On to the announcement:
Since joining the ALA, I have been receiving 'ala graphics' a catalog of posters and bookmarks for libraries to get kids interested in reading. I love getting these catalogs. The celebrity posters are so very mockable. And so one day, I had a thought. "Chele," I thought. "Woah, who are you?" I replied. "Brain," I thought. "Where have you been?" I asked. After a while of this my brain finally got to the point. "Why not share some of the particularly noteworthy Celebrity Read Posters on your blog." "Kay," I replied, not bothering to ask why. Brain has proven to be the sometimes-smarter one of the two of us.
So, I present to you, few but dear readers, the first ever...
READING POSTER WORTHY OF MOCKERY
We will start with an actor whom I love dearly (to demonstrate that all who pose may end up mocked):
Oh, Alan Rickman, how you look as though you just might be in pain. How it looks as though you just might be swearing that you'll kill the camera person if he or she does not finish soon. Or perhaps it is The Catcher in the Rye that has induced the trauma. Sadistic literature teacher's have been using the book to make students cry for decades.
But then, perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps the slight upturn of the left side of your mouth is not a twitch of suffering passed off as amusement. Perhaps it is a demonstration of your acting ability to channel the angsty king of angst, Holden Caulfield. Perhaps you are trying not to laugh at one of angsty Holden's many angsty antics. Which part are you at, Alan? Has Holden been expelled? Has he checked into the hotel? Befriended a prostitute? Inquiring readers want to know. But some of us may be able to content ourselves with you reading aloud a page or so. Maybe you could read the page where Holden gets beaten by the prostitute's pimp. I know that part always bring's a tear to my left eye just as it has brought a slight smirk to dear Alan's left side of his mouth.
Love the actor. Hate the book. 'Ehh' the poster. What are your thoughts?
I have the Alan Rickman "Read" poster. In fact I'm looking at it right now. I must say the look on his face is inscrutable. I wish he had a huge grin instead but I guess I must be content with the teeny-tiny smile!
ReplyDeleteI love Alan Rickman! However, I'm not sure that they pick the most relevant actors to try to get kids to read. Maybe if they'd taken the picture of him in costume as Professor Snape... Maybe not...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I could see the image of Snape with a thick book scaring some people away.
ReplyDeleteWhat book would Snape choose, I wonder. I doubt he'd be willing to be photographed with a book that had Harry Potter's name on it....