Books, All-Time Fave Books, And How I Came To Love Reading
Did Books Find Me Or Did I Find Books?
From alternate worlds, wild adventures, epic fantasy, sweeping sagas, or lost in other realities and imaginations, there's nothing quite like a good book.
My first introduction to books came via Little Golden Books, the classic kids books with the gold spine. I don't recall who read to me. Was it dad? Was it mum? My kindergarten teachers? Probably a combo of all three. Either way, all I remember was how much I loved hearing the stories and seeing the images. They captured my imagination in a way I'd never experienced before.
Titles such as The Little Engine That Could, The Poky Little Puppy, Tawny Scrawny Lion, Scruffy The Tugboat, just struck a chord with me (and millions of kids around the world). What a great introduction into the world of reading.
Then once I entered primary school and discovered the school library – where I can recall the librarian, Mr. Sneddon, but not my art teacher – well, it was like entering a mini world of wonderment and awe.
"I get to grab any books from these fully stocked shelves, take them home with me, and then when I'm done bring them back to collect even more?"
I DIDN'T NEED ANY FURTHER INVITATION!
And THE books of choice back then, were without a doubt the incredibly popular, Choose Your Own Adventure books! Books to this day that I still marvel at their brilliance. They didn't follow the traditional format of a linear story, instead, you as the reader, got to choose your own adventure as the storylines were broken up, so on page 15 you might need to make a choice and if you chose correctly, got to jump over to page 92, make another choice, page 27 and so on. It was absolute genius!
A PUBLISHING PHENOMENON WAS BORN AND A READING REVOLUTION SWEPT THROUGH MY DINKY SCHOOL
Those books were read, re-read, bought, swapped, exchanged, read and re-read again and again until they were barely hanging by a thread. A reading revolution swept through my dinky little school, as it did many schools throughout the country and wider world.
Deadwood City, Who Killed Harlowe Thrombey, Race Forever (a perennial fave), The Cave Of Time, so so amazing many titles, that in the decades since many escape me. Mark my words though, this was was a cultural phenomenal and reading revolution all rolled into one, and unlike anything I'd ever read before. Action-packed, fast, exciting, multiple endings, as a kid, what's not to love?
Then came high school, a daunting proposition for most, not me. They had an even BIGGER library, with even MORE books! What kind of skullduggery is this? Seriously, attend a few classes, bludge up the back, be the class clown, flirt with the girls, and read tonnes of books. Win-win-win... Win-Bloody-Win!
It was here I would discover J.R.R. Tolkien, first through The Hobbit, then his epic fantasy saga, The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. What a beautiful, elaborate world that genius and demigod designed, even going so far as to create his own elfin language. That's dedication to your craft. But I was so enthralled and transfixed by the intricate story, that at 14, it would be many, many years later that I would be able to truly appreciate just how complex, and how ambitious it all was.
LIFE AND OTHER DREAMS
As the years rolled on and I Ieft school, pursued girls, had real life travel adventures of my own, books came and went (many forgotten) but my love for reading never wavered.
More often than not, it would be an avid-reading girlfriend who would introduce me to something wonderful that I had never been exposed to let alone read, especially a cute Kiwi (New Zealander) one, who was a veritable bookworm and made my reading endeavours pale in comparison to hers.
These days I still read, although with a little one, it's less than it was. I also find my patience for so-so fiction less than it was. Fiction used to rule my world, but now I find myself reading a lot more non-fiction than ever before. It's almost a changing of the guard up in the ol' grey matter.
However, with a toddler and a seven year old, I'm finding myself enjoy reading in a whole other light. Picking up a Dr. Seuss book such as the classic Cat In The Hat, and observing as my little one marvels at my words and silliness (I tend to embody the fun characters), is a joy to savour.
