Week 6 Prompt & Booktalk

Book: Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

Booktalk Style: Character Based (Pretending to be a character from the book)

Booktalk Audience: Female, Ages 18+ (Adult females, possibly older high school students)

Booktalk Script:

The education bestowed upon myself, Miss Flora Poste, by my loving parents was expensive, athletic, and prolonged; when they died within weeks of one another during the annual epidemic of influenza, and I only nearing my twentieth birthday, I discovered I possessed many womanly arts, but grace save that of a way of earning my own living. 

Along with inheriting a strong will from my father - and from my mother, very slender ankles, I was left with a trifle 100 pounds a year. Desperation has driven me to the worst possible situation imaginable: country relatives, the Starkadders, who reside in Sussex at a ghastly, dilapidated farm known as Cold Comfort.

I have encountered several areas where I might be made of assistance in improving my cousins, the lustful, handsome Seth and despondent Reuben; the flowery, far too intellectual for her own good Elfine; cousin Amos, constantly preaching of hellfire and sin - and dark, depressed and dramatic cousin Judith, mother of the aforementioned oversexed Seth, who insists that the family must right a wrong done to my father in years past. And then, there’s ancient Aunt Ada Doom, who hasn't left her bedroom in nearly two decades.

To top things off, a wedding seems to be looming in the future at Cold Comfort Farm - but if it is to be mine remains to be seen!

Possible Presentation Ideas:

• Presenting in character, dressed as Flora Poste in costume
• Creating a digital booktalk, with images of locations and characters mentioned in the book

Opinion on Baker's Statement:

Personally, I believe that it could potentially be very difficult to do a booktalk successfully without having first read the book - at least in part. I have discussed this point with several RA librarians at the library where I work, and have even encountered them thirty minutes before a booktalk randomly skimming the pages of their books at the last minute - completely unprepared prior to the talk! However, several of them have told me that these have made some of their best book talks. However, I feel it is very important to feel comfortable and prepared prior to a booktalk. You need to be able to hype up and explain the plot, characters, setting, time period, etc., depending upon the style of your booktalk. Additional research into the time period and geographical setting could also be of help when persuading readers to take a stab at the selection(s) you have chosen. Cold Comfort Farm IS a book I have read over and over again, and one of my favorite books of all time. I think the fact that I am so familiar with the characters, plot, setting, tone, and memorable quotes and scenes helped me to create a more unique booktalk without having to perform further research into the title.

As to whether loving the book is a necessity, I don't think that's necessarily a vital component of the talk itself. It definitely helps if it is a book you feel strongly about in a positive light. If it's a book you absolutely can't stand, for one reason or another, it can be difficult to remain objective during your talk. Being passionate during your talk can both help and hinder you in that it can drive some readers away while enticing others to dig right in.