My Reading Story

When I think about reading as a child, memories of my collection of fairy tales comes flooding back. My happiest times were spent in a kingdom far away. Once upon a time was just the beginning of my journey into the imaginary world of books. C S Lewis-Chronicles of Narnia, Blyton’s The Naughtiest Girl in the School and Dahl’s amazing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, all had a special place on my bookshelf. My Mum followed the oral tradition of story-telling, entertaining me with stories she had heard as a child. I would enjoy the vivid description and the suspense of what would come next. At Primary School carpet time was spent listening to the teacher read picture books and novels, such as the tales of Beatrix Potter and ‘The Secret Garden’. This is where I was first introduced to the books of Roald Dahl.
As a young child I enjoyed writing stories and creating my own characters and imaginary lands. I treasured the books I was given as gifts for Christmas and Birthdays and colour coded them into genres like the library. I had a large library of books growing up and was encouraged by my Mum to read widely. My collection featured encyclopaedias, Science, History, Gardening and Cookery.

Going to my local library as a child was like a visit to the sweet shop, enticing bright colours and an array of books to choose from. I enjoyed a variety of genres dipping into ‘Sweet Valley High’ and the Point Horror series.
The next chapter in my literary journey was historical fiction and biographies, the lives and times of the Tudors was a great obsession.
Supernatural and Fantasy became my next big thing. When I was sixteen I enrolled on a creative writing course and began writing fantasy stories. My earlier readings of ‘The Little Vampire’ books opened the door to the underworld and its nightly creatures. Soon I was following the adventures of vampires and witches in L.J . Smith’s Night World series and ‘The Vampire Diaries’.

My teenage reading included the classics and the works of Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy quickly became my literary favourites. I also became interested in Astrology and was fascinated by the Zodiac. For my A’ Levels I studied French Literature and enjoyed Marcel Pagnol’s Le Château de ma Mere and Albert Camus L’etranger. English Literature developed my passion for reading which also influenced my writing style.

When I was growing up reading and literature were always important to me. Now as an adult I can see the role this has played in my learning and development. My reading as an adult includes both popular and classic fiction with authors ranging from Margaret Atwood to George Eliot. I also read a lot of Children’s Literature for pure delight and as a model for my own writing.

i like the bit about the library being like a sweet shop - when i see books from my childhood now it triggers the same reaction - amazing how the publishers have made such a permanent and vivid stamp on my mind!

I too like the 'sweet shop' bit - it's a bit short this, but otherwise good.