UK NEWS

REBUS WRITER'S PRAISE FOR JORDAN BOOKS

RESPECT: Ian Rankin has praised Jordan for launching her series of books (above)

Tuesday February 19,2008

By Rod Mills

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AS ONE of Britain’s most respected literary figures, author Ian Rankin seems an unlikely advocate for model Jordan.

But as the model, 29, launched the third installment of her autobiography yesterday, the Rebus creator defended the mother-of-three’s writing.

Rankin praised Jordan, otherwise known as Katie Price, while she was meeting fans and signing copies of her book, Pushed to the Limit, in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

He claimed she was bringing a new generation of young people into bookshops.

Rankin, 47, said: “A lot of people are very snippy about celebrity biographies. But they bring people to bookshops who wouldn’t otherwise be there, there’s something very positive about that.

“I was brought up in a house with very little books as my parents weren’t big readers.

“I had an uncle who used to say (to my parents) it doesn’t matter if Ian is picking up comics so as long as he’s reading. We now live in an age where there is panic about young people having low literacy levels.

“The key is to get them interested in books – it doesn’t matter what kind to start with. Jordan’s story could be a fantastic one which just keeps going.”

The acclaimed writer, said he respected her for talking openly about her disabled son, Harvey.

Rankin, whose son Kit suffers from Angelman Syndrome, added: “It’s good she talks about him in her books, there are lots of parents with disabled kids who are looking for a positive role model like her.”