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  • Do Nothing But Read Day

    Posted Friday December 18th 2009
    by Sarah Bourn

    Ever wanted to spend a whole day holed up inside with a pile of books, snacks, blankets and an obliging, warm cat? Now's your chance to indulge that fantasy guilt-free (you can tell people you're part of a worldwide movement, instantly giving you credibility beyond just being someone who likes to wear pyjamas all day). Amanda Lanyon-LeSage, a graduate student and book-crazy blogger from Wisconsin, has declared Sunday 20 December Do Nothing But Read Day.

    Amanda was prompted by little more than a whim to start the event. ‘A couple of weeks ago, I said to someone on Facebook that I wish I could have a day to do nothing but read... and someone asked me, "When?" That's what sparked the idea.’

    The only rules of the day are:

    > you must read more than one book (short stories and audiobooks count too)

    > comfy clothing (preferably pyjamas)

    > no shoes (slippers are ok)

    > mugs of beverages and snacks are compulsory

    Sleepy cats and cuddly blankets are optional extras.

    'So what?' you might be saying. 'I do that every weekend!' Ah, but up until now you were just a lone sloth. Now you're part of a global event.…

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  • In praise of... Jhumpa Lahiri

    Posted Friday December 18th 2009
    by Nikesh Shukla

    I used to trawl bookshops with my Indian uncle whenever he visited the UK. He’d have lists of things to buy on his trip, usually shortbread, marmite and other consumables, and there was always a list of Indian authors he needed to seek out. Books were harder to come by in 2000 in Mumbai and so he used his annual trips to see his London family to buy up literature. In 2000, his list consisted of one name.

    ‘This is the only book I need this year. It won the Pulitzer. You have heard of this Jhumpa Lahiri?’

    ‘No, uncle,’ I said.

    He bought me a copy, he had heard it proclaimed to be that good. On my way home, I finished the book I was currently reading and went straight into The Intepreter of Maladies, Lahiri’s debut- a collection of stories- and the first one, the lightest of small tales about a household caught in regular nightly powercuts in Boston and how the darkness and stillness brings about confessions between a married couple desperately seeking new ways to move forward together. It was breathtaking, it was beautiful, it drove me to tears, it tore at my heart so.

    She…

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  • Shopping trauma

    Posted Wednesday December 16th 2009
    by Nikesh Shukla

    Oh mum and oh dad what to buy you both for Christmas? And sister too.

    My family is notoriously difficult to buy for and this year, with book sales dwindling (not it would appear because of people reading online or on e-readers but because people are reading LESS! Less? What?) I decided I would buy a book for everyone for Christmas, inspired by Booktrust's own A Gift for Life campaign. The problem is, my family are impossible to buy for.

    They're not as voracious as I am when it comes to the written word. My mum reads Stardust magazine religiously, the Bollywood gossip equivalent of Heat. My dad reads whatever free newspapers are thrust into his hands as he sleepily he enters the tube. And my sister- well, the only thing my 25-year old sister reads is the titles of songs on her iPod. This is my chance, I decided this year, to give them the gift of reading. If I buy them all a book for Christmas they'll have to read it right? Except, it would appear, it's not that easy. I've got to find something that appeals to them.

    First up is mum. She used to read…

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  • Luke Wright on the reading journey

    Posted Monday December 14th 2009
    by Nikesh Shukla

    Poet Luke Wright is one of BBC Radio 4's poets-in-residence as well as being one of the key spearheads of performance poetry in the UK. He has performed for years around the UK, presented programmes on Channel 4, is a spokesperson for the poem and writes brilliantly whimsical stand-up poetry shows for Edinburgh Fringe festival. On top of all this he's recently become a dad. We thought it would be nice to talk the man The Observer describes as '[T]he best young performance poet around' about his reading journey with his son, Aidan, and how exactly he will be sharing his love of words and poetry with him.

    >Congratulations on your new baby. Have you been reading to him?
    We read to Aidan most nights. He likes picture and pop-up books and reaches out for them. He has a couple of fabric books which he likes to bash around the place. He's very young and doesn't understand the words yet but we want him to feel comfortable with books, we want him to see books as a major part of his life.

    >Do you remember your parents reading to you as a child? What was your favourite story?

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