0 Calling Teen Readers by Savita Kalhan

After attending a few meetings fighting library cuts in Barnet, I decided to get involved in my local library in a small way. Finchley Church End Library had no teen reading group, so with the help of the head librarian, the wonderful Steve Saunders, I decided to try and set one up. Flyers were sent round to all the local schools, and we were hopeful that it would attract a few kids.

Last week we had our first meeting. I went prepared and armed with lists of books. The librarian had reserved books from the Carnegie shortlist for me, so that the teens could have a look at each book before deciding which one they wanted to read and discuss first.

I got to the library early and set up the table. And then I waited. Ten minutes into the time, no one had arrived and I began to wonder whether there would in fact be no reading group because there was just no interest.

And then four kids arrived! And they were all into books and reading and excited to share what they liked and what they didn’t, what they had read over the last year and what they wanted to read. There were three girls and one boy, and all of them said they had friends who would love to join and could they let them know so they could come next time.

Of course I said yes, happily.

The kids decided that they did want to unofficially shadow the Carnegie and the book they voted to read first was When Mr. Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan (I think the swear words in the book only played a small part in that choice!). Our next session will be discussing the book and the issues it raises. The kids hadn’t heard of either Tourette’s or Asperger’s, so we’ll be talking about both of those conditions.

They have also decided that next they want to read Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan, and then next Buffalo Soldier by Tanya Landman.

 

Hopefully, from these small beginnings the teen book club will grow and thrive, and I’m looking forward to sharing with them the many amazing teen books that are out there.

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Detail: Calling Teen Readers by Savita Kalhan

0 So You Want to be a Writer... by Savita Kalhan

In a recent YouGov poll, a respectably large sample of 14, 294 people in Britain were polled as to what professions they would choose to pursue out of an array of 31 professions. These included standard middle-class professions such as doctor, lawyer and accountant, well-paid jobs such as investment banker, aspirational jobs such as TV presenter, Formula 1 driver, Olympic athlete, astronaut (!), and Hollywood movie star, as well as standard jobs such as estate agent, taxi driver and flight attendant.  

Surprisingly, being an author was the number one most desired job in Britain, with 60% of the sample choosing to be an author! Perhaps even more surprisingly, given that libraries are being closed left, right and centre, being a librarian was the second most desired job, with 54% of the sample choosing to be a librarian. I’m not sure there are enough libraries left for the number of people wanting to be librarians, if the survey is to be believed! Still, with the expansion of tertiary education in recent years, Briton's third favourite choice of profession (50% of the YouGov sample) is perhaps a more sensible choice for Britain's apparent majority of bookish types.

Can it really be true, that Britain, once derided as a nation of shopkeepers, then dismissed as a nation of parasitic bankers, investment bankers and real estate agents, has now evolved into a nation of would-be authors and librarians? As YouGov puts it: "Instead of actors and musicians, it seems that an aura of prestige still surrounds the quiet, intellectual life enjoyed by authors, librarians and academics."

I have to say that, notwithstanding YouGov's "quiet intellectual life" rationale, I am somewhat puzzled and bemused by the results of the YouGov poll, particularly in relation to authors and librarians. More popular than being investment bankers or MPs - yes, I can see that, given recent history, notwithsanding the pay and perks; but more popular than Hollywood movie stars?

Is it really possible that being an author is seen as a glamorous profession? Is it perhaps still seen by the general public  as a high-earning profession? Or do people think that a book can be thrown together relatively quickly, without having to get out of your pyjamas and then perhaps the rest of the day can be spent in quiet contemplation, leisurely long walks and reading? Or is it perhaps because of the increased ease of self-publishing, the growth of epublishing via and other forums and the very occasional success story associated with self-publishing.

Based on the average annual earnings of a writer of about £11,000/yr, that means that should those 60% decide to give a writing career a go, they would, in all likelihood, be living below the poverty line. Some writers don’t even manage to scrape a living from writing: according to a US-based survey of 1,879 published authors carried out by Digital Book World earlier this year, almost a third of published authors make less than $500 (£350) a year from their writing. Only a tiny and, to borrow YouGov's terminology, statistically insignificant minority earn the big bucks. Read the full article here.

Of course, none of it can be achieved without a huge amount of discipline and hard graft, no matter how fast the story comes to you. And once the story is written – you have to sell it, which is another story entirely.

