanding, while the books that have followed it seem to focus too much on the writer’s philosophy of Reason at the expense of developing the plot without it feeling laboured. Faith of the Fallen sits on the cusp between these. Leaving the high fantasy of the previous books behind, the protagonist Richard, and his wife Kahlan are separated at the beginning of the book, not to see each other again until the end. Richard is taken by one of his enemies into the heart of the Old World, the compact of nations under the Emperor Jagang which is beseiging his homeland in the New World, where he is forced to live under an oppressive system with obvious parallels to Communism in order to see what makes him tick. Meanwhile, Kahlan is marshalling the forces of the New World in their defense against the thousand-fold stronger attackers in a brutal battle of sword and magic. This is magical warfare at its dirtiest – glass ground so finely with magic that it floats on the wind and blinds the enemy; altered mosquitos that spread arcane diseases.
It makes for a winning combination, as you are alternately excited and provoked to thought about the nature of man, and the explosive finish holds one of the few scenes in a book so inspiring that has had me close to tears. I can’t say more for fear of spoiling it, but you’ll know it when you read it.
I can’t give it much more endorsement, except to add that it is one of the three books my brother cycles between, despite not particularly enjoying reading and not having read the previous five in the series.
Favourite Book
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
This book stands above everything I have ever read. Her wonderful use of language makes passages and phrases stick in my mind months after reading them; she sets the story so completely in its unique part of south India and draws out the conflicts in the story so slowly and painfully, yet in a way that I had to keep reading to see how things would fall apart – it was obvious from the start that they would, but the peeling away of the normality of the characters’ lives is almost hypnotic. I have never read a book that I so much did not want to come to the end of and I often dip into it at random just to experience her use of words and descriptions of places. I love this book!
[...] Year of Reading [...]
Catch Me if you can
Frank W Abagnale
My favourite book is The Bone People by Keri Hulme
“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
Northern Lights by ‘Phillip Pullman’
I love “The Time Travellers Wife” by Audrey Niffengegger. Fantastical premise but it is the real relationship between the main characters which carries the story. Amazing
my faverioute book off all time is eagle srike by anthony horowitz
Another one of my favorite books is Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahham. I think that some of the parts of the book are very moving. Especially that famous chapter Dulce Domun or home sweet home. One of my Mum’s friends said that the whole chapter made him cry.
I don’t think I have a favourite. However, ever since I started reading from when I was a child one of my favourite authors has been Franklin W. Dixon of The Hardy Boys fame!
Rani and Sukh by Bali Rai is my fav of all times!!!!
superb book!!!!
awsome buk!!!!!