Daniel Pennac a.k.a Daniel Pennacchioni is a French writer of the series La Saga Malaussène. Nope, I haven't read his work but I DID read 'The Reader's Bill Of Rights' that he put together.
Yes! We, readers have rights too! So without further ado here's the list of OUR rights(Gosh!That feels so cool huh?) -
1. The Right To Not Read - This is something that I have to work hard to believe.We read for pleasure. Because we love it. But sometimes we forget that there are people out there who wish to not do so.We have to learn to respect this.We have to learn that there are lots of people who do not have the time nor the love for books. Yes, books are wonderful things and personally I don't think I'd be able to live without them but there are those who might think otherwise.
This is not just something that applies to non-readers-Some of us, book lovers go through 'reading slumps' where we simply don't feel like reading. Do not feel guilty. It's your right.The right to not read.
2. The Right To Skip Pages - There are two instances where I do this. One, when certain parts of a book feel repetitive and boring-I simply cannot bear to hear the protagonist go on and on about the eye color of that oh-so-swoony guy again. Second, when the book is so good that you simply have to know what happens between Warner and Juliette in Chapter 62. Go on take a peek. It's your right.
3. The Right To Not Finish - Oh yeah, remember that book where the MC goes on about guy next door with the jet black hair and emerald green eyes that makes her knees go weak while the entire universe is about to blown to smithereens by some freaky meteorite thingy?Feel free to put it on your DNF pile without an ounce of guilt. You do have the right.
4. The Right To Reread - The Scottish author, Ali Smith words this particular right perfectly - "You know when you hear a piece of music once, you haven’t heard it properly, you want to hear it again. A well-made book will reward you in exactly the same way as music does, in that you will understand and love a piece. You’ll feel the cadence and depth of it and hear things in it all the time. If you pay it a little more attention, it will reward you, like all art. Like everything, actually." So read again. Again. And Again. Until you cannot do it anymore. Remember, it's your right.
5. The Right To Read Anything - Do you know what my favorite week of the year is? The Banned Books Week.This week celebrates the freedom to read ANY book. Go ahead and buy that censored book, take a peak at your US Weekly magazine or order a bunch of those happily-ever-after romance novels, we promise not be judgmental pricks. It's your right after all.
6. The Right To Escapism - Virginia Wolf says it best. “These moments of escape are not to be despised. They come too seldom.” So go escape into a book and live your life as a princess,a knight,a bandit and a magician for a few hours. Laugh out loud and cry your heart out - You definitely have the right.
7. The Right To Read Anywhere - In bed, by the pool, in the tree house/tent,in your classroom , in the car(not a great idea if you suffer from motion sickness like me), here, there and anywhere. So what's the weird-est place you've read in?
8. The Right To Browse - Those favorite parts in the book that you are reading right now? Go read that again. Give your buddy a chance to browse and pick out their fave parts too. That's right-Have fun!
9. The Right To Read Out Loud - The written word has the power to make you hear, feel and to see. Read aloud and celebrate the power of words!
10. The Right To Not Defend Your Tastes - This one is related to Right #5. Sometimes we see that people are attacked for the books that they read. Don't let anybody's opinion dictate what you should read-there are no right or wrong books. You should not have to justify to anybody as to why you read a particular book. Read whatever you want and please do return the favor by not being a book snob.
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Tell me, what do you think of these set of rights?
So that's all for today!
Excuse me, while I go snuggle up in bed and reread Twilight for the 6th time.Maybe I'll skip a few pages and maybe I'll reread my favorite parts again and again.
Oh, no, you.won't make me go & peek into the oh so called Chapter Sixtytwo. I will appeal to my right to reread (reread shatter me!) First :D
ReplyDeleteBut you HAVE to,it's supposed to be nothing but awesome-ness!Rereading Shatter Me isn't a bad idea either! :D
Deletei am currently reading unravel me and CANNOT WAIT FOR chapter freaking 62 as EVERYONE is going on about it!!! haha
Deletecool post by the way even though i have to admit i made use of the right to skip and skimmed some passages ;)
LOL! Skim Skim,It's your right! :D
DeleteI love these! Especially the last one. I'm learning that I don't need to defend my taste in YA or fantasy literature. Or any other kind of literature, for that matter. I can read what I want since it's my time(and normally my money) I'm spending.
ReplyDeleteThough for #7, I would add that you have the right the read anywhere as long as you're not putting others in danger. I've seen people try to read while DRIVING. Not smart!
Exactly.It's your time and money you should be able to read whatever the hell you want-Go Girl! :D
DeleteWoah reading while driving?That's insane!As if that's any better than drunk driving.
Great post! oh yeah I did exercise my right to skip pages. As soon as I received my copy of Unravel Me I flipped through the pages to the famous Chapter 62, and boy was I glad I did! And I read it three times..*grins* It was worth the skip, but now I'm reading the whole book in doses.. haha
ReplyDeleteIt's so true about The Right not to defend what I read. I hate it when someone asks me, "Oh, you read that?" with a slight downward curve of their lips! pssh!
