Kite Runner release delayed while young Afghan stars move to safety:Families fear ethnic tensions, backlash over rape scene

The release of Khalid Hosseini's "The Kiterunner" has been delayed by 6 weeks to give Paramount Pictures time to get the child stars to safety. In all probability they will be taken to the United Arab Emirates. It will now be released on Dec14. I'm definitely going to have to mark that date on my calender.

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I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. Mark Twain

Quick, grab a pen and write this down, "The Film Club: A True Story of A Father and Son" by David Gilmour. I just finished reading this gem and I want to tell everyone about it, (especially parents of teenagers) and here's why:

When David Gilmour (author and 2005 winner of the Governor-General's Award for Fiction ) saw that his 15-year old son Jesse was fast losing interest in school (skipping classes, crashing grades and so on) he gave him the option of quitting school on condition that Jesse watch three movies a week with Gilmour . What??? I almost choked on my coffee when I came to that passage and had to wonder if Gilmour had lost his mind. Gilmour clearly belongs to the school of thought that agrees your education comes from life, not school. Even so, I was aghast that this highly educated man would allow his son to drop out of high school without a fight!

What do we teach our kids when we allow them drop something just because it doesn't hold their interest, aren't we teaching them to give up too soon? With no university degree or college diploma aren't we setting them up for failure career wise?

So with something akin to fear and also curiosity, I delved into the pages of the book to find that what emerges is a heartwarming story of a unique and wonderful friendship between a father and his teenage son, not to mention some wonderful discussions on life, love and the movies! Gilmour used to be a film critic for CBC-TV and his insights into some of the best films ever made and how he used those insights to impart life lessons to Jesse make for some invaluable reading, not to mention visits to your neighborhood "Blockbuster"

When Gilmour was asked why he didn't lay down the law with his son he said "I was trying to salvage my relationship with him because I thought not only am I going to lose the school battle but I'm going to lose him over it." He felt certain that Jesse was so fed up of school that he would have left in any case and probably left the home too.

So did Gilmour honestly think that watching three movies a week was a good enough substitute for school? What about literacy? Was Jesse ever going to learn how to read and write suitably?
Gilmour says, "He (jesse) really didn't get anything out of it except he got to spend time with his father, and what teenage boys really need is to spend time with their fathers,"

"We could've gone skydiving, or we could've gone scuba-diving. It wouldn't have made a difference. It wasn't really the films. It was an opportunity for the two of us to spend time together before he was gone for good."

As a mother of a 16-year old girl I can only say that Gilmour is either a very brave or foolish man. This experiment could have gone so badly wrong for Jesse, I don't think I would have done that to my daughter. Having said that however, what does one do with a kid that has no interest in school? In Ontario, where I live, the average drop-out rate is 29 per cent which is high, too high...

Why is it that high?

According to the experts, the lure of big money at jobs requiring no diploma, an inability of teachers or schools to engage students, rigorous curriculum changes or problems at home are some of the main reasons why teenagers won't continue with their education.

The problem with jobs requiring no diploma is that there is no room for growth and teenagers realize that all too late.

I think teachers and parents ought to do more to engage a student. The NYTimes had a very interesting article the other day about a ninth grade teacher who found that giving parents homework along with the kids was helping to keep the child interested in school. I am all for it and you can read more about it here.

For a very interesting interview with David and Jesse Gilmour please go here

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Do yourself a favor and grab a copy of Portobello Books' reading catalogue this Fall, the selection is amazing!

This is what The Branching Out Guide to Independent Presses had to say about Portobello

New fiction and short stories, fiction in translation and non-fiction about contemporary social issues. A particular focus on new voices and unusual novels – this press has a mission to get good short stories published and read more widely. The press aims to be a place where cutting edge fiction has a home – this is a press that aims to help new voices get heard, and experimental fiction get exposure.

Who will read these books?

Readers who like to take a chance on something new. Readers who normally read non-fiction. Students who have traveled, readers interested in politics and social change. Keen readers who are tired of the mass market and the mundane mainstream. These books offer highlights as well as range to library loan collections.

Other small presses whose books I enjoy: