National Year of Reading in the UK – 2008

Believe it or not, it's almost over with only a few weeks to go.  (Where did that year go?)  Did you notice any major steps forward?  Any big thrusts from those who carried the torch to get people (and, more importantly, children, especially boys)  reading?  Any significant changes leading to improvement in your area?

If so, The National Year of Reading wants to hear of your "Reading Heroes".  There will be 25 of them.  Criteria to be met are:

• The impact and contribution a nominated Reading Hero has made to the reading lives of others and/or themselves.
• How a Reading Hero’s contribution reflects the overall aims of NYR in promoting reading to particular audiences, and in supporting reading as an essential tool for life.
• The creativity and resourcefulness of the nominee, and personal challenges they may have had to overcome.

Nominations are sought in the following categories (from their website):

Phantom Prey – John Sandford

There are times when I simply want to engage in a well-written, easy-read fast-paced thriller, (call it "comfort-blanket-with-pin-ends-in-every-thread" kind of reading), and John Sandford's Prey series has always managed to fit that bill for me.

The last one I read – Broken Prey – left me with the feeling that the series protagonist, Lucas Davenport would benefit from retirement, especially now that he'd had so much of a lifestyle change.  In the intervening years, I've managed to miss Invisible Prey; so for once, with Phantom Prey, I was reading out of sequence.  Not that it made much difference when it came to accepting Lucas as the new and true family man on this outing; he's so perfectly ensconced in that role and with so much credibility, accepting him and the circumstances was easy.