All in all, I'm glad these rights are there because I'm guilty of doing all the above. :)
I love these. The right to reread, I used to feel guilty at times, rereading when there was so many good books out there that I had yet to read. But reading is for me-time and when my life is feeling all too choppy and changable, all I want is a book where the characters are friends and I know exactly what happens :)
ReplyDeletehttp://betweenthelinesisanendlessstory.blogspot.ie/
Love this!
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely a re-reader. I didn't realize that not everyone did that until recently. I don't skip pages but I do give myself permission to stop reading a book that I'm not enjoying. And I will confess to (once or twice) peeking ahead…
You can find me here: Jen @ YA Romantics
I like these! I know I take advantage of some of them, I never used to skip pages but I do sometimes now, I just finished lover reborn by J.R.Ward and I have to admit that I didn't fully read the pages about the vampires fighting, I just didn't find it interesting.
ReplyDeleteGreat post ☺
I <3 all these, especially The Right To Escapism and The Right To Read Anywhere :)
ReplyDeleteAnd ♡ the pictures you made to illustrate them.
Btw, I'm a Twilight fan too :)
This rights are awesome!! I will take in consideration these rights. I don't re-read yet because I am trying to get my TBR pile down but will do in the future.
ReplyDeleteI do skip a little too when I feel that the book is is repeating a lot.
Love this! I think sometimes we book readers are so passionate about books and how we read books that we create this idea that there is a "right" way to read things. But there isn't! Every person is different and can read a book however they want. If I had to add one to your list, it would be the right to read however you want. It doesn't matter if you read physical copies, e-books, or listen to audiobooks. Read however you want! It's your right. :)
ReplyDeleteOh I love this bill of rights! I have to agree that we readers do have rights too! I especially have to agree with points 2, 3 and 10. I used to feel super guilty about not finishing books but sometimes a book just isn't for you! Thanks for sharing this with us! Also I adore your blog header it's so pretty! :)
ReplyDeleteHaha, this bill is awesome! And totally true. I especially love #10. We shouldn't feel persecuted for the books that we do read. Everyone has their own tastes, and people should be respectful of that. I think I actually came across this bill a little while ago, someone posted it on GR. Thanks for sharing, Nuzaifa! :)
ReplyDeleteOoh, I LOVE this! Especially numbers 5, 6, and 10. Before I got involved with the online reading community, I wouldn't have imagined that there would be people who judge you on your reading tastes. While most of the bloggers and avid readers I've met online have been wonderful people, there are a few, the "book-snobs", who turn their noses up at anything without Level 8 pretention or above. Just...no. I don't read to impress others. So I'll open my Vampire Academy books and swoon over Adrian Ivashkov with pride.
ReplyDeleteI think I need to remember Right #3 more often, I always feel guilty if I even think about putting a book back on its shelf before it's finished. I have suffered for this inability to DNF books. Suffered horribly....
I just love the "Rights' ! I solemnly swear to follow them as I have done so in the past and will continue to in the future !!
ReplyDeleteI especially agree with #10.
Aww love this post and it's so so true! I especially love "The Right To Not Finish" so many people think it's a sin to DNF books I just don't get why I would waste time knowing I will hate it. And I also have a right to review a DNF book imo. Voicing an opinion on why you couldn't finish it is just as important. I want to know why others didn't finish a book, too! "The Right To Not Defend Your Tastes" is a very important one, too! People get nasty on so many negative reviews sometimes I just don't get it. Great post, love!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! I especially like the last one. Reading lots of YA, I feel like I have to defend my reading a lot - and I shouldn't have to, right? Love the way you formatted this too :)
ReplyDeleteOh my- I can't get enough of this! I get so guilty feeling when I don't like a review copy and decide not to finish it- I'm lucky enough to be sent copies of books to review, but with any other book if I clearly don't like it I will not continue, but I feel so bad doing that with review books, because I just feel such an obligation. When I'm feeling bad about it next, I think I'll bookmark this and come back to it. It is just so, so wonderful- thank you for writing it so beautifully and sharing these fantastic rules!
ReplyDeleteAwwwww, I love these! I mostly don't indulge the right to skip pages, but sometimes that is totally necessary! Like, in Winds of War there are these dense chapters of really nitty gritty historical detail that I do not care about at all, so I skipped them.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I work really hard on this one: "The Right To Not Defend Your Tastes." We shouldn't ever have to feel guilty about the books we love.
Ah! this is great.
ReplyDeleteI once was so desperate to read a book that I read it while standing in a bus hanging onto a pole for dear life as other standing passengers crushed me. It only lasted a few minutes.
Quentin Blake did a poster for these rights. It looks pretty awesome http://www.walker.co.uk/UserFiles/file/Rights%20of%20the%20reader/NYOR_ROTR.pdf
ReplyDeleteThanks Katrina for sharing! :D
DeleteI did come across it too but the post was already kinda long so I skipped it.Quentin's illustration is definitely super cute!
What a great post. It's a shame that some people are made to feel guilty about how and/or what they read.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that. What an awesome post. Thank you. :)
ReplyDeleteLove this! The Right To Not Defend Your Tastes I feel like is the most important to remember. Read whatever you want and don't feel bad about it. If someone else thinks you are weird for reading then you are weird :P
ReplyDeleteI love how you set this up!!! I have these rights dang it!!!
ReplyDelete