“A book is a dream you hold in your hand.”

They say that as a writer you must also be an avid reader. And that, I’ve always been. I was reading by the age of 4 and was always a step or two ahead of my classmates on the school library reading scale. I loved nothing more than to spend afternoons in my bedroom getting lost in Enid Blyton’s world – The Magic Faraway Tree was a firm favourite and I still have my battered, doorstep of a copy on my son’s bookshelf, hopefully waiting to be loved once more. The Twins at St Clares is another series I remember fondly. I dreamed of being able to go to boarding school with Pat and Isabel O’Sullivan with my trunk and tuck box in tow.

As I got older I discovered Goosebumps, Christopher Pike and the Point Horror series. The scary tales from R.L.Stine, Diane Hoh and Richie Tankersley Cusick would keep me awake at night well into my teens. They’re still available on Amazon for something stupid like a penny each and I’m actually thinking of buying a load for my sons before they become obsolete. With my love for horror well and truly ignited, at 15 I became familiar with Stephen King, who I’m sure most would recognise as one of the true, horror masters. Nothing gives me the shivers quite like Annie Wilkes from Misery or Gage Creed in Pet Sematary. I haven’t been able to muster the courage to read The Shining or IT, just thinking about the film adaptations makes it impossible for me to sleep.

Nowadays, with uninterrupted reading time as precious as it is scarce, I love a wide range of authors and genres. For a light, fairly easy but satisfying read, I love the chick lit penned by the likes of Marian Keyes, Jane Green, Cecelia Ahern and Diane Chamberlain. I become completely immersed in Jodi Picoult’s legal dramas and in tales of kings and queens by Phillipa Gregory. One of my many, many goals for 2017 is to concentrate a bit more on nonfiction and I’m currently on Helter Skelter – The True Story of The Manson Murders. It’s pretty grisly and so jam packed full of information that I may finish it by the time Oliver starts school!

So here is a list, in no particular order, of my top 10 books of my life so far:

1. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume.

“For a moment it’s as if they were never apart. They’re still Vixen and Cassandra, Summer sisters forever. The rest is a mistake, a crazy joke.”  

I’ve read this book so many times over the year I practically know it by heart. My old paperback copy is so well worn it’s practically falling apart. It’s the ultimate coming of age tale where Vix and Caitlin’s worlds collide. Opposites in so many ways, this story takes us through their teenage years with all the fun, tears, angst and love we’ve come to expect from Judy Blume. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what makes me love this old faithful so unconditionally. I think perhaps I relate quite closely to Vix – always the sidekick, usually in the shadows. I was never a Caitlin girl when I was growing up but I had my share of Caitlin friends. Girls who were cooler than me, prettier than me, more popular than me, who would take me under their wing and make me popular by association. Whatever the reason, this book fits me like a pair of comfortable jeans. 

2. White Oleander by Janet Fitch.

“Isn’t it funny. I’m enjoying my hatred so much more than I ever enjoyed love. Love is temperamental. Tiring. It makes demands. Love uses you, changes its mind. But hatred, now, that’s something you can use. Sculpt. Wield. It’s hard or soft, however you need it. Love humiliates you, but hatred cradles you.” 

This is another firm favourite of mine, one that I go back to time and time again. White Oldeander follows Astrid Magnussen, a 12 year old girl thrust into the American care system when her mother, the beautiful and icy Ingrid, murders her lover. We see Astrid grow over 6 years or so, in and out of numerous foster homes and several stints in a group home. We meet a complete spectrum of would be parents, all of whom seem to have their own agendas. This book really hits home for me, everything you’d imagine “the system” to be. It’s poignant, deep and heartbreaking and I defy anyone not to fall in love with this book. 

3. The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans.

“I guess that’s all forever is. Just one big, long trail of nows. And I guess all you can do is try and live one now at a time without getting too worked up about the last now or the next now.”  

I first read this book when I was 15 and immediately fell for Tom Booker, hard. The man that would save Pilgrim and his family, the Macleans, after a devastating accident one quiet, snowy morning. The events of that morning threaten to tear them apart forever and only the cleansing ritual of getting back to nature and finding themselves again might save them. Part coming of age, part romance, if you have any interest whatsoever in horses, then this book is for you.  

4. I Am legend by Richard Matheson.

“ He stood there for a moment looking around the silent room, shaking his head slowly. All these books, he thought, the residue of a a planet’s intellect, the scrapings of futile minds, the leftovers, the potpourris for artifacts that had no power to save men from perishing.” 

After watching the Will Smith film, I was so excited to discover it was actually an adaptation. One of several in fact, others being; The Last Man on Earth, The Omega Man and I Am Omega. The story of one man, alone in a post apocalyptic world, barely surviving from one day to the next, ensuring never to be out after dark when the creatures roam. I was surprised at the differences in the endings and while I thought the film ended well, I couldn’t believe they’d changed it so drastically. It’s a great example of man’s ability to survive in a desolate world and demonstrates very effectively why mankind requires human company to thrive.  

