READING THE CITY

In 2006 we put together a list of books, short films, websites, reading activities and performance artists on the theme of reading the city.

The booklist consists of: fiction and poetry; teenage fiction; and teenage graphic novels.

The website list is divided into: websites for project organisers; football; websites for readers; and blogs and discussions.

Activites include: alternative cover; soundscape; flash fiction; urban prayers; the book exchange; every picture tells a story; cities of the imagination; reading on the move; and tales of the city.

The booklist is available on encompass as Reading the City.

You can download the booklet (without the illustrations) here: Reading the City.pdf, or read extracts from a selection of the listed books by downloading the pdf files below:

Brick Lane 

By Monica Ali

The tale of Nazneen, a young Bangladeshi woman trying to make sense of her life in London's gritty Tower Hamlets.
Download: Brick_Lane.pdf

 © Monica Ali 2003. Reproduced with permission of Doubleday.

Cold Water

By Gwendoline Riley

A tale following young bar-girl Carmel and the eccentric cast of memorable characters who inhabit her Manchester twilight dive bar world.

Download: Cold_Water.pdf

© Gwendoline Riley 2003. Reproduced with permission of Curtis Brown Group Ltd.

Junk

By Melvin Burgess

A true-to-life story of two teenagers drawn into the dangerous and destructive world of heroin addiction.

Download: Junk.pdf

Click here for Melvin Burgess - readers' notes and Melvin Burgess - teachers' notes for this text.

© Melvin Burgess 1997. First published by Andersen Press and reproduced with permission of The Random House Group Ltd. 

Bittersweet: New Fiction by black and asian women

Edited by Karen McCarthy

An anthology bringing together a range of new literary talent that offers stories about mothers, sisters, lovers, best friends and brides-to-be. This is an extract of the story 'The Beginning' by Diana Evans.

Download: The Beginning.pdf

Click here for Poems by Patience Agbabi - readers' notes and Poems by Patience Agbabi - teachers' notes.

© Diana Evans 2003. Reproduced with permission of Profile Books.

Sorrelle

By Millie Murray

A novel focussing on the relationship between a black teenage girl and her Asian boyfriend, who have to contend with the tension between thier two communities and hostility from outside.

Download: Sorrelle.pdf  

Click here for Millie Murray - readers' notes and Millie Murray - teachers' notes for this text.

© Millie Murray 1998. Reproduced with permission of The Women's Press.

The Madolescents

By Chrissie Glazebrook

Set in Newcastle, this is the anarchic story of Rowena, a confused teenager working as a funeral parlour make-up artist.

Download: The_Madolescents.pdf

© Chrissie Glazebrook 2001. Published by William Heinemann and reproduced with permission of The Random House Group Ltd.

The Emperor's Babe

By Bernadine Evaristo

A funky and sexy Londinium in AD211 is imaginatively evoked in the story of Zuleika, the feisty daughter of Sudanese immigrants.

Click here for Reader's Notes and Teacher's Notes on this text.

Download: The Emperor's Babe.pdf

© Bernadine Evaristo 2001. Reproduced with permission of Penguin Books.

The Scholar 

By Courttia Newland
A novel set on a violent West London estate. Focusing on two very different teenage cousins, it examines what happens when their worlds collide.

Download: The Scholar.pdf

© Courttia Newland 1998. Reproduced with permission of Abacus.

TWOC

By Graham Joyce

Since the joyriding accident, 15-year-old Matt's life has been hell. Attempting a reconstruction of that tragic day, he finds himself in a parallel world where the outcome of the crash was very different.

Download: TWOC.pdf

Click here to read Graham Joyce - readers' notes and Graham Joyce - teachers' notes.

© Graham Joyce 2005. Reproduced with permission of Faber and Faber Ltd.

Further activities

Readers' Notes based around these Reading the City extracts

Teachers' Notes based around these Reading the City extracts

Reading Group activities