Issue 23
Winter 2015
Passionate about
books and reading
Read on
RNIB National Library Service magazine for readers
80 Years of
Talking Books
In 1935, RNIB’s
Talking Book service
revolutionised reading
for people with sight loss.
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Author interview
Alexander McCall Smith
is one of our most
popular Talking Books’
authors. Find out about
Alexander’s latest book.
Books of my life
Julie Gibson has been
at RNIB Library for one
year. She’s been a keen
reader since her first
ever visit to a library.
23/10/2015 14:07
First words
It’s autumn already and the year since I arrived
has absolutely whizzed by! So much has
happened and there’s even more to come for
the Library in the coming months. It’s hard to
keep track of the time.
Julie Gibson,
Library Engagement
Manager, Editor
Read On is
published by RNIB.
©RNIB October
2015
RNIB charity nos.
226227 and
SC039316
Read On is available
in print, DAISY audio
CD, braille and
email.
Email
[email protected]
Visit
rnib.org.uk/reading
To join
Call RNIB
on 0303 123 9999
Email
[email protected]
This issue of Read On is packed to the hilt with
news, interviews, reviews and even our writing
competition – plenty to fire up your imagination!
November 2015 sees the 80th anniversary of
the first ever talking book produced by RNIB,
and we’re planning lots to celebrate. Find out
more in our feature article on page 8.
We have two author interviews this issue;
Marcus Sedgwick is one of our most popular
young peoples’ authors and his book, ‘She is
not Invisible’, has really struck a chord with our
readers. Find out why on page 26. Then we’ve
got Alexander McCall Smith who started out
writing children’s books too. Today, he’s one of
our most borrowed authors in the adult library.
We hear from him on page 18.
In Behind the scenes, we talk to Heather
Nazmdeh, our Music Librarian. Her role is
fascinating and very different to that of the
other library staff.
Students at New College Worcester told
us about their experiences shadowing the
Carnegie Medal shortlisting process, which
included reading some unexpected books and
having the joyous task of presenting a gift to
the winning author.
And I still haven’t resolved my quandary on
the last book in my Books of my life interview.
I’ll let you make up your own mind on that one.
Happy reading!
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Contents
2 First words
4 News
7 Creative writing
competition
8 Celebrating 80 years of
Talking Books
24 Carnegie Book Awards
12 Books of my life
26 Children’s author profile
Julie Gibson
Marcus Sedgwick
14 Retro reads
28 Children’s book reviews
16 Literary news
18 Author interview
Alexander McCall Smith
21 Narrator profile
Joan Walker
23
What’s
on our
bedside
table?
29 From our kids to yours
30 Behind the scenes
Heather
Nazmdeh
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News
Online catalogue
Since we reorganised the RNIB
library service in 2014, we’ve
seen significant changes in the
way the service works and how
it’s used. But from 1 October
2015, we will be launching
rniblibrary.com and it will be the
only online resource for searching
RNIB library collections.
As well as allowing you to compile
a list of selected titles for us to
add to your wish list, the new
online catalogue has lots of other
new features.
These include:
llowing you to log in to your
• alibrary
account with a user name
and password
earching for books by entering
• sthe
talking book number, author,
title or narrator
hoosing and adding titles to
• cyour
wish list independently and
searching across all material
types in the single integrated
catalogue
• selecting your own search
settings, changing your
password, viewing your current
loans and adding titles to your
wish list.
We’re already using your
feedback to make additional
improvements to the online
catalogue. If you need support
using the new site, download our
guide from rniblibrary.com or call
our helpline on 0303 123 9999
for assistance or to post you
a copy.
And for readers of Talking Books,
we’ve made further improvements
to the USB format delivery. You
can now opt to receive your
Talking Books on a combination of
CD and USB.
Welcome to the team
We’ve created a new role in the
library team – Tracey Pearson
started as Reader Services Team
Leader in August. She’ll be
managing the specialist library
support team who work with
customer enquiries, and will play
an active role in our systems
developments. Given her
experience working with RNIB
library, Tracey is ideal to make
the new role a huge success.
RNIB Overdrive
Our Talking Book digital
download service – RNIB
Overdrive – continues to prove
increasingly popular. This is
a unique service, as it holds
content which can’t be found
anywhere else. Also, all our
Talking Books are unabridged.
