The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

ISBN-13: 9781846681332
Publisher: Profile Books
Published: 2008
121 pgs



I was first introduced to this little gem after reading Nymeth's lovely review a while back. What shall I say? I am absolutely in love with this book! I trust most readers (especially booklovers) would enjoy this little story about how reading has became an obsession for the Queen of England.
It was all the dogs' fault, as the Queen quoted, as they had wandered off and was heard to be yapping at something in one of the yards. It happened to be a travelling library, and it parked next to the bins outside one of the kitchen doors. Now the Queen had never seen this sight before, and she was very happy to befriend Mr Hutchings, the driver cum librarian and Norman Seakins, a young man working in the kitchens and had happened to be in the library looking at books when the Queen came into the library.

Fascinated by the sight of books and also feeling a little obligated to borrow a book, the Queen selected a book by Ivy Compton-Burnett. And it seemed from that moment onwards, her opinions on books and reading changes. She became engrossed in them so much so that she had Norman transferred out of the kitchen to be her amanuensis (Norman looked up this word in the dictionary and realized it refers to a literary assistant position; one who writes from dictation and copies manuscripts).

With Norman being her amanuensis, the Queen began to read more and more and less interested in her day-to-day activities, which is much dismay to Sir Kevin Scatchard, her private secretary and the other advisors. These days, her conversations always surrounded around books and until the Prime Minister decided to do something about it.

The Uncommon Reader is a delightful read to all booklovers, and I personally feel this novella is a good introduction to the non-readers to reading as it is fast-paced and written in a subtle, humourous style (it is a classic in my opinion). I had a wonderful time reading this book, and I could definitely relate to the Queen when she felt some of her time should be devoted to reading.

You have no idea how many post-it tags I used for tagging my favourite passages. Here are just a few of my favourites:

“Pass the time?” said the Queen. “Books are not about passing the time. They’re about other lives. Other worlds. Far from wanting time to pass, Sir Kevin, one wishes one had more of it.”

The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something lofty about literature. Books did not care who was reading them or whether one read them or not. All readers were equal, herself included.

It was a few weeks later that she looked up from her book and said to Norman: "Do you know that I said you were my amanuensis? Well, I've discovered what I am. I am an opsimath."
With the dictionary always to hand, Norman read out: 'Opsimath: one who learns only late in life.'

And one that made me chuckle:

Authors, she soon decided, were probably best met with in the pages of their novels, and were as much creatures of the reader's imagination as the characters in their books. Nor did they seem to think one had done them a kindness by reading their writings. Rather they had done one the kindness by writing them.

Other blogs reviews:

A Guy's Moleskine Notebook
A Striped Armchair
Bart's Bookshelf
Bermudaonion’s Weblog
Blogging ‘bout Books
books i done read
Books of Mee
BooksPlease
Care's Online Bookclub
Fizzy Thoughts
It's All About Books
Just Add Books
Page After Page
Reading Adventures
Rebecca Reads
S. Krishna's Books
Stuff as Dreams Are Made On
The Bluestocking Society
The Biblio Brat
The Book Zombie
The Hidden Side of a Leaf
The Written World
Things Mean A Lot
(Let me know if I have missed yours.)