On the Big Read final programme there was again a lot of praise for 'His Dark Materials'. The feeling seemed to be that it will become a classic.
[I wonder if Harry Potter might have got more votes in the final phone vote if the programme had been on at a time when children were still up and able to vote?]

I read the first HP about a year after it came out; once the hype had died down a bit I decided to see what the fuss was all about. I enjoyed it as a lightchildren's story, although I was a bit peeved (no pun intended!)at the way she was making up her magic lore mainly, it seemed, for comic effect and euphony, with no evidence of research into "real" magic traditions. By the time I got to the end, I'd managed to reassign that under "willing suspension of disbelief".

When I read the second and third (I pinched my daughter's) I was impressed by the way they took place in "real time": Harry and his chums were appropriately older in the following years, and the background, although rather contrived at times, was building up in a self-consistent way.

When the last one came out I went and bought my own copy (and another for my daughter!). The size alone would have tempted me, I think: Rowling is obviously taking the thing very seriously. This kind of treatment is unusual ina children's book; although I suppose in adult fiction like, say, O'Brian's Aubrey & Maturin series, the adults don't get much older compared to these characters, as they growfrom eleven-year-olds to adolescents (and, presumably, young adults). I'm looking forward to the next one.

=======================================

The first time I read The Lion ... I felt the resurrection of Aslan (hope that's not a spoiler for anyone!) was very contrived; the existence of an older Magic than the Queen's was never hinted at earlier. But I suppose it's better than contriving to mention it a propos of nothing, simply to pull it out of the hat later. I've read it a couple of times since (and seen the film and the tv), and didn't have the problem after the first time. And the "prequel", The Magician's Nephew, didn't seem at all contrived -- WSOD running smoothly!

well terryon, i think that harry potter will b a classic for many years to come. the magic of the wizards has captured my heart, and many of the nations hearts!
stephanie, great site!

terryon
The same thought crossed my mind last night as I was watching the programme. I suspect that the Potter books WILL become classics, but it's so hard to define the secret ingredient that makes classic children's books so special.
Bill Oddie, talking about 'The Wind in the Willows', mentioned 'escapism', and Ronni Ancona used the same word when she presented 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'. Yet Fay Ripley said of 'Harry Potter' that the stories are 'believable' and 'rooted in our lives', because 'Harry is not romanticized'.
[Incidentally she also claimed that the Potter books have started a new genre of writing - which she referred to as 'kidult' (I presume this is the right spelling, but I have not heard this term before - might be 'kiddult')- because adults and children like the books. Not sure what people might think about this claim???]
Did anyone watch last night's programme with their children? If so, what did you, and they, think about the presentations?

at the moment i have decided to read all the top 100 books so i am just working my way through them - still at A tho!!

There are two openings I shall always remember.

The one is"Last night I dreamt I went to Mandalay again"which always comes to mind when I think of Du Maurier and when I find myself in Cornwall, a place of mystery and imagination,the perfect setting for "Rebecca".How well did Titmarsh describe the novel when he said it was not only a romance but also an "excursion into emotional darkness".
Titmarsh did an outstanding presentation last night with haunting background music and his meaningful explanations and associations with azaleas and other flowers in the gardens and the Happy Valley. It all brought back memories of when I read the book many years ago.

The other opening that I still find exciting and ominous is that of Charles Dickens to "A Tale of Two Cities". "It was the best of times,it was the worst of times....... it was the season of Light,it was the season of Darkness....."

Perhaps a thread might be started on other memorable openings?

I received my calendar on Friday, having only ordered it last Sunday.

I might try to read the books featured in the months that they appear... should be a good challenge. (I doubt I'll make it through Middlemarch or Crime and Punishment in just a month, though!)

I have tried and tried to order The Big Read calender with no success. Is there a problem - I have ordered other OU resources with no trouble.Anyone else had a problem or is it me?

hello there

how do you mean, "how was the word novel defined?". do you mean, how was a book defined as a novel for the big read? don't know the answer to that one, but if you mean where did the term "novel" come from (apologies if you know this already) then as i understand it, "novel" i think comes from when it became relatively cheap to produce books (and so to buy them) and paperbacks appeared in "novel" sizes, colours. this also meant, i'm guessing, that the contents could be more novel, less important as it wasnt such a financial undertaking to produce. anyway, you get the idea - the original meaning of novel as new, contemporary, and strange gave rise to calling new fiction books as "novels". well, hope that wasnt too dull an explination.

I think that's unavoidable if you're going for a 'favourite book' rather than 'favourite author' poll. I don't think there is a way to balance it out, nor is 'prolificness' any sign of quality, else the big read would probably have to be some Barbara Cartland book.

I'm not even really sure that it is a bad thing, although I do say that as someone who is very happy that 'Lord of the Rings' looks like it might win!

Maybe the BBC should organise a 'Big Authors' poll next Autumn?

>Which book do you turn to when you need a bit of comforting?

Anything by Marian Keyes - particularly "Rachels Holiday". I don't really understand why - I just really enjoy the characters - even though the subject is a bit bleak (being about a recovering drug addict!)

All of the replies to this post so far have come from females, and all of the books nominated have been by female authors.....