LITERATURE

 Can surely only mean one thing – books!

Literature usually means a book or tome or novel that is maybe a cut above the trashy novel or comic book. Literary folk are usually steeped in the art of literature and all that it means to them and those who appreciate it. But literature, when it comes to reading and books, offers anything from sheer escapism to hard education.

 Now with libraries closing every week or so, those of us who enjoy books and the reading of them should mourn this chain of events, because for those of us who have used libraries for pleasure or education in our lives, the loss of our library is a major event. On this page we will try to introduce some books that you may never have even heard of (that must be millions for a start) and hopefully introduce new works that need a space and need to be read by many.

 Reading skills are very important in life and the earlier this is achieved the better. Each child is an individual and therefore will take its own time to learn how to read by itself. The best way to introduce reading to a child is reading to them. From this simple pleasure their interest will grow and develop until they want to be able to sit down and read a book all by themselves.

 I’ve tried to write children’s stories but it’s tough. You must know who you’re aiming at and if you get it right and manage illustrations as well, then you’ve found a niche you can fill. I’m still learning and it’s fun but very frustrating. My illustrator skills leave much to be desired but that hopefully will improve in time.

 Reading is an important part of learning and you are learning something whatever you may read. Hopefully it will have literary merit but if it just makes you laugh, cry, feel romantic, become enthralled, get excited or scare you to bits then that’s what it should be doing.

 More books are being published and printed than ever before in history and the British publishing and printing industry is currently a world leader in the field.

 So read and read more, getting lost in a book is sheer escapism whatever the subject matter.

 Recommendation for the week:  read or re-read Stevie Smith’s “Novel on Yellow Paper”.

Although written decades ago, the stream of consciousness was a precursor to much that has been published since.

Veronica Jason