Riots and Looting in London (and elsewhere)

Never having lived in London, I feel unqualified to comment on its current situation, but at the same time I'm astounded by the simplicity and narrow-mindedness of some of the arguments I've seen in blog comments and on Twitter (including let's shoot them, it's because of single parents, this proves the BNP is right etc etc). I thought a simple round-up of some of the excellent writing I've seen on the subject would be a good idea.

I'm including the Telegraph's piece about the context. It has been widely retweeted, but that's because of its quality. Neither condoning the rioters' actions, nor simply dismissing those individuals, Mary Riddell explores various contributing factors.

Many of the most affecting pieces I've read have been on blogs, often written by Londoners.
Jen Campbell (of the fabulous 'Weird Things People Say in Bookstores') wrote a lovely piece entitled 'I Heart London'.
Stella Duffy has two excellent posts on her blog: from the early hours of this morning, musing on the coverage of the riots and what there is left to celebrate about London/Britain; from this afternoon sharing her experiences out in her local community.
From another bookshop blog (The Big Green Bookshop) - an initial post from Sunday about the devastation in their local area (Wood Green) and a follow up from today, explaining how things are looking in the neighbourhood now.

As well as all these, of course, I've taken comfort (as have many) from the @riotcleanup and #riotwomble campaigns and this wonderful picture of the community cleanup operation and this great image of solidarity and support.

I hope that normal service will be resumed shortly. I was going to post a book review today, but it seemed too frivolous to do so.

Family Friday: we love English Heritage!

We have been members of English Heritage for three years now and absolutely love it. It's been brilliant on UK holidays in particular, as there are so many places you can just visit on a whim. And there are often great events in the summer like jousting, falconry and medieval music - at no extra charge! Finally, quite a lot of their properties allow dogs in the grounds (or in the case of ruins like our local Ashby Castle, all over the site).

This week (on Monday in fact, in recognition of Lammas, the grain harvest), we went to Sibsey Trader Mill in Lincolnshire and had a great time. We were able to see it in full sail and saw some of the inner workings. More was available to view but cowardice got the better of us after two flights of, er, ladder. I didn't even manage to get an inside pic, as we were too busy being scared :(

Recovered from the ladders! 

Anyway, our youngest, who has recently become close to obsessed with the song "John Barleycorn" was thrilled to be able to actually see grain being crushed "between two stones" and was amazed to see that the mill can work with three different grains at a time.

We can also recommend the tea room :) I can personally vouch for warmed fluffy scones with jam and cream!

Words on Wednesday: Review of Write to be Published by Nicola Morgan

Title: Write to be Published
Author: Nicola Morgan
Publisher: Snowbooks
Published June 2011
Genre: Reference (writing)

Find it at Amazon UK

The Blurb says ...
You want to make a publisher say yes? First, understand why they say no; then apply that knowledge to your book. Nicola Morgan - the Crabbit Old Bat of the renowned blog, Help! I Need a Publisher! - has made publishers say yes around ninety times. Now she offers her expert advice and experience, whipping your work into shape with humour, honesty, grumpiness and chocolate.

My verdict: easily the best overview on writing and the publishing business I've read, with tons of specific advice despite its extremely broad range. Recommended for those interested in publication: this and The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook could well be all you need.
Like many beginning writers, I've read a fair selection of 'how-to' books on writing and publishing: books on plotting, characterisation, setting, pitching to agents, specific markets (e.g. writing for children) etc. What I find most impressive about this book is that it gave me more specific advice on some aspects of writing than whole books devoted to that area have done in the past. This book really is gold dust. It considers both non-fiction and fiction writing, both of which Morgan has experience in. The fiction section has invaluable advice on plotting, characters and the elusive 'voice' which is more practical and usable than much I've seen elsewhere, and includes excellent nitty-gritty comments on genres and age categories which again really hit the mark although these are by necessity short sections in this comprehensive book.

I follow Nicola Morgan's blog and also follow her on Twitter and would strongly recommend you do the same, if you're a writer. This book grew from the blog, which has a large following and regularly dispenses no-nonsense advice and the occasional crabbitly rant about publishing and the world of books. Although her reputation is built on her 'crabbitness', this seems to me to take the form of a lack of patience with people who say stupid things, are unwilling to learn and quick to blame others (e.g. the type who bleat about agents' narrow-mindedness in rejecting their unsaleable book). I personally enjoy her writing persona. She's like a well-meaning (but not necessarily tactful) aunt with masses of knowledge and expertise who doesn't mind sharing that with you as long as you realise you'll have to do the work yourself.

