Helen / Cumbria Reading Detectives

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I work for Cumbria Libraries and I have a countywide role, taking the lead for Reader Development. I am also the Stock Coordinator for the service. In a nutshell one side of my job is all about getting books into the library and the other side is about finding ways to encourage people to read and enjoy them! I love reading - to the point where I feel "lost" if I don't have a book on the go! I particularly enjoy reading fiction - contemporary mostly, but also classic fiction.

On Lindale Hill Find!

15 March 2010 Whilst working on Reading Detectives, the Grange team decided that they would like to commission a poem about the local area, written by a poet living in Cumbria. We decided that it would be a fitting finale to our work,... Read more or Comment (1 comments)

Thank you!

31 October 2009 The last day of October brings the last day for the Reading Detectives project in its present form, and having just posted my last find I wanted to say a huge thank you...or to be accurate lots of thank yous!... Read more or Comment

The Silent Traveller: A Chinese Artist in Lakeland Find!

31 October 2009 In 1936 Chiang Yee visited the Lake District, staying for 2 weeks in B&Bs around Wasdale and Keswick, and this book, published in 1937 is the journal of his stay. It is one of the most beautiful and amazing pieces... Read more or Comment (1 comments)

Ethel Fisher's West Cumbrian Dialect titles Find!

27 October 2009 Cumbria has its own distinct dialect...or to be more accurate, that should read "dialects" given that there is so much variation between the north, south, east and west of the county! Dialect has already been touched upon in my post about Jacob Polley's Talk of... Read more or Comment (1 comments)

The Embalmer's Book of Recipes by Ann Lingard Find!

27 October 2009 Last week we had two library events with the author, Ann Lingard. Ann was a lecturer and research scientist at the University of Glasgow, before changing career to write and broadcast. She and her husband and a few... Read more or Comment (2 comments)

Nella Last's Peace Find!

27 October 2009 Thanks to the wonderful play Housewife 49, written by and starring Victoria Wood, I think a great many people are now familiar with the war diaries of Nella Last, upon which it was based. However, considerably fewer people may know that a... Read more or Comment

How Hall. Poetry and Memories. A Passion for Ennerdale by Tom Rawling Find!

8 October 2009 Today is National Poetry Day and we had an event at Cockermouth Library this morning, with Michael Baron talking about the Ennerdale Poet, Tom Rowling. Michael has edited, and also written the preface to, How Hall, which has just been published by... Read more or Comment (12 comments)

The Highest House in Wathendale Find!

5 October 2009 The Highest House in Wathendale is a story by Harriet Martineau. Harriet Martineau was one of the most emininet women writers of her day. As well as being a writer she was a philosopher, a sociologist, and political economist, noted for her feminist and abolitionist... Read more or Comment

Excursion to Loweswater. A Lakeland Visit 1865 Find!

29 September 2009 In 1865, Robert and Rachel Jackson of Waterend, Loweswater, wrote to their Quaker friends in Manchester and invited them to come to stay for a weekend. The invitation was accepted with great enthusiasm...by 44 people! Quite a house party by... Read more or Comment

Writing on the Wall Find!

29 September 2009 Writing on the Wall is probably best described as a kind of portfolio or collection of writing arising from a very special creative writing project which ran from 2001 to 2006. It was an international project based on Hadrian's Wall and... Read more or Comment

Beyond Scafell by Alan Robinson Find!

29 September 2009 I think that many of us involved in this project have commented how, were it not for Reading Detectives, we wouldn't have chosen to read particular titles or we would simply have "missed" them altogether by not coming across them.... Read more or Comment

Rogue Herries by Hugh Walpole Find!

29 September 2009 Rogue Herries is the first of four volumes that make up the Herries Chronicle and was published in 1933, with the succeeding titles (Judith Parris, The Fortress and Vanessa) charting the Herries family up until the 20th Century. Set in the 18th Century,... Read more or Comment

Early Recollections of Grange Find!

9 September 2009 I have just finished reading the most delightful piece of writing about Grange over Sands, and regular readers of the Cumbria page on the Reading Detectives website will perhaps recognise it as one of the titles referred to by Mary in her very... Read more or Comment (1 comments)

Talk of the Town Find!

7 September 2009 In preparation for some upcoming events in our libraries with Jacob Polley I have been reading his debut novel, Talk of the Town. Jacob was born in 1975 in Carlisle. He is perhaps better known as a poet. He won the Eric Gegory Award and... Read more or Comment

Mildred Edwards: Our City Our People 1889 - 1978 Memories Find!

4 September 2009 Working for Cumbria Libraries we are fortunate in being able to pick the brains of colleagues with specialisms. Our team of Local Studies librarians have an amazing wealth of knowledge and expertise, and they manage collections which hold all kinds of amazing... Read more or Comment

Haweswater by Sarah Hall Find!

2 September 2009 Today I have been at Ulverston Library where I had arranged an author event with Sarah Hall. Sarah was speaking about her latest novel, How to Paint A Dead Man which has been longlisted for this year's Man... Read more or Comment (1 comments)

Coast to Coast by Jan Minshull Find!

1 September 2009 This find is posted on behalf of one of our group members, Janet. Janet has been busy reading a book called Coast to Coast by Jan Minshull. This is a book about a woman, a wife and a mother, who... Read more or Comment

Anarchists, Angels and wet Bank Holiday Mondays Find!

31 August 2009 Today is August Bank Holiday Monday and true to form, the weather has been vile in south Cumbria! A stiff breeze and patchy showers gave way to an even stiffer wind and a torrential downpour complete with thunder as the day progressed. Having... Read more or Comment

A more unconventional kind of find...? Find!

30 August 2009 You don't get a blog from me in ages then just like buses, three come along at once! The internet is a brilliant tool for any Reading Detective, and it also means that many "finds" can be instantly accessed by... Read more or Comment (2 comments)

Skiddaw Summit by Kathleen Jones Find!

30 August 2009 Many years ago - more years now than I care to recollect! - I decided that I would like to celebrate my birthday by climbing one of Cumbria's highest peaks, and, hopefully achieving the summit! The fact that my birthday is 4... Read more or Comment

Thorstein of the Mere: A Saga of the Northmen in Lakeland Find!

30 August 2009 I can't believe how quickly time passes and I was astounded to discover that a month has passed since I made my first blog entry! I haven't been slacking though, and apart from 2 weeks away on holiday I... Read more or Comment

Lucky 13!

27 July 2009 I work for Cumbria Library Service and I have been co-opted as the 13th member of the Grange over Sands Reading Group for the Reading Detectives project. As this is such an exciting project I like to think that this... Read more or Comment

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