Blog Archives – Miss Write

DISCLAIMER: I am a book lover to the core. This is just a bit of fun!!!

How many times have you read a book you’d say is unputdownable? My laptop spellchecker doesn’t like that word, but you know as well as I do it’s a word! There’s even a book festival named ‘Unputdownable‘. Case closed. 

We’ve all got a claim on a book so good we spend all morning engrossed in it. I’ve missed offers of tea reading ‘Room‘ in one sitting, for example. 

This can be quite detrimental to one’s life, so I am here to help. Here’s how to put down that utterly unputdownable book. 

1. Read until you fall asleep on it. Your wrist will go limp and you’ll put the novel down. 

2. Get a dog (responsibly). Your hound will need enough attention to enable you to keep your nose out of that book. 

3. Start reading something not worth finishing. You’ll lose interest fast. Huffington Post has some suggestions for awful books.  

4. Set a timer to limit your time spent reading. And don’t ignore that alarm!

5. Decide you’re going to become a quitter. You can make up your own version to how the story ends. 

6. Put Post-It notes through the pages to limit you to a certain number of pages per read. A great tip for those who forget to (or can’t…!) count. 

Want to test out my methods? Real Simple has recommended 17 books you won’t be able to put down. Go on, prove them wrong!

Lou x

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Born To be A Tourist

A week ago today, the literary world lost one of its greats. 

Sue Townsend 
(2 April 1946 – 10 April 2014)

Sue Townsend was an English writer, best known for creating Adrian Mole, the character which first introduced me to the comic and poignant genius of this woman. 

Did you know, the diaries of tortured teenager Adrian Mole sold more copies than any other work of fiction in Britain during its decade? The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ was a gift from my mum when I was an angst-ridden teenage with a secret diary of my own. Mum opened a door to the world of Sue Townsend, and I hope I can encourage you to begin reading her books too. 

You might be forgiven in thinking that Mrs T was all about just one spotty teenager, but you’d be wrong. Sue’s work includes novels, plays and works of journalism. Her warm and touching writing opened up the world of books for me beyond Roald Dahl when I was a young teenager, and I have been a fan ever since. 

It made me wonder though, how many more of her books can I still look forward to reading? A quick look on Wikipedia revealed Sue’s full fiction bibliography. Gotta love the internet!

Adrian Mole series
I’ve still got a few Mr Mole books to read, then – I had no idea! Whoop, whoop!

Other novels
Which books have you especially enjoyed by the late Sue Townsend? I’d love to hear your thoughts. 

Have a look at the lovely obituary Sue’s publisher posted, then get into your favourite online/local bookstore and grab one of her books. You won’t regret it!

Enjoy the long weekend, 

Lou x

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Born To be A Tourist

This week on MISS WRITE I’m featuring the charity “Beanstalk”.

Beanstalk is a British organisation who says their visions is “a nation of confident children who can read and grow up to lead successful lives.”

I grew up with having a bedtime story every night – and if I’m honest, I’d still take one before bed if I could! Every child should have this opportunity, for family bonding as well as education and teaching them how fun books can be. I hope you enjoy hearing about their valuable work, and that it inspires you to give a little more (books, time, your skills – anything!) this week. 

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What’s your earliest memory of reading? Did you read by torchlight after your parents strictly put you to bed? Which author makes you think of your childhood? These are the memories every child deserves.

About Beanstalk

Beanstalk is a national charity that recruits and trains local people to volunteer to go into a local primary school to support children who are struggling with their reading. Beanstalk has been
working with schools for almost 40 years to help raise literacy standards. 

Why are we needed?

 • Almost one in eight children leaves primary school behind in their reading in England.

• Research has shown that literacy leads to low employment prospects, disengagement and is
closely linked with poverty, educational under-achievement, crime and long term unemployment.

Beanstalk helps by providing sustained one-to-one literacy support to children who are falling behind the expected reading level for their age. By sharing dedicated reading time with a trusted adult on a weekly basis, a child can build their confidence around literacy.

In Northamptonshire we are currently supporting over 100 primary schools and nearly 400 children across the county but we currently have more schools and children waiting for reading helpers than we do have volunteers.

What’s the impact of the service?

Children are selected for a variety of reasons:

 • They may have low confidence in reading

 • They may have English as a second or third language

 • Their reading may be below the expected national curriculum level

 • They may have insufficient reading opportunities (e.g. no books at home, no one to help encourage them to pick up a book).

• They may be a “Looked After Child” who needs a bit of extra guidance.

 Who are our “reading helpers”?

Our reading helpers come from all walks of life. They are independent, committed individuals with a genuine interest in helping children achieve. Reading helpers spend 30 minutes with each child twice a week, chatting, reading and playing games. They will have the chance to build up a great rapport with the children and tailor the sessions to their individual needs.

We provide training to our reading helpers before they start and further development training in areas such as dyslexia awareness and phonics. We ensure they have resources for their sessions which are suited to the children they’re helping by providing them with Beanstalk book boxes. 

 ‘ The children give me immense joy and pride in seeing children develop during the course of the school year is amazing. I enjoy their smiles, the fun, the stories and their humour’.

                        ~ one of Beanstalk’s existing reading helpers

How can you help? 

At Beanstalk we look for people with a passion for reading who can give their time to help inspire the next generation of readers.

If you can spare a couple of mornings or afternoons a week during school term time this could be the ideal opportunity for you.

