Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
So many stories, and so long ago. I read the Lord of the Flies in secondary school, but that wasn't out of choice just like To Kill a Mockingbird! I guess the first story that I enjoyed was read to me (and the rest of the class by my headmaster Mr Cooper in primary school,) and that was The Hobbit.
The first story that I read alone was probably Watership Down by Richard Adams, and even at that tender age I understood that it was a stab at communism (the cold war was still simmering at the time!) I remember the paperback being very thick, and I said to myself then... one day I will write a book like this (the number of pages, but not the theme!!)
What are your five favorite books, and why?
The first has to be the ultimate best seller... The Bible, and I won't be making any justifications as to why!
Second, and I´m not really listing in any particular order now... is the Lord of the Rings. For me this is the ultimate fantasy world, and there is so much background information given and written it's sometimes difficult to remember Middle Earth really is fantasy and not ancient history.
Next: The Descent by Jeff Long. I have seen so many bad reviews for this book, and I cannot understand why. Mr Long creates a world beneath or feet that could so easily be true, and if you are interested in an adventure with both science and religion mixed in fairly equal measure... then give this book a try.
Fourth: Hamlet. Who can resist a little bit of Shakespeare? And I have always enjoyed the conflict of doubt and conviction... combined with a dash of insanity and treachery too! "Do It England!"
So many other books could follow, The Constant Gardener, The Bone Collector, The Pelican Brief... but I have to finish with an old favourite, The Seventh Scroll by Wilbur Smith. His writing has always appealed to me, maybe because I have always felt more at home in Africa than anywhere else in the world.
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