I love reading aloud. It's something I've enjoyed ever since my second year at University, when my housemates and I used to settle ourselves down in one of our bedrooms with mugs of tea and a double-pack of bourbon biscuits, and we would take it in turns to read to one another. We read Lady Chatterley's Lover (which almost redeemed Lawrence for me after I'd learned to hate him at school), Douglas Adams's The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest... I'm sure there were other books as well. It was a series of magical moments of sharing reading pleasure, the kind of experience which leaves a warm fuzzy imprint in one's mind.

After university I got out of the habit, but when I moved in with Gill I took it up again. During our first few months in our squat in Leytonstone we (mainly I) read Clive Barker's Damnation Game. Later our reading tailed off: I whizzed through a few of the Viriconium Nights before Gill left me for a three-month trip to India. We polished off the whole of Midnight's Children while living in Hounslow and East Ham. In a tent near Porlock, I struggled to read 1982, Janine to a five-month pregnant Gill but its bleak, repetitive subject matter, frequent drifts into experimental typography and the fact that Gill kept dozing off meant that we never reached the end. And since then, I've read bits and pieces but other than short stories very little of it seems to sink in; Gill can rarely stay awake for more than a couple of pages and many a wonderful Alexi Sayle yarn has been spoiled by the need to re-iterate the punchline the following morning.

Of course I do a lot of reading to the kids nowadays. Lola (4) is still on picture books but I can see her progressing onto something a little more mentally demanding during the next year (I have some Moomin books stashed away which Rowan refuses to let me read: I'm sure Lola will be more accomodating). Rowan (9) almost grew out of being read to, but seems to be enjoying it again now even though her late-night TV-watching habits combined with my random lifestyle mean that I only get to read to her about once a fortnight. Reading to her has been a wonderful excuse for me to revisit my childhood (which, of course, is nothing like I remembered it at the time) and to read a few kids books that I like the sound of. The Harry Potter books were fun at first, but before very long their repetitive structure became tiresome. The Hobbit seemed to have a huge vacuum at its centre, but I think that what was missing was my eight year-old self. The Lord of the Rings was fun to come back to after twenty years: Tolkien's worldview and politics seemed much less appealing, but the Anglicised landscapes he paints over several pages, which had so bored my young self, now seemed beautiful enough to stand alone. I also revisited Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit - both have stood the test of time particularly well, especially the latter.

But I really would like to read grown up books to other grown ups who can listen, stay awake and chat about them afterwards.

A while ago I wondered about offering my services to Old Peoples' Homes: people in there must often get so bored in between the weekly/monthly/whatever visits from distant relatives, and I'm sure that some of those with poor eyesight would appreciate it (though of course I'd have to be careful about what I read: strictly no Barbara Taylor Bradford. I guess they might appreciate hearing some of the classics, which would also be a good excuse for me to read some of the many books and writers [e.g. Dickens] who I am almost totally ignorant of).

Back to 1988 I saw a film, La Lectrice, at the Arnolfini in Bristol, I think it may have been the first foreign film I ever saw at the cinema and it really captured my imagination. The film is about a woman who loves reading aloud, and she decides to offer her service as a reader, picking up a fascinating string of clients (including a nutty old socialist general's widow, played by a very old María Casares who I recently saw in a very different light, as a stunning dominatrix in Jean Cocteau's 1949 film Orphée). The two stories gelled in my head and I wondered whether I should perhaps do the same thing as La Lectrice: advertise my services and see whether I end up with my own crazy eccentric string of clients. It would certainly be interesting. At the moment, all sorts of thoughts are preventing me from doing either this or the old peoples' home gig: how will I find the time to do it (reading a whole novel aloud can take quite a while, and is something which demands to done in frequent sessions), do I have the confidence... help! But, there's no denying it, it would be interesting.

So, do you like reading aloud? Or being read to? Would you like me to read you a story?

Both.

A well read story is a real pleasure.

It's also no secret I like the sound of my own voice.

But the most fun of all is making up stories on the fly. I try and do it for the boy (3 3/4) and even a basic story is tough to figure out whilst you're telling it.

You start to understand the reasoning behind set pieces like 'Once upon a time in a.....' and things like ' a deep .... dark .... dank .... dungeon' - It gives you time to think and come up with the next bit.

It helps that the boy always wants to hear an 'Erik the Hermit Crab' story, and we have a big cast of alliterative characters (Sharon Shrimp, Richard the Rock Lobster, Annie the Anemone etc) to help out in his escapades and adventures.

Some stories are (much) better than others. Sometimes I have to fob him off with two storybooks because my brain simply won't engage into storytelling mode.

I like reading aloud, I think it's good practice just in case of any public-oration situations cropping up. And everyone's a bit of an egomaniac at heart, aren't they? Or is that just me loving the sound of m own voice?! Being read to, I loved as a kid, but now that I'm a "grown up", it still has the same effect... makes me sleepy! That said, you can't beat a book on tape/CD for a long car/train/airplane journey (esp. if Stephen Fry's reading!)

