(no subject)

[pegkerr]

We've finished Robin McKinley's Rose Daughter and I have agreed to read Emerald House Rising out loud to my girls next. Oy.

I've never met any other novelists who have read their own novels to their own children and so don't quite know what it'll be like (most of the novelists I know don't have children.)

Comments

[peacockharpy.livejournal.com]

I think that's wonderful! Scary for you, yes, but wonderful.

My guess is that the hardest part will be resisting the urge to stop and correct or explain things. I say just read it and then let them ask about the writing of it, if they want to.

[aome.livejournal.com]

I would think that JKR read her books to her daughter. :)

Consider it a chance to show off your storytelling abilities. My grandfather didn't write a novel, but he made up a long, long ongoing bedtime adventure story, which he'd tell in installments, made up on the spot, every night when I would visit. How could I not love such an obvious creative production? EHR is a lovely story, with a strong heroine who does *not* (as happens in many books) fall in love with her magical partner just because of their bond, and I absolutely adore the way the heir to the throne rotates amongst the houses. Most interesting and well-executed monarchy I've read. Enjoy exploring your story with them.

Re:

[cheshyre]

JKR has, after first thinking her daughter might be too young for the books, then finding out all the girl's classmates had already read it.

I know Neil Gaiman has read his stuff to his daughters... He accepts reader questions on his journal; you might want to ask him about it.

Re:

[kayselkiemoon.livejournal.com]

EHR is a lovely story, with a strong heroine who does *not* (as happens in many books) fall in love with her magical partner just because of their bond

*hear hear* yes, I adored it for this. I think your girls will love hearing you read it to them. and it should prolly help a lot in teaching them not to always look for the traditional and expected (re: above).

[papersky.livejournal.com]

I haven't read mine out loud to zorinth, as he's sadly too old for books out loud. But he has read them, which made me nervous enough when he was doing it, but fortunately he liked them.

[red-queen.livejournal.com]

Dunno about reading one's own work to one's own offspring, but I remember Suzy McKee Charnas saying that she had read The Bronze King trilogy aloud as she was writing it. I had approached her at a con to tell her that my StoryReading group had chosen it as a long reading (chapter book to be read a chapter at a time at weekly StoryReadings; first part of evening is given over to short stories, ostensibly children's stories, but we wander far afield; long readings are almost always children's stories). Her book was quite a lot of fun to read/hear, and I complimented her on that, whereupon she divulged that she'd deliberately aimed for that quality.

It's funny how reading something aloud will turn a spotlight on awkward dialogue and excessive exposition... I'm always pleased when a book turns out to be well suited to reading aloud.