An unusual topic for this blog, but it is related, so please bear with me just this once. I don't think there can be any doubt that this blog is for avid readers. Those of you lucky enough to live in the northwest of England will be able to join in a very special debate this year. Libraries throughout the region, in partnership with the Romantic Novelists Association and sponsored by Bertrams Books, are promoting romance. They are going to be debating all forms of romance, including historical, with a view to finding the readers' top choice. Many polls have been carried out in recent years with Pride & Prejudice, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights always at the top of the list, so the libraries are limiting the choice to books written and published in the last ten years. If you live in the northwest (which for this exercise extends from Cheshire as far north as Cumbria) please pop into your local library and pick up a Pure Passion Leaflet which will give you all the information or follow the ink to Pure Passion on www.time-to-read.co.uk Whether or not you have access to a lending library, you might enjoy some of the books they suggest.
If you are lucky enough to live near Wigan, you can come along to the Pure Passion Launch at Wigan Town Hall next Monday, 16th April at 2.00 p.m. - Phone the Wigan Library number to reserve places- 01942 827 621.
When I was a young mum with three young children to look after, I had very little money to spend on books and the libraries were a life-saver – I could borrow several books at a time to take home and I used them to escape from the pressures of "real life" for a while. It is wonderful to be able to try out new authors for free. The beauty of this project is that although the initial selection of books has been chosen by the librarians themselves – all book lovers and great readers – and the final choice will be made by the readers. There are a couple of historicals already on the list, and I am sure more will follow once the discussion hots up.
Happy Reading
Melinda Hammond
1 comment:
It is time that readers got a say in what is bought. I think a lot more historical books will go on once it becomes the norm. I ahve been told so many times that readers can't find the books they want, so it shows that more are needed. Anne Herries
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