Well Read in The Independent

Get Into Reading was the focus of a feature piece called 'Well Read' in Saturday's Independent magazine.

All the way through [the group], McDonnell unobtrusively finds reference points [in Old Man Minick] applicable to everyone in the room. Some lively conversations ensue, from trivial matters, like whether or not people prefer the bedroom window open or closed, to more weighty issues, like the difficulty of sharing a roof, in adulthood, with an aged parent. A couple of times, McDonnell sums up the story so far for a woman who seems to be having trouble following it, and yet from this same woman there later comes a flash of psychological insight. "Is this Mr Minick looking for his wife in his daughter-in-law," she says, astutely. At other times there is much laughter. "He sounds like a bit of all right," says a woman called Elsie of old man Minick, who to his daughter-in-law's consternation spends hours in the bathroom. "I like 'em nice and clean."

This description of a group in action is an extract from the article - you can read it in full here.

Many thanks to all the Get Into Reading group members and facilitators for your help in making this piece happen, and to Lynn Glyn for introducing me to Brian Viner who wrote it.

If you've read the piece and would like to find out more about the project, please email us: info@thereader.org.uk; or call 0151 794 2830.