Today is World Book Day and this year's theme is "Your World Book Day" with the aim to prove that books are inclusive and fun for all.
I've been incredibly fortunate to grow up in a book filled world as I've mentioned before in this blog. There have always been books in my life from a book about Henny Penny when I was a toddler through all the usual childhood tales to the Virginia Andrews books of my early teenage years.
My kids were brought up in a book filled world too, including many of the same books although Henny Penny has been lost over the years. Both of them were in their late teens though before they really began to appreciate reading. Better late than never.
In my humble opinion, books are a personal thing- a personal choice. A bit like music, there's no bad ones, only books that aren't to your taste.
Much as I love reading, I hate being told to read a book. Recommend one to me by all means but don't tell me to read it. My heels dig in and it puts me right off the book in question. This made English class in high school a bit of a challenge. I'll confess, I rarely read the books we were told to read. I answered my O Grade English paper on a book I'd barely skimmed through. When I came to my Higher English, I knew I needed to knuckle down and actually read the prescribed text. It was book called Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon, the first book of A Scot's Quair. It's written in broad Scots and isn't the easiest read for anyone, never mind a stubborn 16-year-old. I actually bought a copy years later on a whim thinking I'd read the remaining books…hasn't happened yet.
I "bribed" myself into reading Sunset Song. Every Friday evening, I would shut myself away in the family lounge room for an hour or so, play my records and read at least one chapter of the book. I really had to force myself to read the damn thing! Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet album will be forever associated with that book!
Over the years there have been many memorable reads for many different reasons. Some of those I still associate with specific times or places. I link Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil by John Berendt (a great book!) with my honeymoon in Mauritius many many years ago.
My bookshelves are an eclectic mix as I do tend to read a wide variety of genres and authors. My kindle is overflowing with unread books (more than 100 the last time I checked). For the past few years, I have consciously been reading books, mainly e-books, by fellow indie authors. There are so many talented indie authors out there waiting to read, reviewed and shared.
Out of all the hundreds, probably thousands, of books I've read over the years, there is one that will forever hold a very special place in my heart and on my bookshelf, where it nestles with its siblings, and that is Stronger Within, the first book I wrote and finally self-published in 2015.
That book has taught me so much on so many levels since the very first evening when I sat down on my doorstep with my new notebook and pen and began to write. The first step in a dream come true moment.
Not every book is for everyone but I firmly believe that there is a book out there for everyone. You just need to search for it.
Happy searching and happy reading.
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