On my drive home today I heard 'Bright Eyes' by Art Garfunkel from the film 'Watership Down'. It got me thinking about all the books I read as a young girl. I have always loved reading and while I have less time to read for pleasure these days (scientific papers and ISO standards aside) I still always have at least one book on the go.
The first proper book I read was one of The Famous Five. I still remember the conflict between wanting to find out the ending but not wanting the book to end. It's a feeling I still get to this day when I'm reading a book I love.
I have a beautiful copy of Black Beauty in my parents house waiting for L to be big enough to read it. The story still brings tears to my eyes.
An obvious one is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Plus of course the rest of the Narnia collection, ending with The Last Battle if I remember correctly.
Some less obvious memories include the Flambards books by K.M. Peyton. It was also a tv series about a young girl, Christina, sent to live with her Uncle Russell and cousins Will and Mark in a huge old house in pre -war Cornwall. I must try to find them and read them again.
Something similar to Watership Down, I also loved Run Swift, Run Free by , along with his other books Run to Earth, Run to the Ark and Run with the Wind.
Of course, I can't forget The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
I Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, not to mention The Wind in the Willows, The Wizard of Oz and Heidi, and of course Anne of Green Gables!
I know Harry Potter and all the vampire books are incredibly popular these days, but I don't know if they really can compete? Or am I looking back with nostalgia tinted reading glasses?