But back to the book. It is very well-organised, breaking down Morgan's simple theory that publication is a matter of submitting the right book which is written in the right way to the right person at the right time. The book is then divided into 'before the writing', 'the right book', 'written in the right way' and 'submitting in the right way', along with a detailed 'further resources' section. Each of these sections have many clearly labelled subsections, making it a very easy book to navigate. I read it cover to cover a few weeks ago, and have since returned to several sections as I was working. I would say that the book's strongest point is its practicality. Could I say anything better of a reference book?

I am aware that some people baulk at the 'functional' or market-centred nature of her advice, but I don't think that's fair. Her focus is on helping people get published, not write as therapy (which is a valuable activity, but a quite different one from seeking publication). And, influential as she is, she is not (I believe) single-handedly responsible for the state of the publishing market. Publishers seek to sell books. We should probably not see that as an inherently evil endeavour.

Tuesday Tidings: I need discipline and fear

According to Oliver Letwin, I do, anyway. That's the problem with us public sector workers these days - we've grown too comfortable and complacent. Probably the students are already too comfortable and satisfied as well; perhaps the cane would help? Or maybe they should bring it in for the staff? My college has a rather lovely quad - public floggings, perhaps?

Interestingly, in this same week I came across this article from Channel 4 News about the suicide rate among teachers (it's almost doubled in recent years, with teachers now 30-40% more likely to commit suicide than others). The article draws a fairly clear connection between teacher suicide and the Ofsted regime:

Teachers often cite the pressure they experience in the run-up to Ofsted inspections - the usually triennial assessment of schools and individual teachers, with grading from inadequate to outstanding. The inspections make them feel like they can "make or break their reputations, and by extension the school, so it is extremely high stakes", Mr Illingworth added.

"It's to do with teachers not trusting Ofsted, which has proved to be a very erratic inspection agency: a school can be outstanding one year and failing the next: so teachers feel there is no consistency among inspectors. They're therefore extremely nervous as they don't know what to expect, how to prepare."

In the past few years teachers have been held more accountable for students' achievements than ever before. Students making little to no effort; students with long-term personal or health problems; students working doggedly in very difficult circumstances. All assessed the same way - what the last school got out of them + x National Curriculum 'Levels' = their expected achievement. Unfortunately, people are neither machines nor products and it just doesn't work like that. Thankfully for us, some students will blossom in sixth form and 'outperform' based on the standards expected of them. Others will achieve exactly as expected and some will not. A Levels are still demanding academically, whatever you will read in the papers in a couple of weeks on results day. Hard-working students can do very well in GCSEs, but hard work alone will not get you to an A or A* grade at A Level  (gratifyingly, nor will natural ability alone - both are needed for the top slots). Students' results depend on considerably more than just the ability, commitment and talent of their teachers (just as they should).

I don't know where Oliver Letwin obtained his knowledge of the recent workings of schools, colleges, prisons, hospitals and other publically-funded institutions, but I think he'd find it difficult to do much to increase the culture of discipline and fear.

Magical Monday: The Corn King

Today, 1st August is Lammas or Lughnasadh - the ancient festival of the first harvest (corn and grain). Stories and rites of this time therefore centre around sacrifice, death, rebirth and abundance. In old stories, this is the time when the Corn King (or John Barleycorn) is cut down in order to feed the people. Although there is sadness in the death of the king, everyone understands that this stage is necessary. Harvesting the corn allows more to be planted and allows the ground to regain its fertility. If the corn were left to die on the stalk, there could be no future crop either.

Corn dollies (as seen in the picture above) are related to Lammas celebrations and seem to have different meanings in different communities. To some, they celebrate the corn (symbolic of the whole harvest) and remind us of the abundance around us. To others, they are used in ritualised slayings of the Corn King or God (who sacrifices himself willingly for us). For others still, they are a kind of offering, a way of setting aside the last bit of the harvest rather than consuming it. Safeguarding the corn dolly through the year is sometimes seen as a way of protecting next year's yield, showing gratitude for the harvest and thereby proving we deserve another one. Yet another belief is that the corn dolly houses the spirit of the corn over the winter. For those following this final system, the dolly would be buried when the new crop was planted, sometimes quite elaborately, or driven into the newly-ploughed ground in the spring. Either way, this ensured that the corn spirit was never lost.

For the original version of the picture above, along with others and instructions on making one design, visit this site.

Lesbian Teen Novels Week: Ash by Malinda Lo

Ash as a Lesbian Novel

Usually my reviews don't contain spoilers, but really discussing this book under this banner is kind of a spoiler, so I apologise for that.   I have seen this title on a few 'gay YA' type lists, so it's not a huge secret, but I suppose I feel a little odd about it as the lesbian content is so subtle, not the main point of the book, and isn't apparent from the start. I have to also say that this is part of what I love about this book. It isn't a lesbian novel in the sense of a novel about lesbianism, it just happens to feature a lesbian love story.