5. Misery by Stephen King.

“ I am your number one fan.” 

As I mentioned earlier, I discovered King when I was 15, truly terrorising myself with the thriller that is Misery. It’s psychologically disturbing, terrifying as it’s something that could actually happen. When Paul Sheldon wakes up, he’s in Annie Wilkes’ isolated home, following an accident in the snow. He is bed bound with numerous injuries but seems to have the perfect nurse in his Number One Fan. All he has to do is wait out the snow before he can be airlifted out of there, right? Annie Wilkes does not, at first, come across as your typical villain. She’s caring, attentive, an ex- nurse who knows her stuff. How much harm can Paul come to?

6. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. 

“ Don’t you think it’s better to be extremely happy for a short while, even if you lose it, than to just be okay for your whole life?”  

I read this book over two days whilst on holiday in 2012. I could not put it down, I was completely enthralled by this magical tale of Henry and Clare, the very definition of meant to be. I’ve always found the notion of time travel ridiculous, I’ve not even seen the Back To The Future movies, much to my husband’s disbelief. But Niffenegger makes it feel not only real but possible. We follow Clare and Henry through the years and the numerous trials of being in a relationship where one of you can disappear at any time, without warning and for no given amount of time. This book made me laugh and it made me cry and I can’t expect much more.  

7. Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

“ I think grief is like a really ugly couch. It never goes away. You can decorate around it; you can slap a doily on top of it; you can push it to the corner of the room – but eventually, you learn to live with it.”  

From the off, this is not the kind of book I should have enjoyed. It focuses a lot on clairvoyance, a subject I am very skeptical about. Having read all of Picoult’s other novels, I expected that this would have a similar, legal theme with lawyers and a big court case. Not so. This novel tells us of Jenna Metcalf, a 12 years old girl who is searching for her mother – Alice – who went missing years before, whilst running an elephant sanctuary. She enlists the help of two chalk and cheese allies, Serenity Jones; a disgraced psychic and Virgil Stanhope; the original police detective from Alice’s missing persons case. This book will teach you a lot about elephants and leave you reeling them the end. I promise.  

8. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. 

“ I’m sure there is Magic in everything, only we have not sense enough to get hold of it and make it do things for us.”  

I haven’t read this book in a very, very long time but it was such a favourite of mine when in was a teenager. The tale of 10 year old Mary Lennox who comes from India to Yorkshire after her parents are claimed by cholera, to live with a cold and distant uncle whom she’s never met. We see how Burnett presents the transformation of a sour, contrary girl into an adventurer who sets about discovering the mysteries of the Craven mansion and becomes an advocate for a sick young boy.    

9. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.

“ Better never means better for everyone…It always means worse, for some.”  

I studied Atwood’s dystopian chiller at A- Level English and was immediately drawn into a world where men rule and women have a variety of subservient roles. Servant, nurse, wife, baby maker. All are forbidden to read or have interactions with other women. It’s not a horror but there’s definitely something horrifying about a world where women are treated as lower class citizens and as with Misery, the scary part is that it could really happen. We meet Offred, literally Of- Fred, who is one of the women, or handmaids, kept solely for reproductive purposes. She is one of few women who’ve not been left infertile by pollution and sexually transmitted diseases. She gives us an insight not only into her life before the reformation, but into this new hierarchical regime. I urge you to give this book a read, Atwood’s writing is outstanding and the way she presents this totalitarian world is authentic and believable. 

10. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Wisenberger

“As I raced out of the office, I could hear Emily rapid-fire dialling four digit extensions and all but screaming “ She’s on her way – tell everyone!” It took me only three seconds to wind through the hallways and pass through the fashion department but I had already heard panicked cries of “ Emily said she’s on her way in!” And “Miranda’s coming!” And a particularly blood curdling cry of “She’s baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!” 

This book is my guilty pleasure and before you tell me that you’ve seen the film, it’s not the same, as adaptations rarely are. I get so excited reading about those gorgeous designer clothes and shoes and waste a lot of energy planning my own, designer laden walk in. When Andy Sachs takes on an unexpected and, some might argue, unsuitable internship at Runway magazine, headed by the infamous Miranda Priestly, what she doesn’t expect is the wildest, craziest, soul destroying rollercoaster of her life. We follow her as she tried to get to grips with the fashion industry, making head nor tale of Gucci and Dolce and Gabbana (“can you spell Gabbanna”) all the while trying to juggle her increasingly strained relationship with both her boyfriend and her friends. And while the film isn’t as good as the book, Meryl Streep makes it more than bearable with her outstanding performance as The Dragon Lady. 

So there you have it, my top 10 books of all time. Of course there are others that I love but these are the books that I could read over and over. Hopefully after reading this, you’ll give one or two a try 😊. 

“A book is a dream you hold in your hand.” Neil Gaiman.