Top Ten Tuesday

I've seen the Top Ten Tuesday meme ran by the Broke and the Bookish but I've never had the courage to do it until this week.

This weeks is Top Ten Best Bookish Memories (waiting in line for a new release, meeting an author, or some sort of great experience with a particular book that was unlike others).

Finding Harry Potter. My grandparents had bought my brother Harry Potter for Christmas, not long after it came out and considering he wasn't really into reading I took them and decided to read them for myself. It was the first time a book had truly transported me into another world, I was addicted to these characters and they became the defining point of my childhood. I remember waiting each year until the next one would come out and devouring the second I got it. I grew up with Harry, Ron and Hermoine. Rowling ignited my passion for reading supernatural and paranormal books and I'm so glad she did.

Sylvia Plath. The first time I was introduced to Sylvia Plath was when I was studying for my A-levels, I had to write an essay comparing her poetry to her novel The Bell Jar. From the first page I fell in love with her, her writing spoke to me in a way no one else had before, I was suffering badly with depression at the time and reading the Bell Jar really helped me understand what it was and why I felt the way I did. I make sure I re-read this every year and it will allows hold a special place in my heart.

Getting my job, let me explain, I work in a bookstore, I spend my days talking about books and being able to recommend books to people. I especially love recommending things people wouldn't normally have thought to pick up. Also its been a great place to meet some amazing people who also share my passion for reading and are constantly giving me new books to read that are out of my comfort zone.

Sharing books with my mum. The first books I remember reading by myself were Enid Blyton's famous five and secret seven and the Nancy Drew series, these were books my mum had given me to read as she had read them herself when she was younger, I absolutely loved them, they made me want to be a detective and solve crimes (I quickly grew out of that).

Finding those books that change your life. The moment you're reading a book and you realise you are falling in love with it, the characters, the setting, everything just seems perfect to you, you realise that the book is life changing and can't stop telling everyone you know that they "just have to read it". This recently happened to me when I read John Green's Fault in our Stars, I laughed, I cried and I still find myself thinking about the characters from time to time and have basically forced everyone I know to read it.

Finding Alice in Wonderland. When I was younger I had a book of poetry, that had a short excerpt from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, this was my first introduction to the wonderful world of Alice and has had me captivated ever since, I'm obsessed with anything Alice and every time I see a new edition I need to have it.

Starting my blog. I've only had my blog for two months now but I love it, sharing my thoughts and feeling about books is what I love to do and its great having a place I can do that.

Connecting with people over books. I remember when the twilight books had come out and me and my friend in work were both reading them, everyday we worked together we would get so excited over what was happening we had many "oh my god, I can't believe that happened moments" and in-depth discussions over Edward and Jacob, even though I'm not a massive fan of the twilight books any more, those memories will always stick with me.