My Life in Books (So Far)

Whilst eating my lunch today, I wanted to watch something on TV. After a bit of channel flicking, I saw a programme on BBC 2 called My Life in Books. I had never heard of it, but the title of it got me hooked on watching it straight away. The programme is hosted by Anne Robinson (who by the way, still does her classic wink face when ending the show, just like in the Weakest Link) and has two well known guests on. The guests sit on one sofa whilst Anne sits opposite them on another. Anne interviews both of them, switching back and forth, asking them to talk about the books they chose for the show with questions like why they chose them, what is there importance to them, and sometimes asking them to read a short extract from one or two of the books they chose.

After watching the show, I began thinking about what my life in books was like. I am only young but books have always played a big part in my life. In a way, this blog post comes in brilliant timing as next Monday is my 19th birthday, and so it allows me to look back on what books have made a mark on me in my life. So here it is, my life in books (so far):

Double Act by Jacqueline Wilson

"Ruby and Garnet are ten-year-old twins. They're identical, and they do EVERYTHING together, especially since their mother died three years earlier - but they couldn't be more different. Bossy, bouncy, funny Ruby loves to take charge, and is desperate to be a famous actress, while quiet, sensitive, academic Garnet loves nothing more than to curl up with one of her favourite books. And when everything around the twins is changing so much, can being a double act work for ever?"

Double Act has got to be my favourite book by Jacqueline Wilson. I was a huge fan of her when I was younger and I have to say now that she was probably the author who got me into reading. I did read a lot of her books but this one was the one I remembered liking and reading the most. I also loved, and still do love, Nick Sharratt's illustrations. They're so simplistic in how they are drawn and are so great to look at. Only a few years ago did I realise how she could write about real life issues in a way that children can understand and enjoy reading about. 

Jacqueline, if there ever is a chance that you read this, or if I ever get to meet you, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for getting me into the beautiful hobby that is reading.

War Trash by Ha Jin

""War Trash" is the unforgettable story of Yu Yuan, a young Chinese army officer sent by Mao with a corps of volunteers' to help shore up the Communist side in Korea. When the Americans capture Yu, his command of English propels him into the role of unofficial interpreter in the psychological warfare that defines the POW camp. Desperate to return to his beloved fiancee and widowed mother, Yu is trapped by both barbed wire and politics."

This is just one of those books that have been written well and is extremely engaging. I remember that I got this from my local library as I just wanting something to read. I had no idea this existed and I had never really read anything like this before. This was one of those books that as soon as I woke up the next morning, I couldn't wait to continue reading it. When I go to the local library when I'm back home, I try to look for it on the shelves and hope that it's there. I haven't been in a while so maybe when I go there next, I'll try and find it again. By reading this book, it made me understand that trying out books that I don't usually read is a good thing to do as it allows me to be opened up to new experiences.

A Train in Winter: A Story of Resistance, Friendship and Survival by Caroline Moorehead

"On an icy dawn morning in Paris in January 1943, a group of 230 French women resisters were rounded up from the Gestapo detention camps and sent on a train to Auschwitz - the only train, in the four years of German occupation, to take women of the resistance to a death camp.The youngest was a schoolgirl of 15, the eldest a farmer's wife of 68; there were among them teachers, biochemists, sales girls, secretaries, housewives and university lecturers. The women turned to one another, finding solace and strength in friendship and shared experience. They supported and cared for one another, worked together, and faced the horror together. Friendship, almost as much as luck, dictated survival. Forty-nine of them came home. Caroline Moorehead's breathtaking new book is the story of these women - the first time it has been told. It is about who they were, how and why they joined the resistance, how they were captured by the French police and the Gestapo, their journey to Auschwitz and their daily life in the death camps - and about what it was like for the survivors when they returned to France. A Train in Winter covers a harrowing part of our history but is, ultimately, a portrait of ordinary people, of bravery and endurance, and of friendship."

I've always loved history. I love reading about it and I loved studying it (I did a GCSE and A Level in it). What I loved about this book was that not only did it tell in detail about the lives of the women before, during, and for those who were lucky, after , it allowed me as a reader to truly understand the value of friendship. The book showed how strong women back then could be and it emphasised how women were during the war, not just letting the men do all the fighting. As a woman, it taught me that I can fight for what I believe in and that it is possible to win. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this. I did only mention 3 books, but as I said, I'm only young. Perhaps I'll do another one of this post sometime ahead in the future. Let me know what your life in books is in the comments below.