I was never any good at reading aloud...always got tongue-tied....

Dan, you say that you have thought about reading to the elderly....have you ever thought of getting in touch with the RNIB about "talking books" ~ tapes of books for the blind? They include children's books, so you could read Moomin to your heart's content?

Whatever you decide to do, I'm sure it'll be really worthwhile, and will give much pleasure to many, and also to yourself.

Originally posted by Phanerothyme
But the most fun of all is making up stories on the fly. I try and do it for the boy (3 3/4) and even a basic story is tough to figure out whilst you're telling it.
Yes, I did that a few times for Rowan when she was about 3, but I haven't really tried since because it is so hard. I really ought to though - perhaps I'll give it a go tonight :)

I have very fond memories from when I was young of my grandpa (http://www.sumption.org/obit.html) making up stories for me, my sister and our cousins. They were all about a boy called Montmorancy, who spoke with a lithp. Grandpa used to sit in his big swivelling-chair and we would sit around him eager to hear more. Every time we went around there we'd beg for more Montmorancy stories. My dad talked about getting some of them published after he died - apparently he had a few written down.

I hate listening to people reading out aloud, and dislike doing it myself. I don't like the orchestrated pauses and the tounge wetting the lips from time to time (slop, slop).

Whispering it is far worse though...

I find I read a lot faster than people can read outloud, listening to someone read takes to long, I want the next bit of thre story NOW !

"I love reading aloud. It's something I've enjoyed ever since my second year at University, when my housemates and I used to settle ourselves down in one of our bedrooms with mugs of tea and a double-pack of bourbon biscuits, and we would take it in turns to read to one another."

I wonder if students still do this kind of thing, I'm guessing not.

Originally posted by nick2
I find I read a lot faster than people can read outloud, listening to someone read takes to long, I want the next bit of thre story NOW !
For about ten years I rather went off reading, especially "serious" fiction. I finally realised, when reading Joris Karl Huysman's A Rebours (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140447636/sumptionorg-21) which a friend had recommended, that this was because I was reading too fast. I was still reading books at the rate I had when I was a teenager devouring pulp science fiction, but to really take in ideas from a book it seems you have to give the words time to infuse in your mind. In this respect, I think The Slow Movement (http://www.slowmovement.com/) have got it spot on. I read A Rebours very slowly, and was amazed how much of a difference it made to my enjoyment of the book.

Since then I've tried to read things in my head at approximately speaking speed, even speaking them aloud with an inner voice. Doing that also means that sentences almost automatically make sense, I don't find myself reading complex ones over and over to try and figure out the meaning. However I am, by nature, a hurrier, and it is very hard to always force myself to go "against nature". Which is another reason why I like reading aloud: it forces me to go slow.

Reading aloud is so enjoyable. I read poetry aloud to my partner when he's in the bath - talk about a captive audience!

Reading aloud to kids should be compulsory. It is part of the building blocks of understanding language. One trick by which you can engage children in this exercise, is to get each child (in a small group of kids) to say the name of an object, person or place. For example, the kids might think of moon, knife, seaside and granddad. You then make up a story on the spot, ensuring that you incorporate the chosen words in the narrative. Kids love it when you mention their particular word, and tend to be an attentive audience. Making up a story on the spot is not as difficult as it may sound.

Don - I've read poetry to residents in elderly people's homes and day centres. I would recommend you volunteer your services, but keep to short stories rather than a long novel.

Red

Nick2 - why do you doubt that students still do things like that? We're not all marauding mobs of drunkards you know!

My dad used to read me and my sister the lord of the rings a bit at a time at night when he got home from work. It took him years!

I have recently bought stephen fry reading his own novel hippopotamus, for those long summer evenings. Haven't started listening to it yet though.

Originally posted by kathythebean
My dad used to read me and my sister the lord of the rings a bit at a time at night when he got home from work. It took him years!
:) Took me 9 months to read to Rowan, she was six at the time. As soon as we got out of the cinema after seeing the first film, she said "I want you to read me the rest of the book so I know what happens next". I refused, said I would read her the Hobbit and if she liked that then we'd try the Lord of the Rings, from the beginning. She stuck her ground for a week or two then eventually asked me to read the Hobbit. We polished that off in a few weeks, then started off on the Lord of the Rings, and to her credit she sat there night after night, listening to the whole bloody thing, even though she didn't understand half of the words (I've found that reading aloud to kids is a great way of expanding their vocabulary, as you can stop and explain words which you think they may not know, whereas if they read the books themselves there is zilch chance of them consulting a dictionary). She developed a running joke, any time anyone stooped she would tell them to watch out or they'd get kicked in the bum. You'd be amazed how often people stoop in the Lord of the Rings!

We finally finished it, just in time for her 7th birthday. I think there was a bit of relief at finally getting it over and done with, but she remained attentive until the end, and was happy to discuss quite complex aspects of the story with me.

