Lauren Woodcock

My five favourite books are all relatively different from one another, and have all touched and influenced me in their own way.

1. Malory Towers (series), by Enid Blyton
As a child I was an Enid Blyton fanatic. She was the key person who made me want to become an author, and I still have a large collection of her books out on my shelf today, ready to pass onto my daughter when she is old enough. My favourite of all her books has to be the Malory Towers series, which I could not put down between the ages of around 8 and 12, and still occasionally indulge in now. It portrayed school as something fun and exciting and was teeming with lessons for life, although I never felt lectured at.
I have always been more interested in realistic fiction rather than fantasy, even from an early age, so this was right up my street.

2. Harry Potter (series), by J.K.Rowling
True, as mentioned above I am much more into realistic fiction than fantasy, but remove the wand twirling and dragons from the Harry Potter series and you do have a pretty genuine look at the everyday troubles and triumphs of teenage life. I love how accurately Rowling portrays the feelings and actions of her characters - jealousy, love, grief, feeling overshadowed by others. No-one is one-sided in the books. She ensures that the villains are given enough history to show why they behave the way they do, and many show glimpses of remorse throughout the books. In the same vein, none of her heroes are all shiny and nice either; she cleverly depicts the multiple sided nature of humanity. And on top of all that, I adore the intricate plot lines that weave throughout the series, where something you thought was irrelevant in book 2 suddenly becomes of extreme importance in book 6.

3. A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini
Moving to a much more adult style of book, one of my all time favourite books has to be A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini. I adore to learn about other ways of life in my reading, and found this to give a wonderful insight into life in Afghanistan across a wide period of recent history. The book is honest, sometimes to the point of brutality, and is extremely well-written, bearing in mind the author is a male telling the inside story of two women.

4. Q and A, by Vikas Swarup
Better known as 'Slumdog Millionaire' after the hit film by Danny Boyle, this book is yet another that gives an open look at life in another culture, and is again honest and at times difficult to read, but allows the reader into a lifestyle they may otherwise be unaware of. Despite having the same background idea, the book and the film are almost incomparable in their plot and structure, even as far as the main character's name. Both have a place in my heart, but the book really opens you out to a wide range of experiences, and glimpses at a much larger portfolio of Indian life than the film.

5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
I won't lie and pretend to be a fan of the whole trilogy. In all honesty I struggled to get through the third book of the series, forcing myself to do so in respect for the first (and to some extent, second) book. What I loved most about this book, and what has stuck with me when considering my own work, is how excellent the opening paragraph is. It is only five short sentences, but provides the reader with the whole set up for the story, and introduces intrigue and a will to read on. One of the best openers I have read. The rest of the book is quickly paced and as excellently written as the introducing paragraph would suggest.

I have always had a passion for autism, and for those with the condition to be treated with respect and understanding. I wanted to show in my novel 'Those Who Will Not See' that, although the condition can be debilitating in some ways, it does not rule out a happy and fulfilling life, and that even the seemingly impossible can be achieved with the right attitudes and support.