Why I love Books | Guest Post
Saturday, October 08, 2016
If there has been one constant my whole life, it has been
books. Ever since I was small, I can always remember having a book to read
wherever I went. There have been blips and breaks as I’ve gotten older and
busier but I’m always reading something.
I’m not sure if I love reading because it’s all I’ve known or
because I genuinely love immersing myself or a mix of both. I like to think
it’s the mix and I should thank my parents and everyone else for encouraging me
to read at such a young age because it has shaped me and how I am as a person.
This guest post will take a look at those authors and books
which cemented my love of reading and still do;
Roald Dahl
Dahl is probably my earliest memory of picking up a
book and really loving it. I can’t remember what one was first, though I can
imagine it was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Matilda because I was
obsessed with the films when I was younger.
I think what Roald Dahl did for young readers is
unparalleled to anyone else, for his imagination that brought all his silly
creations and characters to life was so brilliant to read. I remember a lot of
books by Enid Blyton (Famous Five), Shirley Hughes (Alfie) and E. Nesbit (The
Railway Children) but none ever touched Dahl in their imagination and understanding
of what children really, really loved to read.
His stories of little children going on adventures
with giants, giraffes and monkeys, about scary witches and marvellous sweet
factories made my little brain yearn for more and more stories. I remember mixing
every concoction my bathroom had so I could be George and his Marvellous
Medicine or wishing any peach I saw grew to be a giant one.
What’s more magical about these stories is that even
now, being much older, they are still just as enjoyable to read. I recently
re-read The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me as well as Fantastic Mr Fox and Esio
Trot (thank you free books in work) and I was just smiling all the way through.
The themes and lessons throughout his books teach kids from an early age about
the importance of kindness to all beings, about the necessity for imagination
and how everyone should believe in magic.
So, in the month of his 100th Birthday, I
feel this is fitting to remember the man who started it all for me and who will
continue to do so for millions more for a long, long time.
Charlie
Higson – Young Bond
I absolutely loved watching the James Bond films when
I was a kid. Pierce Brosnan was my 007 and even though now I know how cheesy
they are, I loved the action and tuxedos and ridiculous car chases through
foreign cities.
So, when I discovered that there was a series of books
depicting the adventures of a young James Bond, I knew I had to devour them
all. Luckily for me, these books turned out to be well written thrillers
perfect for my age at the time, which I’d say was around twelve or thirteen.
What Higson did best I think was not amp up the Bond
we all know from the big screen too much for his younger readers. Bond was a
confident young man but not cocky and cheesy, his partners were not dumb girls
but smart, and badass girls. The stories themselves wove like classic whodunits
and he created likeable characters.
Young Bond has continued past Charlie Higson but it is
him I have to thank for setting me along the path of the thriller and giving
thirteen year old me the chance to become a spy every now and again
P.S. A note should be added to praise Anthony
Horowitz’s Alex Rider series or the Stormbreaker
books. Essential reading for any young teenager/secret spy.
J.R.R. Tolkien
Where do I even begin with Tolkien? The Hobbit and The
Lord of the Rings are stories I will tell my children and grandchildren and
make sure they do the same thing. They’re books that are larger than several
others combined but ones you wish you could never ever leave. It’s a world so
perfectly weaved, you yearn for a life in the Shire or to explore Rivendell
with the Elves.
It’s hard to comprehend what Tolkien actually created
when you really think about it. Fantasy had been done before, just see Lewis Carroll’s
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia but nothing
like Middle Earth had ever been attempted in literature before. The sheer scale
of history, law, characters and stories he created were and still are
mind-blowing to every new reader who encounters it. C.S. Lewis himself wrote
about The Fellowship of the Ring that
“Nothing quite like it was ever done before.... The
utterly new achievement of Professor Tolkien is that he carries a comparable
sense of reality unaided.”
Its legacy for future writers and creators still
continues to this day and books like ASOIAF and games such as World of Warcraft
and the like would simply fail to exist if it weren’t for Tolkien creating this
wonderful and diverse world. And those are just but two examples of the
influence Tolkien had. Led Zeppelin, in their 1969 song Ramble On sang about Mordor and Gollum – (my heroes are nerds too)
“ 'Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor
I met a girl so fair
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up
And slipped away with her”
I met a girl so fair
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up
And slipped away with her”
His writing is so confident in his own world it’s
actually quite charming as you can sense his joy and pleasure in bringing it to
life. It’s a simple story of good vs evil and what happens when you say no and
never give up. That and a wild imagination matched by only a few authors in
history.
