The Uncommon Reader sees the Queen, the most uncommon of us all, stumble across a mobile library and become an avid reader, oftentimes to the detriment of her royal duties. It is a brilliantly written short story that should be read on a Sunday with a cup of tea whilst wearing something cosy.
My first experience of Alan Bennett was The History Boys - I saw the play and the film and thoroughly enjoyed them. Similar to one of Bennett’s quotes, “Definition of a classic: a book everyone is assumed to have read and often thinks they have”, I was aware of the name Alan Bennett as someone I should know about, but when I look at tv, film and book lists I didn’t watch anything before this. Nor did The History Boys inspire me to do so – that enjoyment was filed under my love of school stories and put to one side – perhaps because it wasn’t a reading experience, but one enjoyed very much in the moment. When reading I’m far more likely to look up other or related works.
The Uncommon Reader introduced me to short stories and led to further reading. When considering a well written short story I am always impressed by how the author creates a world the reader believes in and characters the reader is invested in, in a much shorter time frame. I think it must be harder to be an excellent author of short stories as there is no room for dead weight.The Uncommon Reader
The Uncommon Read also sparked an interest in books about books and reading – the all-encompassing joy of reading is captured so well by Bennett. It led me to further books about readers, bookshop owners and characters that are aware they’re fictitious, as well as non-fiction books and articles by booksellers, culture theorists and journalists looking at why we read, why some people collect books, and the importance of reading in creating our own character.
I definitely, and often do, recommend The Uncommon Reader. And I also look forward to later months where I indulge the interests it sparked, in both short stories and books about reading in my Not Read reading list for this year.
My first experience of Alan Bennett was The History Boys - I saw the play and the film and thoroughly enjoyed them. Similar to one of Bennett’s quotes, “Definition of a classic: a book everyone is assumed to have read and often thinks they have”, I was aware of the name Alan Bennett as someone I should know about, but when I look at tv, film and book lists I didn’t watch anything before this. Nor did The History Boys inspire me to do so – that enjoyment was filed under my love of school stories and put to one side – perhaps because it wasn’t a reading experience, but one enjoyed very much in the moment. When reading I’m far more likely to look up other or related works.
The Uncommon Reader introduced me to short stories and led to further reading. When considering a well written short story I am always impressed by how the author creates a world the reader believes in and characters the reader is invested in, in a much shorter time frame. I think it must be harder to be an excellent author of short stories as there is no room for dead weight.The Uncommon Reader
The Uncommon Read also sparked an interest in books about books and reading – the all-encompassing joy of reading is captured so well by Bennett. It led me to further books about readers, bookshop owners and characters that are aware they’re fictitious, as well as non-fiction books and articles by booksellers, culture theorists and journalists looking at why we read, why some people collect books, and the importance of reading in creating our own character.
I definitely, and often do, recommend The Uncommon Reader. And I also look forward to later months where I indulge the interests it sparked, in both short stories and books about reading in my Not Read reading list for this year.