The first step…

“Not all those who wander are lost” J. R. R. Tolkien


Hey everyone!

Well, this is my first step in creating a blog. I want to let you in on a little secret about reading. Like Aragon, the famous king from Lord of the Rings, I have wandered. Not from being king but from reading books! Only to be working as a teacher and regretting the time I have spent away from the smell of a fresh new book. How did this happen?
To answer this, I need to rewind time to my 12-year old self in primary school. Every Friday for the last hour of school our teacher would let us choose a book from the library. Without hesitation, I’d choose the old worn copy of the Fantastic Mr Fox. I read it over and over. I remember the happiness and fulfilment it gave me. I loved reading it. Many moons later, I can’t recall a single characteristic from the book. As much as disappoints me, I have wandered away from reading. Instead, TV took over and became my number one source of entertainment. The endless questions I have encountered over the years.. Lee, have you read The Hobbit? No, but I’ve seen the movie! Lee, how amazing was Harry Potter? Wait..it’s not in cinema until next year, how should I know? I distant myself from reading until, at 30, I decided to become a teacher.

You are probably thinking, surely TV isn’t only to blame? To be honest, it’s not. Secondary school arrived with countless reading assignments; Silas Marner, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Wuthering Heights, Macbeth, To Kill a Mockingbird, the list goes on! I had zero interest in these books, and I had no choice in the matter. You must read these books if you want to pass your Leaving Cert Ms. Curran would say. Telling a 15-year old Lee, to be or not to be was the question, to which Lee couldn’t careth less.

After years where books were non-existent in my pleasure time, I have come to this conclusion… I didn’t realise which genre suited my personality. Until one day, whilst being severely delayed at Seoul International Airport, I wandered into a bookstore where a limited amount of English books were available. Inferno? By Dan Brown? Okay, I’ll give it a shot! My strategy for choosing Inferno was to look for a simple book cover, and preferably a best seller! 🙂

Since then, I have read most of Dan Brown’s novels and can comfortably say that I enjoy a thrilling fictional genre that has my heart racing.

In the blogs that follow, I wish to share my opinions on a range of different books connected to different genres. I’m going to share my thoughts and possibly ruffle some feathers. Feel free to comment on whether you agree or disagree with the judgements of a wanderer.

Thanks for reading my story!