Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for this book.

Carol Atherton’s Reading Lessons was essentially a love letter to literature, highlighting the value it brings to the development of secondary school students in the UK separate to the technical, ‘STEM’ skills that are increasingly sought after in the current education system. It was incredibly insightful to see how the stories Atherton teaches weave into her, and her students', own personal stories – I enjoyed the chapters focusing on both the books I’ve read, as much as those I haven’t (and have subsequently added to the neverending TBR). Would suggest temporarily skipping the chapters for books you haven’t, but want to, read in order to avoid spoilers.

Overall, a lovely book and throwback to secondary school English Lit.

This book was like someone dove into my mind, gathered up everything I love about reading (and why it's so important) and put it down on the page. Glorious!!!

This was a different genre of book than what I normally read but I enjoyed it and would recommend it if you are looking for something different than your usual read!

A lovely book, about what lessons we can learn from the books taught in the UK school system.

Many of the books were ones I *hadn‘t* studied, or even read so, beware, this book if full of spoilers!

I really liked that though - the plot spoilers and the author‘s explanations and analysis drew me to the books and made me want to read them all!

Dedicating each chapter to must-read novels or ones almost every English Literature student knows/needs to know, Carol Atherton shows through her 30-year career the importance of seeing a novel, novella, poem, play, etc. as more than just its plot or space in time. From an English Lit student's perspective, Reading Lessons is a must-read for anyone wanting to see how to analyse books and listen to not only a teacher but also points and input from Atherton's past students.

I thoroughly enjoyed Atherton's book, as it looks at some of my favourite pieces of literature but also helped me see some others in new lights, making me want to go back and re-read them with these new perspectives.

I highly recommend Reading Lessons to any Literature student out there who wants to see classics (both classical, modern and contemporary pieces) in new lights.

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin General UK for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Every couple of years the subject of school texts comes up and the overarching question is whether they are still relevant. In this book, Carol Atherton explains that they are and goes into great detail to say how and why that is the case.

In the introduction there are quotes that I recognise from the books I read at school. Not only that, but I remember the context and how I felt about them at the time and how I feel about them now. There are many that I re-read as an adult as I thought that perhaps I didn't fully appreciate them at the time. But they have stayed with me all of my life.

Atherton has included her own life and introduction to the literature, so in part this is autobiographical. As a pupil she studied the same books. She became an English teacher in a secondary school and gives anecdotal instances of interactions with her students. But the emphasis is on the books and why they are important, as displayed by the organisation of the chapters: each is a theme very pertinent to our modern lives. With chapter titles such as 'On gaining a voice', 'On not fitting in', 'On power, gender and control', 'On not being enough' and 'On seeing things differently' it is easy to see why these classics are still as important today as they ever were.

The author is keen to point out that these works serve to act as 'mirrors to the world', to start discussion, expand our minds and not tell us what to do or think. There is a real love of literature and learning here and I can almost hear her taking a lesson, such is the detail of the analysis. Current, readable, essential. So the next time some kind of expert questions why our children should be reading Dickens, Steinbeck or Bronte, show them this book. You know we're right.

4.5* rounded up

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of Reading Lessons for honest review.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. Atherton has a very engaging writing style and an infectious enthusiasm for literature. I haven't read the majority of the books discussed and originally intended just to read the parts that were relevant to me but I ended up racing through the whole thing! I found myself much more interested in picking up some of these books which I had discounted almost entirely because of their place on the school curriculum. Enjoyed Atherton's takes on the texts themselves and on approaches to teaching them (even though I do not teach myself).

This book is a love letter to literature and comes at such a timely moment as we see universities reducing their offerings of courses in the humanities - essentially, downgrading the value of an arts education over anything STEM related. Carol Atherton beautifully sums up the value and power of the word, specifically, through the teaching of English at school. If anyone is in any doubt as to the significance of studying English as a subject in the future, this beautifully written book will be enough to convince even the most factually driven mind that there is much to value and protect.

