Where do you get your love of reading from? At the end of last year, a good friend died. Dorothy and I had connected through books and over the years we’d shared, swapped and dissected a whole raft of genres. Her husband Terry was an occasional reader and all of us had our little ways of showing we’d read a book – from initials to little asterisks, or in Terry’s case a mini review jotted inside the front cover!
Before Dorothy it was my mum who inspired me to read. In childhood, my brother and I would laugh at mum and her ‘murders’, library books with gory covers that she devoured. I’d stare at the bloodstains, bullet cases and assorted bodies and wonder how on earth she could read such things. Funny how I turned out the same way, isn’t it?
In those early reading days I loved Enid Blyton, Noel Streatfeild, Richmal Crompton and Laura Ingalls Wilder. All of them took me away from my uncomplicated childhood in Liverpool.
Reading by torchlight under the bedclothes, I was transported to places and situations I could only dream about. I’ve always had a vivid imagination, so midnight feasts with my boarding school pals, ice skating or horse riding, the antics of naughty boys and life in the prairie all excited and interested me.
That reading bug has never left me and I’ve been lucky enough to use it to good effect, reviewing for regional and national newspapers and now for the brilliant CrimeFictionLover website. There’s nothing I like more than recommending a book to somebody, and then have them come back and thank me for setting them on a new reading path. If you’re looking for crime fiction recommendations you’ll not go far wrong on this site. I’m DeathBecomesHer, since you asked!
I’ve recently been laid up in bed after an operation and once more books have come to my rescue. As well as an ever-growing pile of review books I also have a Kindle filled with books I’ve bought and never got around to reading. It’s pleasant to occasionally read something and know you’re not obligated to write a review about it. Having said that, I loved The Puppet Show by MW Craven and Louise Beech’s The Lion Tamer Who Lost and I’ll write a short review for both of them for Amazon soon.
Meanwhile, do you have any recommendations you’d like to share?