Book Club 📚
This is a charming book, Alan Bennett is a national treasure and I have yet to read anything by him that I haven’t loved. He also makes fantastic audio books, Talking Heads is especially good if you are looking for a restful listen.
In ‘The Uncommon Reader’ the Queen discovers a mobile library while walking her corgis, this discovery sets to change her and these changes cause great consternation to the courtiers!
To be polite - she takes a book recommended to her by the man running the mobile library. She also befriends a kitchen boy (Norman) with a love of reading. The first book doesn’t quite do it for her, but Norman offers her something else. From her first false start with reading - this next choice sparks a real love of sitting with a book. With the help of her aide Norman she tries a wealth of new books! Norman even gets promoted from Kitchen boy to footman.
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Eventually, we see Norman become a fixture who guides the Queen’s reading, this does not go down well with the palace. In fact no one, including the corgis, approves of the Queen’s new found love of reading. The corgis regularly ruin her books so they can get more attention from her!
The cast of characters that surrounds the Queen are so well written, I enjoyed them all. Alan Bennett writes so well and that makes the story seem so real and plausible — which I really liked.
My major take away from this book was how finding a new passion can impact a sense of duty and even make one evaluate their life. For me this was a great moral in how education really matters and offers a chance to broaden horizons.
I thoroughly recommend this, it is a joy to read!
Yours in Reading,
Your DON Bookworm
