Happy Christmas from The Reading Agency

At the end of 2009 we are very pleased to be celebrating:

725,000 children taking part in the Summer Reading Challenge, up 35,000 on last year
50,060 people joining a library to take part in our reading challenges - the Summer Reading Challenge and the Six Book Challenge
25% more Chatterbooks reading groups running in libraries, with schools set to join the Chatterbooks network in 2010
the 8372 people who came to our Reading Partners author events in libraries
the 75 library services and schools are using www.groupthing.org in its first year
the 261 new and forgotten pieces of writing that were found by our five Reading Detectives teams
the four more HeadSpaces that we opened with libraries bringing the total to 17

These achievements are a reflection of some of what we have been able to achieve by working with libraries, school library services, schools, publishers, workplaces and all our other partners. Thank you to all of you. We will be issuing a full report later.

In the meantime, here are some of the things that readers have said that recognise the power of these partnerships and remind us of the difference that reading can make to people's lives.

"My literacy tutor, Linda, told us about Six Book Challenge. I never knew that reading was such a pleasure. I've been reading all sorts of things. The Quick Reads are really good for me. With reading you can disappear into another world." Gwen Gregory from Nottingham who completed the Six Book Challenge 2009

"One thing that really builds your confidence is the feeling that you are being listened to. At HeadSpace we have that from the librarians and more confidence means that we want to do more things." Khalid Amin, HeadSpace Haslingden

"Maureen at Ballyhackamore library who runs my son's Chatterbooks group has been fantastic. She really understands the children's ability and what will stretch them. Chatterbooks has helped his confidence no end." Victor Dukelow whose 10 year-old son goes to the local Chatterbooks group

Some of our favourite reads of 2009

We thought we'd finish off by sharing some of the favourite things we have read during 2009. We had so many favourites suggested that we will put some of them in January's newsletter too! And watch out for a new page on our website.

Claire Styles, who leads our young people's projects.

"Grimm's Fairy tales. Love the intricate storytelling, archaic language and fascinating insights into post-medieval rural life. Particularly relished the gruesome consequences for various witches etc. - crushed by millstones, roasted in hot ovens, forced to dance in molten shoes, served as stew... Perfect for bedtime!"

Dean Redmond who looks after our IT.

"One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night by Christopher Brookmeyer. Start with a school reunion set on an oil rig converted into a holiday park situated in the North Sea and due to be towed to the coast of Africa. Introduce a team of partially organised mercenaries and lean heavily on the Die Hard story line and you have an excellent action packed dark comedy.""

Brenda Read-Brown, who works on our young people's projects.

"This is Water by David Foster Wallace. It's a very short book, with only a sentence or two on each page, but if you haven't time to read it all, just page 120 would do."

Liz Dubber, who heads up our programmes.

"I finally read Philip Roth this year and was captivated by American Pastoral. It shows a harsh underside to the American dream, yet still manages to be optimistic and life affirming."

Sandeep Mahal, who manages our publisher partnerships.

"Sum: Forty Tales of the Afterlives by David M. Eagleman. The simplicity and originality of the short stories just blew me away. The book is about the essence of living and each short story explores the preciousness of life. Each story is around a page and a half and the language is just captivating. Everyone should read it!"

Tricia Kings, who leads our children's projects.

"I've got two and can't decide; they kind of go together as an inspiration about making the most of your life. Biography of Frances Partridge (lived till 103, an inspiration about life and how much people matter) and Bright Star/So bright and delicate - love letters and poems of Keats to Fanny Brawne (this time such a short life and such beautiful thinking and writing)."

Miranda McKearney our director.

"Mark Cocker's Crow Country was one of my best reads this year, amongst a bunch of wonderful nature writing, an emerging genre that mixes intense and scholarly exploration of the natural world with reflections on the writer's inner life. The implicit challenge is to absorb and be nourished by the everyday around us, to stop chasing the exotic and dive more deeply into the world close by."

Jenny Warner, who manages the office.

"I enjoyed Home, the Orange prize winner."

Debbie Hicks, who directs our research.

"Kate Atkinson's When Will There Be Good News. I love her writing because it peels back the top layer of ordinariness from everyday life to remind us of its bizarre and darker side."

Genevieve Clarke, who leads our adult literacy learners projects.

"I loved and wept over A Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry. It's a powerful and emotional tale of the early life of an elderly Irish lady who's been incarcerated wrongly in a psychiatric institution for most of her adult years. I've done quite a bit of voluntary work with old people and they've always got a story to tell if you find the right way in."

Maureen Mucculloch, who is our director of finance.

"My choice for the year is Proust and The Squid by Maryanne Wolf. It is about the history and science of the reading brain and is multi-disciplinarily brilliant, neuroscience mixed with personal anecdote and Greek myths."

Thank you to everyone who has worked with us and supported our work. We look forward to working with you all again in 2010.

Merry Christmas

The Reading Agency

Keeping in touch

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