I wish Carol Atherton had been my teacher at school - goodness, I would go back right now to have her lead me through any (or all!) of the books that she so knowledgeably discusses in Reading Lessons’. I have read all but a handful of the texts that she discusses, but she made me think and develop my opinions many times. Modernising the Canon to reflect the modern world is something which is slowly evolving: as Atherton points out, considerable time and money is invested by schools in to the necessary resources for GCSE and A level teaching, so an overnight transformation is not practicable. However, what I felt Atherton demonstrated was how the Canon (with all its acknowledged faults) could be taught in ways which are relevant and appropriate for the education and future of today’s youth.

This book should be included on reading lists for those wishing to train as an English teacher - I explain expect it will become a modern classic on how to teach. Furthermore, the final section provides copious notes and suggestions of further reading/watching opportunities to provide breadth and depth to each of these rich, classic novels. Whether you are a reader for pleasure, educator or student, this book has so much to offer and would be the perfect place to start learning more about specific novels. You can read this from cover to cover (and should, it has so much to offer), but it would also work by dipping into specific chapters which relate to a text of interest.

You cannot read this book without reflecting on the enduring value of literature to question, inform and challenge in perpetum. AI will, no doubt, make areas of the modern world unrecognisable as it replaces human endeavour in many ways. I get the sense from Atherton’s book, that Literature, to be fully instructive and informative, will always require a human mind to read, respond and reflect on it.

Bravo!! A timely piece of writing which is accessible and masterfully instructive without being didactic. The tone is reflective and intimate as you are swept along through the annals of time - literary speaking!

Dedicating each chapter to a classic text from the GCSE/A-level English Literature curriculum, Atherton draws on her teaching (and life!) experience to explore their enduring relevance inside and outside of the classroom.

This is a total nostalgia trip, with many of the reflections delivered with fondness. At the same time, it is a bold, rallying cry in defence of the value of an arts education and the teaching profession - and I really appreciated how Atherton doesn’t shy away from confronting the challenges.

If you love books or education, this is one worth picking up - or pressing into the hands of an influential teacher.

Thank you to Penguin and netgalley for the proof!

An English teacher’s 30 year career leads her to reflect on the lessons set texts have taught not just her pupils but the teacher too over her years’ teaching. Not always at the time of teaching, sometimes the significance doesn’t always become apparent until years later when life is at a particular moment, but the importance of books to our development is huge.
Carol Atherton uses specific examples of novels, poems and plays, still commonly used as set texts today to set out what lessons they can teach anyone. She is obviously a conscientious teacher and some concepts may not have been covered by your own teachers, but equally, as adults you wonder why something had not occurred to you at the time, but also times change. You don’t have to have been taught at school all the titles covered but all are useful vessels which demonstrate life lessons to all.
An interesting and informative thoughtful insight.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group for letting me share my honest opinions of this eBook.

I liked the sentiment of this book more than the book itself. Reading Lessons: The Books We Read at School, the Conversations They Spark and Why They Matter is making a stand for literature. The 15 books chosen are suited for a school syllabus and diverse in the themes and issues they cover. The book discussion is mixed with Carol Atherton’s experience as a teacher in a variety of schools in England and some personal biography. What Atherton shares is relevant to the discussion, where sometimes I was not sure it was needed but appreciated its warm and friendly nature.

There is a lot here that I have taken away with me, and I wanted to like it more than I did. I enjoyed the first three chapters the most. Here, I came away with a lot of new and interesting information that made me think about those books differently. The remainder were enjoyable but it didn’t seem as complete as the first three, or maybe I was distracted by the book chapters that started with ‘on …. ‘, which didn’t make sense to me but I could see that they were more like prompts of what to expect in that chapter.

Regardless, there were several times I was wishing Atherton had been my school teacher, the teaching methods she shared made the books jump to life that would show the relevant of it to a young mind.

This book is perfect for a conversation starter, especially for parents of young people who are reading these books and want to share this experience with them.

What I like the most about this read is how Atherton left me with the impression that books, fiction and reading are still relevant and should not be under estimated in how they help us to see a point of view we are not familiar with.

I'm always fascinated by books about books. I thought this would be a particularly interesting one as it has been written by an English teacher, with years of experience in secondary education. I really enjoyed the way the chapters are based on themes for instance 'on not fitting in' or 'on behaving badly' and then that theme is matched with books that are currently on the UK curriculum or used to be or could be considered as wider reading.

