Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops

These two books are a bit off track from what's normally on my reading pile.  These books are not for children, and they are not fiction.  They are a written by Jen Campbell who works in an antiqaurain bookshop, and over the years she has experience more that a few odd comments from customers. Now all of these very funny, some times bizarre conversations have  been published in two entertaining volumes Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops and More Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops.

I laughed out loud before I even opened the first book because right there on the back cover we have this gem:

'Do you have this children's book I've heard about?  It's supposed to be very good.  It's called "Lionel Richie and the Wardrobe." '

I can hardly read that out loud without laughing even now and the book is full of classics like that.  I have a feeling the book may have more appeal to people who work in book shops and libraries.  Those people who don't surround themselves with books every day may not find  the question "Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?' as funny as I do, but the question "Do you have and pop-up books on sex education?" might get a laugh.

So, if you work in a book shop or a library you have to find either one of these books and have a read.  Guaranteed to make you smile, even if your day has been full of your very own interesting customers!

Little Red Hood by Marjolaine Leray

Every now and then a book comes along where I think…’I’m not sure who will buy this?’ This is one of those books.

What I was expecting was a version of Little Red Riding Hood, and technically that is what this is….if Little Red Riding Hood was a psychopath.

There are few words in this book, and the illustrations and font are very simple and child like. I will give you my brief synopsis…stop reading if you don’t want me to spoil the ending.

Big Bad Wolf meets Little Red Riding Hood.

They go through the ‘What Big ears/eyes/teeth’ bit

And just when he is going to eat her up, Red Riding Hood says…no

No?

Little Red tells the wolf he has stinky breath and offers him a sweet, which he takes.

Then there is a clutching of throat and collapsing on the ground…the wolf is dead…

Little Red’s response to this….fool!

So…did the wolf get what he deserved? Yes. But is it normal for Little Red Riding Hood to be so smug?  I'll leave that for you to decide.

The Times says ‘It’s totally brilliant.’, and I have sold copies, more retail customers than schools I might say, but if you have a fondness for slightly wicked picture books, then you should try ro get your hands on one of these.

Holidays

Now that the craziness of Christmas is behind me I feel that my holidays have well and truly begun.  Three weeks of sleeping in, sunshine and catching up with friends and family.
I am also going to give myself a break from Children's books.  During the year I have do so much reading for work, and I can't cope with the guilt I feel when I think about reading an adult book...so I will indulge in three weeks of guilt free, grown up reading, some of which will be trashy beach reads, but I hope to catch up on some of the good stuff from 2013 as well.

This is what my reading pile looks like at the moment, but as is always the case it will undoubtedly change when something else comes along and takes my fancy.

Happy Holidays everyone. I look forward to catching up again in 2014!

AusReading Month - Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

Blurb:
When Ellie and her friends go camping, they have no idea they're leaving their old lives behind forever. Despite a less-than-tragic food shortage and a secret crush or two, everything goes as planned. But a week later, they return home to find their houses empty and their pets starving. Something has gone wrong--horribly wrong. Before long, they realize the country has been invaded, and the entire town has been captured--including their families and all their friends. Ellie and the other survivors face an impossible decision: They can flee for the mountains or surrender. Or they can fight.

It’s hard to believe that this book is 20 years old this year!    I was a little unsure as to whether or not I should even include it...is a 20 year old book old enough to be considered a classic?  So, in true modern style I Googled "How old does a book have to be,  to be considered a classic?" and wiki answers came up with this, which I couldn't have said better myself:

Classic books are like cult movies. They shape new concepts in our society, have something special to offer in an educational way. It is more these aspects of a book that make it a classic.. not how long ago it was published.

AusReadingMonth - Ash Road by Ivan Southall

The blurb:

It's hot, dry and sweaty on Ash Road, where Graham, Harry and Wallace are getting their first taste of independence, camping, just the three of them. When they accidentally light a bushfire no one would have guessed how far it would go. All along Ash Road fathers go off to fight the fires and mothers help in the first aid centres. The children of Prescott are left alone, presumed safe, until it's the fire itself that reaches them. These children are forced to face a major crisis with only each other and the two old men left in their care. The best selling Ash Road is an action-packed adventure story, so evocative of rural Australia you can taste the Eucalyptus.

