Anne Bogel

[pete9012S]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07D6XW2CH/ ... TF8&btkr=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For so many people, reading isn't just a hobby or a way to pass the time--it's a lifestyle. Our books shape us, define us, enchant us, and even sometimes infuriate us. Our books are a part of who we are as people, and we can't imagine life without them.

I'd Rather Be Reading is the perfect literary companion for everyone who feels that way. In this collection of charming and relatable reflections on the reading life, beloved blogger and author Anne Bogel leads readers to remember the book that first hooked them, the place where they first fell in love with reading, and all of the moments afterward that helped make them the reader they are today. Known as a reading tastemaker through her popular podcast What Should I Read Next?, Bogel invites book lovers into a community of like-minded people to discover new ways to approach literature, learn fascinating new things about books and publishing, and reflect on the role reading plays in their lives.

Just got this book which was recommended to me.
The book poses three good questions which I thought might be good to answer here or just in your mind:

1.What was the last story you wished would never end?

2.Which was the last volume you hurled across the room?

3.Can every devoted reader point back to the book that hooked them on the story? …one that made them decide, for themselves, to make reading a part of their life, forever?

[Anita Bensoussane]

I'd Rather Be Reading does sound good, Pete! I agree that what we read helps shape our character. Enid Blyton in particular had an enormous influence on me as I was growing up.


1.What was the last story you wished would never end?

I become pretty much immersed in many of the books I read but the last time I remember feeling "I never want this to end" was when I was on the final book of Alex Scarrow's 'Time Riders' series - The Infinity Cage. It was the last title in a time-travel series of nine and I'd come to know the main characters incredibly well and followed their trials, tribulations, sorrows and joys for quite some time as they travelled to different periods of history, each one fascinating and fraught with all manner of complications. Leaving the characters and their imaginative (though turbulent!) world behind was a real wrench.

Some years ago I felt the same way about Victor Watson's 'Paradise Barn' series.


2.Which was the last volume you hurled across the room?

The only volumes I've ever hurled across the room were a couple of school textbooks when I was set some particularly frustrating homework as a teenager! I rarely set aside a book unfinished, but a few years ago I gave up on Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl by Donald Sturrock. The style of writing was just so turgid that it failed to engage me, even though I've been a fan of Roald Dahl's books since I discovered Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Magic Finger at the age of six.


3.Can every devoted reader point back to the book that hooked them on the story? …one that made them decide, for themselves, to make reading a part of their life, forever?

The Ladybird book Beauty and the Beast (retold by Vera Southgate with illustrations by Eric Winter) is the first book I remember re-reading repeatedly, drinking in the glorious story and gorgeous illustrations as if I could never get enough of them. My sister and I kept on getting that book renewed at the library when I was about four and she was about three, and in the end the librarian suggested that my mum buy us a copy - which she did! Shortly after that I read Mr. Pink-Whistle's Party, my first Enid Blyton title, and couldn't put it down. I think it was those two books that first made me realise that reading could open up limitless new worlds and bring a wealth of enjoyment, experience, thoughts and knowledge.

[Lucky Star]

1.What was the last story you wished would never end?

The last one I can think of was A House Without Windows by Nadia Hashimi. It's a wonderfully evocative story of a woman who has been imprisoned in Afghanistan. Somewhat in the vein of A Thousand Splendid Suns it really grabbed me and swept me along.

2.Which was the last volume you hurled across the room?

I rarely hate books this much as I have grown fairly adept at picking good ones after nearly fifty years of reading. However I recall a few years ago giving up on an absolutely useless novel about the music industry written by a former record company insider. It soon became clear that the author's main motive was revenge for the fact that he had been sacked rather than trying to tell a story. It was so bad that I cannot even remember the name of either the book or the author. I also famously struggled with Jack Kerouac's On the Road. I abandoned it three times before finally struggling to the end of it.

3.Can every devoted reader point back to the book that hooked them on the story? …one that made them decide, for themselves, to make reading a part of their life, forever?

Easy peasy. The Sea of Adventure by one Enid Blyton. Also the first proper book I ever read.

[Fiona1986]

I listened to the audiobook of this a while ago and enjoyed it. I don't think I can really answer any of the questions, though.


1.What was the last story you wished would never end?

I like it when books end, it means I can start a new one

2.Which was the last volume you hurled across the room?

I don't think I've ever done this. I roll my eyes a lot, though. Most recently at a book where the mum went back to work, and the dad stayed home and everyone said how awful it was that the mother had abandoned the man to fend for himself... and no, it wasn't set in the 1950s!

3.Can every devoted reader point back to the book that hooked them on the story? …one that made them decide, for themselves, to make reading a part of their life, forever?