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We’ve nearly finished adding
24,000 Talking Book titles
to this download service,
and we’ll shortly be making
an announcement about a
whole new section of the RNIB
Overdrive catalogue, so watch
this space.
Make a Noise in Libraries
We extend a big thank you
to everyone who took part in
June’s annual Make a Noise in
Libraries (MANIL). This year, we
made sure you had your say in
a survey of readers and library
staff on behalf of Share the
Vision, the UK organisation which
brings together voluntary and
public sectors to improve library
services for blind and partially
sighted people. The results of
the survey will be published later
this autumn, but we’ve already
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News
partially sighted readers are very
keen to participate in local reading
groups. So we can support your
local library reading groups to be
more inclusive, we’re running a
pilot from October until the end
of March 2016, which will trial
how this new service will run
throughout the UK.
Happy anniversary!
learnt that our service users are
very interested in using local
public library services, and we’re
currently looking into how we can
support these libraries to serve
you best.
Another important finding from
the survey was that blind and
A star-studded cast will perform
a live recording of an Agatha
Christie novel to celebrate the
80th anniversary of RNIB Talking
Books this autumn. The Murder
of Roger Ackroyd was one of the
first books recorded by RNIB in
1935 and a live recording of the
book will take place at The British
Library in London. A special
anniversary CD, including this
recording, will be available to all
members.
Become a member today
Joining is easy and free. All you need to do is:
• Call 0303 1234 555
• Email [email protected]
• Visit rnib.org.uk/membership
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Creative writing competition
Drift into another world
It’s that time of year again
when we turn our attention
to the annual creative writing
competition. The theme for this
year’s competition is Journeys. If
you’ve got an exciting story to tell,
it would be selfish to keep it to
yourself. Why not base your story
on your own travels or for people
wanting to do something more
metaphorical, try putting on paper
a tale of an emotional journey.
We’re welcoming entries from
any genre, including fiction,
non‑fiction or poetry so there
really is no limit to what you can
write about. In no more than
1,000 words for prose, or 500
words for poetry, take us on a
journey we’ll never forget.
recorded by talking book
narrators and choosing this
year’s winner, we’ve got the help
of award‑winning authors, Robert
Macfarlane and Chris Cleave.
And if you want help getting
started, there are telephone
writing workshops in
November and December.
Please email us your story to
[email protected]
or send in on audio CD, tape,
printed A4 paper or in braille
to RNIB Members Writing
Competition, Talk and Support,
105 Judd Street, London WC1H
9NE. Entries should be submitted
by 15 January 2016.
Happy writing!
The winner and two lucky
runners-up will have their
entries professionally
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Celebrating 80 years of Talking Books
In 1935, RNIB’s Talking
Book service revolutionised
reading for people with sight
loss. RNIB Library Manager,
Mark McCree talks about the
80 years of service.
So, Mark, how did the Talking
Books service come about?
The main reason was for the men
coming back from the First World
War who had tragically lost their
sight. For many, learning braille
was difficult and so being able to
listen to a book was important.
That must have been difficult
for them.
Absolutely, and I think one thing
that’s been consistent through
the 80 years is that Talking Books
have provided a real lifeline to
our users. The formats have
obviously changed – it was
gramophone recordings initially
which was obviously very fragile.
The shellac format was such an
innovative invention at the time.
Gramophone recordings were
sent through the post?
In later years, we moved to
cassette tapes and now we have
the DAISY CDs, USB sticks and
digital downloads. The means of
accessing different formats has
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changed over time, but people
have always wanted the excellent
range of authors and genres.
What was the first talking book
to be recorded?
The first book recorded was
Agatha Christie’s, ‘The Murder
of Roger Ackroyd’. The first
collection was five books, and
actually, right up until about
2000, the library only had about
12,000 books. Now, we have
around about 24,000.
So why has it ballooned in the
last 15 years?
The demand for Talking Books is
higher than ever. We’ve worked
with publishers to make as
much content available to blind
and partially sighted people as
possible. As well as more books
being commercially available,
we’ve pushed to produce more
live unabridged recordings than
ever before.
How many customers roughly
do you have today?
We have over 30,000 users. This
means we’re busy issuing 4,000
books a day, that’s 1.5 million
a year. It’s hard to grasp how
big an operation the service is.
As soon as users send us back
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Celebrating 80 years of Talking Books
their discs, they get made into
new ones.
