Extreme reading No 2

I’ve just spotted this on The Fidra Blog, who in turn borrowed it from Steve Augarde’s blog.  Enjoy!

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 Steve Augarde, by the way, is author of the Various trilogy and, when I looked at his website, I realised he also wrote The Tractor Factory, Lifeboat to the Rescue and a number of other delightful books that I once knew off by heart.   As to my present reading, I rarely read books twice now that I’m past the stage of Katie Morag, Busytown, Burglar Bill and other such classics, all of which I could probably still recite if tested.   But I’ve just read It’s not about the bike by Lance Armstrong and I turned from the last page straight back to the first to read it again.  Perhaps it’s not the greatest literature but it struck the most enormous chord.  More about that in a future post, I hope.

Fidra books

shop.jpgThere are a couple of recent posts on Fidra books that may be of interest to any EduBuzz or Edinburgh based readers. 

The childrens’ writer  Steve Augarde  is visiting the shop  “on Thursday 8th May at 7.30pm to talk about the joys and problems of writing for children and young adults and to give plenty of practical advice on how to get your work in front of an agent or a publisher”.  

Vanessa has also written a post about Harry Potter appearing on the A level reading list.  Harry Potter?  A level?  I don’t like to get snobby about books, as I read anything with words on that sits still for long enough – newsletters, noticeboards, cereal packets, Enid Blyton, Tolstoy, whatever.  The only book I remember failing on in recent years was something by Martin Amis which I just couldn’t hack.  I fully admit that Continue reading

Those Deathly Hallows

temp.jpgI was reading the new Harry Potter at breakfast the other day when GP2 took it off me, saying “You shouldn’t be reading that. You should be revising!”.  Too true unfortunately.  Surely three years can’t have whizzed by quite so fast?  I’m sure it was only last year that I did that much loathed 2 day First Aid at Work refresher course.  I know it is A GOOD THING to know some First Aid.  I know I have to keep my certificate in date as 10 minutes out of date and I’d have to do a 4 day course.  I know they all did the right things when I broke my ankle – after all, I’m a trained first aider and I know these things – they kept me lying down (not that I was planning on going anywhere) and they called an ambulance.  But I hate these courses, taught by people who I appreciate are trying to be helpful, friendly, interesting but always seem smug, in the gloomiest of buildings imaginable.  Anyhow, despite Harry Potter, and forgetting to call for help during the scenario, never mind potentially breaking the nose of the victim dummy during CPR, I am safe for another 3 years.  But please, don’t hurt yourself while I’m around.

So back to Harry Potter.  We missed the midnight launch this time as we drove to Somerset for the weekend; it would have been my in-laws’ 52nd wedding anniversary on Monday and Grandma is still finding life alone very hard.  What a wet weekend.  Wet, wet, wet.  Thank goodness we travelled down on Thursday and avoided the M5 floods on Friday.  Anyhow, despite waiting until Saturday morning for the book, GP1 had finished it by Monday morning and even GP2 had read it by Wednesday night.  I had to wait to get my hands on it but that’s it, done and dusted.  We need another publishing sensation now.  Who’s next? 

Health warning… the ending of the HP story follows shortly, so, as they say, if you don’t want to know, look away now!

On our drive up and down the country we listened to The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – 11 CDs worth, and we haven’t quite finished yet.  Continue reading

Surveys old and new

snh-course-027.jpgWe had the first meeting to organise this year’s Haddington triathlon the other night.  With all the new building that has gone on in Haddington in recent years and associated changes to road layouts, we have decided to alter the run route this year to separate the cyclists and runners at a few dangerous bottlenecks.  One of our number is going to go out with my GPS to measure the proposed new route.

Coincidentally, I am currently reading The Great Arc by John Keay, the story of how India was mapped, the heights of mountains established, and Everest was named.  Continue reading