Friday 4 July 2008

My favourite book


My favourite book is Skellig by David Almond. It’s a wonderful children's book, and I’ve read it two or three times. I’m reading it to my son at the moment and he seems to be loving it as much as I do. It’s realistic, but fantastical, harsh but tender. David Almond’s writing is powerful. Not one word is redundant. The character of Skellig is so different from any other I’ve encountered. He’s so mysterious. The book is set in the North East of England and the characters have North East speech mannerisms, which I can identify with, but it’s Almond's attention to detail which makes me marvel. What's your favourite book? What makes it special?

8 comments:

Judy said...

Hi Dorothy,
I love reading your blogs and learning about the differences in reading among countries.
I will have to ask my daughter what her favorite book was a young child. She read so much (like her mom) that my answer is would be "too many to list" and all for different reasons.

Take care,
Judy
http://www.localfoodconnections.com

Martin Stickland said...

Hello Dorothy,

I would like to write a book and am glad I came across your blog (some useful tips!)

Today Devon is wet but I suppose it is Summertime so what can we expect!

have a great weekend!

Kind regards

Martin

Carma Dutra said...

Hey Dorothy,
I just picked up Skellig from my library and look forward to reading it.

Carma
http://carmaswindow.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Hi Dorothy,
Thanks for your comment on my blog.

David Almond is my soul author - have you read his latest, SAVAGE illustrated by Dave McKean?
Born to be together...

Alex said...

I just found your blog, it'd awesome! Skellig is one of my favorite books, also.

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Unknown said...

Hi Dorothy

If the complete works of A A Milne is my bible, my god is David Almond. I have been writing for young adults for the past two years, even sold my house to feed my addiction. I've got close to being published twice. And one of the things I'm most proud of is the letter from Maggie Noach (David Almond's agent) to say she liked my work and would like to see more. Maggie Noach died two months before my novel was ready to send to her.

This week, after a couple of months of soul searching following a pretty big rejection, I decided to put the writing aside. The money from the house is gone. I need to grow up and get a proper job. Then yesterday, I heard a certain song again. It was to be the title to my next book. And then today, I found your blog in a very roundabout way. I will find time to write. If nothing more, I need to come up with some pretty good fiction for my CV.

Leila said...

If you like David Almond, I strongly recommend Alan Garner's books (try Elidor) or Crowboy by David Calcutt.