Do you know if there’s any genre
that’s particularly popular at the
moment?
Crime has never stopped being
popular. Peter Robinson, Ian
Rankin and Lynda La Plante
are really popular authors.
Their gruesome murders and
adventures really grip people’s
imagination.
What about in children’s fiction?
Often the most important thing
for children is being able to talk
about what they’re reading with
their friends. Popular Talking
Books usually follow the popular
titles of the time – the Harry
Potter series and anything by
Jacqueline Wilson or Roald Dahl
are always being requested.
Are there other talking book
libraries around the world that
you’re aware of?
There’s an awful lot. As the
books are quite expensive to
produce, we like to share what
we can as far as possible. We’ve
recently been working with the
Canadian National Institute for
the Blind and a French library to
swap Talking Books. As most
of our titles are in English,
they’re particularly popular
across the world.
So are we one of the biggest
libraries?
I think we’re the largest Talking
Books library in Europe. And
we’re always working with
publishers to put the newest
titles on the shelves. We had
Harper Lee’s latest title, ‘Go Set
A Watchman’, within a couple of
days of it hitting bookshelves.
Do you ever get feedback from
readers?
Oh, every day. A lot of the
feedback is about how well a
character or narrator’s voice
matches up to the way they’d
imagined it to sound. This is
always nice to hear as our
users’ audio experience is key.
Over the years, we’ve had a lot
of top authors and celebrities
volunteer their time to be
recorded. We’ve had Michael
Palin, Roald Dahl and Joanna
Lumley among others.
So, will you be having a
magnificent party to celebrate?
Yes, with lots of cake and
jelly [laughs]. We have lots of
activities planned throughout
2015, but particularly in
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In 1935, the Sound Recording
Committee decide on
gramophone records as the best
format for Talking Books, and
the first Talking Book machines
and records are sent out.
November when the anniversary
is. But as well as celebrating,
we’ll be getting on with the
business of making more books
so we can reach out to more
people. We’ve got lots of exciting
developments to come, which
we’ll be able to talk about early
next year. The future for Talking
Books is really bright so there
are lots of things to be positive
about as we look towards the
next 80 years.
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Books of my life: Julie Gibson
Julie has been at RNIB Library for one year. She’s been a
keen reader since her first ever visit to a library as a toddler!
As a vivid dreamer, I just loved
her imagination.
What’s your second book, and
which part of your life did that
come from?
I started work as a library
assistant at 17 and one of the
first things I borrowed was
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy. Douglas Adams’ humour
was right up my street. It’s a real
coming of age novel and quite
rebellious in many ways. I think
it’s safe to say that people would
have described me as a punk at
the time. I’ve still got spiky hair
now.
Was it difficult to whittle down
all the books of your life to
just five?
It was such a difficult task. I’ve
tried to pick ones that have
had the biggest impact on me
throughout my life. The easiest
decision out of the five was a
book choice from my childhood.
Marianne Dreams by Catherine
Storr which is about a young
girl whose drawings become a
reality in her dreams every night.
What’s your third book?
I wanted a book for a holiday
in France and at that time, I
was reading a lot of non-fiction.
I found a history book called
The Keys of Egypt by Lesley
Adkins. While I was on holiday,
I discovered that the linguist,
Jean-François Champollion, was
born 30km away from where I
was staying. I visited the town
where he was born and ended
up going to Paris to see some
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of his discoveries. It made
my holiday.
So your next book, is that
another non-fiction?
Yes, it’s a biography of Vivienne
Westwood, the fashion designer.
At the time the biography was
written in the late 90’s, she was
still living in a council flat in
London and riding her old bicycle
to work. If it rained, she would
put a carrier bag over her head.
Now, for someone who’s made
as much money as she has, you
would just never expect that.
What’s your final book?
Margrave of the Marshes is
John Peel’s autobiography. I
remember bursting into tears
when I heard he’d died. It was
like losing a good friend. That’s
actually the reason why I can’t
finish it. I can’t bring myself to
read the end which his wife,
Sheila wrote.
Marianne Dreams by
Catherine Storr, TB 15642
and giant print
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy by Douglas Adams
TB 5072 braille and giant
print
And finally, if you were stranded
on a desert island and could
only have one book, which one
would it be?
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy because it’s full of useful
pieces of advice for the ardent
intergalactic traveller, and I’d
need it.
