A world without books - Can you imagine it?
Imagine if you couldn't get hold of the latest Harry Potter book or if you couldn't join in debates over The Da Vinci Code. Or if you couldn't have access to recipes to cook, or movie listings to go to the cinema, or read Heat magazine. Imagine how different your life would be if you couldn't read the newspaper.
Most people have probably not considered what reading means to them. However, being an English and American literature student at the University of Manchester, I am aware of the importance of books in my life and to society as a whole. When I was a child, the tales of Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton and Judy Blume enhanced my life and imagination so much. Fairytales such as Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood have been proven to be crucial to children's understanding of morality. And it is the actual reading and grappling with the stories that encourages this ethical appreciation. After reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe I checked the wardrobe faithfully everyday just in case a magical world would appear! It was this growth of my imagination that reading fuelled which compelled me to study books until degree level and beyond. I relish nothing more than reading and become very involved with certain characters, as I am sure many people do. With the recent hype over the Harry Potter series, reading and books have once again come into the limelight. I know that when Sirrius Black was killed, I was devastated and quietly admit to shedding a tear! Everyone has a personal connection with reading, from reading Harry Potter to Shakespeare to reading movie reviews to the football updates. Well, this is what I thought until some shocking statistics came to my knowledge: two million people in the UK suffer with blindness or visual impairment, and only 5 per cent of books published every year are made available in a format suitable for the visually impaired to read. Also, due to the poor design of 86 per cent of web-sites, blind people are cut off from the wealth of information and communication the internet provides. The web-sites are not incorporated to work with the specialist software visually impaired people need. I encourage you to think about how different your life would be if you had all this cut off from you. However, the visually impaired do have a chance with help from the National Library for the Blind. They hold Europe's largest collection of Braille and Moon books and provide free postal service to the visually impaired. The library adds 700 books to their collection a year, but it costs £730 to produce a single Braille book and they receive no Government funding. They organise many sponsored events, including 'Go Book Bonkers' on World Book Day, March 2, where anyone who sells books on Amazon can donate 10 per cent of profits to the library. I was involved in a gift-wrapping service in bookshops at Christmas, where we offered the service in return for a small donation. So, the next time you pick up a newspaper or a book, whether it is for study or pleasure, take a minute to consider just how lucky you are to have that privilege.
Author: Alison Bramley
Most people have probably not considered what reading means to them. However, being an English and American literature student at the University of Manchester, I am aware of the importance of books in my life and to society as a whole. When I was a child, the tales of Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton and Judy Blume enhanced my life and imagination so much. Fairytales such as Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood have been proven to be crucial to children's understanding of morality. And it is the actual reading and grappling with the stories that encourages this ethical appreciation. After reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe I checked the wardrobe faithfully everyday just in case a magical world would appear! It was this growth of my imagination that reading fuelled which compelled me to study books until degree level and beyond. I relish nothing more than reading and become very involved with certain characters, as I am sure many people do. With the recent hype over the Harry Potter series, reading and books have once again come into the limelight. I know that when Sirrius Black was killed, I was devastated and quietly admit to shedding a tear! Everyone has a personal connection with reading, from reading Harry Potter to Shakespeare to reading movie reviews to the football updates. Well, this is what I thought until some shocking statistics came to my knowledge: two million people in the UK suffer with blindness or visual impairment, and only 5 per cent of books published every year are made available in a format suitable for the visually impaired to read. Also, due to the poor design of 86 per cent of web-sites, blind people are cut off from the wealth of information and communication the internet provides. The web-sites are not incorporated to work with the specialist software visually impaired people need. I encourage you to think about how different your life would be if you had all this cut off from you. However, the visually impaired do have a chance with help from the National Library for the Blind. They hold Europe's largest collection of Braille and Moon books and provide free postal service to the visually impaired. The library adds 700 books to their collection a year, but it costs £730 to produce a single Braille book and they receive no Government funding. They organise many sponsored events, including 'Go Book Bonkers' on World Book Day, March 2, where anyone who sells books on Amazon can donate 10 per cent of profits to the library. I was involved in a gift-wrapping service in bookshops at Christmas, where we offered the service in return for a small donation. So, the next time you pick up a newspaper or a book, whether it is for study or pleasure, take a minute to consider just how lucky you are to have that privilege.
Author: Alison Bramley
Manchester iJourno group
posted by iJourno at 5:40 pm
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