Reading between the lines ... 'Tales of the Unexpected' by Roald Dahl

I don't spend nearly enough of my spare time reading. And I hate that. I teach English to teenagers and I should read more often in my own time. I really, really *should*. It takes a lot for me to say that, I'm a girl with the philosophy of "Shoulda, woulda, coulda..." - so it pains me to admit this fact. And magazines do not count. I need to sink my teeth into something novel-ish on a much more regular basis.

Every year I tell myself I'll get through the pile of books sitting by my bedside and every year I don't bother until the summer holidays and then I glut myself on reading for a few weeks, telling myself that when work starts, this time will be different and I'll work harder at putting in the effort to read books. Because, I don't know if it's just me, but bloody hell it feels like it's a real effort to read actual, in-real-life, in-your-hands books these days. For serious. Even my mum has a Kindle.

And each year, that pile of books sits neglected on the bedroom floor gathering dust and hairballs. {Don't judge, I have a lot of hair, ok - as an aside: don't even talk to me about the vacuuming, if you think I don't get around to reading much what are my chances of dragging a vacuum cleaner around the house often? Slim to nil, that's what.}

So. I'm taking drastic measures (about the reading, not the vacuuming). I reckon if I tell myself that I have to blog about it every (not freaking week, pfft, I'm not crazy) now and again, then maybe the extra little bit of accountability will help give me a boost towards that goal. And enable me to return the books I've lent and therefore justify spending money on buying shiny new ones. That's fair, right? I do like that new book smell.

I'd like to say that all the books I'll blog about will be ones that I've read purely for my own enjoyment, but let's face it, as an English teacher I think I'll have to now and again delve into ones that I read for work. But, I'll only do that if I actually do enjoy them. Or really hate them so much that I want to rant about them on the interwebs.

I'm starting with Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl, which I'm still in the process of reading. It's a series of short stories (which were later filmed for television - you can Youtube them if you are really curious) which are quite macabre and a little spooky. They are written by Roald Dahl after all. I first read one of them, 'The Landlady' when I was teaching it to some class or another and loved it. So did the kids. I remember being surprised by how much they liked it because kids tend to like spooky stories that are a little more gory and ... well, obvious.

Image source.

The great thing about 'The Landlady' and the other stories in Tales of the Unexpected is that it makes you feel as though Dahl thinks quite highly of the reader. He doesn't feel the need to explicitly spell things out and seems to take delight in letting you come to your own conclusions about the plot and characters. I like that in an author. I may not be terribly smart, but I like feeling like Roald Dahl thinks I am. And so, apparently, do my students (the little darlings).

My other favourites so far are 'Lamb to Slaughter' and 'Taste', but I really need to catch up on the rest before ultimately deciding.

Have you read any of Dahl's works other than his children's literature? Do you have a favourite Dahl? Pick a Dahl, any Dahl and tell me about it.