What Drew Me to Read

As I am trying to instil into my children, the enjoyment that reading can bring was made apparent to me at an early age. From there it became a little bit of a lifetime obsession, and I’m always on the look out for my next read. As a child, I loved being read to each night; as I now enjoy reading to my children (most of the time). Other times, more-so when I’m exhausted after a gruelling day, I really appreciate the chance to use our Yoto player (we did buy it to read to our children, after all). For me, it was mainly about the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, like Jack & the Beanstalk, Hansel & Gretel and Rumpelstiltskin, while other favourites included Peter Pan, Christmas Carol and the Tales of Peter Rabbit. Nowadays, the Julia Donaldson collection is the mainstay, while they also love Supertato (any of them), Lost & Found, and the assortment of Dinosaur Pooped books (hopefully, I’ll be able to add ‘There’s a Monster in My Tent’ in due course).

I have my parents to thank when it comes to reading. Books were always a popular stocking filler, whether it was during my really early years, where they read to me, or my later adolescent years; when I began to read for myself. I know the Roald Dahl books (namely Matilda, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and Matilda) were prevalent in our house, but my earliest memory when it comes to reading for myself is of the Narnia book series. These were the first I remember getting into independently, having read ‘The Lion the Witch & the Wardrobe’ at school. I then went back and read them in Chronological order (book time, not release date), including the Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe; and I’ve been through the series plenty of times since.

Following the Narnia series came Lemony Snicket’s ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’, which follows the Baudelaire orphans and their mishaps while trying to escape the clutches of their evil uncle, ‘Count Olaf’ (not to be confused for the loveable snowman), and the Divergent series, where I followed Tris through a futuristic world where people were split into factions based around their personality type. I found myself unable to put down either of these series and couldn’t wait to buy the next book. In fact, I remember an argument one day with my mum, who was refusing to buy me a box set of the remaining Lemony Snicket books, explaining that I never know what I will get for Christmas. They were in my stocking.

Contentious statement incoming: books are so much better than films or TV programs. I will apologise to all the film-buffs that happen to read this, but it’s not even a contest in my opinion. Books just allow for much more detail, and I am certainly one of those people to point out missing or changed features when my favourite books are displayed on screen (tiny spoiler alert, but I’m still annoyed that Lady Stoneheart was left out of ‘Game of Thrones’). I understand the reasoning for the missing parts, that it would take hundreds of hours of footage to include everything and there is plenty that simply would not translate well, and there is the advantage of being able to watch a film or series over and over in the time it takes to read one book, but there is just no changing my mind on this.

Speaking of books made into films, I feel as though the series to really shape my book addiction and reading tastes was almost certainly Harry Potter. When I started, only the first four were out. I’d read the first and adored it, so my parents bought the boxset of all four (including a repeat of the first) as a present for something or other. I couldn’t get through them quick enough; everything about the world fascinated me. I felt a great fondness for the characters (my favourite almost certainly being Ron, or Hagrid, or Fred & George), I was enchanted by the setting (Hogwarts is a place I loved to explore on the video games, even outside of the missions). From Privet Drive to Diagon Alley, I was greatly enamoured as I discovered all these fantastic fictional places alongside thousands of other people, and the intricacies were charming too (although it bugs me that the game of Quidditch ends when you catch the snitch; why would you if you were over 150 points behind?).

I am an aspiring writer; therefore, I cannot leave this part without mentioning that the story itself was captivating too (I read the final book over two nights, staying up until 4am on each). I must move on from here though, or else this is going to seem more like a Harry Potter review piece, but it is because of these books that I would say that my favourite genre is fantasy. That’s not to say that I’m put off by other genres however, having read plenty of detective series, murder mystery books, dramatic pieces and science fiction titles, as well as the odd romance novel. Being a sports fan, there are a plethora of autobiographies on my bookshelf too (if that counts).

There are plenty of other books I have gotten stuck into that have at the very least rivalled the story of ‘the boy who lived.’ There’s been Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’, Cassandra Clare’s ‘Mortal Instruments’, Stephenie Meyer’s ‘Twilight’ and Andrzej Sapkowski’s ‘The Witcher’ among others that I've loved almost from start to finish. The one I haven’t read, and I really should read, is ‘The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (as well as The Hobbit); but that will come at some point (I refuse to watch the films before the books, at least in their entirety). There is also the Percy Jackson series that has caught my eye, but I feel that will be a ways down the road. A stand-out series that I’ve appreciated that falls outside the realms of fantasy is ‘The Hunger Games’, which I would say probably marry book and film that bit better than many others.

I know I went on and on about Harry Potter before, but my favourite book series so far, and one I am begging George R R Martin to complete (but losing hope of such by the day) is a Song of Ice & Fire. There are just so many elements to the story, and the way he combines the history of Westeros with the story’s present day is magnificent, in my honest opinion. It’s fantasy tied with realism (sort of), there is politics, there is an acknowledgment that there is good and bad within everyone, and there is honour and dishonour, with the honourable often being dishonourable and vice versa. I find it so enthralling and I’ve read the series at least five times (but I refuse to read it again until ‘The Winds of Winter’ is released – if it ever is). This collection is home to my favourite ever book (and TV) character, Tyrion Lannister, who combines whit with brains (not to mention comedy) and a superb personal story to earn first place in my standings.

As you can see by my choice of books, I would not call myself a specialist when it comes to reading literature by any means. There is no ‘The Catcher in the Rye’, ‘Jane Eyre’, Pride & Prejudice’, ‘Wuthering Heights’ or ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ in my reading collection, but there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t pick up a book (even if it’s just to read a few pages), or think about reading, or think about writing. I’m currently in the middle of a 100-book bucket list that has been hit & miss if I’m honest (where some of the aforementioned actually feature). The last I've read from the list at the time of writing is ‘A Long Way Gone’, which is a harrowing true story about a child in the midst of war in Sierra Leone, who is tasked with becoming a killing machine against the rebels in the country. Others on the list have included 1984; a riveting read where the country is ruled by a form of Blue Peter, and a Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which I saw to be hard work, in truth.

So there it is, a brief overview of my reading history. There certainly will be more to come.

By Calum Dewsbury