Love of a good book…

Who else loves a good book?

There’s something really special about getting and starting a new book don’t you think? Just sitting down and finding a time in the day to read…

Some people like to read classics like ‘Pride and Prejudice’ or ‘Wuthering Heights’. Some prefer horror novels like ‘Frankenstein’ or Stephen King’s ‘Carrie’. Others favour romances such as ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ or a Jilly Cooper novel like ‘Riders’.

But personally I love a good biography which probably explains why I like writing my blog. I’m currently enjoying reading ‘This Mum Runs’ by Jo Pavey. It’s an inspiring everyday read about a mum who runs and wins medals but it’s also about a runner that mums! 

It’s going to take me a while to read as some days I only find the time to read a few pages but i’m hooked and motivated by this book to keep on reading and getting back into running!

This read is a ‘real’ book – one that you actually turn the pages for! I do have an e-reader which I totally adore but there is nothing quite like going into a book shop and buying an ‘actual’ new book. They smell so good and I get that guilty pleasure from buying from new, just like a child gets from getting a new magazine.

It’s funny to imagine that books did not always look the way they do today, with their glossy covers and creamy pages.

Regardless of what books we like, what they look like and how we choose to read them, we all know that reading is an activity that ‘keeps giving’. It gives you pleasure, escapism, inspiration, an education and it allows you to dream or travel without even moving your feet!

I’m lucky that Alfie and Betsy both love a good story. Alfie is given new books to read each week from school and I really enjoy the moments we spend reading them together. The more we read the more he seems to learn and the greater his imagination becomes!

We love World Book Day in our house. Each year we spend time thinking about our favourite books and what we can find to dress up as. Last year I had a ‘Where’s Wally’ and a ‘Very Hungry Caterpillar’ and this year I had Alfie dressed up as the not so ‘Enormous Crocodile’ and Betsy as my cheeky little ‘Piglet’ from Winnie the Pooh.

I have to say I really enjoyed buying Alfie his first Roald Dahl book this year – he was probably my favourite childhood author.

I remember going to a book shop in Alresford with my Mum and Dad to buy the first edition of ‘Matilda’. I was aged 10 in 1988 when the book first came out. I saved up all my pocket money to buy that book for just £8.50 and the book still sits on my book shelf today.

I think kid’s books are just magical – they just have this way of transporting you to another world. This is why I still love reading them as an adult and I’m sure I’m not the only one…

I’d love to have a go at writing a kids book one day and definitely feel it should be added to my bucket list! It’s quite ironic that I wasn’t very good at reading and writing at school.

From an early age I really had to work at both skills. By the time I was ten, I was diagnosed as being dyslexic and was lucky enough to have a one to one support lesson each week with a Mrs Brown.

Mrs Brown and I got on famously in particular when I received 20 smiley faces for good work and a tube of chocolate smarties!

I went on to achieve two A’s in my English GCSE’s and then chose to study English Literature at A-Level. My passion for reading and writing has most probably led me to my current job role today as a comms officer. Mum and dad put it down to sheer determination to prove myself and I put it down to Mrs Campbell, my Headmistress at middle school who always told me that there was no such word as ‘can’t’ only ‘can’ if you believe in yourself.

Although Betsy is far too young to read properly she still enjoys getting her hands on a good book. Every day, without fail, Betsy will pick up, one by one, all her books from her book truck and bring them over to us to read – she then parks herself on one of our laps and waits for us to read her each book.

Her favourite books are those Usborne books – That’s not my kitten/duck/bee/bunny etc. I think we have about 20 of them and they never fail to amuse her!

A good book to me allows me to escape from reality – even if it’s only for a few minutes each day…