It is a paperback edition with 174 pages.

From its cover:
The Rights of the Reader:
1. The right to read.
2. The right to skip.
3. The right not to finish a book.
4. The right to read it again.
5. The right to read anything.
6. The right to mistake a book for real life.
7. The right to read anywhere.
8. The right to dip in.
9. The right to read out loud.
10. The right to be quiet.

Update: 2010.02.27.
I love these "rights". I also love Quentin Blake's drawings, which is so gorgeous, make this book "living". It is a funny, humourous book, nevertheless I was amazed how much it is true. I never thought about my reading behaviour, I mean how I do it, or what it means for me. But I should say, these "rights" are typical for my present English reading style. Sometimes I got a book, that I can't read through, or just skip, leave pages out, or reread, but how many times I read aloud to myself, I simply love reading aloud. Wonderful thoughts about reading. Thanks Pennac to summerize the reading topic.

^^***^^ There was a Ring! ^^***^^
Started on: 2010. March 5
Finished on: 2011. October 19.
Readers were: 12

Read and Passed on: 1. AspenYard (FIN), 2. ruzena (FIN), 3. lukutuoli (FIN), 4. Jennynen (FIN), 5. Annimanni (FIN), 6. snufkin81 (RSA), 7. NMReader (USA), 8. elissamay (USA), 9. RebeccaToh (Malaysia), 10. tohweiee (China), 11. Simson-Shilitoe (GER), 12. katacs (HUN)
was Skipped: Jonniboi (UK), bookmaniac70 (BUL)

** Thank You!! :) **
---<<--{@

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

The ring starts, the book is travelling to AspenYard.
Have a great time in reading this book.

Thank you, the book arrived today. And I'll dive into it asap.

I was reading this book partly as a parent and partly as a reader. I've noticed "bad" attitudes in myself what comes to reading habits of my children: one of them is enthusiastic, one of them reads rarely and mainly cartoons, one has just learned to read. And I've been judging them, and been wondering why they choose something else to do rather than reading. I've thought that if I read aloud, children would always count on that - but now I've got the enlightment of continuing to read aloud, and wait patiently the awakening. I also in a way noticed through this book that I could bring some funny books myself from library and leave them for my children to catch. I suppose it's too difficult at this point for them to choose alone from the hundreds of candidates. And I understand now, why "giving hints" of good books to children is important - that's what at least one bookcrosser friend does for work :)

Before studying period, I had my enthusiam of reading anywere, dipping, but during studies and after too much claiming of my reading habits, I in a way figured out very strict rules to myself, and turned my back to books, got rid of most of them. Just informational books were valued at the time. After that I've needed to relearn, and it has been challenge to learn to skip or not to finish. But I've learned to loosen a bit and relax just recently. And that has lead me to find interesting books that have become my favorites.

With foreign languages, I enjoy reading aloud, and listen to the words. It helps me to learn, as does writing down favorite sentences.

Thank you for this ring hakkalina! The book will continue to next reader soonish.

The book arrived today. Enjoying soon...

This was easy and entertaining reading, with witty text and funny drawings. I also found myself there both as a parent and as a reader. I see I never urged on my children the importance of reading, and now I’m late for that. Fortunately, they do read! I think it is simply due to setting the example: when they were small, I read a lot aloud for them; later, I let them see that I was often reading (instead of watching tv or doing housework); I let them hear that even we adults read aloud together (we do); and I let them hear that we chatted and gossiped about book people as if they were real.

Thank you hakkalina for sharing the book. And thank you for keeping The Rights in your JE above, so we can check here if we forget... :D

-ruzena

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Happy reading!

Thank you, the book has arrived and will be read soon!

What a thought-provoking book, I really liked it! It provoked many memories, as well, I started to think about my childhood family and our reading habits, myself as a kid, my teens as they were small etc. It's interesting, that in the same family one child gets the passion for books, the other doesn't like to read at all. And the child, who didn't want to read as a child, has grown to be a book-lover later.
The funniest memory, I remembered when reading this book was from the time my sons were small and I eagerly wanted to read aloud stories for them before the bedtime. For some reason they preferred parents to sing for them, and there was a time they wanted to hear The Finnish Anthem (Maamme-laulu) every single evening - for several weeks or months ;)
The illustrations by Quentin Blake are great!!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

The bookring continues...next to Jennynen! Enjoy!

Thank you lukutuoli for sending the funny card with the book! I'll try to read the book in the next two weeks.

So, I finished reading this today. Really enjoyed it, Pennac made me think my reading history and habits.

I don't yet have own children but I work in kindergarten and there I get to read to children aloud. They really enjoy it, even though all of them aren't used to listening stories. I think that's a bit sad, but in every family there isn't time to read to the children.

My own reading history is quite normal I think. And I can still remember how important to me it was to read Nancy Drew-novels - not so sure if I can remember it when my future children will read something similar... My mother never critisized my choises of books. The only book she told me not to read was Mika Waltari's The Egyptian (at that time I was 11-years-old and very interested in Ancient Egypt, but apparently too young to read it).

Now, after reading The Rights of the Reader, I'll try to remember what novels really are - true tales. I mean, I think I've been too worried to understand the "true meaning" of some classics. I think it's a beautiful thought that the writer just wanted to tell a story to me. At least that's what I got from this novel :)

The book will continue it's journey next week. Many thanks to hakkalina for giving me the opportunity to read about the Rights!

The book's with me now, thanks! Will get to it straight away :)

I'll join the choir singing this book's praises: what a delightful read!