Watching his face light up as I derive deep pleasure from reading to him, is unlike anything I've ever experienced with books and reading before. I can recall reading to my seven-year-old when he was no more than six months, the beautiful Guess How Much I Love You board book and seeing his pure unbridled joy every time I did the "Hop-hop-hop" actions of Little Nutbrown Hare. It's one of my fondest early memories with him, bonding in a way only reading to a child brings.
WELCOME TO THE PANTHEON OF MY GREATEST EVER BOOKS!
While my tastes may have changed over the years, some books have stood the test of time. However, more recent and thrilling novels have also blown me away, and now find themselves in my pantheon of Greatest Ever Books!
You'll find I have some common, favourable themes of mine among them – adventure, travel, beauty, music, love – it's any wonder my own novel, The Journey, unwittingly echoed them. But these are the novels I'm most drawn to.
But without further ado, let my All-time, Top 10 Fave books forever be known.
*A short reason of what makes them so great will follow. Read on...
1. SHANTARAM by Gregory David-Roberts (2003)
One word – MASTERPIECE! The single greatest piece of literary fiction I have ever read. In one of the most beautiful, gut-wrenching opening paragraphs you're ever likely to read, David-Roberts immediately captures your heart, your mind, your soul, and never lets up until book's close. Every person I have ever recommended this to, and every person I know who has also read it, every single one of them absolutely falls in love with it, it's that sublime. Epic beyond words.
2. OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO by Dr. Seuss (1990)
In a mere fifty-six pages, Dr. Seuss manages to impart a lifetime of wisdom that makes this "kid's" book anything but. A modern classic that is really an adult book disguised in a kid's books, because of the deeply heartfelt messages it shares. This was his last ever book and I suspect he knew he targeted the 'big kids' who had forgotten what it was like to have fun, because boy it packs a punch!
3. READY PLAYER ONE by Ernie Cline (2011)
For a kid that grew up in the '80s, this fast paced, action-packed novel is like a wild and fun nostalgic trip back in time when the only thing you cared about was having enough coins to play the arcade games. Described as Willy Wonka meets the Matrix, I devoured this in 3-days (as have others I know).
4. A FRACTION OF THE WHOLE by Steve Toltz (2008)
The funniest and craziest story I think I've probably ever read. Quintessentially a great and very witty Aussie yarn that gets wilder and better with every page. So much more than the sum of its parts.
5. TIME TRAVELLER'S WIFE by Audrey Niffeneger (2003)
A beautiful love story wrapped up in a bizarre time travelogue. Astonishing!
6. THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J.R.R. Tolkien (1954)
The single greatest fantasy fiction ever written. Enough said.
7. LIFE OF PI by Yann Martel (2001)
Starts off slow but come the second part, this book takes its readers on a fanciful and amazing journey of adventure. I raced through this in days.
8. GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn (2012)
The single sharpest novel I've ever read. Incredibly taut, such cutting lines, a dark and delicious storyline, memorable for all the right reasons. 12 years on and this may have been too great even for the author to top, because Flynn hasn't written a single bloody thing since. Either way, razor-sharp!
9. THE BEACH by Alex Garland (1996)
As an adventurer and explorer, this debut by Alex Garland was everything a young 24y.o. traveller like myself could ever dream of. Remote paradise, a beautiful French girl, idyllic island hideaway, off-the-grid living that's followed by intense life or death decisions. I couldn't get enough. I absolutely loved it!
10. DAISY JONES & THE SIX by Taylor Jenkins-Reid (2019)
Fictionalising the well known tension, drama, and debauchery that went on behind the scenes during the recording of one of the greatest albums of all time – Fleetwood Mac's 'Rumours' – this fast paced, cleverly written novel had me so hooked, I read it in a single sitting!
Narrowly Missed Out:
Dune by Frank Herbert (1965) – Best sci-fi of all time.
The Kite Runner by Khalil Hoseini (2003) – Heartbreaking.
The Daughter of Belial by Jennifer Juvenelle (2022) – Phenomenal!