Three Books That Made Me Who I Am

Its safe to say that throughout my life I have acquired a fair amount of books. Having just done a very quick count, I currently have 201 books gracing my shelves, I daren’t count the books currently sat in a bag ready to be donated. A lot of these I have read, others are still sat waiting for me to discover their story.

Of all the books that I have read and collected, there have been a few that have really stuck with me. Some were stories that really hit home for me; they were exciting, thrilling, and normally had great characters (this is a real sticking point for me). Others had beautiful illustrations that I couldn’t help but buy, or were the latest YA series that I was immediately sucked into.

However, there are three books that have stayed with me over the years. These books, in my typically dramatic opinion, have changed my life (even if its ever so slightly).

The One... That Got Me Into Reading

"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". Property of Joseph Connor Harris, stay away. Yes, this was really how I used to mark my books when I was younger.

As the headline says, this is the book that got me obsessed with reading. There had been books before this, ones that my parents had read to me, or children’s books I’d read from the school library. This happened to be THE book that started me on my journey of buying and reading an obscene amount of books.

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Harry Potter, along with his best friends, Ron and Hermione, is about to start his third year at Hogwarts of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry can’t wait to get back to school after the summer holidays. (Who wouldn’t if they lived with the horrible Dursleys?) But when Harry gets to Hogwarts, the atmosphere is tense. There’s an escaped mass murderer on the loose, and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school…

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The hilarious story of this book was that my mother brought it for me on a whim. She’d seen it being talked about on the news and thought that it was something that I’d really enjoy reading. What she hadn’t realised was that this was the first instalment in what was fast becoming a very successful series.

Having not been very old myself, I wasn’t aware that there were two other books before this one. Thankfully I was quick on the uptake, about a chapter in and I realised that I must be missing something. It was then a very lovely surprise that my mum bought the first two books for me, and so the obsession began.

HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I – WANT – TO – TALK – TO – HARRY – POTTER

Here is one of the many reasons that this book caught my attention at such a young age. I distinctly remember finding this quote and the whole paragraph hilarious. It easily emphasises the difference between the wizarding world and muggles. Plus, we get to see Vernon Dursley be made very uncomfortable, that’s a win for anyone.

This was also not a one-hit wonder joke. I’ve found myself smiling and even laughing when I get around to re-reading this book for the millionth time. It is a shame that this wasn’t in the movie that was eventually made. However, I also understand why it was cut, this was a character moment that wouldn’t have fit into the run time.

Speaking of the movie. This book very much came back to life for me when the movie was released in 2004. You can imagine my excitement knowing that my favourite book in the series was coming to the big screen.

I’m aware there have been a lot of mixed opinions on this movie, but I absolutely loved it. Unlike the first two movies, and very much like the book, it was darker and explored the trio’s issues now that they were older and becoming teenagers. Just like myself.

The Second… That Connected Me to Granddad

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, my copy may be worn, but it is still well loved.

Establishing a healthy book collection takes time, effort, and money. Which is why I have my grandparents to thank for buying me many books for Christmases and Birthdays, many of which still feature very heavily on my shelves.

This book happens to be one of the first that they gave to me years ago. It also happened to be my first introduction to Terry Pratchett and to my Grandad’s love of books.

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Maurice, a streetwise tomcat, has the perfect money-making scam. Everyone knows the stories about rats and pipers, and Maurice has a stupid-looking kid with a pipe, and his very own plague of rats – strangely educated rats…

But in Bad Blintz, the little con suddenly goes down the drain. For someone there is playing a different tune and now the rats must learn a new word. EVIL.

It’s not a game anymore. It’s a rat-eat-rat world. And that might only be the start…

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As I said, this was one of the first books that my grandparents bought me as a present. Very much encouraged by my Granddad. At the time it didn’t seem like there was anything we really related on; he enjoyed sports (specifically football) and was normally found sitting quietly in his chair with the dogs. However, this present opened up a world where we could sit and talk about a shared interest my siblings couldn’t relate to.

I’m always fond of our conversations on books. We still differ in our love of specific genres; he stuck mainly to fantasy and autobiographies, while I had veered towards young adult as well as fantasy. What had stuck was our shared love for Terry Pratchett, starting with this book.

Maurice watched them argue again. Humans, eh? Think they're lords of creation. Not like us cats. We know we are. Ever see a cat feed a human? Case proven.

Its hard to remember so far back to what my first reaction was to this book, but if I know my younger self, I can guess that the first read was a bit of a struggle. You see, this was a much more grown-up book that ones that I’d been used to reading (Harry Potter included). It sounded like a story for someone like myself in his young teen years to enjoy, but the story was dark and the wit was strong. However, this didn’t stop me from enjoying it, I wouldn’t have kept the book for all these years if I didn’t.

Over the years I’ve re-read this book countless times, and with age comes a better appreciation for Terry Pratchett’s writing. I’ve bought and read many of his books; most notably his Discworld series, and his collaborations with Neil Gaiman & Stephen Baxter.

The Third… That Helped Me Move On

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. Loved it so much I bought it twice; one to discover the story, the other because of the beautiful illustrations.

How this book became part of my collection has completely alluded me while I write this. I know, just like the other two, it was a good few years back, but definitely the most recent of this group.

Something is telling me that I was drawn to this because of the very different front cover, that, and the story sounded like something I hadn’t come across before.

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The Monster showed up after midnight. As they do.

But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming…

This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth.

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I’ll start with the second edition I bought, illustrated by Jim Kay. The perfect combination of Patrick Ness’ writing, Siobhan Dowd’s story & Jim Kay’s illustrations really brings the monster and the story to life.

When I originally read the story, I was struck by the darkness of the story. It really didn’t shy away its subject matter, death. This was done with beautifully imaginative writing. I could really visualise the monster, the trees, and nature trying to break its way into Conor’s house and life.

When I finally got my hands on the collector's edition, I could see everything I’d visualised brought to life in Kay’s detailed drawings. Dark brands infiltrated the pages, and the monster became a mixture of nature and smoke, more fearsome than I could have even pictured.

Its ok that you’re angry sweetheart / You be as angry as you need to be

Firstly, these are incredibly insightful words to live by. To be honest I hadn’t been expected to see this, in what is essentially a children’s story. But that’s what this book is. It brings to life a child’s story of loss and doesn’t shy away from brutal reality.

It fit right in with a topic I’d been studying at university that told of the origins of gothic literature. A lot of the horror stories we know and love were told as bedtime stories, books that weren’t kept away from children, exposing them to the potential horrors of the real world in a mystifying plot.

Secondly, this wisdom ended up helping me at a time when I didn’t think I’d really need it. The time eventually arrived when I had to deal with the loss of a family member. It was, and currently still is, one of the most painful things I’ve ever experienced. There was this overwhelming feeling of sadness that I didn’t know where to put it.

This book soon came to the rescue. I read, admittedly it took a while as it touched very close to home, and it helped. I could follow Conor’s story and feel exactly what he felt, learn the lessons he needed to learn. Turns out that no matter how old you are, we all need a good reminder that it's ok to feel the emotions we’re struggling with, it really helps.

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Now, these are definitely not the only books that have changed my life. I’m sure they won’t be the last. But for now, these have become great foundations for who I am today.

I got all of them at various times in my life. They’ve helped establish my love of reading, as well as giving me the tools and wisdom that I’ve applied to real areas of my life.

I’m sure these won’t be the last books that inspire my life. If anything, there are a few that I’ve read recently that could potentially join the pile. However, for now, these three really stick with me. If anything, now that I’ve written this I need to give them another read.