Erm... no? I was read to from a young age and I enjoyed learning to read (I had alphabet flashcards before I went to school and used to be a right show-off picking out the right letters when people asked me) so it was just natural to start reading books myself.

[Boodi 2]

(1) One story (or books) that I never wanted to end was "The Six Cousins" series!
(2) Like Fiona, I don't think I have ever hurled a book across the room, but I received "The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe" by Andrew O'Hagan as a Christmas gift in 2019 and have still not managed to finish it as it failed to hold my interest.
(3) It is difficult to single out one book, but as a small child I was very fond of an abridged version of "The Wind in the Willows" and kept pestering my parents to "read me some more", hence I was very happy when I started school and began to learn to read as then I could read all about Ratty, Mole and Mr. Toad myself!

[Courtenay]

1.What was the last story you wished would never end?

I haven't done a lot of reading in recent years, but I first read Enid Blyton's Adventure series only about 7 years ago or so and I definitely wished those books would never end!

2.Which was the last volume you hurled across the room?

Becoming Mrs Lewis, a really mushy and totally hokey fictional first-person "autobiographical" account of Joy Davidman Gresham and how she came to marry C.S. Lewis. It was so bad I couldn't finish it.

3.Can every devoted reader point back to the book that hooked them on the story? …one that made them decide, for themselves, to make reading a part of their life, forever?

I got hooked on reading far too young to be able to remember any one particular book that did it!

[Anita Bensoussane]

It's fun reading everyone's responses to the questions!

3.Can every devoted reader point back to the book that hooked them on the story? …one that made them decide, for themselves, to make reading a part of their life, forever?

Easy peasy. The Sea of Adventure by one Enid Blyton. Also the first proper book I ever read.

What a wonderful "first proper book", John. I was absolutely transfixed by the Adventure books when I came across them as a child, especially The Valley of Adventure and The Sea of Adventure.

(3) It is difficult to single out one book, but as a small child I was very fond of an abridged version of "The Wind in the Willows" and kept pestering my parents to "read me some more", hence I was very happy when I started school and began to learn to read as then I could read all about Ratty, Mole and Mr. Toad myself!

That sounds lovely, Boodi. The first children's classics I encountered as a youngster were Pinocchio, Heidi and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

[Boodi 2]

I loved "Heidi" too, but never really liked "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".

On reflection, another candidate for a volume that was hurled across the room was a beautifully illustrated collection of fairy tales that was a gift from my aunt. One evening when I was about 8 or 9 years old I was reading in bed and when my father came in to switch off the light he found that I was crying. He at once asked me what was wrong and I told him that one of the stories in the book had upset me and made me feel really sad. He asked to see the book and when I showed him the story in question (it may have been "The Little Match Girl") he snorted in disgust and said "I'm not surprised you are upset and I think that is a totally unsuitable story for children". He duly confiscated the book and I never saw it again so I have no idea what he actually did with it!

[Anita Bensoussane]

In The Story of My Life Enid Blyton talks about her childhood reading and says, "I loved Hans Andersen's tales, but I found some were too sad."

Although some stories made me cry as a child, I'm not sure that that was a bad thing. Pain and loss are part of life and fiction deals with all aspects of human experience. Hans Andersen was writing at a time when more people died at a young age and many child readers would have experienced the death of at least one sibling, so it probably felt quite natural to bring things like that into stories. Whether Hans Andersen aimed most of his fairytales solely at children, I don't know. Traditional fairytales were meant for everyone of any age and it's possible that he viewed his own stories in the same light.

Pete, I was wondering whether you've thought about the three questions yourself (not that you're obliged to share your thoughts, and nor is anyone, but people's answers so far have made for very interesting reading).

[pete9012S]

I was just mulling over my own answers when I noticed your post Anita, so here goes!

1.What was the last story you wished would never end?

I think it would be 'Contact' by Carl Sagan – the only book when something very emotive and unforeseen is revealed between two family members in a work of fiction that has actually moved me to tears.

2.Which was the last volume you hurled across the room?

A long time ago I was bought two books – Tom Brown’s Schooldays & The Three Musketeers – I appreciated being bought them, but could not make any headway with them at all.
I was aged about eight – so maybe I should give them both another go!!


3.Can every devoted reader point back to the book that hooked them on the story? …one that made them decide, for themselves, to make reading a part of their life, forever?

Easy – Five On A Treasure Island. I was new to being able to read by myself. This book totally enthralled, captivated, motivated and moved me to try and live my life like these characters.
I still feel exactly the same today. I go wild swimming, light fires outdoors, have an aversion to ‘trippers’ and if I find a pot hole or a cave I have to explore it!

