The Best Quick Read of the Year - Creative Industries - Arts and Culture - british Council

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Read Quotes

	The best quick read 2006


	The winner is… Seven Steps to Change Your Life by John Bird

'…I had noticed many times earlier on that if I made a longer interval while reading a book, it often felt sort of awkward to take it up again and carry on with reading from the place I had stopped. I guess, because of the intensity of all other things on my hands when different jobs constantly kept piling up. The books of the series Quick Reads feel quite the reverse in this respect: you start it and soon arrive at the end of the book. The authors, in turn, present a wide choice in terms of topics, plot development lines and character drawing techniques…'

Birute, teacher

		What books did we read?

We read only Quick Reads 2006. Quick Reads project was launched by Prime Minister Tony Blair on World Book Day 2006 to provide fast-paced, bite-sized books by bestselling writers for emergent readers, anyone who had lost the reading habit or simply wanted a short, fast read. Our list for reading included:

			Blackwater by Conn Iggulden
			The Book Boy by Joanna Trollope
			Chickenfeed by Minette Walters
			Don’t Make Me Laugh by Patrick Augustus
			Hell Island by Matthew Reilly
			Screw It, Let’s Do It by Richard Branson
			Seven Steps to Change Your Life by John Bird
			Star Sullivan by Maeve Binchy
			Someone Like Me by Tom Holt
			Team by Mick Dennis
			Thief by Ruth Rendell
			Woman Walks in a Bar by Rowan Coleman

		What is the Quick Read reading group?

	It is a group of people who love reading and talking about books they have read. Everyone in the group reads the same book from the Quick Reads list in an agreed period of time. Then the group meets to talk about it.

		How many people were there in the group?

	There were 34 people in the group, but only half of the group were actively attending the meetings.

		What did we talk about?

	Start with your reaction to the book - did you love it, loathe it or remain indifferent to it? Why? What is the book really about? Does the book have a message? Does the book deserve to be a prize winner?

		Why participate?

			to ensure that your reading in English experience is exciting and motivating
			to read the books by contemporary British authors that are talked about
			to discuss the books you‘ve read with other readers
			to learn more about the UK literature and culture
			to improve your English
			to win prizes

		What happened?

			regular monthly meetings
			reading at least one Quick Reads book a month
			vote on the Best Quick Read of the Year at the end of the project

		Where to get the Quick Reads?

	You can buy the books from the bookshop Uzsienio Knygos (Knygu namai, Gedimino 50, Vilnius)

		How to participate in Quick Reads 2007?

	You can follow the Quick Reads news at http://www.niace.org.uk/quickreads/user/index.php.