#bookblogger ~ The Books that Shaped Me

MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH BOOKS!!

I have been a bibliophile for as long as I can remember. From a very young age I was always to be found with my head in a book. It’s a love affair I still hold precious and I thank each day that I am lucky enough to be able to continue with this passion.

In this post I hope to introduce you to selection of books that have influenced my life from a young age.

As a child of the 70’s, I grew up with Enid Blyton. There are so many books that I loved by this wonderful author. The fact these books were all written in the early 20th century is a testament to Enid Blyton’s ability as a writer. All her books are treasured by children across the world still to this day. I would hope that every library, no matter where in the world, has even one of her books, to allow a child the escapism into imagination that all kids should be allowed to have.

There are three books to the trilogy known as The Magic Faraway Tree Collection

#1 The Enchanted Wood

#2 The Magic Faraway Tree

#3 The Folk of the Faraway Tree

I thought nothing of escaping to a magic land above the trees, where I could spend my day playing with Joe, Beth & Franny. 

Moonface and Saucepan Man were as much a part of my young life as my best friend who lived across the road.

As soon as my own kids were old enough they too were introduced to the magic. A beautiful selection of books, I could not recommend them enough for any young child showing an interest in reading.

The Famous Five!

A collection made up of twenty-one books to gather up, hide under your blankets with a torch and escape.

Who didn’t want to run away to Kirrin Island with Julian, Dick and Anne, George & Timmy the Dog?

I grew up on an estate, where treasure and islands were so far removed from my every day routine of school and homework. Julian was so brave and in control. I suspect I had a very early crush on Julian. George was just the coolest girl ever. She seemed to have no fear. My imagination was let loose and I was a castaway washed up on Kirrin Island on many occasions, where I too could join the adventures. So what if Five became Six??

The Diary of Anne Frank, first published in 1947, is the book that probably was the most impressionable on me.  I don’t think I had ever been so enthralled & at the same time so upset by a novel. It took hold of me and completely pulled me in. I had never read a true story of such tragic consequences yet written in such a sweet manner.

I think having read this book, that era of our history has influenced my choice of reading the most from then on to the present day.

I am forever drawn to books that have an historical nature. From WW1, through the 1920s and The Lost Generation, to WW2 and the atrocities that were carried out to a nation that once stood so proud.

Anne Frank, whose birthday has only just passed on 12th June, is a reminder I think to us all of the horrors society can inflict on itself. A book all should read, no matter what age.

I spent my late teens and early twenties, diverting back to the books that were popular, the books my friends were all reading. Funnily enough I have no great memory of these books. Early in the new millenium, Patricia Cornwell came on the scene and blew us all away with the marvelous Kay Scarpetta and Postmortem. Thus followed a time where I could not get my hands fast enough on a new wave of crime writers. I loved all those books.

My reading habits changed after I had my first child in 2004. I devoured Harry Potter while feeding my little girl. Life took over and my reading took a back seat. I think I had an enforced break up with my lover ie my reading. Time just wasn’t there anymore!!

One day I picked up a book that changed my reading habits as an adult. It was Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. I hadn’t read too many books about the trench warfare of WW1 but Birdsong just blew me away. I lived every minute with Stephen and Isabelle, as their romance blossomed in war-torn France. I fought with Stephen in the trenches and I felt every pain he endured. It is a masterpiece of a book, one that will shake you up and put you back down a different person. I immediately picked up The Girl at the Lion d’Or and Charlotte Grey.

It started me on a journey of reading a very meaningful type of book, books that made me think. I discovered authors like Irene Nemirovsky with Suite Francaise. Simon Mawer ,with a huge selection of books from that era, my first read being The Glass Room.

I became quite obsessed with reading these books and when time allows, it is an era I return to again & again. My most recent being The Silent Hours by Cesca Major, a hauntingly beautiful book of a forgotten tragedy that happened in a small village in rural France in the 1940s.

I have a passion for books.

I read lots of different book, which is the joy of being a blogger. I am very lucky enough to be in a position to choose the type of book I wish to read. Being a blogger has introduced me to many books I would never have picked up through sheer lack of knowledge about a book’s existence. I have now got a selection of books that I feel so proud to own and share with others, so they too can experience the joy of discovery that a good book brings!!

I hope you enjoyed my ramblings.

I would be delighted if you shared this post among your friends and followers and I would love to know what books molded you from a young age.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Lots of Love

Mairead xx