As AspenYard, I also read this book both as a parent and a reader. My son had his first birthday in March so I've yet to see what kind of a reader he'll become but I must say I'll be surprised if he turns out to be a non-reader in this household :D He has already started to show an interest in books and I'd even venture to say that they are his favourite toys at the moment. Mostly he still just points at the pictures and wants to hear them named ("a cat!", "a flower!", "a boy!"), but gradually he's starting to listen to the stories as well, a few pages' worth at least. This book certainly motivated me to keep reading aloud to him, even when he gets older and starts reading himself, too.

I grew up in a home where books where everywhere and both my parents read a lot - and, like ruzena, my mother set me the example of oftentimes prioritizing reading over housework :D I'm forever grateful for that legacy! As Pennac writes, reading is "a way of being". People ask me how I, being the mother of a one-year-old, have time to read. Now I can quote Pennac and say, for example, that "It's in my pocket!" - or more likely in my bag: when we're out and about with my son and he falls asleep in his buggy, I immediately find a café, sit down and open my book. Same goes at home: when he naps, I read (that means, I don't use that time for doing housework; that's something my husband and I do together when he gets home from work or at weekends).

But back to the book at hand. I think I'm going to print out the rights in Pennac's manifesto so as to remind myself of those I still struggle with myself, like "the right to skip" and "the right not to finish a book". Up until recently, I always finished a book I started even if it was a real struggle. Now I've learned to let go once in a while, but I still feel very guilty about it. So I thank Pennac for granting me absolution :)

And thanks very much, hakkalina, for sharing this book with us! The book will start its journey to South Africa as soon as I get snufkin's addy.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

On its way to South Africa!

This arrived yesterday. This book looks great! I have a few other rings ahead of this one but I'll try to get it moving again as soon as I can.

I finished this book this morning, sorry for hogging it so long.

What a great little book! It really got me thinking about my own attitudes towards reading and also, as an auntie, my attitude towards my 2-year old niece's reading. At the moment she can't get enough of books and stories, and we are all very eager to encourage her. But what if our attitudes change from sharing our enjoyment of reading to putting expectations on her to become a "reader" herself? I'll have to keep a careful watch on my approach to her reading!

One of the things I really like about this book is the idea that you don't have to talk about what you've read, that it's okay to keep your feelings about a book you've enjoyed to yourself. I find it very difficult to "review" books, especially those I've enjoyed a lot. Often I just don't want to share my feeling with someone who hasn't been there and might not understand.

Here's a quote from p85: We keep quiet about what we read. Our enjoyment of a book remains a jealously guarded secret. Perhaps because there's no need to talk, or because it takes time to distil what we've read before we can say anything. Silence is our guarantee of intimacy. We might have finished reading, but we're still living with the book.

I always thought it was just me :)

And like some of the previous readers, I also need to work on my right to skip and my right not to finish a book - I've always found those two difficult. And also other people's right not to be judged by me for what they're reading, as I tend to be a bit of a "book snob".

I have already PMed NMReader for her address and will post this book later this week.

Sent by airmail.

It arrived today. I am looking forward to reading.

A dellightful quick read that talks about how to make reading not a chore for young adults but a joy.

Wonderful book

Will drop at post office on the way home from work.

Delivery Confirmation #: 0309 3220 0001 9885 1270

Thank you, bookring! So excited to read this, as it isn't easily available in the U.S.!

Absolutely loved this book! I'm traveling this weekend, so it will be mailed to Malaysia on Monday when I get back.

Absolutely wonderful book! I was so grateful for the chance to read it... perfect for anyone who likes to read about reading. On its way to Malaysia as of this afternoon.

I've received this book sometime back actually... and only noticed that I hadn't journaled it until i got a pm from Hakkalina. I'm truly sorry for having Hakkalina worried over it.

I've finished reading it. Sent it out yesterday in fact. Will immediately journal a release.

This book is really good. It helped me realise and relive the pleasure of reading.

My students are not readers at all. Now I have a better idea to help them gain interest in the pleasure of reading. :)

Thanks Hakkalina for sharing the book.

This book is now on its way to China! :) Enjoy the read!

Received! Thanks for the ring and for sending it to me!

Off to Germany!

This book arrived safe and sound in today`s mail.

At the moment I am reading "The Beaufort Diaries", a little book. So I hope to start with "The Rights of the Reader" soon.

Thank you "hakkalina" for sharing another excellent book.

And a BIG THANK YOU "tohweiee" for posting and for the Chinese bookmark and the fine picture-postcard showing a fisherman on a peaceful river.

For teachers and parents, he has all kinds of sensible suggestions for coaxing reluctant readers back into the pages of a book, but he never makes prescriptions or demands. He knows that life is short and we are all, adults and children, much too busy already. "Time to read is always time stolen. (Like time to write, for that matter, or time to love.)" But "by making time to read, like making time to love, we expand our time for living." And who could be too busy for that?

Will be followed now by "Cheese" by Willem Elsschott.

Posting to "katacs" in Hungary as soon as I get an address.

I received a pm today that "katacs" is still interested in reading the book but will be abroad until the end of June.

So the book will stay with me 2 more weeks before posting to Hungary.

I am going to mail the package to Hungary tomorrow in the late afternoon after finishing work.

Happy journey and happy reading, katacs.

Arrived safe and sound. Thank you, Simson-Shilitoe!

On its way home.

Bocsi, hogy ilyen sokáig tartott!

The book arrived HOME!! Thank you everyone for participating in this ring, I am so happy that I could share this book with all of you!!! :))))))