In the Reading Movement at School campaign, public figures familiar to young people inspire reading. The public figures are involved in sharing their own experiences with books and reading, in order to help young people understand the opportunities that reading brings. 800 schools applied to participate in the Reading Movement at School campaign, of which 40 received a larger Reading Movement school event this school year. A school in the center of Kankaanpää was selected as one of these schools due to a good application, and the event was organized there on Friday, May 10.5.
Actor Terhi Suorlahti, known for his role in Putous, and versatile author Roope Lipasti arrived in Kankaanpää. They told their own stories about books and reading and answered various questions from the students.
Terhi Suorlahti said that he needs a lot of reading and literature in his work. He does a lot of research so that he can empathize and create characters better. He said that the Putous character “true aunt” required about two months of work before the character was completed. Suorlahti also talked about his favorite books and how they have influenced his life. Suorlahti believes that reading teaches compassion and also helps to understand different people.
Roope Lipasti told how he traveled a lot around the world as a child, sometimes to space, the Wild West and sometimes to ancient Egypt. However, the trips were not real, but he had traveled with his imagination by reading books. According to Lipasti, “reading has made me me”. Lipasti talked about the versatility of the author’s work, but emphasized how all work, from newspaper articles to film scripts, is connected by the development of a story. Through reading samples, Lipasti also revealed the backgrounds of some of the characters in his books.
The students also got to ask Roope and Terhi questions, here are some with their answers:
- How many books have you read?
R= At least over 1000, as long as you remember to read a little every day.
T= 100 maybe even 1000
- How old are you?
R= 48, and it's a hole, Lipasti joked
T = 44
- Is writing books fun and does patience ever run out?
R= Nice and horrible, it's a lot of work and sometimes it's really nice and not so nice. Oh yes, I want to get everything done right away, because it will take at least 1 year to be married to the book.
- Movies or books?
T= Both are needed, in the books you get to decide what the story looks like once the film is finished.
R= If I have to choose between the two, it would be books, even though I love movies.
This news was written by Jenni Polvi, a marketing communications student at Sataedu, as part of her work-study period.