Margrave of the Marshes:
autobiography, John Peel
TB 14768 and braille
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Retro reads
Often a book captures our attention so much that we want
to revisit it years later. The warm familiarity can be like
wrapping yourself in a cosy blanket, but other times the
book you once loved as a teenager can feel flat and shallow
as an adult. We asked some of the Reader Services staff
about their experiences.
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte
Mosquito Coast
by Paul Theroux
I was a teenager when I first read
Wuthering Heights. Like most,
I fell head over heels in love
with Heathcliff. Dark obsession
seemed terribly attractive at
the time. By the time I re-read it
in my thirties, I realised he was
a controlling sociopath. The
character hadn’t changed, but
I had. (TB 16036, braille and
giant print)
I first read this book about
20 years ago. It’s a book that
is both tragic and exciting,
demonstrating the thin line
between sense and madness.
I think I got more out of it the
second time round because
I was able to understand the
characters. My enjoyment of
it was only increased by being
older. (TB 4203 and braille)
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Rivers of London
by Ben Aaronovitch
I only reread books that I really
loved first time round. I’ve recently
re-read Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers
of London and lots of the Terry
Pratchett Discworld novels. In
both cases, I’ve found jokes and
references that I missed the first
time, and which made the worlds
a little richer. (TB 21565)
Jamaica Inn
by Daphne du Maurier
Lanark
by Alasdair Gray
Lanark is a massive novel told in
two different strands, one semiautobiographical tale of an Art
student in Glasgow in the fifties;
the other an alternate reality.
It’s not an easy book which is
why I decided to go back and
reread. Although it may take me
several more reads to extract
everything in the novel, I found
it even more imaginative and
disturbing the second time
through. (TB 19873)
I loved this book as a teen. I
decided to read it again recently
and had the strangest sensation
of being 17 again in the same
way that a smell or music
can take you back. My love of
adventure and the dashing hero
must have been so strong that
instead of seeing it anew, I felt
the exact same excitement. It was
a delightful experience (TB 537,
braille and giant print)
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Literary news
A previously unpublished short
story by F Scott Fitzgerald
has finally been published
75 years after the author
died. Temperature, was found
among Fitzgerald’s papers in
Princeton University’s archives
and published in The Strand
magazine. It’s been described
as having madcap comedy,
some Wodehousian dialogue,
some romance, and even a
little bit of tragedy.
Stephen Fry’s bestselling
novel, The Hippopotamus, is
heading for the silver screen
with Roger Allam in the lead role
of disgraced poet, Ted Wallace,
and Sam Neill as Wallace’s
millionaire friend, Michael Logan.
An independent bookshop in
Michigan was offering refunds to
customers who bought Harper
Lee’s Go Set a Watchman,
saying that the work should
not have been portrayed as a
nice summer novel but as an
academic curiosity.
Brilliant Books believes that
rather than being touted as
Harper Lee’s new novel, it
should have been treated in a
similar way to James Joyce’s
Stephen Hero which was
rejected as a novel but published
later as an academic text.
Despite being called one of the
ugliest buildings in the world,
The British Library has been
awarded the highest heritage
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honour – Grade I listed building
status. Opened by the Queen in
1998, the institution in London
is popular not only with scholars
and researchers but also with
students and tourists.
Among the 150 million objects
held by the library is a huge
sound archive, which includes
recordings of Nelson Mandela’s
trial speech, and Alfred, Lord
Tennyson reading The Charge of
the Light Brigade.
To celebrate 125 years since
Agatha Christie’s birth, the BBC
is producing an adaptation
of her bestselling novel And
Then There Were None. The
cast includes Aidan Turner,
Charles Dance, Anna Maxwell
Martin, Miranda Richardson,
Sam Neill and Toby Stephens.
Shooting has begun on the
Harry Potter spin-off, Fantastic
Beasts and Where to Find
Them, under the direction of
David Yates and with Eddie
Redmayne in the lead role.
J K Rowling has written the
screenplay, which is scheduled
for worldwide release in
November 2016.
Rowan Atkinson has been cast
as legendary French detective,
Jules Maigret, in two standalone
dramatic films for ITV, which are
set in Paris in the 1950s. Maigret
Sets a Trap and Maigret’s Dead
Man, went into production
in September.
