For the next two weeks we are running a "campaign to celebrate teen reading groups and ":/news/teen-reading-group-campaign/celebrating-young-peoples-reading-groups.html bringing you lots of great free offers from publishers. We know the great things that happen when teenagers come together to talk about and share reading but we’re not sure enough other people do – hence our campaign.
So we are really thrilled to have this blog post from Jonathan Iceton who is taking part in our Reading Activists programme in Gateshead Central Library. Thanks so much Jonathan – your blog #rocks and we think teenagers are nice too!
The teen book group at Gateshead Central Library is very hard to sum up in a few words. I can certainly say that it’s amazing, and every attendee loves it to bits, but to fully commemorate it duly is quite difficult to do. However, I will try to do it justice.
The books we get are always fantastic, there hasn’t been one that I’ve read fully and not enjoyed at least a little bit, and the best can put you into fits of both laughter and tears. I believe that reading is an essential part of life, and encouraging teens to do this is a great thing for the library to do, as this is not necessarily something that is part of every teenager’s life. Especially in the stereotypical public eye, it’s good to promote teenagers as people who add just as much to the community. We’re quite nice really, honest!
The amazing group of people who attend have grown to be my best friends, from people that I honestly didn’t know when I joined. Everyone gets on really well (even if we’re a little weird at times) and the group is continuing to grow both literally and metaphorically. The atmosphere is great, and book club is a place where we can all be ourselves, and we don’t need to be worried about what people think, which helps us to not just keep ourselves to ourselves, but keep us with the people who accept us for who we are.
And then of course, there is Andy. The amazing guy, who somehow has managed to put up with us for this long, and miraculously managed to keep his sanity. He comes up with activities related to the book each month, and he is just as much “one of the gang” as any of us.
Also, we at book club put on an event every now and again, for example we had an event about The Hunger Games, and the Fright before Christmas. We plan the events, with Andy’s help. We usually create a short film, starring us, and then act out on the evening too. I think that, as well as being great fun, this helps to boost individuality and creativeness. Oh, and the snacks we get are really nice too.
But yes, book club is a fantastic thing to do, in a fantastic place, run by a fantastic librarian. I would sincerely recommend it to anyone with a vague interest in books, if you enjoy it as much as I do, you’ll never want to leave.
Get involved
Share your stories about your reading groups on #teenreadinggroups – tell us why you like them in 140 characters and I’m sure we can dig out a prize for the best one.
Read more about our Reading Activists programme and find out if there’s a group near you.
Join Reading Groups for Everyone and then “add your reading group” so that you can get things like free books and visits from authors writing Young Adult books
Read more about our young people’s reading groups campaign and freebies we are giving away each day from now until 29 June – National Reading Group Day.
