Breaking my Blogging Cherry

7 Days of Books I Love

Hello and welcome to my blog! To get to know me and my reading a little better I thought I would start with a Facebook tag that was doing the rounds a while ago. My lovely friend Jo tagged me in it, 7 Days of books I love, no explaining, no reviewing. I had two major issues with tag!

1. How on earth do you narrow it down to just 7 books?! In the end I chose the books that had the biggest influence on me as a reader.
2. No explaining! I found that so very hard.

So here’s my chance to share those 7 books, some of these I have gone back to, some I have never read again. I won’t be reviewing them here or giving you a synopsis of each one – I will simply tell you why they made my list.

Bathwater’s Hot by Shirley Hughes

I love Shirley Hughes, she is an amazing children’s author. The nursery collection is great, gentle rhymes, beautiful language and gorgeous illustrations, they were first published in 1985. To choose only one it had to be Bathwater’s hot, this is my earliest memory of being read to. We were surrounded by books and stories growing up, but for some reason this is the one that I remember the most. I have since read these books to my children, they have never lost their appeal and are a set of books that I won’t be parting with. Even when my children have moved on.

 

 

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

 

I’m going to start by saying I am not a fan of the classics, this was first published in 1937. I studied the book for GCSE English and it made a lasting impression. This was the first time I realised the power a book could have. It made me angry, it made me sad and most importantly of all, it made me think. I have never re read this book and I don’t want to. I would worry it wouldn’t be how I remember it. I feel it was at this point I became a ‘grown up’ reader, looking for something more from the books I chose to read.

 

 

 

 

A Crack in Forever by Jeannie Brewer

Published in 1998 and heralded as the love story of the 90’s. This is an unusual choice for me, I do read the occasional chic lit but on the whole it is not a genre I am drawn to. However, the relationship between Eric and Alexandra is beautifully written and the crisis they face is unlike any other I have read about. If you love a good romance I encourage you to look this one up – word of warning though, get the tissues handy!

 

 

Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett

Discworld, how could I chose just one?! Terry Pratchett began my love affair with fantasy, he writes beautifully and with fabulous humor. The photo shows just a small part of my collection. He had to be on my list but which actual book?! The DEATH series and the witches are my favourite of all the discworld books but the witches just gets it. Witches abroad has the most amazing cast of characters, Greebo the cat is a wonderful side character and Granny Weatherwax is amazing. This book makes me laugh out loud until tears fall down my face – LOVE IT!

 

 

The Fault in our Stars by John Green

 

 

Have to be honest, I only read this to see what all the fuss was about! I was captivated, John Green has written a beautiful novel about a very difficult subject and pitched it perfectly for his audience. I am sure a lot of you have read this, if you haven’t it is worth a few hours of your time.

 

 

 

 

Hold Back the Stars by Katie Khan

Remember that friend I mentioned, the one who tagged me in this post. She made me read this! Honest she did! I would never have picked this book up on my own, but I am so glad she pushed this on me. Part dystopian, part romance, part … just dam good! This book has it all, a wonderful narrative, well written, believable characters. Oh and the ending(s) yes I meant the (s) but you’ll have to read it to find out why. This is a book I can’t let go of, I will be reading her latest book ‘The Light Between Us’ soon so look out for the review. My friends Jo’s blog can be found here, go and give it a look. She’s responsible for me starting my own.

 

 

 

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

It seemed only right to end on a fantasy, as this is my true book love. The first in a triology, A discovery of Witches is brilliant. An engaging narrative, characters from fantasy that blend seamlessly with the ‘everyday’ and stunning locations. Well they are written that way, the scenes in the Bodleian library being among my favourites. I have often recommended this to total fantasy newbies and so far everyone has loved it. Sky is soon to make this into a TV series, I have everything crossed they don’t ruin it – I may well do a review comparison of the two.

 

 

 

So there are mine – what would you choose? I would love to hear your thoughts, please leave me a comment or subscribe to my blog.