Guardian Newspaper 1000 Novels discussion
Monthly Book Reads
>
Uncommon Reader, The - June 2014
date
newest »
newest »
Hi guys, I'm struggling to divide this book up as it has no chapters.I'm rereading this on kindle and thought that at start of each week I will post points for a quarter of the book.
Hope this is clear. Enjoy, this book is highly amusing.
I cant drag it out that long. I started it today. Expect to finish it tomorrow.
Yup, I'm rereading it. Almost done.New plan: Im going to put up discussion points for the whole book. Will put a spoiler alert. Members can check points out once they are done with the book.
I guess this book just wasn't my cup of tea. It wasn't bad, but for me it was completely unremarkable. I'm glad it was so short.
Lisa wrote: "Yup, I'm rereading it. Almost done.New plan: Im going to put up discussion points for the whole book. Will put a spoiler alert. Members can check points out once they are done with the book."
I read this recently and thought it was hilarious. I won't join in with this as pushed for time at the moment.
I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.
Discussion points Hi all, these are just some random musings of mine while I read this book. It's a quick, light- hearted read with a bit of punch.
The points are recorded as spoilers so that I don't give anything away.
(view spoiler)
This was a mere 57 pages long in the e-book format that I downloaded, so I zipped through it very quickly. I thought it was a charming little story. Although I missed the more robust wit that I would normally expect from Alan Bennett, I did enjoy the way that he gently poked fun at the British establishment, politicians and the Royal equerries and others.
I did titter to myself while reading this as, like Lauren, I love the way Alan Bennet pokes fun at us with his very dry and droll sense of humour. (Us meaning British people, me included, and our silly, contradictory ways of going on.)
I laughed at the irony at the Queen saying that reading was truly democratic. The word democracy has been bandied about so much here in recent years by politicians, media et al, it's like they are trying to convince us we live in one. Whereas everyone knows we live in a constitutional monarchy. We don't elect the head of state (The Queen), we don't directly elect the Prime Minister (the political parties elect their leaders). The only people who are directly elected are members of the House of Commons. Even the members of the House of Lords are there by patronage.
However, reading can only be democratic if people can afford to read. The public libraries are underfunded and many are being closed down, also mobile libraries (such as the one that went to Buck. palace in the novel) are under attack due to funding cuts. Removing the libraries effect mostly the poor and those who live miles away from libraries which are still open.
Anyway rant over I will attempt to answer Lisa's questions.
1 - I discovered books at school as we didn't have any at home, it wasn't fated as we had to learn to read :). At home I read newspapers, magazines, cereal packets etc.,
2 - No, not really but assumed they would read really intellectual books, philosophy etc., (I'm not including the Royal family in this as they are not know for intellectual pursuits), however, you would think politicians etc., would be well read.
3 - I don't know as there are so many to choose from. Maybe I should go to the Hay festival one year as see who I can meet.
4 - Yes
5 - Yes, if the peasants get the hang of reading who knows what might happen. Seriously, it depends on who is doing the reading, what they are reading and if people in power feel threatened by what's being read.
6 - I expect there are many people on Goodreads who have done that.
7 - Yes, if you take Charles Dickens books, he highlighted the worst consequences of the agricultural and industrial revolution in England. The crippling poverty and distress of people, who at the height of the 'empire', lived and worked in such appalling conditions. As wealthier people read his work, and many other peoples work, conditions did improve albeit slowly.
8 - No, I can't write for toffee.
9 - No, she's in it for life as her public duty. It is one of the things you do have to admire about her.
I laughed at the irony at the Queen saying that reading was truly democratic. The word democracy has been bandied about so much here in recent years by politicians, media et al, it's like they are trying to convince us we live in one. Whereas everyone knows we live in a constitutional monarchy. We don't elect the head of state (The Queen), we don't directly elect the Prime Minister (the political parties elect their leaders). The only people who are directly elected are members of the House of Commons. Even the members of the House of Lords are there by patronage.
However, reading can only be democratic if people can afford to read. The public libraries are underfunded and many are being closed down, also mobile libraries (such as the one that went to Buck. palace in the novel) are under attack due to funding cuts. Removing the libraries effect mostly the poor and those who live miles away from libraries which are still open.
Anyway rant over I will attempt to answer Lisa's questions.
1 - I discovered books at school as we didn't have any at home, it wasn't fated as we had to learn to read :). At home I read newspapers, magazines, cereal packets etc.,
2 - No, not really but assumed they would read really intellectual books, philosophy etc., (I'm not including the Royal family in this as they are not know for intellectual pursuits), however, you would think politicians etc., would be well read.
3 - I don't know as there are so many to choose from. Maybe I should go to the Hay festival one year as see who I can meet.
4 - Yes
5 - Yes, if the peasants get the hang of reading who knows what might happen. Seriously, it depends on who is doing the reading, what they are reading and if people in power feel threatened by what's being read.
6 - I expect there are many people on Goodreads who have done that.
7 - Yes, if you take Charles Dickens books, he highlighted the worst consequences of the agricultural and industrial revolution in England. The crippling poverty and distress of people, who at the height of the 'empire', lived and worked in such appalling conditions. As wealthier people read his work, and many other peoples work, conditions did improve albeit slowly.
8 - No, I can't write for toffee.
9 - No, she's in it for life as her public duty. It is one of the things you do have to admire about her.
I picked up this one, and another from my library today. Won't be able to read it for a couple weeks, but I'm hoping to join in on my first read with the group in June :)
I picked this up a few days ago and read it in a couple of hours. I was charmed, and as I didn't know anything about it, the identity of the "uncommon reader" was a surprise!
MK wrote: "I picked up this one, and another from my library today. Won't be able to read it for a couple weeks, but I'm hoping to join in on my first read with the group in June :)"Hope you enjoy it.
Leslie wrote: "I picked this up a few days ago and read it in a couple of hours. I was charmed, and as I didn't know anything about it, the identity of the "uncommon reader" was a surprise!"
It is charming and fun.
Christine wrote: "I did titter to myself while reading this as, like Lauren, I love the way Alan Bennet pokes fun at us with his very dry and droll sense of humour. (Us meaning British people, me included, and our ..."I really enjoyed that British sense of self- mocking.
I agree with you about democracy- it is a word that has lost all sense of meaning. Death seems to be the only true democratic process- everyone dies.
I discovered books through my gran- she bought those Disney books from the moment my folks got me- and read to me daily. I can't imagine a life without books.
I do think that reading is infectious for the reader themself, one book leads to another. Reading is dangerous in that it discourages ignorance and opens minds to new ideas and possibilities. I agree that books can change the world, by introducing new ideas and exposing the reader to previously unknown information.
I read this on Sunday afternoon after my partner had read it that morning. The whole thing was a delightful snack of a book (particularly welcome after struggling through the heavy fare provided by Dostoevsky) and there were so many delicious lines in it. A typical bit of conversation that afternoon went something like this:Me: *snort*
Her: What?
Me: The archbishop.
Her: Heh. Yes, that's a good bit.
I thought this book was delightful. It's surprising to see that some people thought it mediocre. I loved it.The premise is wonderful, but also it seems to be an honest portrayal of HM. (Not that I've met her.) One wonders if HM read it too.
Guardian Newspaper 1000 Novels
Books mentioned in this topic
The Uncommon Reader (other topics)Lucky Jim (other topics)
The Uncommon Reader (120 pages) and Lucky Jim (251 pages) both won 8 votes, so we are going to offer the choice of reading either book or both.
Please come and join us in the read for June and the discussion threads.