I posted this in response to a question about which book changed your life, but it morphed into a statement in support of local libraries and as I used my local library to borrow film books I thought I'd re-post it here:
"I suppose it has to be the first book that I ever bought with my own money: Five Go To a Treasure Island.
Up to that point I'd been reading comics and picture stories, but after receiving a book token as a present from a generous relative my parents took me to a bookshop and I bought my first novel - the first of very many...
It was the books that I've read (combined with the support of my parents, teachers and a well-stocked local library) that got me through the History Entrance Exam after four terms in the sixth form (one of the questions concerned the value of the 19th century novel to the social historian so I wrote about Hardy, Dickens, Eliot and the Brontes). If you want to see what it was like, watch The History Boys.
In an era when the government is looking to cut library services please make sure you support your local libraries: they are far more cost effective than private education!
Declaration of interest: one of my sisters is now a librarian in the local library where I used to study."
Do you still like ginger beer?
ReplyDeleteBeer's good, ginger less so - although I did find a rather enjoyable beer with ginger in it by Crabbie's (I think) at Christmas.
ReplyDelete