Quick Reads 2015 ideas pack
Introduction This short pack provides background to Quick Reads, information about the 2015 campaign, useful web links, and suggestions for how you might use and promote Quick Reads 2015. If you have any particular tips and suggestions for how to make the most of the Quick Reads titles, then please email [email protected] and we will add these to the pack.
About Quick Reads 2015 Quick Reads are bite-sized, new books written by bestselling writers and celebrities to help people discover the joys of reading for pleasure. They are perfect for engaging people with reading as they are short and use clear language but still have fast-paced, brilliant storylines. Quick Reads are suitable for adults with a reading age of around nine or ten, but can be read by anyone looking for a short and satisfying read. Quick Reads are ideal for adults with low literacy skills, ESOL learners, reluctant readers, learners with learning difficulties/disabilities, and those at risk from social exclusion including the prison population and homeless people. They are also great for busy people and for people who have fallen out of the habit of reading.
Once again the Quick Reads titles are very varied, with something for everyone. The six 2015 titles are: Roddy Doyle Dead Man Talking (Random House) Jojo Moyes Paris for Two One (Penguin) Sophie Hannah Pictures Or It Didn't Happen (Hodder and Stoughton) Fanny Blake Red for Revenge (Orion) Adèle Geras Out of the Dark (Quercus) James Bowen Street Cat Bob (Hodder and Stoughton)
Quick Reads 2015 ideas pack
Dead Man Talking by Roddy Doyle (Random House) Pat had been best friends with Joe Murphy since they were kids. But five years ago they had a fight. A big one, and they haven’t spoken since --- till the day before Joe’s funeral. What? On the day before his funeral Joe would be dead, wouldn’t he? Yes, he would… Of the book Doyle writes: ‘I started to write a story about a man who was pretending to be dead. But as I wrote, it changed and I realised I was writing about death. I wanted the story to be funny and a bit frightening because, while it’s often frightening, death is rarely funny - and I wanted the challenge.'
About the author Roddy Doyle was born in Dublin in 1958. He is the author of ten acclaimed novels including the Barrytown Trilogy (The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van), two collections of short stories, Rory & Ita, a memoir about his parents and most recently, The Guts, which won the Novel of the Year Award at the Irish Book Awards 2013. He won the Booker Prize in 1993 for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. In 2009, he co-founded Fighting Words, a writing centre for children and young people, in Dublin. He has written two books for the Open Door series. His most recent book, published in September 2014, is Two More Pints. Also, in 2014, he co-wrote The Second Half, with Roy Keane.
Paris for Two One by Jojo Moyes (Michael Joseph) Nell is twenty-six and has never been to Paris. She has never even been on a weekend away with her boyfriend. Everyone knows she is just not the adventurous type. But, when her boyfriend doesn’t turn up for their romantic mini-break, Nell has the chance to prove everyone wrong. Alone in Paris, Nell meets the mysterious moped riding Fabien and his group of care free friends. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life?
About the author Jojo Moyes is a novelist and a journalist. She worked at the Independent for ten years before leaving to write full time. Her previous novels have all been critically acclaimed and include The Ship of Brides, Foreign Fruit, The Last Letter from Your Lover, The Girl You Left Behind, international number one bestseller Me Before You and most recently the number one bestseller The One Plus One. She lives in Essex with her husband and their three children.
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Quick Reads 2015 ideas pack
Pictures Or It Didn’t Happen by Sophie Hannah (Hodder & Stoughton Would you trust a complete stranger? After Chloe and her daughter Freya are rescued from disaster by a man who seems too good to be true, Chloe decides she must find him again to thank him. But instead of meeting her knight in shining armour, she comes across a woman called Nadine Caspian who warns her to stay well away from him. The man is dangerous, Nadine claims, and a compulsive liar. Alarmed, Chloe asks her what she means, but Nadine will say no more. Chloe knows that the sensible choice would be to walk away – after all, she doesn't know anything about this man. But she is too curious. What could Nadine have meant? And can Chloe find out the truth without putting herself and her daughter in danger?
About the author As well as writing psychological thrillers, Sophie Hannah is a bestselling poet and an award-winning short story writer. The Other Half Lives was shortlisted for the Independent Booksellers' Book of the Year Award and a Barry Award and her most recent psychological thriller, The Carrier, won the 2013 Specsavers National Book Award for Crime Novel of the Year. The Point of Rescue and The Other Half Lives were adapted for television as ‘Case Sensitive’, starring Olivia Williams and Darren Boyd. Sophie has been commissioned by the estate of Agatha Christie to write the first Hercule Poirot novel since Christie's death, The Monogram Murders.
Red for Revenge by Fanny Blake (Orion)
Two women, one man: code red for revenge... Maggie is married with two grown-up children. Her twenty-five year-old marriage to Phil has lost its sparkle. Carla is widowed. She understands life is short so she lives it to the full. But is her new romance all that it seems? When the two women meet in the beauty salon, they soon find they have more in common than the colour of their nails. The discovery that they are sharing the same man is shocking. How will Phil be taught a lesson or two he won’t forget?
