Editing, reading… Oh, and cat-sitting

It’s been an interesting week, so far. Tuesday was our regular Plot Bunnies meeting, where there were, for the second meeting in a row, 12 of us, yesterday I went training and was able to stay for the late, newly created strengthening and conditioning class (think lots of bruise-inducing arm blocks and punished stomach muscles – ouch), and I was able to stay because I was to spend the night with friends in Peacehaven, a little way east of Brighton, who had asked me to cat-sit while they were in California.

What’s our excuse for so many illiterate school leavers?

I’ve been saying this for ages. That too many kids leaving school in the last few years do not have a sufficient level of literacy. But I’ve been digging a bit and the news, when you look for it, is shocking, if not entirely surprising. A study by the University of Sheffield has shown that almost a fifth of teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 have a reading age at or even below that expected of an eleven-year-old.

Been a while, eh?

I know. It’s been a little while since you last heard from me in any great detail. Some may count that a blessing. Anyway, the main reason is that so much has been going on and I’ve hardly known what to write about because by the time I sit down of an evening, I’m often so knackered that all I want to do is read a book.

World Book Night 2012

This year, as some of you already know, I was selected as a giver for World Book Night. I had to choose a total of three out of a possible 25 titles and then the WBN people emailed me to say I’d be giving out copies of my first choice, the fabulous A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

Ignorance and beauty

I found out today that one of my favourite writers, Michèle Roberts, has a new book coming out next month. This is excellent news. It always seems like years between Michèle Roberts books, but her last one, Mud, was published only two years ago.