Jess has books and will travel - to Ryedale
23 May 2012..... Bookworm Jess Haigh from Burley with her travelling suitcase library.
BOOK Elf Jess Haigh has come up with a novel way to get more people reading.
She has created a travelling library in the form of a suitcase full of books that she gives away for free at events across the county.
Jess, 28, will be taking part in Ryedale Book Festival’s World Book Day event tomorrow, Thursday, March 7, in Malton, in a bid to bring books to different social spaces like pubs, bars and cafes.
She set up the Travelling Suitcase Library three years ago to meet people who were as enthusiastic about books as she was. Since February 2010 she has taken part in numerous festivals and events across Yorkshire.
However, Jess, who is currently doing a masters degree in Information Studies and Library Management at Northumbria University, shies away from the traditional reading group event.
She said: “I’ve been in a few book clubs and find the idea of taking it in turns to talk about a specific book quite stifling, although that may work for some people.
“My aim is to make reading and talking about reading acceptable so that when I talk about books I’m reading to friends, I don’t get the usual round of ‘Oh God, you’re so clever, reading so much.
“Someone watches ten hours of TV a week or goes to the cinema a couple of times a month and it’s completely normal and people talk about it openly. I read three books a week and am somehow seen as some sort of freak.”
Her own personal favourites include I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith and anything by Jane Austen and Amy Tan.
Other popular themed book events she holds include the popular My Guilty Pleasure swaps where readers exchange books more associated with enjoyment and less with literary merit.
The Ryedale Festival World Book Day event with Jess Haigh and other authors takes place at the Old Lodge Hotel, Malton tomorrow at 7pm. Tickets £4 on the door.
For more information go to www.ryedalebookfestival.com
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Weather for Malton
Wednesday 19 June 2013
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