This was the one book I was most looking forward to re-visiting for AusReading Month.  I can't remember when I first read it, Uni probably, but it's always been there in the back of my mind as a book I loved.  20+ years on, it wasn't quite what I remembered, less action, but more suspenseful story with a real growing sense of dread as the story reaches its climax.

AusReading Month - Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park

I actually didn’t read this book in the technical sense, I listened to the audio book.  I think that reading this book as an adult has given me a slightly different perspective compared to when I would have read it as a teenager.  As a teenager I am sure I could identify with the character of Abigail, with the idea that life isn’t fair, feeling hard done by and NO ONE really understanding her. As an adult, I found the Abigail a little bit annoying and whiney, this may have had something to do with the narration of the audio book, not that the narration was bad, but because it really brought the character of Abigail to life!

This book has a little bit of everything, teenage angst, coming of age, history, time-slip, family drama, romance and a little touch of creepy.  The creepy element again may have had more impact listening to the story as an audio book, but when the children are playing Beatie Bow and ….sees the little furry girl, it is quite creepy.

One of the main aspects of my job is working worth schools and librarians, and the National Curriculum is now a big part of that.  I now find it hard to read any historical Australian novel and not wonder how it would fit into the curriculum.  This book does, and it doesn’t fit the curriculum in my mind.  It does because it is a wonderful insight into everyday life of a family living in Sydney in 1873, it looks at the education, working conditions, lack of plumbing, expectations of females, the food they ate, jobs they had and even what it smelled like.  The reason I don’t think it’s a perfect fit is because that part of the history curriculum is Year 4/5, and the book is probably too old for that age group.  Most of it’s fine, but along with all of the interesting parts of history, there’s also the more seedy side to things, like when Abigail is snatched from the street and taken to a house of ill repute, where she’s told ‘ ‘tisn’t such a bad old life.  Better than starving on slop work in the factories, any old how’ (page 90).  It doesn’t actually spell out what these women are doing for money, but it’s worth noting if you plan to use it in the classroom.

During her 9 months in 1873, Abigail can’t help but think how much better life is in her time.  Strangely though not everyone she meets is that interested or enthusiastic about the changes she describes, in particular Judah, as we can see in this exchange below:

‘I don’t think there are many ships,’ said Abigail.

“things like wool come in trains.’

‘We’ve got steam trains,‘ said Beatie proudly.

‘These would be electric or oil driven, I think, ‘ said Abigail, ‘and then a lot of goods come overland in huge semi-trailers…that’s a kind of horseless carriage, ‘ she added hastily.

Judah listened politely. ‘Seems a sad waste of good money when the sea and wind are free for all,’ he remarked

(From page 140)

 

In re-reading all of the books for AusReading month, one of the things I have been considering is whether the book works as well today as it did when it was first published. This book is tricky, in that the part of the story set in 1783 absolutely stands up to any historically based novel written today, it's the part of the story set in present day that might not ring true with today’s readers. Present day in this book is 1980, so 33 years on, teenagers act and speak quite differently, so while 1980 might not seem particularly historical to some of us, teenage readers today may considered the whole books a piece of historical fiction!

AusReading Month - Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

The blurb:

In 1900, a class of young women from an exclusive private school go on an excursion to the isolated Hanging Rock, deep in the Australian bush. The excursion ends in tragedy when three girls and a teacher mysteriously vanish after climbing the rock. Only one girl returns, with no memory of what has become of the others ...

Well...  November is nearing its end, and I have yet to publish my posts for AusReading month!  Better late than never, I will get them all in by the end of the month...just by the skin of  my teeth!

This title has been released as an Australian Children’s Classic, but I am not sure I would sell it as a children’s book.  As you can see by the new cover it looks like it’s suitable for younger readers, but I would say it’s more of a teenage/adult title.