I have learnt to function very well with heavy eyes. Not tired from mothering my three beautiful children nor juggling a part-time nursing career. I can’t even blame my handsome husband for my weary lacklustre. No, I am sleep deprived simply as a result of my slightly unhealthy literature obsession. An obsession that allows me to do anything but sleep at night because it means putting my book down.
My mum first opened my mind to the worlds of fantasy and adventure. I cherish memories of her reading to me and my two sisters the beloved children’s story, “A horse and his boy” by C.S Lewis. Ever the actress, mum would dramatise each voice and character, transporting me like the wind to a place between worlds. A realm of fishing villages, talking horses, high kings and queens and most importantly adventure. And so it began for me. Reading became a way of life.
There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.
Nothing makes my heart skip a beat like starting a good book in a series and knowing that there is more to follow, or experiencing the beauty of written prose that tug at my spirit and illuminate the beauty of life. Books that – amidst the present turmoil of a chapter – promise the gift of a feel-good ending or highlight struggles and complexities universal to time, place and culture.
Now, I feel naked without my kindle tucked safely away in my handbag. As it hangs on my hip, I hear it whispering to forgo hanging the washing in light of the ever-present yearning of needing to know, “what happens next?”
My world stops when I find a kindred bookish soul. Although they may be a new acquaintance, they quickly graduate to forever-friend when I discover they too have a secret love for historical romantic fiction. There are no words to describe the excitement of a friend who equally goes ‘gaa’ over Illyr.0ian wings or who understands why I ask my husband to talk in a Scottish accent.
And so this blog is a way for me to share my literary musings with other crazy book worms so that our lives can stop together as we turn the pages. Furthermore, to enlighten less crazy people about the joys of doing life with a book in hand.