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Author interview Alexander McCall Smith
Before beginning a career in fiction writing, Alexander
McCall Smith previously worked as a professor of medical
law for many years. Today, he’s one of our most popular
Talking Books’ authors and we’re sure his ingenious
reinvention of Jane Austen’s Emma, will have you itching
to reread the classic. Jonathan Izard spoke to him.
Is it important to have some
experience behind you before
you put pen to paper?
It’s useful, but it’s not absolutely
essential. There are people who
write books that are interesting
and who seem to be very wise,
even if they’re actually very
young. Generally speaking
though, I think you probably
acquire a certain knowledge and
feeling for the world as you get
longer in the tooth. I believe it is
useful to have done something
else if you’re a writer, because
that brings to the process a
different sort of experience.
So how long have you been
writing, Alexander?
I started writing in a reasonably
serious way in my late 20s, but
it was in my spare time. And
before I wrote for adults, I wrote
about 30 children’s books. After
a few years things really took off,
and it was only in my 50s that
I made the decision to be a fulltime writer.
Now as a serial novelist, what
is it about your characters that
you just have to keep revisiting
them again and again?
I think it’s a great privilege
and pleasure being a serial
novelist, because you know
the characters. You’re familiar
with them and the readers like
encountering a character whom
they already know. So it’s rather
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like sitting down with an old
friend, rather than making a new
friend each time.
Do you experiment with the way
you make your novels available
to readers?
Yes, I do like to experiment
by staggering when I release
chapters. I write a novel called
The Scotland Street as a series.
I’m currently writing the tenth
volume and it’s a serial novel
in the true sense. The chapters
are published as I write them,
so every day for a number of
months, a new chapter appears
in ‘The Scotsman’ newspaper,
Monday to Friday. I’m usually a
little bit ahead of myself,
so I will usually have about
five to ten chapters written in
advance of the publication of
any particular chapter. As it’s
not finished by the time the first
chapter is printed, the usual
editing process of tweaking and
revisiting issues can’t happen.
It’s an interesting way to work.
You’ve reworked a Jane Austen
classic along with some other
Scottish novelists. How was
that process?
I accepted that with absolutely
no hesitation – 40 seconds of
profound thought – and I said,
‘Yes, I’m on for that.’ I had the
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Author interview Alexander McCall Smith
best fun of my life, since the boy
scouts. When I finished it I felt
bereft, because I so enjoyed
being in the world of those
characters. Of course, I did have
to be careful about reworking
a classic text. There are people
who say, ‘Jane Austen doesn’t
need to be rewritten’, but I’ve
found that most people have
really welcomed the project.
A lot of the drama in Austen’s
original text is about waiting for
a letter to arrive. In the days of
instant communication, how did
you overcome that?
I did write the characters to
have mobile phones, but I
didn’t make it a big part of the
plot. The characters live in the
countryside and so Emma drives
from house to house in a little
Mini Cooper! I did still want to
convey the sense of space - the
mental and emotional space that
you find in Jane Austen’s work.
Because Austen’s characters
don’t really do very much, I still
wrote them to not be doing
very much.
Do you like listening to audio
books?
I like listening to audio books on
my iPod. I’m currently working
my way through the audio
versions of Patrick O’Brien’s
wonderful naval historical novels.
Audio books are just a great
glory for everybody. Everybody
can enjoy them.
There are many other books
by Alexander McCall Smith
in the Talking Book library.
Here are a few suggestions:
Emma TB 22234
44 Scotland Street TB 14161
The Sunday Philosophy Club
TB 14124
The No 1 Ladies’ Detective
Agency TB 13252
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Narrator profile Joan Walker
Joan is one our most popular narrators of Talking Book.
The library regularly gets requests for books read by her,
regardless of the book. Not only is Joan well-loved among
Talking Book listeners, she’s also loved for her acting on
stage and television. Clare Carson talked to her.
Is the skill of reading a book
similar to that of narrating in a
radio play?
Yes, I think so. As I’m reading a
talking book, I try to give each
character a different tone and
voice. I try and physicalise them
as well. If I can picture them as
I’m speaking, then the listener
will as well.
With 108 books recorded,
do you think it is that
characterisation, which is the
selling point?
When you started out your
acting career, did you ever
think that you would be
narrating Talking Books?
It was a world that I didn’t know of.
Had I have known of it, I certainly
would have aspired to do it. I did
a postgraduate acting course
and we focused a lot on radio,
which was fantastic. I enjoyed the
spoken word and what you could
achieve, in a non-physical sense.