The chapters have reflections on the author's own life, so are a memoir of a sort. But mostly they are about the books taught in school. I don't really remember what I read in school - certainly not the books covered in this book. My love of reading came about mostly after school had finished and not because of what I had studied at school. I wish I had had an English teacher who had read so widely and understood the themes in books so well, whilst I was at school. Surely this must be inspirational?

You do not need to have read all of the books featured in this book to enjoy the narrative. I had read some, but probably a minority. Nevertheless I enjoyed reading about all of the books mentioned. Some will no doubt join my 'to be read' pile. Others, perhaps not. It is a shame that teachers such as Carol Atherton do not have the freedom or resources to add the books they wish to their lessons. This message came across quite strongly.

I loved this book and having read it once, I think it is the sort of book I would happily dip into again and again. Many thanks to NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

The author's life, in parallel with the books she uses to teach her students in school, and the major themes of life, with special attention to the novels where they are dealt with. My only regret is that I had not read all the books mentioned by the author.

La vita dell'autrice, in parallelo con i libri che usa per insegnare a scuola ai suoi ragazzi e i grandi temi della vita, con particolare attenzione ai romanzi dove vengono trattati. L'unica cosa che mi di dispiace, é che non avevo letto tutti i libri citati dall'autrice.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

Arc provided through NetGalley

This was an enjoyable read for me. Even though I never read any of these books, let alone study them in school, it made me excited to read them. As someone that has never studied books in this way in school I can't really comment on how well that part of the book was done, but for me the most inmportant thing was that I enjoyed it. In some books I wished the discussion of it went a bit further then it did here, like the absence of women in many of them, but that's the only critique I have of it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book, which is not only a love letter to teaching English Literature but to teaching as a process and reading as a key skill.

It is amazing to read how a skilled, knowledgeable and sensitive teacher approaches these titles, part of the bedrock of secondary school English teaching.

But in many ways it is the afterword that sings out and which is so meaningful.

"For one thing, the ability to read sensitively and write precisely is vital, not only in many workplaces but also to participating in the life of a democracy. We need to be able to spot when others are using words to manipulate us; we need to be able to critique and challenge and hold to account. As consumers, we need to be able to detect false promises and see through weasel words. And as human beings, we need to use language for a host of reasons: to build relationships and reach out to others, to express our thoughts and frustrations, to persuade and entertain and imagine and create, to share joy, deliver bad news and offer comfort."

She also highlights the value if reading for all of us

"It’s vital , then , that we continue to fight for the importance of books, and that we give our children the chance to read and explore all the many ways in which people have interpreted the world through texts. Novels and plays and poems, memoirs and nature writing, films and songs and spoken-word poetry, animations and video games and television drama: all part of an ongoing conversation about the world, and a conversation that our young people need to join."

The whole text spoke to me, I'll be returning to it, and sharing g it far and wide. Thank you so much

I loved this book. I loved English Literature lessons in high school. If I didn't love my high school English teacher so much I would have loved for it to have been Carol Atherton.

As someone who still takes in the works from their time at school be that the work of Thomas Hardy, the poetry of Maya Angelou and the plays of Priestley which is covered in this book I was intrigued by this book as I fondly recall the books I enjoyed during my time in education and this book certainly took me back and made me think about what we take except subtext from the books we study.

Short essays that cover a range of books that are traditionally covered in classrooms, this book certainly gives you pause for thought and reminds you something is never 'just something'. There is thoughts, ideas and meaning in words and this is made clear from the first essay, 'My Last Duchess' which is definitely a poem I never got to study but now want to go and read because that seems something that I missed out on.

Atherton's own personal experience fusing with the ideas brought to light by these stories are a revelatory and brilliantly delivered, leaving you wanting to read more books right there and then but also wanting to take your time to take in every word. I appreciated also being able to read about books my parents got to take in in school as well, for example 'A Kestrel for A Knave'.

A fascinating read that delives into high school english classes with a new perspective, I really enjoyed this book about books.

(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!)