[Boodi 2]

Thanks Anita, I am glad that Enid Blyton also found some of Andersen's tales too sad!

Over the years I have often wondered if my father's approach was correct because as you say, being moved to tears as a child may not be a bad thing. Mind you, I took the same approach when my son became upset while I was reading "Black Beauty" and "Animal Farm" to him (i.e. I put the books away and read something else instead) and I never read him any fairy tales (although my husband did, so at least he did not miss out there). On one occasion after watching "The Lion King" at a friend's house he was very upset and woke up sobbing several times during the night!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Books, TV series and films that various members of my family have found terribly sad include Bagpuss, Ring of Bright Water, The Forgotten Toys and The Peppermint Pig. That doesn't necessarily mean we wouldn't read or watch them again though! When my daughter was in her first year of school, the teacher put on The Prince of Egypt for the children to watch as an end of term treat. However, she swapped it for something else a little way in as my daughter was sobbing at the baby being sent away in a basket!

3.Can every devoted reader point back to the book that hooked them on the story? …one that made them decide, for themselves, to make reading a part of their life, forever?

Easy – Five On A Treasure Island. I was new to being able to read by myself. This book totally enthralled, captivated, motivated and moved me to try and live my life like these characters.
I still feel exactly the same today. I go wild swimming, light fires outdoors, have an aversion to ‘trippers’ and if I find a pot hole or a cave I have to explore it!

Five on a Treasure Island conveys a strong sense of freedom, anticipation and togetherness. Like you, Pete, I love swimming in the sea, rivers and lakes. Swimming outdoors amid nature is much more exciting than doing lengths in a swimming pool that smells of chlorine! In France my daughter and I (we might possibly have been classed as "trippers" but we didn't drop litter or play blaring music! ) swam out to a little island in the middle of a lake and it felt very Blytonesque, reminding me of The Secret Island. I've always liked caves and campfires too.

[Debbie]

The first book I remember reading was Ginger's Adventures, a Ladybird book written in rhyme. I read it many times and it always brought me to tears. I don't think that necessarily was a bad thing. In fact I think I used to read it sometimes when I was feeling tearful so I had an excuse for crying

1.What was the last story you wished would never end?
Lots have made me feel that way. I think the last one I read that I really didn't want to end was "The Players and the Rebels" by Antonia Forest.

2.Which was the last volume you hurled across the room?
Rarely do I feel that way about a book. I remember being very unimpressed with the ending of "The Box of Delights". Why he had it as a dream after the equally magical "The Midnight Folk" is still beyond me. But that was over 30 years ago so definitely not the last one I was unimpressed by, and I didn't hurl it across the room either.

3.Can every devoted reader point back to the book that hooked them on the story? …one that made them decide, for themselves, to make reading a part of their life, forever?
No I can't. I was a very keen reader, reading before I was 3yo. I can't remember not reading books.
Perhaps one that I really remember was "Corrie" a short version of the autobiography of "Corrie Ten Boom" who was sent to a concentration camp for hiding Jews in WWII. I would have been about 6 or 7yo when I found it having accidentally got mixed up in a pile of children's books and horrified my mum when I went and asked some questions about it.
Two scenes I can remember in some detail. One was when she was released and walks out and knocks at a door asking for help. The people who answer it are really kind and Corrie wrote something like "for the first time I realised that kindness can make you cry too".
The second scene was after the war when Corrie was going round giving talks about her experience. At the end of one of her talks a man came up to speak to her, and she looks up and sees one of the SS guards who asks her to forgive him.

[Anita Bensoussane]

The first book I remember reading was Ginger's Adventures, a Ladybird book written in rhyme.

That series of rhyming animal stories is very appealing, Debbie. The Bunney-Fluffs' Moving Day and Piggy Plays Truant are particularly popular in my family.

...the last one I read that I really didn't want to end was "The Players and the Rebels" by Antonia Forest.

Antonia Forest's series about the Marlows is superb, though I only had five titles as a child (the four school books and The Ready-Made Family). It's rich and wide-ranging as far as plots and issues are concerned, and the portrayal of a large family and the individuals within it (not to mention a slice of the family's history!) is masterful.

I remember being very unimpressed with the ending of "The Box of Delights". Why he had it as a dream after the equally magical "The Midnight Folk" is still beyond me.

I agree about The Box of Delights and I long ago made up my mind to regard the ending as a dream and the rest as real! The Midnight Folk is a simpler tale and I must admit I don't find it anywhere near as engaging - though as you say, Debbie, if magic was accepted in the first book it should be accepted in the second!