Munching books is born!

Welcome to my blog. I am a real bookworm and spend a lot of my free time 'munching' my way through a large variety of books. I decided to start this blog to share with the world my views about the books I read.

Firstly a little about me. I am a lover of books. Seriously. I know a lot of people say they love books, but my love of books goes back to my very first memories. I should probably start at the beginning to explain.

My love affair with letters and words started when I was about 4. I have very few real memories from that time, but some of the most vivid ones involved learning (or trying to learn) to read. I remember pestering my dad to tell me what the newspaper headlines said. I remember being so jealous of him for being able to look at those incomprehensible symbols on a page and make sense of them all. I remember asking my parents to read me the roadsigns, during the frequent weekend road trips we used to make. Bit by bit, slowly, haltingly, I somehow managed to put it all together and teach myself how to read. My parents did not believe me at first, they thought I could read the roadsigns as I had simply just memorised what each of them said (every weekend we would drive along the same route). Then we got home and I read them some bits from a book. My mum still talks about the sheer shock of it - I couldn't even talk properly and here I was reading a passage from a book for adults. (Reading badly, obviously, but still reading).

After that I just read anything and everything I could get my hands on. This included all magazines and newspapers at the house, my dad's books (as he was a booklover too), encyclopedias, even a dictionary once when I had run out of things to read (I was determined to read the dictionary from beginning to end - a task which of course I never completed). My dad encouraged my love of reading and would frequently bring books home with him after work. He introduced me to Asterix and Tintin, Little Nicholas series, and Anne of Green Gables. By the time I was 9 my copy of Anne of Green Gables was completely tattered and falling apart, and I had read it so many times I can still recite some passages from it. I am an only child, so I had to contend with solitary pleasures, and reading books was my number one pastime.

And here I am some 30 years later still in love with books. Some women have a shoe-habit to support, I have a book habit. Thankfully my husband is also a book lover so between us we have amassed a large library (we never throw away a book, unless it was really, really bad). When we recently moved from London to Australia, we left all our furniture behind, but paid an indecent amount of money to have our books shipped over. When I was single and living in London, I would often spend an entire Saturday afternoon at the Waterstones bookstore in Piccadilly Circus. For those of you who have never been, it is one of the largest bookstores in London, with 5 stories crammed with any book you can imagine, but what I especially loved  about it were the squishy sofas and armchairs they had on every floor. So whilst my girlfriends went shopping for clothes and shoes on Regent Street, I would spend entire afternoons on these armchairs, browsing through a huge stack of books. Happy times.

I have a bit of a ritual when it comes to reading books. When it's time for me to start a new book I go to my library and select 4-5 candidates depending on my mood. As I buy books faster than I can read them my backlog of unread books has been evergrowing and was over a 100 at last count. Then I sit down with these 4-5 books and a cup of coffee, read the back of the books, perhaps some online reviews, before selecting 'the one'.

I read all sorts of books but I am primarily a fiction reader. My favourite genres are literary and historical fiction, but I also love children's books, and some (select) thrillers ala Michael Crichton or Matthew Reilly. I am keeping this blog not only to share with the world my views about the books I am reading, but also to keep a record for myself of what I thought about a book when I first read it.

As well as reviewing the books I will be rating each book out of 10, using a number of criteria. Here is how I would describe a rating of 10 in each category:

Language & style - beautifully written, the style was accomplished and absolutely delicious. I did not realise it was possible to write so well.

Memorability - one of my favourite reads of all time. I will always remember the story, and even perhaps some memorable passages from it.

Re-readability - the second I finish the book, I want to go right back to the beginning and read it all over again. Or read it again in a few years' time, like going back to an old friend.

Pageturner factor - literally had to read the book in one sitting. Even if it meant staying up till 4am.

Oh and I really hate reviews with spoilers so I will be extra careful not to give away any particular plot twists (or even tell you there is a twist in the plot, as even knowing there is a twist can spoil a good book).

The first book review coming in a few days' time! Watch this space!