So while I absolutely love what I do, I don’t see it through rose-tinted glasses. It’s a tough business and getting tougher by the minute. But it’s good to know that the process of writing, being an author and being in and around libraries are still valued and held in such high regard.

Despite the public support for libraries, libraries are still closing. The recent #SaveBarnetLibraries campaign lost in the farcical council vote on Tuesday evening where the Mayor accidently voted FOR saving libraries and then ran away, before returning and changing the vote he had cast to AGAINST to chants calling for his resignation. Save Barnet Libraries Facebook page

Today is World Book Day and there are lots of events happening across ‘Bookish Britain.’ Look out for the online Teen Festival, which you can follow on Twitter, @WBDTeenFest, Facebook and Google. Here’s the link to the webpage http://www.wbdteenfest.com/

I’m off to talk about organising teen reading groups in Barnet libraries. Let’s see if we can’t still save a few more libraries!


On a final and very sad note, I wanted to add my voice to all those who are mourning the loss of Mal Peet, a great writer whose work touched many kids and adults. Mal Peet's first novel, Keeper, won the Branford Boase Award and the Bronze Nestle Children's Book Award; Tamar won the Carnegie Medal; and Exposure was the 2009 winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. Life: An Exploded Diagram, published in 2011, is an amazing book. The Murdstone Trilogy was published in November last year, and is his last book. It makes me unutterably sad that there will be no more books by him.   



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Detail: So You Want to be a Writer... by Savita Kalhan

0 Stockpiling Books... Yes, I'm Guilty! by Savita Kalhan

Wycombe Library 1970

Ever since I was very young, I’ve loved books with a passion, though back then I couldn’t afford to buy them. Luckily there was a brilliant library that fed my needs (I’ve blogged about my wonderful library, Wycombe Library, here My Library and Me ).







The Cottage Bookshop in Penn

Later, when I was doing my A levels, I discovered the most amazing second hand bookshop in Penn, The Cottage Bookshop, (which I’ve blogged about here The Cottage Bookshop ) and bought my first books. I found a very old hardback copy of Our Mutual Friend in there once. I suspect the fact that it was the first proper book I owned had something to do with why I loved studying it for A Level English.







I returned many times to that bookshop and to the library, until the day finally arrived when I could actually afford to buy full priced books. Then I went to live in the Middle East and had to take a ton of books with me as there was only one bookshop in the city where I lived, and it sold a ridiculously limited number of books.

So began the stockpiling.



My work room - in the summer!

It’s continued over the years. I had to buy new bookcases every year until they lined most of the walls downstairs, and then the walls upstairs. A friend once joked that she was sure the bookcases were propping up the house. That’s an indication of how bad the stockpiling had become.

My book alley

In 2013 we had major work done on the house. In the planning of the loft conversion, I cut the proposed bathroom in half and created a book alley. I designed the book shelves so that the available space would take as many books as possible, and, fortunately, they can take a lot! There are still lots of bookcases with lots of books dotted around the house, and my new work room at the bottom of the garden houses all the children’s books, teen/YA books, and research books.

So the stockpiling never stopped.

Kindle and ebooks helped a little bit, but not that much. Like many people I still like to have real books in my house. I got out of the habit of using the library when I was living abroad, but I do use it a lot now, so that helps as at least those books don’t need permanent shelf space in my house.

The problem is that I love buying books – even though I know I don’t have the time to read as many as I buy (which probably makes me a hoarder!). When I was on Twitter the other day, a book blogger tweeted about her plan to read 20 books and 20 ebooks before allowing herself to buy any more books. So that’s what I’m going to do. Yes, I do have that many that I haven’t read yet...

My #TBR20

Here’s the hashtag if you’re interested, and if you like, you can post a picture of your 20 books #TBR20. I won’t be putting a time limit on when I should read my twenty books by, although one of the bloggers doing the #TBR20 is planning to have them all read by Easter! The fact that I’ve banned myself from any book purchases until these are read will be enough of an incentive, if I need one.

There is one place you are allowed to go where you can read other books without having to buy them, where stockpiling books is their business, and if they don’t happen to have a copy of the book you want they even order it in for you. My library is my saviour and I have to admit that I’m there once a week, returning books and borrowing more books. So my #TBR20 may take a while to get through at this rate, but at least it’s curbing my stockpiling, if only temporarily.

I can’t be the only stockpiler out there, can I??

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Detail: Stockpiling Books... Yes, I'm Guilty! by Savita Kalhan