[S6X]∎ PDF The Uncommon Reader A Novella Alan Bennett 9780374280963 Books

The Uncommon Reader A Novella Alan Bennett 9780374280963 Books

Download As PDF : The Uncommon Reader A Novella Alan Bennett 9780374280963 Books

The Uncommon Reader A Novella Alan Bennett 9780374280963 Books

Here’s a fun little novella. The Queen. Yes, that one. Who lives in Buckingham Palace. She is out with her corgis and comes upon a bookmobile. Curious, she wanders around. A gentleman who works in the palace kitchen is there and quite well read, offers some suggestions as HRH isn’t sure what will be to her liking. Well, no sooner is he promoted to another position.

Reading becomes quite the habit for the Queen. Much to the dismay of her staff, she has lost complete interest in pretty much everything else. Her newfound love has taken over and every chance she gets, whether in a car, away at Balmoral, or wishing she could skip another appearance, she is nose-deep in a book.

It’s interesting to imagine whether the Queen really does have time to read at her leisure or if she only has time for books that pertain to work at hand. Hard to picture the vast collection at the Royal Library simply collecting dust.


Tags : The Uncommon Reader: A Novella [Alan Bennett] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div><div>From the author of The History Boys</i> and The Clothes They Stood Up In </i>   A deliciously funny novella that celebrates the pleasure of reading. When the Queen in pursuit of her wandering corgis stumbles upon a mobile library  she feels duty bound to borrow a book. Aided by Norman,Alan Bennett,The Uncommon Reader: A Novella,Farrar, Straus and Giroux,0374280967,Humorous,Books and reading;Fiction.,Kings and rulers;Fiction.,Queens;Great Britain;Fiction.,Books and reading,FICTION Humorous General,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction Literary,Fiction-Humorous,GENERAL,General Adult,Great Britain,Great BritainBritish Isles,Kings and rulers,POPULAR ENGLISH FICTION,Queens,United States

The Uncommon Reader A Novella Alan Bennett 9780374280963 Books Reviews

Everyone who reads on a regular basis knows about the addictive features of such an adventure. As the author leads us to believe the Queen of England simply lacked the time for such things until one day while chasing down her disruptive and incorrigible Corgi's she encounters a young man in the book mobile. Norman as it turns out is employed in the Royal kitchens but is a bookophile. In the coming months he guides the Monarchial pursuit of all things written including his apparent penchant for gay authors. Even after Norman's untimely disappearance her Majesty begins to redefine her challenge to consume as many books as is literally possible. In doing so she finds herself ignoring or at least giving short shrift to her official duties which despite her love of all things regal has started to find them if not boring at least disruptive of her new found regime.

The problem with excessive reading as any ignored spouse or best friend can tell you is that reading is a decidedly singular excursion with the annoying exception of the occasional "Listen to this..." followed by an extracontextual paragraph or so which the listener does not want to hear. The cure of course for reading to exclusion is to write. Will this be the remedy for the good Queen or will she resort to something more drastic? Her attendants and personal handlers conspire to find the solution but of course she takes the bull, as it were, by the horns and preempts them with her usual decisiveness on the burm of her 80th birthday.

A lovely fast read. Alan Bennett is a cheeky Brit with a rather large repertoire to his credit including plays, essays, novels, reviews and the odd appearance on stage. 2.50 GIBO
Are you ever at a cocktail party where people are talking about sports or celebrities or TV shows when you just wanted to burst out, "Read, people. If you read, your world gets bigger and much more interesting!" I haven't, But Alan Bennett assuredly has.

The Queen, nearly 80, more or less accidentally checks out a book from a mobile library, and checks out (as is, removes from the premises) a young reader named Norman at the the same time. Norman, generally unimpressed by monarchy, becomes her guide to reading things she never read before. To her amazement, and the alarm of her Staff, she loves it. It changes her.

OK, that's the plot.

This is a delightful, very brief, very funny argument in favor of reading. As you are unlikely to be reading this review if you are not a reader, you should be hooked already. Bennett takes shots at the stuffy Staff, authors, shallow lives (exemplified by the poor Queen's responsibilities to preside over --but otherwise not participate in -- the openings of new factories, parks and, way back when, countries), bureaucratic decisions and any number of other light subjects. But he is serious in his support for the benefits of reading. This book is the justification for all the time we have 'wasted' consuming books and even occasionally thinking about what we read. I wanted to rise up, join the club and have an armband as I read it.

This is, at best, a two or three hour book. It is so slim that the cost per word is sort of high. But it is so much fun, and so supportive of your addiction to books, that it is nearly disloyal to not read it.
HMQ Elizabeth II discovers independence and liberty in reading, from the most unlikely of sources- 'the Library,' whose demise, I hope, is greatly exaggerated.
Subtle, enjoyable- an inspiration for those who have forgotten "how" to read. For those who found this 'boring,' 'dull' or 'predictable,' - may I suggest you re-read this novella slowly-- and I mean very slowly-- we all read far too quickly these days. The careful, meticulous development that Bennett lends his characters (Sir Kevin of New Zealand, especially) is a refreshly light break from the gumph that proliferates our shelves/your "e-books."
If you feel jaded by literature- this will animate your imagination, I hope.
This is a marvelous little story. The reader in question is definitely not common and somehow the story seems believable. It was a joy to read. When it arrived I opened the package, sat down and read it straight thru. First time I have ever done that. It was so amusing I couldn't put it down. Definitely recommend it.
I was surprised and charmed by Alan Bennett's THE UNCOMMON READER, so much so that I have read it several times and have recommended it to many friends, especially those who love British writers.

I know that in the UK, this book is regarded as an anti-monarchist satire, and perhaps that is exactly how Mr. Bennett indeed intended it. However, whether or not he meant for it to happen, I couldn't help feeling that the author has a secret fondness for his main character, who is the Queen herself. She comes off as far more sympathetic than not, and the reader will be irresistibly drawn into HM's private life. Mr, Bennett's fly-on-the-wall observations are hilarious and poignant.

This is a wonderful story, economically told, and I was sorry to reach the last page because I could have gone on reading it for ages. Don't miss THE UNCOMMON READER; it is a keeper.
Here’s a fun little novella. The Queen. Yes, that one. Who lives in Buckingham Palace. She is out with her corgis and comes upon a bookmobile. Curious, she wanders around. A gentleman who works in the palace kitchen is there and quite well read, offers some suggestions as HRH isn’t sure what will be to her liking. Well, no sooner is he promoted to another position.

Reading becomes quite the habit for the Queen. Much to the dismay of her staff, she has lost complete interest in pretty much everything else. Her newfound love has taken over and every chance she gets, whether in a car, away at Balmoral, or wishing she could skip another appearance, she is nose-deep in a book.

It’s interesting to imagine whether the Queen really does have time to read at her leisure or if she only has time for books that pertain to work at hand. Hard to picture the vast collection at the Royal Library simply collecting dust.