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On reading
Enduring literary influences from childhood to now
My bedside table has a stack of books higher than the bedside lamp. The bookcase in the study used to be double stacked with books but we moved house recently so I was forced to cull some of my collection. Now that we have several Little Free Libraries around us, it was less traumatic than it might have been. My children know that they can talk me into buying them books much easier than buying them toys and they have a good collection of picture books and early readers.
Yes, I am a compulsive reader. Books have always provided me with solace and escape, imaginary worlds, and intellectual stimulation. I hope that my children will find the same pleasures in reading and maybe writing as well.
Here are my top five enduring authors.
Shakespeare
Does William Shakespeare need any explanation? When I was still in primary school, I remember finding a beautifully bound collected work of Shakespeare at my grandparents’ house. When we were visiting, I would often sit with this huge tome, reading the plays. I didn’t understand much of it at the time, but the magic of the words washed over me and left their mark. Later on, in high school, when everyone else was groaning through Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and then Hamlet, Shakespeare felt like an old…
