Sunday, November 09, 2003
Another program last night in 'The Big Read' as the quest continues to find the nation's second favourite book (as Lord of the Rings seems to have taken up residency at pole position since the polls opened). John Humphries film for the merits of To Kill a Mockingbird was the best yet, ignoring all the fancy techniques that other celebs have used and instead relying on his own delivery, passages from the book and stock photos and film from the period. A technique Arabella Weir could have done well to copy as her lightweight push for the merits of Gone With the Wind relied too much on the faffing about of her Scarlett-playing actress, walking down the street barging people out of her way, walking through fields, being photographed in various poses in a police line-up.
Something of an interesting split along gender-lines has developed thus far. With the exception of Claire Short for the women and, to a lesser extent, Phill Jupitus for the men, the ladies thus far have all said something about what the book meant to them personally, while the blokes have tended to claim how good the book is for humanity at large. part of the argument of the women has been, I liked this book, so will you, while the men have been more read this book, it's magnificent. The BBC are collecting some data about voters, so it'll be interesting to see the age split between the male and female championed books at the end of it all.
Something of an interesting split along gender-lines has developed thus far. With the exception of Claire Short for the women and, to a lesser extent, Phill Jupitus for the men, the ladies thus far have all said something about what the book meant to them personally, while the blokes have tended to claim how good the book is for humanity at large. part of the argument of the women has been, I liked this book, so will you, while the men have been more read this book, it's magnificent. The BBC are collecting some data about voters, so it'll be interesting to see the age split between the male and female championed books at the end of it all.
