Is Middlemarch by George Eliot one of the definitive books all women should have in their personal library?

Whilst taking time to sift through her Tweets last week, Jane found this intriguing list via Gutter Bookshop’s Twitter feed of 100 books to maketh a man: ‘The Essential Man’s Library’ as it is being termed, somewhat open to interpretation.

The question that arises from this list, aside from the debates that could rage over whether the books listed are the definitive ones that address qualities of ‘manliness’ and whether any obvious choice is missing, is what would the list of 100 books to maketh a woman look like? Would it be dominated by female authors, of which there are certainly a few ‘essentials’ that spring to mind - George Eliot, the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen… - (interestingly, only four books out of the 100 ‘books for men’ listed were written by a female author) or would strong female characters take precedence? What would be the ‘essential’ life lessons women could take from certain individual books – or are there too many to mention?

We’d love to have your input – leave us a comment here, or tweet us with your choices…

And if you want to be in the loop with all that the director of TRO is up to, why not follow Jane on Twitter directly – or take a look at her newly located blog for lots and lots of interesting reading about reading.

Give A Book donates the gift of books to other charities, giving books where they are most needed – at present, they give books to people helped by Maggie’s Centres, Age Concern, First Story and also work with Volunteer Reading Help to help children who are struggling with literacy. People who wish to donate a book can select from a list of books on the Give A Book website, which will be sent to the chosen charities for a fraction of the retail price.

The list contains such wonderful classics as Great Expectations, Cranford, Anna Karenina and Middlemarch and is added to every month with a new book recommended by a range of very interesting people – books of the month have previously been chosen by friend of The Reader Organisation Howard Jacobson, Dominic West and winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize Julian Barnes. Children’s books of the month are also selected, with the first choice coming with a royal seal of approval from HRH The Duchess of Cornwall.

Give A Book was set up in honour of writer and playwright Simon Gray, who loved to read and share his reading with others.

…I could escape for as long as I was reading… (Coda, Simon Gray)

To find out more about Give A Book or to donate a book, visit their website and take a look at the Give A Book blog.

Opening a book to discover it comes with a surprise scribbling might be an unexpected novelty for most of us but it became a regular occurrence for Wayne Gooderham, freelance writer and frequenter of second hand stores, so much so that he set up a blog dedicated to, well, dedications within books that have been cast-off. While reading through the collated written notes is certainly very entertaining, each of them is also enlightening in their own way. Wayne’s own fascination with finding annotations and asides has much to do with the extra layer of emotion that a personal dedication adds to a singular book. Each note, no matter how laconic or lengthy, humorous or heartfelt, is a visible thumbprint, a mark showing that the book has belonged not just physically, but emotionally to another person. More often than not, they also indicate that a book has been purchased and passed along for a specific purpose – and whether the reasons were well received or lessons learnt, we can but speculate (perhaps it’s not a good sign given that they have been given away by their dedicees).

There does seem to be something inherently sentimental about dedications, in any form but especially when it comes to books, the purchase of which is a decision loaded with many different factors (maybe that’s why the search for a book containing a special message is a plot device in at least two rom-com films I have seen in the past…). Amongst those on the Book Dedications blog there are certainly some which tug at the heart-strings, perhaps the best example not drenched in overt sentimentality but one containing clear emotion from a father to a son, who credits the book in question with being responsible for the son’s existence – a gift in more ways than one. Of course, there are plenty of far more frivolous instances too – including one which involves ‘naughty young ladies’ and ‘woolly bloomers’ (best to leave that one there) – and a straightforward but simply great ‘present, from me to me’ – which is often the best kind. Whatever they denote,  all demonstrate an indelible record of something vital that for us, all books contain – a connection between people. Whether the connection has been broken due to the relinquishing of the book, or whether the book has strengthened the bond between two people and it has been passed on in hope of doing the same for someone else, the various dedications are testament to the importance of literature in our lives. And reveal the multiple lives literature possesses…

Wayne has another literary blog, Three Score and Ten, which we have previously featured.

