No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy: Memoirs of a Working-Class Reader
by Mark Hodkinson
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Description
Mark Hodkinson grew up among dark satanic mills in a house with just one book: Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain. His dad kept it on top of a wardrobe with other items of great worth--wedding photographs and Mark's National Cycling Proficiency certificate. If Mark wanted to read it, he was warned not to crease the pages or slam shut the covers. Fast forward to today, and Mark still lives in Rochdale snugly ensconced (or is that buried?) in a 'book cave' surrounded by 3,500 titles--at show more the last count. He is an author, journalist and publisher. So this is his story of growing up a working-class lad during the 1970s and 1980s. It's about schools (bad), music (good) and the people (some mad, a few sane), and pre-eminently and profoundly the books and authors (some bad, mostly good) that led the way, shaped a life. If only coincidentally, it relates how writing and reading has changed, as the Manor House novel gave way to the kitchen sink drama and working-class writers found the spotlight (if only briefly). Mark also writes movingly about his troubled grandad who, much the same as books, taught him to wander, and wonder -- show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Mark Hodkinson's memoir of growing up bookish in a community where reading for the sake of it is not common.
The early parts, describing his childhood and teenage years were, for me, more relatable and so interesting, but it did sag rather in the middle when he talks about his time as a journalist covering punk rock and sport (mainly football). The book then picked up when the author talked about his time as a publisher and his bookish life now.
The early parts, describing his childhood and teenage years were, for me, more relatable and so interesting, but it did sag rather in the middle when he talks about his time as a journalist covering punk rock and sport (mainly football). The book then picked up when the author talked about his time as a publisher and his bookish life now.
Hope the author knows about this site as he would more than fit in. He is from a very 1970's working class background who basically loves books, despite them being seen as 'feminine' (or worse) / waste of time/space/money in his family. There was ONE book in the house he grew up in before he discovered literature. I'll let that statistic settle in.
His biography takes in setting up his own publishing house (Pomona) and has brought a number of 'working-class' British authors back into the published world.
Not much older than myself and certain similarities in our up-bringing but a lifetime removed from my own literary background where thankfully reading was encouraged from a very early age.
His biography takes in setting up his own publishing house (Pomona) and has brought a number of 'working-class' British authors back into the published world.
Not much older than myself and certain similarities in our up-bringing but a lifetime removed from my own literary background where thankfully reading was encouraged from a very early age.
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Bibliomemoirs
46 works; 8 members
Books Read in 2024
4,623 works; 126 members
Author Information
14 Works 196 Members
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- 71
- Popularity
- 440,275
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.44)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 2
