Posted by LukeDolman on September 24, 2008 at 15:28:40 user LukeDolman.
In Reply to: Re: Magic that books give us posted by Adam Quinan on September 13, 2008 at 22:34:53:
Well said Adam. The Aubrey-Maturin books surely rank alongside some of the greatest works of literature. I first read Master and Commander in the mid-1990s and proceeded to read all the others available at the time, in order and back-to-back. I'm actually re-reading them now. I'm afraid I found the Hollywood film to be a deep disappointment - badly cast and a poor choice of storyline. The atmosphere and battle scenes were terrific though.
With regard to kids and their reading, both my two - 8 and 9 - devour books. I also read to them most nights. We've read nearly all the Ransome books now, plus other gems I read as a kid, Stig of the Dump, Treasure Island, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, Brendon Chase, W.E. Johns (various!), The Hobbit and the Narnia books. I enjoy this time as much as they do (as much reliving my youth as when we're out on the water flying the Jolly Roger in a Mirror Dinghy...) and it seems to have fired up their imagination to seek out other books that are perhaps not quite as trendy in schools as they once were. That being said there is some great writing out there for kids these days, not just Harry Potter.