When I first heard about the premise for Carol Atherton's 'Reading Lessons', I felt a mixture of excitement and envy, the latter because, as a fellow English teacher, I wished I'd come up with this idea first: a book about the lessons taught by the texts studied in English classrooms. However, after reading Atherton's book, I couldn't be anything other glad that she has written it, as she has done a far better job than I ever could have!

'Reading Lessons' is a love letter to English teaching which combines memoir and literary criticism to offer powerful insights on a wide range of commonly taught texts, from Great Expectations and Lord of the Flies to Noughts and Crosses and The History Boys. Atherton's interpretations of these texts are frequently revelatory, whether exploring Macbeth through the prism of childlessness and infertility, or considering Jamila Gavin's Coram Boy from her perspective as an adoptive parent. Her readings are responsive to issues in our current world: for instance, she connects the toxic masculinity of Robert Browning's 'My Last Duchess' with the violent misogyny of Andrew Tate, and reflects on To Kill a Mockingbird in the light of more recent discussions of race. The book made me eager to revisit some texts I thought I knew inside out, and also to seek out some for the first time which I'd previously dismissed and dated and irrelevant, such as Barry Hines's 'A Kestrel for a Knave.' I loved her descriptions of the many - often dead - authors of these books as 'shadow colleagues' who are also teachers in their own right. But arguably the real stars of the book are her pupils: Atherton is clearly an amazing teacher, and she includes many of their profound, original and witty comments which made me long to spend time in her classroom.

The book was full of moments that made me chuckle in recognition (on the name of the town in Of Mice and Men: "Miss, it says Weed! Thanks, Steinbeck") or nod in agreement, particularly the afterword where Atherton describes the many threats English faces today and makes an impassioned case for its continued importance. She is honest about the challenges all teachers face, from classroom management to handling contentious discussions sensitively with an awareness of pupils' "emotional hinterland", but also about the joys and rewards of being an English teacher. Every English teacher is going to love this book and I want to share it with all of my department, but I hope it finds a much wider audience too: I want my family and friends to read it so that they can understand a little more about the job I do and why I love it so much; I want politicians, policy-makers and commentators to read it as it offers a much-needed contribution to our national conversation about the value of different types of learning in an ever-changing world. And I know that it is a book that I will want to return to time and time again for all the wisdom it contains. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review.

*I received a copy of this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

"Reading Lessons" by Carol Atherton is a heartfelt manifesto that dives into the transformative power of literature in the grand classroom of life. In her exploration, Atherton serves as both guide and confidant, drawing on her extensive experience as a secondary school English teacher. She eloquently argues for the crucial role of classic texts—ranging from Shakespeare's tragedies to modern novels like "Noughts and Crosses"—in sparking meaningful dialogue and building the moral fabric of society. The book is not just an ode to the written word but also a tribute to the educators who, often against the tide of an evolving educational landscape, champion the importance of critical thinking and empathetic understanding through literature.

Despite its noble sentiments and the clear expertise Atherton brings to the table, the narrative's rhythm occasionally succumbs to a certain academic aridity, potentially dimming the luminosity of its message for readers seeking a more casual engagement with the topic. Nonetheless, the book stands as a well-articulated defense of reading's place at the core of both personal growth and social discourse. While "Reading Lessons" may not have resonated deeply with every book lover, its earnest appeal for the nurturing of literary appreciation is both a timely and timeless conversation worth having.

3.5/5

I always loved English Literature and drama in school so when I saw the description for Reading Lessons I had to read it.

Reading Lessons is like having an English literature lesson as an adult but a lot more in depth. You can tell that Carol is not only great at her job but has a life long love of literature and how the materials transcend time. I recognised so many of the texts she talked about from my GCSE's and now I wish I had paid more attention.

I love how she weaves in the opinions and feedback from her students as she describes the texts but also cross references them to topics today that I never would have thought of. When she compared the attitudes of the characters in An Inspector Calls to the attitudes of people in power during COVID my mind was blown.

I felt that sometimes I would have liked a bit more of how the lessons in the texts fitted into her personal life like the story she told in the first chapter where she visited a school friend in hospital.

It's not a read in one sitting book, in fact it's a lot nicer to read it chapter by chapter and take time to absorb the lessons (and frantically add the texts to your TBR!)