While I absolutely understand the need for gay kids (particularly, but also adults) to have 'coming out' stories, I also think it's really important for stories like this to exist. Stories that aren't 'about' being gay. There is no use of the word 'lesbian or any equivalent in this book. No-one talks about whether girls (or boys) should, can or ought to get together, although it does appear to be a society which sees heterosexuality as the norm (the traditional marriage pressure centred on property and family name is present). This - a novel where some characters just happen to have gay relationships, without discussion or concern about matters of sexuality - is the kind of book that is important for everyone to read. Seeing homosexual, (and bisexual) characters as part of a wider canvas is great for combatting heterosexist culture where only 'straight' is seen as normal.

Ash as a Teen Novel

Gorgeous cover, too (it's metallic IRL)

I originally bought this book for my daughter as a fairytale retelling. It does not disappoint. Combining parts of the 'Cinderella' story with Tam Lin-style legends of the fae, it weaves its plot around a mysterious and compelling wood; a rich rural folklore of faeries and herbal spellcraft; an orphaned stepchild and a selfish and superficial stepmother with ambition for her daughters. I thoroughly enjoyed losing myself in Ash's world. This is a sweeter tale than many of the dark fae stories currently on the market - the faeries are mysterious and dangerous, but are not obvious enemies here.

Overall, Ash was a great read - magical and compelling. The voice has an old-fashioned, fairytale feel to it - Lo has really captured the genre beautifully. The characters were interesting and not stock characters, whilst still fitting into the fairy tale world perfectly. I liked the (as far as I know) book-specific tradition of the royal hunt being led by a woman, and I have added Huntress to my wishlist.

Thanks to Portrait of a Woman for inspiring me to read this now.

Thrilling Thursday: looking forward to Soul Beach by Kate Harrison

Coming on September 1st, as part of the new Indigo line-up, Soul Beach sounds like a great contemporary read. It mixes murder with social media in what Wondrous Reads describes as "a thriller with many an intriguing twist ... creepy and unusual". Yesterday, the Wondrous Reads blog revealed the book's trailer, which is gorgeously tempting.

Here's the blurb:
When Alice Forster receives an email from her dead sister she assumes it must be a sick practical joke. Then an invitation arrives to the virtual world of Soul Beach, an idyllic online paradise of sun, sea and sand where Alice can finally talk to her sister again - and discover a new world of friendships, secrets and maybe even love . . . . But why is Soul Beach only inhabited by the young, the beautiful and the dead? Who really murdered Megan Forster? And could Alice be next?

Words on Wednesday: I'm going to dress up as a bitch

This is one of my favourite children's speech stories. When my now 7 yr old was 2, she uttered the above words at Halloween to inform us of her plans. Unfortunately, she found the word 'witch' too difficult to pronounce, and as was her tendency at the time, she simply inserted one of her favourite consonant sounds in place of the one she couldn't do.

Her preferred sounds were the bilabial plosives: 'b' and 'p' (feel free to use these examples, as I do, for initial language acquisition). This resulted in the similarly amusing description of Christmas as 'pisser'. Imagine our delight with the little one pointing out 'pisser trees' and 'pisser lights' everywhere we went...

What mispronunciation stories do you have?

Tuesday Tidings 2.0: it's lesbian teen novel week at Portrait of a Woman

click here for more info

I just found out via a serendipitous twitter link that the Portrait of a Woman blog is running a Lesbian Teen Novel Week this week (25th to 31st July). Time to read Malinda Lo's Ash, I think. My eldest read it last year and enjoyed it and I've been meaning to nick it off her bookshelves for a while now. It's clearly time.

Tuesday Tidings: this week's new additions to my library

I have a shiny new kindle this week, and I love it!

Things I love about it so far:

• It really does look like a page and not like a screen, so no glare to cause eyestrain and no reflections in bright light.
• It isn't as heavy as a biggish paperback - it's going to be great on the train when term starts again.
• I've got lots of cool new books on it all at once. So, when reading on the train, if I finish a book I can just start another. How great is that?!
• I made the font just a little bit bigger than the standard to help my poor tired (that's tired rather than ageing) eyes.
• Although I know some people don't like the lack of page numbers, I rather like the percentage indicator (and can see that, given, the font size choice mentioned above, page numbers aren't really feasible).

The contents page of my kindle so far is an interesting demonstration of my reading tastes:

Hidden by Miriam Halahmy, YA
The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan, YA

Spider Bones (Temperance Brennan 13) by Kathy Reichs, crime (adult)
Virals by Kathy Reichs, YA
Tempest Rising (Jane True Series) by Nicole Peeler, urban fantasy (adult)
Lob by Linda Newbery, children's
Mortlock by John Mayhew, children's
The Complete Works of Charles Dickens
The Complete Works of Jane Austen (Annotated with Biography and Critical Essays)
Anthology of Arthur Conan Doyle (Forty Books with active table of contents)