Jephson Gardens, Leamington

… or more accurately what this writer reads. West Midlands’ writers are doing well at the moment. During the past three months several have had, or are about to have, launches of their novels – Fran Hill, Abigail Johnson, Amanda Smyth and Kit de Waal. I’m currently reading Whale Fall by a Birmingham based writer Elizabeth O’Connor. Three other novels are waiting to be read: Jack, Mr. Loverman and In the Blood. Two are by authors I’ve read before, but chosen from piles in our local Waterstones. Four books are as yet unfinished.

This month I’ve read a different poem each day, encouraged by an online workshop by Wendy Pratt. I’m reading an anthology, Four Windows on the Male and a poetry book by Rosie Garland. I attended a Zoom launch of the former, and listened to Rosie Garland reading on a Youtube video. I’ve shelves-full of books on How to Write, and currently am using Writing Begins with the Breath as a way switching off the day-to-day world and moving into the imaginative world of fiction. I’ve started Still Writing by an American, Dani Shapiro, which is conveniently arranged in short, headed sections.

Cowslips in St Mary’s cemetery Lillington, Warwickshire

So, my current reading is a mixture of pure pleasure and something that can be challenging in terms of language, images, and experiences. There are a limit to the number of traumas I want to learn about, whereas a cosy crime helps me relax.

Chioma Okereke writes: Reading isn’t just a sanctuary from the real world, but a therapeutic activity that enriches our knowledge and provides us with insights beyond our lived experiences. This was quoted in this January’s issue of Mslexia.

I suspect that is true for writers, less so for adults who don’t read regularly. According to The Reading Agency, half of adults in the UK read regularly. 1 in 6 struggle to read at all. The barriers for reading include finding reading itself difficult, and not relevant to their lives. 44% of 16 – 24 year olds are considered ‘lapsed readers’ where reading includes all types of books, graphic novels, audio books and other reading material.

A distant pool at Ryton Pools, Warwickshire

Those of us who write, want to reach what may well be a minority of the population. Many of them may read one book a year. Some data suggests the most readers are over 65. Other data that 18 – 24 have a short reading attention span. That said some non-fiction books can easily be dipped into for 20 minutes or so. Put to one side, absorbed and picked up again. Novels with short chapters are similarly popular.

A question to writers – who are you writing for?

A question for readers – what books you want to read?

And to all – why do you read?

There is no right  or wrong answer to any of the above questions.

References: Home Bird- Fran Hill, The Secret Collector- Abigail Johnson, Look at You- Amanda Smyth is published this month, The Best of Everything – Kit de Waal  I attended a reading by Fran Hill at Warwick Books and a Zoom launch of Four Windows on the Male, a poetry anthology by Veronica Aaronson, Steve Day, Roger Philip Dennis and Kerry Priest. Julia Rawlinson’s Fletcher’s Ninth Book is published this month.