About the Author Fanny Blake was a publisher for many years, editing both fiction and non-fiction before becoming a freelance journalist and writer. She has written various non-fiction titles, acted as ghost writer for a number of celebrities, and is also Books’ Editor of Woman & Home magazine. To find out more visit Facebook/ Fanny Blake or follow her on Twitter @FannyBlake1
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Quick Reads 2015 ideas pack
Out of the Dark by Adele Geras (Quercus) Rob Stone comes back from the horrors of the First World War with a ruined face and a broken heart. Lonely, unable to forget the things he has seen, and haunted by the ghost of his dead captain, all that Rob has left is a picture of the captain’s family. Rob sets out to find them, hoping that by giving them the picture, he can bring peace to the captain’s ghost – and to his own troubled heart.
About the author Adele Geras was born in Jerusalem in 1944 and spent her early childhood in many different countries including Cyprus, Nigeria and Tanzania. She went to boarding school in England in 1955 and graduated from Oxford University in 1966. She worked as an actress, a singer and a teacher before becoming a full-time writer in 1976: since then she has published more than ninety books for children, young adults and adults. She lives in Cambridge.
Street Cat Bob by James Bowen (Hodder & Stoughton) When James Bowen found an injured street cat in the hallway of his sheltered housing, he had no idea just how much his life was about to change. James had been living on the streets of London and the last thing he needed was a pet. Yet James couldn’t resist the clever tom cat, whom he quickly named Bob. Soon the two were best friends, and their funny and sometimes dangerous adventures would change both their lives, slowly healing the scars of each other’s troubled pasts. Street Cat Bob is a moving and uplifting story that will touch the heart of anyone who reads it.
About the author James Bowen is a street musician in London. He found Bob the cat in 2007 and the pair have been inseparable ever since.
There is also a variety of Quick Reads books available from previous years. Please visit the Quick Reads website (http://www.quickreads.org.uk) for full details of the new and backlist titles.
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Quick Reads 2015 ideas pack
Quick Reads in libraries Since the launch of Quick Reads in 2006, 3.9 million books* have been loaned through libraries. Libraries are not only a great place to promote the new titles but they also stock the backlist Quick Reads titles.
You can buy the Quick Reads 2015 titles from your library supplier. If you ordered Quick Reads promotional material (posters and bookmarks) through The Reading Agency shop, you can use these to make attractive face-out displays of the books. You can also download and print additional posters at different sizes, as well as a blank poster to customise for your own purposes, from the Quick Reads website here: (http://www.quickreads.org.uk/resources ). You can also download the Quick Reads logos here. *PLR figures 2014
Displays Here are some of the ways in which you can promote the Quick Reads books: Create a dedicated Quick Reads display using the six new titles. Make sure that the display is prominently positioned in your library. Consider making use of foyers as well as creating a display in council or other partners’ premises, such as colleges or children’s centres. Use the backlist titles. Libraries are the only places where a range of backlist titles are available so why not add these to your display too? Keep things fresh. We will alert you to news as the initiative progresses which you can use to refresh your display boards. Display books in multiples and ‘face-out’. Again, you will need to keep an eye on refreshing the display. Use shelving and tables. Consider putting reservation cards on the display for books not immediately available. Designate and timetable members of staff to refresh the displays at intervals every day to ensure that they look suitably full and active. Tweet @Quick_Reads with pictures!
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Quick Reads 2015 ideas pack
Staff briefing session If you are working with frontline staff to promote Quick Reads, you may want to consider running a staff briefing session in which you could:
Provide background to Quick Reads 2015, including its aims, the 2015 titles and PLR figures Encourage staff to tell readers about Quick Reads 2015 Highlight to staff the many ways in which Quick Reads are used and the range of adults they could be suitable for Suggest staff bookmark the Quick Reads website (http://www.quickreads.org.uk/) Encourage staff to make face-out displays of the books Suggest staff review a Quick Reads title each and make a display with the review
Events Launching Quick Reads in your library is a great opportunity to organise events. Here are some ideas of simple community events:
Hold a late-night opening with wine/nibbles – organise an evening with a party feel where you offer drinks and nibbles, plus activities like Quick Reads recommendations, or a discussion of the 2015 titles.
Panel discussion – bring together people who have read different Quick Reads – reading group members, library staff, local councillors or other people from the community – and hold a discussion about the different titles. Conclude it with a vote for the readers’ favourite Quick Read.
Work with another local organisation, such as a local further education college, to organise an event. You could, for example, hold library induction sessions at one of your branches, introducing new library members to the 2015 Quick Reads, and the range of library stock and reading activities.
You could also try to inform high-profile figures from the community, or local council members, of events, and link events to the Six Book Challenge (see below) or World Book Night.
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Quick Reads 2015 ideas pack
Reading groups Why not get reading groups for adult learners or emergent readers to read one of the new Quick Reads titles together? We would love to hear what reading groups think of each title, and will publish a selection of reviews on Reading Groups for Everyone: www.readinggroups.org. Please email [email protected] with your reviews.
In the back of each Quick Read there are questions to help stimulate reading group discussions. There will also be supporting resources available to download, prepared by NIACE, the British Council, ESOL, Nexus and BBC Skillswise. These will be available closer to launch.