I think it’s to do with the energy
you can give to the characters
you’re trying to lift off the
page. One thing I always say to
students is even if the character
is de-energised or sulky, you’ve
got to give them the vocal energy
right through to the full stop.
And you’ve read such a diverse
set of books. Do you have
favourites?
Well, very often I find myself
preparing for a book that
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Narrator profile
I wouldn’t necessarily have
picked up if it wasn’t for Talking
Books. I have loved some of the
junior and teen fiction. I dropped
Jacqueline Wilson a line a few
years ago to say – ‘I just adored
this’ – and she replied to me,
which was lovely!
Talking Books is only one part
of your life. You’ve done many
other things, including being on
stage performing in Mama Mia.
It was fantastic fun doing
Mama Mia. We did a glorious
world tour which included going
to China and Israel. I have also
just finished a musical where I
was playing Dusty Springfield’s
mum in Dusty the musical. It
was hilarious!
And still some television work?
Yes, I just did Birds of a Feather.
I played the literary agent to
Lesley Joseph’s character, called
Dorian. I crack the whip a bit and
say – “We want more ideas”. And
she has written this book called
Fifty Shades of Green.
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What’s on our bedside table?
Here are several short book reviews provided by our readers
Sue McDermott, works on the
helpline at RNIB. Singled Out by
Virginia Nicholson gave her an
interesting insight into the plight
of women widowed after the
First World War.
I warmly recommend this book
as it beautifully relays the stories
of women whose hopes were
dashed after their men were
killed in war. It never occurred to
me that my maiden aunties had
nobody to marry until I read this.
(TB 15905 and braille)
Shirley Brooks from
Nottingham is reviewing
Capital by John Lanchester.
Capital is a novel
that provides a
snapshot of the
current housing
situation in
London. Lancaster
presents five
families and
their reactions to social and
economic issues. The problems
depicted within the different
relationships really made me
think. If you are interested in
human relationships, then
you can’t fail to enjoy this.
(TB 19617 and braille)
Lindsay Armstrong from
Merseyside read The Little
Coffee Shop of Kabul by
Deborah Rodriguez.
It’s one of the best books I’ve
read for a while. The story is
centred around three strong
women. Sunny, an American,
who owns the coffee shop,
Yazmina who is sold to a
drug lord and
Halajan who
feels confined
by Afghan
traditions.
I couldn’t put
the book down.
(TB 21183)
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Carnegie Book Awards
Every year, the Carnegie Medal is
awarded to a children’s author
whose outstanding book
has impressed not only the
Chartered Institute of Library
and Information Professionals
(CILIP) judges but also young
readers, too. RNIB goes to great
lengths to make sure that books
on the shortlist are published
in all formats in time for blind or
partially sighted students to take
part in the shadowing scheme.
Students at New College in
Worcester have been talking
about their favourite books from
this year’s Carnegie Awards.
Carys is a braille reader and
explains why she loves taking
part in the shadowing scheme.
‘Reading from the Carnegie
shortlist means you always get
great stories. Sharing my ideas
about the books is what I love
most. And you also hear what
other people noticed that you
might have missed.’
Her favourite book of the
competition is, Cuckoo Song
by Frances Hardinge.
‘I wanted to read it all the time
and I couldn’t put it down. It’s
about a girl who wakes up from
an accident very confused and
she has big blanks in her memory.
I liked the mystery element of
the story. Just like the character,
you’re always wondering what’s
going to happen next.’
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The winning
book, Buffalo
Soldier
by Tanya
Landman
(TB 21756)
Hannah is 14 and read the
fantasy novel Tinder by Sally
Gardner in giant print.
‘I enjoyed this book and it’s great
for anyone who’s into a dark
subject. Tinder is set during a
war and is about a boy soldier,
called Otto, who runs away from
the battlefield. As he’s on the
run, he meets a girl who’s also
running away from home.’
Andrew and Harrison both
loved Apple and Rain by Sarah
Crossan which sensitively depicts
the difficult growing pains felt
when moving from childhood
into adulthood.
Harrison explains, Apple and
Rain really drew me. As the
events begin to unfold, the book
becomes really interesting. The
author writes about situations
that young people will recognise.
It’s my clear favourite.’
Carys, Andrew, Harrison and
Hannah got to attend the
Carnegie ceremony in London.
