Sunday, February 13, 2011

reading out loud

When my children were little I must have spent hundreds of hours reading to them.  We went from Dr Zeuss to Moby Dick, to poetry to Wind in the Willows to TinTin to Beatrix Potter and a whole load in between.  Loved it, still do love it if I get the chance to corner some young ears.


I recently discovered  how much I love to be on the receiving end,  A french friend is keen to improve her english accent and asked if she could read out loud to me - Twist my arm!!

I had already tried listening to books on CD when driving long distances but rarely found them captivating.  Having a real person sat in front of me, putting expression into it, smiling, looking worried etc brings a whole new dimension.




So,  I have decided that when I'm about 90 and this body of mine gets tired, and refuses to tear around all day doing ten things at once, as happens to day, I shall provide employment for students and pay them to read to me.

Qualities required to get the job?   

1.  that I find them likeable
2.  that they are capable of reading out loud and convincing me of their 
enjoyment of the book, that they can get lost in a story
3.  that they have time for a cup of tea and piece of cake with me, 
before, during or after the reading
and lastly, and maybe most importantly that they have the accent 
to fit the book.  I adore accents and I would require many different types.
Just look at this list and see how cosmopolitan my readers will  be
I will need (in no particular order):

 old fashioned British to read Somerset Maugham -
North West American  for Jim Morrisson -
 Provencal French to read Pagnol -
Danish for Karen Blixen -
 well bred German for Thomas Mann -
 very very English to fit  Jane Austen -
Afghan  for Khaled Hosseini -
east London for Zadie Smith -   .....................

This list could go on for ever, but - tell me - who would you choose to read which book out loud?

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