A Reading Autobiography

I have very little recollection of my early years of reading. However, what does strike me as being important is that i always seem to read and engage with books and texts that were more advanced than my years. Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories were read to me by my Grandad and later on read by myself. Even today i still go back to Doyle's works for pleasure. As well, I very much enjoyed R.L Stine's Goosebump series when I was at Key Stage 2 level along with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.

I believe that reading has stayed with me from my childhood and i still (when time allows) read regularly. More recently, I read Justin Cronin's The Passage, which was the best novel I've read for many years. In terms of what i read and how i pick them, i usually circle my favourite authors religiously (Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Stephen King, etc). However, positive reviews also influence me and play a part in what i buy, such was the case with Justin Cronin. My degree (History) has also played a role in my reading over the last three years. Elements of the course revolved around certain key texts which in turn required me to read them. In some cases this was enlightening in a good way in the case of Voltaire's works and Alex Harvey's though provoking biography on the life of Malcolm X. However, in the case of Orwell's 1984 and Betty Frieda's the feminine mystique, not much pleasure was taken from reading them.

: 26 Sep 2011 12:42 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem