Read Me: Books I grew up reading
I LOOOVE reading. I have always loved reading. My passion started with the Sweet Valley High books when I was 11 or so.
At the age of 11, I had only just learned to speak English, after moving to New Zealand from Former Yugoslavia with my family when I was 9.
Reading obviously helped me learn English and I have always found that because of reading, I was able to develop my grammar and understanding faster.
Back to Sweet Valley High. I loved those damn twins with all their high school drama! Out of the 100 books that Francine Pascal wrote, I would have read at least 80 (possible over-exaggeration happening here). I devoured them and couldn’t get enough…
… But then I did get enough, and moved on to Sidney Sheldon.
Sidney Sheldon
Who I thought was a woman for a long time. But nope, he was a dude, rest his soul.
Mr Sheldon wrote dozens of romantic-suspense novels between the 70’s and the 90’s and he said in an interview once that he wrote books so that the reader can’t put them down. And true to his word, loads of his books, I could not. Put. Down. But then I realised he had a formula and all of his books basically ran the same way. When I was able to predict who the bad guy is as soon as the character appeared, I started getting bored and moved on…
… To Jonathan Kellerman.
Jonathan Kellerman
Jonathan Kellerman writes psychological thrillers, because he’s a psychologist himself. His main series of books are with, you guessed it, a psychologist named Alex Delaware, who becomes a consultant for the police and helps them solve crimes.
I have actually almost read all of Jonathan Kellerman’s catalogue. That’s probably the closest I’ve ever come to reading someone’s complete body of work. Along with the twisting story lines, you grow with Alex Delaware, watch his life and relationships develop underneath the main story line. I loved reading the books so I can get an update on Alex’s loving relationship with instrument designer, Robin, and although they have their ups and downs, the love and chemistry is very pronounced throughout the books.
I like it easy
And now I’m a little older and my tastes have become more refined, but one thing I have noticed is that what I’m really after in books is something that will hold my interest. I hear you yelling DUUUHHHH! But what I’m trying to say is, I’m not huge on literary masterpieces.
Like, Shakespeare, dude, you’re amazing, you have given so much to our society, not the least ‘William Shakespeare’s: Romeo and Juliet’…
But I cannot actually read Romeo and Juliet, ok, that shit be cray. I can’t pay attention to that kind of language, it’s a strain and for me, reading should be easy. Try it, go on!
I have the taste of a teenage girl
I’ve tried the classics, I’ve managed to get through one Fyodor Dostoyevsky book (we’ll get into the juice-less details in a later post), I’ve tried Leo Tolstoy, but these books are so hard to read! I know they’ve contributed to the literary society. But I cannot do it.
I like Nicholas Sparks, ok, I like romance books, I’m a married woman, the Husband doesn’t tend to sweep me off my feet weekly; sweeping me off my feet these days involves throwing the rubbish out and putting the kids to sleep.
I like suspense, something that will keep me guessing. I love Liane Moriarty books, I think I’ve read them all. I am so impressed by her story telling skills and will do a whole post just on her books.
And then Bildo’s miscellaneous section, we have Markus Zusak‘s work, Paulo Coelho‘s genius, David Baldacci‘s twisted stories and Jeffrey Archer‘s brilliant tales.
I will cover their works and my recommendations in my next posts, so look out for them!
Until then, stay beautiful, you sexy beast!
B.
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