The Books Which Made Me a Reader

Hello everyone!

Linked to the guest post I had on Tuesday, by the fantastic Zoe of No Safer Place, today I’ve decided to talk about the books which had the biggest impact on me when I was younger and that made me want to keep reading.

1. Pony Club Secrets by Stacy Gregg – this is one of the first series I remember loving, and I still reread them at least once a year (usually more). I had a thing until I was about 11 that I barely ever read new books and only reread them, but every time a new book about Issie and her dreams of being an equestrian superstar came out I had it devoured in a single night. These have recently been rereleased with STUNNING new covers (which I am only just managing to resist buying), so if you ever fancy a thoroughly enjoyable adventure with horses, romance, friendship and a little bit of magic, these are perfect for you.

2. Mates, Dates series by Cathy Hopkins- even though these sailed over my head quite a bit when I read them, I still really liked them. They, along with other of Cathy’s books (such as Zodiac Girls, which were what interested me in star signs and where most of my knowledge about them comes from), were books that I absolutely loved and are one of the reasons I still love funny contemporaries.

3. Electra Brown series by Helen Bailey- As you’ll know if you read my post last Saturday, another series that had a huge impact on me was Electra Brown.  This series was, and is, incredibly special to me, as it not only made me laugh and cry along with Electra and her friends, but taught me about some important issues. If you’d like to read the post about what this series means to me, click here.

 

4. Ally’s World by Karen McCombie- Even though this wasn’t the first Karen McCombie series I read, and I read them all out of order, these are by far my favourite Karen McCombie books. They’re funny, quirky, light reads with unforgettably wonderful characters and a big family dynamic I just love.

5. The Babysitter’s Club by Ann M. Martin- These are probably quite a weird choice for someone my age, but hear me out. I can’t remember how old I was when I started reading the BSC but I do remember that I thought they sounded pretty boring when they were given to me. I was pretty bored when I picked one up (Mystery #15, Kristy and the Vampires, if you’re interested) and I was also pretty confused as I didn’t know any of the characters, but it made me want to read the rest. I don’t think I’ve read every single one (in my defence, there’s are a lot of them!) but I’ve read the majority, and working my way through these made up most of my reading for over a year. I’ll admit I find a few of the normal ones a little boring these days, but I still love to reread the mysteries and super specials now.

6. Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton- this list would never be complete without a bit of Blyton! I’ve enjoyed most Enid Blytons I’ve read, but Malory Towers have to be very favourite. I think I especially love these as a lot of the characters are actually quite flawed and layered, and I think each book captures the overall spirit of the series but feels unique. My other favourite Enid Blyton books are the extremely underrated Five Find Outers books (MUCH better than the Famous Five in my opinion.) but I didn’t read them till a bit later in my reading life.

7.  Adventure Island by Helen Moss- It’s very rare that a series which promises to be like Enid Blyton delivers, let alone exceed Enid Blyton. I read this in the summer holiday of 2012 and devoured the rest of the series the same year, and waited eagerly for the rest to be released in 2013. These were The Books that introduced me to my love of mysteries, and to this day most of the books I love contain mystery in some way, shape or form. Not to mention the fact that the first review I ever wrote was for Adventure Island, so without these books this blog probably wouldn’t exist!

So, these are the books that have had the biggest impact on me and my reading, what are yours? I’d love to know either in the comments or on Twitter @GoldenBooksGirl.

Amy xxx