What he did for me as a reader is something I’ll
always be grateful for. He took me far away when I needed to be and gave me
adventures I sorely needed growing up. His books aren’t just escapism, they’re
super charged rockets fuelled to the ends of the universe.
4 Bill Bryson
I’m not a huge non-fiction reader but when I do come
to it, there’s one writer I always go to and that’s travel, history and science
writer, Bill Bryson.
His book Notes
from a Small Island was voted the book that best represents Britain and
being a person who dearly loves his little old country; it spoke volumes to me.
Why this clever and hilarious book works so well I think is the fact that Mr.
Bryson is actually American, so hearing the review of where you live from an
outsider is always best. Having lived her for so long though, he was qualified
for the job.
Bill is brutally honest, funny and charming in all his
writing. He isn’t afraid to tell something as it is and has a brilliant way of
explaining and writing that keeps the reader wanting more and constantly
feeling refreshed on the subject at hand.
With best sellers in history and science as well as
travel, Bill has a brilliant back catalogue for anyone to delve into. My personal
recommendations would be his book on Shakespeare, his popular science book A Short History of Almost Everything and
for history; One Summer: America 1927.
J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter
This is probably as cliché as it gets but there’s a
reason Harry Potter is still so popular for not just writers, but for millions
around the world.
There are hundreds of reasons why but to me, Harry
Potter exists perfectly for me at every age I’ve ever read it. It never loses
its charm and wit but instead finds new ways to draw you in every time you read
and re-read it. Whatever troubles I’ve been having, it has an answer for me, no
matter what they are or when they occur.
I think I started to read Harry Potter at just the
right age too. I was eleven when I first received the first four books as part
of a set from my dad for my birthday. He and my older sister had already read
them and for whatever reason, I was reluctant (probably random stubbornness) but
I eventually succumbed and I raced through them several times and waited each
year for the new releases to come out.
It’s a classic story of underdog taking on the big
villain but done in a way so relatable to anyone who’s ever grown up feeling
tense and alone and is a remedy for people fighting those demons. J.K. made the
characters grow up with the readers, instead of keeping them all the same for
the main stories sake. You journey with Harry being small to him having girl
troubles and then finally his choices about the past and those he’s lost.
It’s about love, adventure, heartbreak, the pain and
acceptance of death and being brave in the face of evil. Much of it comparisons
to our own lives and escaping to Harry’s world helped me live in my own more
openly and accepting it for what it was.
I owe J.K. Rowling for my love of reading not just
because of the wonderful world she created but also I re-read Harry Potter so
much, I forced myself to stop so I could read everything else out there. That
was five years ago and I’ve read hundreds of amazing books since but none have
captured me quite like Harry did.
Notable mentions should go to several other authors
and books who I couldn’t include in this post for longevity reasons; To Kill a Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies remain two of the most
powerful books I’ve ever read. As for authors, Jane Austen, Mark Twain and the
bard himself, William Shakespeare all helped mould me into the obsessive reader
I am today, so thank you to those great authors.
Thank you so much to Alex for such a wonderful guest post, I absolutely love finding out why people have their favourite Authors and the stories behind them! You can find Alex over on his social media accounts which are listed below.
I'll see you soon
Kimberley Jessica
______________________________________
Fancy treating yourself over on Coconut Lane?
Use the code "kimberleyjessica20" at the checkout to redeem 20% off!
______________________________________
Twitter; @kimmcpherson_
Instagram; @_kimberleyjessica
Facebook; Kimberleyjessicablog
Bloglovin; Kimberley Jessica
Snapchat: @kim_mcpherson
1 comments
Reading was my first love and it was from reading that stemmed my love for creative writing. Roald Dahl was amazing. I remember reading The Twits, James and the Giant Peach and the BFG and being so mesmerised by such great characters and stories. I really want to read Love From Boy as well to see how he became the canonical children's author he is known as. And of course Harry Potter. I started reading it when I was just 6 and like many others, I grew up with the series.
ReplyDeleteEmily | http://www.emilytrinh.com/