What I like to read

Whenever somebody asks me what my favourite book, series, genre or author is, I have to admit I groan a little. Not because I hate reading but because I love reading and I have so many favourites that it is too hard to narrow it down to a list of ten even.

If you were to ask me what the first book I remember reading that made me fall in love with the world of books, that's a little easier. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis. Since then, it has been a steady diet of fiction and non fiction, crime, classics, fantasy and historical fiction, biographies, essays, modern history and ancient history, and many, many other topics including forensics for writers. There are so many books I have read since age six when I learnt to read that it is quite possible there are quite a few that have been forgotten from my ever growing list, well into the 600s now, and growing towards 700 and more.

I am not averse to reading multiple books: one novel, one non fiction and one or two others from other genres, just in case I get bored of reading one at some stage. And that happens. I can hit overload with a series or topic and need to read something else so I don't lose myself and lose my place in the other book. Some series, like A Song of Ice and Fire, have such thick books, that as much as I enjoy them, I hit overload and need to read something light just to recharge my brain.

Sometimes I get stuck in a genre for a while. I had a huge fantasy phase a while back and my brain just collapsed from all the different worlds I had visited across the fantasy island and enchanted forests. I journeyed back to Mary's secret garden to repair that overload.

Many people stick to one genre, but many of my reading buddies and friends read broadly and widely. When asked what I don't read, its easier to say that its more individual books and authors that might not ever appeal to me rather than genres. As to themes? Well, all books have themes, some I like, some I don't. I read with an open mind though, and was quite happy to read a book of CS Lewis' letters with references to the Bible even though I'm not overly religious  myself. Reading with an open mind is best.

A lifetime of reading has shown me how many books are out there and what I do and don't like and that we all respond to books differently. It has also shown me that just because one is a certain age doesn't mean they will read at that age level or indeed like those books - another blog, I think, to write on that topic. With that, I leave you so I can revisit my forensics book.