My parents always read to me at night, it's what started my love of books. I remember my dad reading Animal Farm to me when I was nine or ten. It's such a good way for parents and children to bond, and for children to learn without even realising it.

I've recently tried to slow down the rate that I read at, so that I can appreciate the language and style etc more, and not just race through - reading for the plot. I find that reading out loud really helps with this, it forces you to slow down, so you absorb more. If I come to a phrase that I particularly like I always say it out loud.

Poetry should definately be read out, as should plays, and it can really help you to understand someone like Shakespeare a lot better.

Originally posted by Rebecca
I remember my dad reading Animal Farm to me when I was nine or ten.
That's the one I'm trying to persuade Rowan she wants to hear at the moment. She's having none of it.

I was an art student many years ago and shared a house with another chap and two lovely girls. We used to read plays, sharing the parts between us. 'Look Back In Anger' was our tour de force, I always got the part of Jimmy Porter because I was 'cynical and bolshie', apparently! I still have a cassette tape of our 'performances' (fuelled by nothing more than tea and biscuits). I can hardly bear to listen to it, and haven't for years. I want to 'beam' back there, Star Trek style.

As a primary school teacher, I read stories to my class every day. My current favourite is, 'Who's In The Shed?' - plenty of scope for outlandish animal impressions.

A few years ago now, I lived with a woman who had three children, the youngest of whom used to enjoy Enid Blyton's, 'The Magic Faraway Tree'. I found it unfathomable and couldn't really see why she loved it so much, but I treasure the memory of reading it to her.

Reading a story/play/poem with or to another person is an intensely intimate act. At the time, it's just an ordinary thing to do, but when you think back....................I think I'm off for a good cry!

I love reading and have no problem with people reading aloud but I can't do it myself - literally! I had a vicious teacher in Junior School who told me 'stop making those stupid clacking noises in between words'! I guess I was a bit nervous and kept swallowing while I was reading, I have NEVER got over the humiliation. When I went to comprehensive school I'd get put in detention because I would refuse to read out loud in class and to this day my throat seizes up if I try and read to someone (children being the exception) and I physically can't read. Thanks a lot Mrs. Lloyd, you gave me a life long phobia:(

I read to both of my children every night when they were small. One day, when my girl was about ten, she declared that she was too old for such foolishness, and went to her room.

I continued to read to her brother, but I noticed that she always opened her door, then got into bed and was very quiet. Obviously listening to the story. :hihi:

My grandmother read to us all the time as kids. I especially liked Great Expectations, although Miss Havisham scared me. Mostly because we had a crazy neighbor lady who looked and acted just like her!

:) Sierra

Reading plays: about 15 years ago, I read Ubu Roi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubu_Roi) to a group of friends, using different silly voices for each character (not the entire Russian and Polish armies, obviously). It was brilliant fun, but I'm not quite sure how I did it as I've never been able to conjure up and remember such a wide range of voices since then.

Bizarrely, ten years later my best friend, who I had been reading to, married a relative of Alfred Jarry, the author of Ubu Roi. I was best man, and worked this into my speech. I said, in French, "many years ago, I read Ubu Roi to Ed, and so when I heard that he was marrying one of the author's descendents I went back to that play to see whether I could find any inspiration for this speech. I got as far as the first word and decided perhaps it would not be appropriate".

(The first word is, very famously, "Merdre!" or in the rather coy English translation "Pschitt!")

Nowadays, I am a member of a drama group (http://www.nextbestthingproductions.com/) and we do quite a few play readings, though I usually only play one part :)

PS Tulip: I'm shocked to hear what your teacher said to you, really sorry at the affect this has had on your reading confidence.

I like to go to a big field and sing out the words, in the past i've had decnt crowds gather round to listen to my beautiful voice.:loopy:

Originally posted by BorisMarakas
I like to go to a big field and sing out the words
Actually, another thing I've discovered about reading in my head, and trying to make more sense of the words, is that certain types of music help with this a lot. Hip Hop seems to be one of the best: if I put on some Hip Hop music and then read a book in time with the music, making little rhymes of them in my head as I go along (actually, it's surprising how many rhymes arise this way) then it keeps my attention on what I'm reading and ideas do seem to sink in surprisingly easily.

I'm far too shy to try it with an audience though :)

I hate reading aloud but quite like listening to other people doing it. I concentrate that much on doing it properly I don't appreciate what I'm reading.

I used to know a girl who had quite simply the sexiest voice I've ever heard, sort of like the Caramel bunny crossed with Mariella Frostrup. If I'd had enough money I would have employed her on a lifetime contract to read to me every evening. If you're going to ask why I didn't marry her, she was absolutely stunning as well so I never stood a chance!

I absolutley adore being read to. But I dont seem to have had that much luck talking boyfriends into doing it. I read alot myself but its much better if someone else does it for you - especailly in bed. Would be a very happy lass if I could bag a boy like that!!