N is for New Books

Books, books, books

N is for....

New Books

The smell, the feel, the excitement of a new book is something most people will understand. Equally a lot of you will think I am a complete nutter who needs sectioning as soon as possible.

I love books. I love the smell of old books and I love the feel of new books. I am a break the spine kind of girl with paperbacks, but if I borrow a book I would never do that. 
If a friend lends me a book and says "Don't bend it or turn the corners over on the pages" I don't question it as it is the same instruction I would give. If I lend books I write down who I've lent them to and I worry about them - the books not the people - until they are back on my shelf again.

I have an ereader and I get excited about new books on that, but not as much as a physical book that I can hold.
I remember there being some kind of book buying club when I was at Primary School. I think it was called Bookworm or something similar. You had a long form and you could order books. I loved this time of the month when this form was handed out. I can remember getting The Railway Children, Midnight Kittens by Dodie Smith and Dog which came with a free Yorkshire Terrier poster.
I would wait excitedly for these books to be delivered which would take forever.
When they arrived I would take to my room and devour the book in a couple of days. I would study the cover picture for every little detail, read the dedications, the publishing page and the back of the cover. Then I would begin the story. I would totally immerse myself in the story and live in that story for a while.
I had no idea what a so called "Book Hangover" was, but it is obvious to me now that I suffered from quite a few of those over my childhood.

The Railway Children by E Nesbit

The Midnight Kittens by Dodie Smith

Books are so easy to access nowadays. You can shop online, in book stores and even chuck - sorry gently place - a book in your trolley with your weekly shop. In fact some paperbacks are now cheaper than some of the glossy magazines. Of course there are still libraries (which we must use otherwise they will disappear) where new releases can be borrowed.
However I still meet people who don't read. I mean they don't read anything not even a magazine. I just don't understand that. How can you not read for pleasure? 

I bought our son books when he was little. Board books with just pictures at first, then short stories with a few words, then we started buying beautiful story books (which we still have 20 years later!) like Guess How Much I Love You, Five Minutes Peace, Percy the Park Keeper and anything featuring Postman Pat and finally Roald Dahl sets and classics like Oliver Twist.

Five Minutes Peace by Jill Murphy

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Percy's Bumpy Ride by Nick Butterworth

I wish I could convey the feeling of getting a new book and the joy of reading a new story either for yourself or reading it to somebody. I understand though that some people have problems with literacy and simply cannot "get into" a book. I have found some links for organisations that can assist with reading problems, so if you know someone who needs a little help please direct them to the help out there.

Improve Your Maths, English and IT Skills 
Read Easy
The Reading Agency
The National Literacy Trust

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