Read the Books You Have

It might be the product of following so many book blogs, or perhaps the perceived challenge of a new as yet unfilled book case. It might even be the propensity to wander book stores when left unsupervised, or Amazon's 'recommended for you' section designed to separate you from your hard earned cash.

A Word on Libraries

A speech made by Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials, on the closing of public libraries due to public sector cuts being forced on local authorities has been pinging about the internet since its publication on False Economy on Tuesday. Pullman is the perfect spokesperson for many literary-related causes, an none more so than this one. He is articulate and I reccomend having a read through his relativly lenglthy speech as he touched on many things whoch apply to our funding of community programmes in general, not just the arts.  He also touches on the subject of the unregulated free market which has gotten the world into this mess from the Chicago School of Economics and for further information on this you could do worse that Naomi Klein's lecture The Schock Doctrine which I've pasted below. (You can also go here to dowload the mp3).