Reading Group October

After The Hunger Games... let's read The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.

The unexpectations of it! Try short stories by Paul Jennings.

Or for a different type of challenge, try Charles Dickens The Signalman.

Looking for book lists, recommendations, top tens? Browse Book Trust; a top ten list; list of Carnegie winners; and Oprah's choice.

Macbeth

Following your mama's totally brilliant workshop in this fantastic play with zombies, ghouls, dead men and biscuits, go here.

Watch the videos, read the info, and look forward to seeing a performance soon.

A also recommend this site, Shmoop. Easy to read, and I don't always agree with it, so even better.

Taming of the Shrew

A play I personally don't feel too happy about. So I guess we all need to see it to discuss the content.

Richard III

Explore the Shmoop site. Lots of info on Richard III - characters, plot, symbols, themes, language. Preparation for seeing the play.

King John by Shakespeare. I've never seen this play staged. I doubt I've read it. Let's find out about it.

The Wiki entry is here.
Youtube interviews with RSC, here.
The RSC plot outline is here.
You could try poking about the history, starting here.

(I find the plot outline confusing. I suggest we enter into the spirit of this performance by reenacting this story on the kitchen table using pieces of fruit standing in as the main characters. I want a banana as the Bastard. And I want a bunch of grapes as King John. Everytime he receives a knock-back to his objectives, we all eat a few of his grapes. At the end we see how many are left.)

So the deal is, find out about it, join with me in fruity mayhem, help me along in a conversation about the history, characters, plot and theme, then let's see it in Stratford, done by the RSC.

Shakespeare's Restless World

Make sure you listen to these BBC programmes by Neil MacGregor from the British Museum.

(Stuff the autonomy and free choice. I'll test you on them, and tie you to the radiators if you fail.)

Great Expectations.

Create your own story based on that title. Will you make an ending where your expectations are fulfilled? Or will you have an ending to your story which are really about Great Disappointments?

!.;:''(...)?

Think about the usefulness and elegance of punctuation.

Then consider the fate of the interrobang.

This week we're looking at autobiographies. What lines would grip your attention and make you want to find out more about the writer's life?

I was born on 15th July 1945.

I hit him, full in the face. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't stop myself. That was my first, and last, day at school.

My grandmother was an assassin. Not a very good one, which might explain a few things.

Compose your own first lines, drawing on experiences you've had, which would make a reader want to read on.

I can't find what I want.

I want a simple online book group with discussion forum for children aged 11-16, where we can get together to discuss books we read in common.

If one doesn't exist, or there are none recommended to me that are useful, I'm setting one up.

I don't want it tied to a publisher. I don't want it on Facebook. I don't want it promoting National Curriculum attainment targets. I don't want it aimed at parents. I don't want it to be patronising. I don't want the interface gadget-driven, noisy, or filled with pointless buttons. And I don't want ads.

Is there anything already out there, before I re-invent the wheel?

What makes you laugh? Your job this week is to talk about comedy.

(And I did say you had to know the Muppets. Here's the Swedish chef, Rowlf the dog, and Beaker, who is routinely electrocuted.)

Think of a moment when you were day dreaming, dozing, or falling in and out of sleep.

Did you 'lose yourself' for a time? Could you explain what the feeling was like, or say what you were thinking during that 'lost moment'?

Could you transform your memory into a poem? Here's one we read this week.

I dreamt; and in my dream
I was a butterfly.
I woke, or is it simply
That, weary of the sky,
Some butterfly is sleeping
And dreams that it is I?

- Chuang Chou

Look at a copy of the South China Morning Post. How does a print newspaper try and get your attention? What visual techniques does it use?

Let's explore the British Library site, to see what has changed and what has stayed the same in terms of newspaper design. The site provides many free pages, and there are examples of newspapers from the 1800s on. Try a search on the words Hong Kong.

Tell me a story. I miss the pleasure of hearing a story teller and seeing that craft in action. Not only the story then, but hearing an expressive voice, listening for the pauses, watching the smiles and seeing the eyes.

I can find stories told on Youtube. Do you like this one? (Visually? The devils are scary!) If you enjoyed it, listen to some of the others.

And then be story tellers this week.

We've read several times now in China that a person's expressiveness with a brush and ink - and their skills in calligraphy - is somehow linked to their character.

You can come across a similar idea - graphology - the notion that you can see a personality come through handwriting.

What about you? Write a sentence in your 'normal' handwriting, then write it in a different style, maybe with sharper letters, or more rounded letters. Is it easy to change your writing style?

You can work out some meanings for yourself of your sticky bits, loops, sizes, spaces, and dots on your i's with this list of examples.

Fun, and I don't believe any of it. After you've tried it, what do you think?

Library week. Tell me what new books you've found and which authors you're reading.

Try a book reviews site to find books you'd like to read, and we can hunt them down.

One story you must read this week; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

(Imagine the girdle, by the way, as a jewelled or decorated belt. Not a Playtex Living Girdle from the 1950s as owned by your grandmother ...you see, you never know what useful information comes from your education.)