The winning book was Buffalo
Soldier by Tanya Landman.
Carys presented the author with a
braille copy of her award‑winning
book.(TB 21756 )
Cathy Wright, the librarian at
New College, explains, ‘It’s a
fabulous opportunity for the
students to have wonderful
conversations with the authors
who have captivated them for
months. The excitement of the
outing keeps us all going till the
next year.’
If you would like your
school to join the Carnegie
Shadowing Scheme, please
ask them to contact Reader
Services on 0173 337 5333.
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Children’s author profile Marcus Sedgwick
Marcus Sedgwick is the children and young adults’ author
who wrote ‘She is Not Invisible’, a book whose protagonist,
Laureth, is blind. Kim Normanton chats to him about how
this was different to his other novels.
What prompted you to write
from the perspective of a blind
teenager?
Do you remember learning
things about life through the
eyes of a blind teenager?
I worked on the idea for the book
for seven years. Often when I’m
developing a book, I have this
nagging feeling that something
is missing, but when something’s
missing, you never know what it
is until it arrives in your life. I met
a blind girl called Ellie Wallwork
at the Carnegie Award ceremony
and as soon as we met, I got a
tickling feeling, ‘This is the missing
piece’ in my story. The main thing
I’m looking for is something that
strikes a chord with your heart.
Yes, it was extraordinary. I went
to New College many times
throughout the process, and
each time I went I’d have a
feeling of like, ‘Oh, I’ve learnt so
much more’, but then it was like
walking through a door into a
new room in which I discovered
all these things that I’d never
even thought of before. I still
feel like one can never really
know what it’s like, as a sighted
person, to know what it’s like to
never have had sight.
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As an author, you’re quite often
having to stand in other people’s
shoes, but did it feel slightly
more daunting to represent a
teenager who’s blind?
As a writer, you’re always making
these imaginative leaps to
become other people. You hope
you’re doing a convincing job and
that people find the characters
authentic, but as the writer, you
don’t know. But this felt like a
different level entirely. And I also
felt in a way I’ve never felt before.
I felt a personal responsibility
to get it right, because by the
end, I’d made friends with a lot
of people at New College, and
I didn’t want to let them down.
In the same way having flawed
characters make for a more
interesting read, do you
think that increases people’s
chances of maybe becoming
a good writer?
Perhaps - there’s a theory
that all the classic, great
children’s writers all had terrible
childhoods, Kipling, Lewis
Carroll, you name it.
Does that mean if you didn’t
have some flaws, you won’t ever
be very good?
I had an idyllic childhood at home,
but a terrible time at school
so maybe it was the perfect
combination. When writers write,
it’s always to do with some conflict
somewhere in their past. Very
often, even if you’re an adult writer
and you’re writing about adult
issues, so much of our adult lives
are about what our childhoods
were about. You can never take
away how you got to where you
are as an adult, so I think the way
that a lot of the world seems to
neglect childhood is mistaken,
because it is what made us all.
If you’d like to read any
of Marcus Sedgwick’s
books, these are
available from the
Library:
She is Not Invisible
TB 20862, braille and
giant print
My Swordhand is Singing
TB 15126, braille and
giant print
Midwinterblood
TB 20128, braille and
giant print
Blood Red, Snow White
TB 15735, in braille
and giant print.
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Children’s book reviews
For this edition of Read On, students from New College
Worcester shared their memorable reads.
Harry Potter by JK Rowling
TB 11799 braille and
giant print
The Chocolate Box Girls
Series by Cathy Cassidy:
Cherry Crush, TB 18307,
braille and giant print
Marshmallow Skye TB 19702
and giant print
Summer’s Dream TB 20413,
braille and giant print
Sweet honey TB 21584
and braille
Best Friends by Jacqueline
Wilson TB 19347 braille
and giant print
First is Angel who is 15.
I am a complete freak when it
comes to Harry Potter. I love
how you see Harry making
friends, defeating evil and
learning magic all while he
discovers who he really is. I
always feel really upset when I
get to the end of the book. My
teacher, Miss Wright, always
tries to convince me to read
something else, but I never want
to read anything else.
Next is Renée who is 16.
I’m an absolute bookworm. I love
reading any sort of book. My
favourite book, or in this case,
series, is called The Chocolate
Box Sisters by Cathy Cassidy.