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Beanstalk needs reading helpers – badly. However, not everyone has this time to give. Please do check out Beanstalk on Twitter and Facebook  though, and see where it takes you. If you don’t feel you can give any of your time, get in touch with Beanstalk anyway – there may be other ways you can help (e.g. donating money or books, or helping to spread the word about their excellent and worthwhile work).

Thanks Greg – it’s wonderful to hear about such great charity work involving books and literacy here in Northamptonshire. I am all for this! Also, as a bonus, I think my readers will be pleased I’m back to writing and book themed topics after a couple of weeks of environmental issues and… bacon! 

See you next week!

Lou x

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Born To be A Tourist

Two international events have inspired me to write this week. 

1. The new film “Noah” is being promoted all over the place. It’s THE biblical Hollywood tale of the year, apparently!

2. The unusual air pollution levels we’re experiencing here in the UK.

So what?

We’ve all heard of Noah. He was a man, fictional or not, who faced a huge challenge when the God warned him of an epic flood. Realising the bigger picture, Noah took some on a whole lot of work and made some tough decisions, leading the way to save his family and neighbours, not to mention the animals who came onto his arc “two-by-two”. 

Now, I treat Bible stories with a pinch of salt. I believe they are picture stories constructed to teach us life lessons. Noah’s story is of someone who was strong enough to take on a huge challenge and who ended up saving the ‘world’. (I say ‘world’ because I think the flood in question didn’t affect the whole world, but a localised area. It may have seemed like the whole planet to Noah’s folk though!)

And what about air pollution? Why is this on my mind (and on the news)?

Air pollution has been a hot topic in the UK this week. These unusual levels of pollution are much more than the normal home-grown pollution a country like ours creates on a daily basis, and the emissions we import via European winds. This situation has been exacerbated this week by Saharan winds blowing particularly strong and effectively dropping part of the African desert into our atmosphere. Many people (mainly those with allergies, asthma, and the elderly) have had their health affected, but even on the smallest level, Brits are noticing the impact. Cars are filthy with a layer of the dirt, and visibility has been reduced due to the dust in the air. Take a look at how hazy Northamptonshire looked yesterday afternoon. These fields are normally a green and pleasant vista, but are now fogged in air pollutants. It’s not the resolution of the photo – this really is smog. 

I find it a bit scary that this might be the future of our air quality…

Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental issues our planet is facing, and has been facing, since the introduction of industry, transport and development. And it isn’t only the UK which is having problems. Only 1% of China’s 560 million city residents breathe air that is considered safe by the European Union. And, this severe air pollution problem, which has led to cancer becoming China’s leading cause of death, is no longer affecting the Chinese people alone – it’s spreading globally. 

So what does the advent of a new blockbuster and increased air pollution have in common?

The story of Noah and his arc was a tale of foreseen disaster and preparing for the ‘hit’. Noah was successful in saving humans and wildlife from the threat of extreme flood waters through planning, the support of his family, their understanding of the issue, and faith in his mission. 

You’ve probably worked out my point already: The situation Noah found himself in can be applied to tackling environmental issues – case in point, air pollution. Clean air is getting harder and harder to find as the years go on, and WE KNOW something has to be done.  We know there’s a problem, but it seems we’re sitting by and letting it get worse.

Like many environmentalists and scientists, Noah had his skeptics, but eventually everyone saw what was coming and pulled together. Sure, in this instance, all they did was jump on an arc when the hard work had already been done, but the point is made. When we all accept there is a problem and a serious threat to our environment, we can make a difference and fend off disaster. 

Question: Have you given some thought on how you can reduce the amount of air pollution you’re creating?

I dearly hope that enough can be said and done in the next months and years to help the powers that be recognise finally that if we lose our planet, we lose everything.

Working together, like Noah and his family, we as mere inhabitants of this Earth can overcome the issues of air pollution. Technology is out there which can help. Campaign groups have huge support for combating the problem. Ideas are forthcoming from our great minds. There’s certainly enough evidence to say something should be done!

CAUTION! We can’t stop at solving air pollution. It’s no secret that we humans have been causing damage to the planet for years. 

The world’s population is 7.2 billion, many of whom are intent on living unsustainable lives. 
Humans caused this. 

An area of rainforest the size of England, Scotland and Wales combined is being lost every year.
Humans caused this. 

538 million tonnes of waste is dumped globally every year. 
Humans caused this. 

African elephants will become extinct in 10 years time. In fact, 1 in 4 mammals is at risk of extinction. 
Humans caused this. 

We have borrowed time on disappearing land as sea levels rise – a result of climate change. 
Humans caused this. 

It’s not easy to find out who originally said this, but it makes a brilliant point, one of my favourite quotes ever. 

Get the picture? We’re destroying our own home, one leap at a time. And this is just the start. Treehugger has more if you want more gut wrenching facts about how human activities are damaging the planet. 

Like the story of Noah, I believe not all hope is lost. I believe with hard work, some investment and education, and some serious political barriers being broken, we can leave this planet in a better state than how we found it.

If the metaphorical flood comes, it won’t be just the third world who suffers. It won’t be a problem for descendants we will never meet. It is real; it is now. 

We’re all in this together – just like the animals and humans on Noah’s arc. 

I hope you enjoyed this post. If it’s made you think, please share it on Twitter, Facebook or send someone an email with a link in it. Last week’s post on bacon was a little bit informal, but I couldn’t be more serious about the issue I’ve written about today. 

Lou x 

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Born To be A Tourist