Here are some examples of Quick Reads reading groups in a variety of settings: Daytime reading group for parents of pre-school children, hosted in the children’s section of the library ESOL-specific reading groups A college for adults with severe and complex learning difficulties A drug and alcohol support drop-in centre A stroke recovery group, whose members find that their concentration and memory has been impacted by illness and need shorter, simple books to reengage with reading
Six Book Challenge
Quick Reads continue to be the most popular titles with participants in the Reading Agency’s Six Book Challenge. For Mark Bailey, a cleaner at Merseytravel, they were the first books he had read as an adult. You can also add your reviews of Quick Reads titles to the Six Book Challenge website: http://sixbookchallenge.org.uk/ Six Book Challenge materials are available to order from The Reading Agency shop.
World Book Night World Book Night takes place on 23 April 2015 and is a great chance for readers who have tried and enjoyed Quick Reads to read something new. In 2015 the World Book Night selection includes three Quick Reads titles – two from this year: Dead Man Talking by Roddy Doyle and Street Cat Bob by James Bowen; and an earlier title, Chickenfeed by Minette Walters.
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Quick Reads 2015 ideas pack
If you’d like to apply to be a World Book Night volunteer, visit the website and sign up before 30 January 2015 www.worldbooknight.org/get-involved
Here are some ways in which previous World Book Night givers have used Quick Reads:
‘Accepting items from a food bank can sometimes be a humiliating and humbling experience for individuals and their families and hopefully, by giving away these books, we will be able to turn this into a more positive experience and as a conversation starter for those people who may be quite uncomfortable entering the food bank for the first time.’
‘I have chosen a Quick Reads book as these are written in a language that is easy to understand. This year I would specifically like to target men. This would include men at the Sheffield Alcohol Support Service and workers in a local restaurant.’
‘There were many within the community who said they wouldn't come in to read as they didn't like reading or the books were too long. Many of those that told us this were men. This year we would like to target those non-readers using more 'male' books and Quick Reads to tempt them back into reading and into the library.’
‘A high amount of people pass through the sports centre where the library has recently located who claim not to read. I want to give out Quick Reads, to show even those most reluctant (users of the gym facilities) that you benefit from and can always fit in time to read.’
‘Literacy in mental healthcare environments is traditionally lower than in the wider community, and we believe it is our duty to improve literacy levels by providing entry-level reading materials for adults, and to promote reading as a pleasurable activity. Quick Reads is ideally suited to this purpose.’
‘We are always discussing children's reading with parents. The gift of a book may encourage parents to read as well. Children seeing a reading culture in the home will naturally pick up a book.’
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Quick Reads 2015 ideas pack
Quick Reads online
Visit the Quick Reads website – www.quickreads.org.uk If possible, bookmark the site and ensure that staff are familiar with it. Follow Quick Reads on Twitter: @Quick_Reads or use #QuickReads Place the web address and Twitter username on a display board so that it is visible to library visitors. Use your own intranet to make colleagues aware of the initiative. Put a link on your library website. If you have the facilities to record readers talking about their favourite book, please do so, and email a link to [email protected] If you have access to a digital camera, please tweet or email images of your displays, readers holding their favourite book, and Quick Reads events Make a stop-motion trailer for one of the books using Instagram
Please read this article about how Lewisham libraries have used Quick Reads to work with emergent and ESOL readers.
Media profile Quick Reads has been well covered in the media. Below is a snapshot of the coverage from last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdmyoYriMv4
This year’s campaign focused on reading for pleasure and is designed to encourage and inspire the one in three UK adults who do not read for pleasure, to pick up a book.
Quick Reads is working with noted academic Dr Josie Billington from the Centre for Research into Reading, Literature and Society (CRIRLS), to develop a robust piece of research exploring the benefits reading can have on consumers’ overall health and wellbeing.
On launch day (Thursday 5th February) there will be TV broadcast interviews, news stories in the national press and interviews on national and local radio throughout the day.
Quick Reads will also be working with a celebrity ambassador to endorse and support our reading for pleasure message. All will be revealed closer to launch.
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Quick Reads 2015 ideas pack
To maximise the media profile of what you are doing, you may wish to consider some of the following approaches: Keep an eye out for good news stories, such as innovative ways of giving the books or an original event. Negotiate with your local newspaper to run a feature on Quick Reads. Organise a slot on a local radio station which will feature stories about how Quick Reads have introduced reading to readers. This could be combined with the Six Book Challenge or World Book Night. Keep a press pack – this is a great way to monitor the coverage you are getting for your work.
What next? Quick Reads can be promoted throughout the year, through the Six Book Challenge and other initiatives, such as World Book Night on 23 April 2015.
Evaluation We would love to hear more about what you did to promote Quick Reads. Please email [email protected] a short description of any activity you ran around Quick Reads, along with photos or videos.
Key contacts For queries about Quick Reads, please contact [email protected] or karen.mcpherson @readingagency.org.uk For queries about the Six Book Challenge, please contact: [email protected] For queries about World Book Night, please contact: [email protected]
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