For someone who occasionally has madly obsessive bursts of knitting, who loves cake, loves reading and often needs to be cheered up, this is the blog for me.  Jane Brocket is hugely creative and writes well.  Her sense of colour is superb and she has published some terrific books on knitting, colour, cooking, quiltmaking gardens and games.  Her blog features posts on all these things, lots of cake and masses of inspirational photographs.  She is also a real reader and today has an excellent post about Dickens.  As we gear up for the bicentenary flood of all things Dickensian, here is someone talking sense and urging us to read the novels because they are great. Go and see and enjoy for yourself.

I am on my third knitted hat in as many weeks. I don’t suit hats but these are easy to knit and I have to keep knitting …

While on our own individual expeditions, we can now also join Jane on her reading journey. Inspired by a somewhat straight-forward question by a member of the TRO team, Jane is keeping an online record of all her book and poem related pursuits, charting what she’s reading, her thoughts about what she’s reading and what is next on the reading list – as well as more than the occasional insightful anecdote (how does Jane find the time to really read given her extremely busy schedule? Reading in the bath may have something to do with it…).

So if you’re looking for some inspiration on what to read next, want to know what’s been read by the reader behind The Reader Organisation – or are just a little bit nosey – you can keep up with all the updates of our Director’s Blog (something like a Captain’s Log…we think) at http://readerjanedavis.blogspot.com/ .

For I am tired of apparently smooth passages provided by smooth talkers. I go back to John Ruskin in ‘The Nature of Gothic’, one of the great Victorian texts for the foundation of a great Victorian city. There Ruskin says one thing I have never forgotten. In countering the institutionalised estimates of the world, he says that all too often people won’t accept that imperfection of a high order is better than perfection of a low order. In other words, according to the normal estimates of our society, to roll a stone of one hundred weight all the way up a hill is accounted success; but to roll a stone of ten hundredweight only halfway-up a hill is deemed failure; yet the latter is far greater an endeavour. An ostensibly small thing easily dismissed as failure may be greater in reality than an easily apparent success, but we need to change the way these things are measured or recognised if we are to get to that reality. Read in full.

Three Score and Ten is an intriguing take on a literary blog, charting quite literally a life through literature. The idea is simple enough; for every year of a near average lifespan (if you were wondering where the name originated from), quotes from two fictional characters – one male, one female – are picked out to illustrate a particular age, the physical markings or psychological whirrings that accompany a stage in the journey of an individual. Even those events we could hardly know or remember anything about – conception and birth – are covered, as well as that unchartered territory, the final destination – death itself.

The man on this literary mission is Wayne Gooderham, whose ideas for Three Score and Ten and general fascination with the relationship between ages and literature can be perused in this article for The Guardian. As well as being a fun project and the product of what some might call a slight obsession, the aims of Three Score and Ten are more far-reaching – in his pursuit, Wayne is reading every book he selects quotes from in their entirety, stretching his own literary comfort zone in the process. Readers of the blog are also encouraged to read something they perhaps wouldn’t usually choose; if they’ve just turned a certain age and want to chart their own year with that of a character, or simply just like a particular quote, then the information is all there to allow them to do so.

What I like about Three Score and Ten, aside from its interactive potential, is that it taps into the notion that we can use literature to identify with ourselves and others. In my opinion, books are a great tool for doing this. And to match yourself with a fictional character can be informative, even if you find your own trials and tribulations don’t quite measure up with that of the literary figure you share your age with. Also, it’s quite interesting to discover whether certain characters that stand as timeless representations of a particular period in life really are just that, or whether they change with time and new perspectives as we do ourselves.

As my 24^th birthday is approaching, I think I will definitely have to make an appointment to read The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford – one of the latest additions to the anthology – in the next twelve months. Three Score and Ten is updated with quotes for a new age on a weekly basis.

Other Stories is a blog about books and feminism, with added cat photos.

There’s even a snap of the snazzy new issue of The Reader! So, whether you’re a seasoned visitor to the blogosphere or just looking for online book discussion, you might be interested to have a mooch on Kirsty’s blog for yourself. You can find it here