Meet Julia Donaldson Summer reading Books of my life - RNIB
Meet Julia Donaldson Summer reading Books of my life - RNIB
Meet Julia Donaldson Summer reading Books of my life - RNIB
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<strong>Books</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>my</strong> <strong>life</strong><br />
<strong>Books</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>my</strong> <strong>life</strong>:<br />
Vidar Hjardeng<br />
Vidar Hjardeng has been a journalist<br />
all his pr<strong>of</strong>essional <strong>life</strong> and is currenty<br />
Diversity Manager at ITV News. He is<br />
also kept extremely busy working on<br />
the boards <strong>of</strong> lots <strong>of</strong> different charities<br />
and organisations including Vocaleyes,<br />
Radar, SHAPE as well as <strong>RNIB</strong>. Vidar also<br />
received an MBE for his work in 2012.<br />
Kim Normanton talked to him about the<br />
books <strong>of</strong> his <strong>life</strong>.<br />
What role have books had in your <strong>life</strong>?<br />
Going back as far as I can remember<br />
books have played a really important role<br />
in <strong>my</strong> <strong>life</strong>. It was a real privilege to be<br />
asked to take part in this feature – quite<br />
a challenge though because there are so<br />
many books I’d like to include!<br />
Is there a book from your childhood<br />
which stands out?<br />
It comes down to two books for me –<br />
firstly The Hobbit, which <strong>my</strong> teacher<br />
read to us at Junior School at the end <strong>of</strong><br />
the school day. I’ve always loved<br />
having books read to me so that was a<br />
fantastic education and a real pleasure.<br />
But ultimately I’d have to pick one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Narnia series by CS Lewis: The Lion, the<br />
Witch and the wardrobe. I had a vivid<br />
imagination as I was growing up and to<br />
be taken into a magic world was really<br />
exciting; it still gives me a buzz even as<br />
an adult.<br />
Were CS Lewis books available in<br />
braille when you were a child or how<br />
did you access them?<br />
At that time I still had sufficient sight<br />
in one eye to be able to read print with<br />
a magnifier, albeit incredibly slowly and<br />
laboriously. In <strong>my</strong> twenties I learned<br />
braille so I do now have the basics but<br />
don’t tend to use it much as I prefer<br />
talking books.<br />
Where does your unusual name come<br />
from?<br />
My father is Norwegian and came across<br />
to Newcastle where he met <strong>my</strong> mum and<br />
stayed.<br />
What about your second book?<br />
I studied languages at Manchester<br />
University. It was a very literary-based<br />
course and <strong>my</strong> favourite period <strong>of</strong><br />
literature then was the 19th century. So<br />
I’ve opted for Gustav Flaubert’s novel<br />
Madame Bovary. Emma Bovary lives in<br />
a small town in France and is married to<br />
the local Doctor, a decent man. But she’s<br />
easily bored and wants to experience<br />
excitement and luxury. The novel is<br />
about how she tries to escape what she<br />
sees as a drab existence.<br />
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