When I read the books, it feels
like I’ve stepped into another
world. At the moment I’m
studying for my GCSEs and
reading about the lives of the
main characters is a great way
to relax. I’ve fallen in love with
each sister and I love reading
how they deal with their family,
relationships and growing up.
Finally, we have Carly who is 15.
One of my favourite books is
Best Friends by Jacqueline
Wilson. It’s about two girls
who have been best friends
since birth. One friend is quite
rebellious and naughty and
the other is very well behaved
and clever. I would thoroughly
recommend the book as it’s
so relatable, it almost felt like
an autobiography. While I was
reading it, I moved from primary
to secondary school, and one
of my closest friends went to a
different school.
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From our kids to yours
We asked the staff’s children to tell us their favourite books.
Pirate Penguins
by Frank Rodgers.
Paisley, Posso, Kelty
and Spott are pirate
penguins. All the fish
have disappeared
from the sea and
together, only they
can find them.
(TB 21750)
The Grunts in
Trouble
by Philip Ardagh. Living in their
donkey‑drawn
caravan, Mr and
Mrs Grunt, along
with their adopted
son, Sonny, find
themselves in
many very funny
adventures.
(TB 20069, braille
and giant print)
moo-ders that have
been committed
by a ghostly cow of
doom. But who will
be next? (TB 21731)
The Terrible Thing
That Happened to
Barnaby Brocket
by John Boyne.
Alistair and Eleanor
Brocket don’t like
anyone strange,
but when their
baby brother defies
gravity, it’s clear he is
anything but normal.
(TB 20211, braille
and giant print)
The Girl Savage by
Katherine Rundell.
The Victorian
Moo‑ders
by Stephen Cole.
The CIA – ‘Cows
in Action’ – are
investigating a
series of strange
Living half-wild on an
African farm, every
day is beautiful for
Wilhelmina, until
she is sent away to
boarding school in
England. (Giant print)
Withering Tights
by Louise Rennison.
It’s a new series
featuring the
amateur dramatic
antics of Tallulah
and her bonkers
mates. Boys,
snogging and bad
acting guaranteed.
(TB 18191, braille
and giant print)
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Behind the scenes Heather Nazmdeh
Kim Normanton talked to
Heather Nazmdeh, RNIB’s
Music Librarian. Heather has
worked in the Library Team
for 13 years
So Heather, can you tell us
a little bit about the music
collection?
Our main collection is braille
music – we have over 16,000
music scores. It’s based on the
same braille code, and was
invented by Louis Braille, but the
dots mean different things, so it’s
another code to be learned. We
also have a growing collection
of large print music, which is
music that’s been enlarged and
has emboldened notes. Some of
the dynamics have been taken
out and the bar lines made
more even, so it’s simpler to
read. Audio tuition CDs are also
popular. We have CDs for all kinds
of instruments including piano
and guitar, the penny whistle,
ukulele and flute.
What about for singers?
We have scores and CDs for
singing which play the different
parts individually. So, if you’re a
soprano, alto, tenor or bass, you
can hear what your part should
sound like.
And do you get many of your
customers who are actually
losing their sight?
We get a lot of people calling who
are in despair, because they think
they can’t continue playing music
or singing. It’s a really satisfying
part of my job when I can help
someone.
What happens if someone calls
in, asking for a certain piece of
music you don’t have?
If we haven’t already got the
piece they want, we can get in
whatever is needed, size of note or
background. In the library, we have
a standardised format which is
equivalent to about 24 point print
size on cream paper, and we will
catalogue all new music so that
it’s available for others.
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Can you read braille music?
I’m able to read basic braille
music and I’m eager to learn
more. I can read braille, but
braille music is another thing all
together.
And do you ever get people
singing the music they’ve learnt
over the phone?
Occasionally, yes. I had a lovely
experience at work quite recently,
when somebody played me
Schumann’s ‘Arabesque’ on the
piano over the phone on his
Steinway. It was absolutely lovely.
It sounds like you like your job,
Heather?
I do like my job. It’s full of variety.
I think of myself as the sort of
facilitator. We’ve got so much
music in the library, that it’s my
job to make it easily accessible,
make the catalogue records as
complete as we can and help as
many people as possible.
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RNIB Newsagent:
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©RNIB October 2015
RNIB Charity nos. 226227,
SC039316
23/10/2015 14:07