Read to work / Work to read

Most of my reading at the moment is being dictated by my work and it's turning out to be no bad thing.

I have just finished Janice Galloway's autobiography 'This Is Not About Me' in advance of her visit to my school in 4 weeks time. She will be coming to guide, advise and support our Advanced Higher English class who are studying her novels,'Foreign Parts' and 'The Trick is to Keep Breathing'. I devoured the TISTKB in two days, took a little longer with FP' and bulldozed through her memoir over a weekend.

'This Is Not About Me' was particularly enjoyable because of its setting in the Ayrshire town of Saltcoats. I used to be driven through this cold town on the Firth of Clyde when going to my Gran's house, so whilst reading, I had a very vivid image of the places Galloway grew up in.

What set this book apart from other memoirs was the style of writing. It felt at first like a memoir but later began to read as an engrossing story about a little girl growing up. There seemed to be a distance between Galloway as the narrator and Janice, the little girl, but with still with enough of a link to convey the emotions she felt. The final 10 pages were very powerful but not tainted by melodrama for the sake of dramatic effect or a bleeding heart seeking sympathy. What ultimately came across was a story that I'm sure many could relate to.

Again, in support of the Adv. Higher Class, I am going to read 'Coming Up for Air' by George Orwell. I love Orwell and have been enjoying his other books, beyond the standards of 'Animal Farm' and '1984'. I recommended him to one of the girls in the class so I feel it is only fair that I read this book so that I can support her. Having to read Orwell for work is no bad thing.

After that I am hoping to get the new Stephen King book, 'Under the Dome' from the library. I still have a few older King's to read but I am now reading all his new books as they come out as I feel the man is in one of his productive phases again.

Hopefully after that there will be enough time to read Janice Galloway's 'Clara', a novel based on the life of Clara Schumann, wife of the composer Robert. It's not one of the books being studied by the class but I feel I should be all-knowing vis-a-vis Galloway's works before she visits the school. Much like meeting James Ellroy, I am very excited about the prospect of this visit but hopefully her signature on my books will be better than his.