tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post2431289632344854892..comments2024-03-25T22:59:30.053+00:00Comments on Desperate Reader: What are we saying here?Desperate Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-15016200306085223902014-05-28T00:07:02.063+01:002014-05-28T00:07:02.063+01:00It sounds like you might have been very lucky. I t...It sounds like you might have been very lucky. I think it would be fantastic if there was more contemporary stuff studied. The classics are easily available (and tv adapted to death in many cases) it seems likely that people will find them if they want to but finding new books is so much harder. It sounds like there will be more contemporary bits on the syllabus though and that's got to be good.<br />Desperate Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-87479103487516086922014-05-27T23:44:12.544+01:002014-05-27T23:44:12.544+01:00I basically feel the same, I don't know nearly...I basically feel the same, I don't know nearly enough about what's actually on the syllabus now to have a really informed opinion but think if the same books that were studied twenty years ago, and then some, are still doing the rounds it might be time to shake things up a bit. Desperate Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-21730275206372324482014-05-27T23:13:11.816+01:002014-05-27T23:13:11.816+01:00So many good books out there and from everywhere, ...So many good books out there and from everywhere, there was an excellent bit by John Sutherland in the Guardian with a list of 10 American books we could be studying instead ( http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/26/10-american-writers-english-children-study-gcse-michael-gove ) I don't know nearly enough of them. Desperate Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-39219242058792188612014-05-27T16:42:33.336+01:002014-05-27T16:42:33.336+01:00It's an emotive subject. I do feel it's ti...It's an emotive subject. I do feel it's time that they varied the syllabus a bit maybe - and don't feel there's anything wrong for making sure there's a mixture of UK and US/classics in it, but I would like to see a something more contemporary included ... but basically I don't care as long as its quality literature.<br /><br />I was lucky - I didn't do English Lit O-level - at the time, my school believed that it spoiled literature and reading for pleasure for many pupils at that age, so we read widely instead, although mostly British novels if I remember rightly - plus some GB Shaw plays. I read from Dickens to John Wyndham with a bit of Shakespeare in between - didn't do me any harm (although Silas Marner did put me off Eliot - still haven't read any more of her). We did read TKAM in class, but I discovered most of the others for myself - still haven't read OfM&M though. Annabel (gaskella)http://gaskella.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-3717519303863175972014-05-27T14:52:30.145+01:002014-05-27T14:52:30.145+01:00Really interesting post. I'm not really sure w...Really interesting post. I'm not really sure where I stand on all this. I didn't study any of these texts at school, I went and discovered them by myself (which I know people will say that not everyone will/can/does do that), and I don't think I'm worse off for it. I don't see what's wrong with studying a few more British texts as many of the same themes and ideas can be found in them, as long as we don't ignore the American texts entirely. Basically I don't know, but thank you for a really interesting post.Elliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09362128444319074118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-79016925083016609832014-05-27T11:35:47.900+01:002014-05-27T11:35:47.900+01:00Some very interesting observations here. I tend to...Some very interesting observations here. I tend to agree with you on this, but imagine the reactions if we had set English texts on the syllabus!Jane Westwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06983053002180679463noreply@blogger.com