If I were to have a long list of every single book I’ve ever read, I’d like to think that each one has changed me in some way. Personally, I see reading as an experience. I want to be shaped by the books I’ve read and when I’ve finished I want to feel as if I’ve changed in some way.
Perhaps the books that have shaped me the most are the Stonewylde series by Kit Berry, which I return to again and again. I first read them when I was eleven years old and, unlike many of you, I never had Harry Potter to read growing up (I read them much later on!), so these books were my own version. Stonewylde is my safe haven, the place I go when I want to escape.
The first YA books I ever read were the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot and, alongside Carmen Reid’s St. Judes books, they taught me what it was like to grow up as a teenage girl. I learnt so much from them, and I love revisiting them once in a while to rediscover just why I fell in love.
Other notable mentions are the Ashbury-Brookfield books by Jaclyn Moriarty, which taught me a lot about Australian culture and also gave me hours worth of laughs. I love these books!
I think books are a bit like horcruxes. Opposite horcruxes, though. With each one I read, a tiny part of the book’s soul joins with my soul, and I honestly believe that each part changes me. I’m a better person for reading, for experiencing life through the eyes of so many others. This is why I love reading. I wouldn’t be who I am today without books.
6 Comments
Holly
4 February, 2015 at 6:39 amTwitter: HollyPeckitt
This is such a lovely post and I completely agree with you on the matter. Even if you dislike a book, that book will have effected and changed you in someway. It may only be a tiny bit, but all books change you in some way.
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gill edwards
4 February, 2015 at 7:07 amTwitter: book_magpie
This is such a great post. I had never really thought about the effect of the books i read. I guess they do change you quite a bit in some cases. I have only begun to get into YA in the last 9 months or so but really love the genre now.
Gill
gill edwards recently posted…7 Days by Eve Ainsworth
Jolien @ The Fictional Reader
4 February, 2015 at 9:56 amYour comparison of books and opposite horcruxes in on point! I’d never really thought of it like that, but it’s completely right. They do leave a part of them, a little imprint on you. I’ve never heard of the Stonewylde series though, I will look it up on Goodreads 😀
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Michelle @ Pink Polka Dot Books
4 February, 2015 at 2:39 pmThe Ashbury-Brookfield books were my first glimpse at Aussie life. And those books are SO funny, I totally agree. I would like to think that all the books I’ve read (even ones I didn’t like so much) have become apart of me…. otherwise that’s a lot of time I’ve spent on something without meaning!!
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Kyra
4 February, 2015 at 4:38 pmTwitter: Bookaholic007
This is so true, Lucy! Each book I read leaves a little imprint on my heart and helps me grow more as a person. The books that shaped my childhood were the Enid Blyton books and the Babysitters Club books, and yesterday I actually read an Enid Blyton book and it was like returning to my childhood. I love it when books do that! Fantastic post! 🙂
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