Active Reading

Share the Pleasure - Join a Reading Group
You love reading, but perhaps you don’t have like-minded friends or family you can share the passion, tension, terror and joy of a great book with.

Maybe you have just finished a great read, but don’t what to go onto next. You have just found a new author you really like: does any other writer come close? Or were you really disappointed by a book that TV, magazines, and other readers have praised to the skies? The answer to all these problems can be found if you join a reading group!

At their simplest, Reading Groups are people who enjoy reading and talking about books. They are informal, welcoming and fun - not like going back to school. Some groups read a chosen book, author or subject each month, while others just choose from the latest titles and talk about the books they have enjoyed.

There is now a range of Reading Group Sets available for groups that like to read and discuss a chosen title. Reading group leaders can borrow these from Stephen Lythgoe (contact details below, or ask your library staff).

Meetings may take place in the mornings, afternoons and evenings, and there is one or more group(s) in most of Wigan’s libraries. You can search for a Reading Group here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yann Martel’s Life of Pi is...

“a transformative novel, a dazzling work of imagination that will delight and astound readers in equal measure. It is a triumph of storytelling and a tale that will, as one character puts it, make you believe in God.”

In August 2009 a worldwide readalong will take place. Whether you’re new to Pi or whether the book is an old favourite, you can join in a shared reading experience with people all over the world.

To join in, individuals or reading groups need to sign up on the new readalong website:
http://www.lifeofpi.co.uk
(You'll need an active e-mail address).

If any readers or groups decide to join in, I would love to hear what you thought of the book and the readalong experience. Let me know at the e-mail address: s.lythgoe@wlct.org

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read this: it's great!

Simon Lewis - Bad Traffic

Gripping and original crime novel follows Inspector Jian: a Chinese cop from the Siberian Border, as he searches for his missing daughter in rural England.

Handicapped by having no money, no official back-up, and no English, Jian must make his way through the grimy underworld of people trafficking, illegal immigration and drugs.

A fast-moving thriller, and also a fascinating glimpse of England through foreign eyes, “Bad Traffic” was short listed for the 2009 “Spread the Word” award.

‘inspired writing… a honey, suspense that never loses its grip." - Elmore Leonard.

Reading Groups: a 10-volume Reading Group Set is available.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What I’m reading now...

Stephen Lythgoe (Reader in Residence) Kate Griffin : A Madness of Angels (Orbit, 2009) A gripping, modern urban fantasy set in London.
Pat Evans (Leigh Library) Dan Brown : Angels and Demons (Corgi, 2009) “Complicated, but exciting.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For further information, contact:
Stephen Lythgoe, Reader-in-Residence, Turnpike Centre, Leigh Library, Leigh WN7 1EB
Tel: (01942) 404566 Fax: (01942) 404567 E-mail: s.lythgoe@wlct.org