World Book Day

Today I've had my head stuck in the laptop pretty much all day. Churned out lots of work and by the time I did my final task of the day - tomorrow's to do list - it was already 830pm! Lots of writing and editing to get done tomorrow so I need to be focused to get through it all.

I took a short break from the desk around lunchtime when I sorted through my book shelves looking for any unwanted old books for charity. After a good rummage I found only two books for the charity donation, both of which were given to me and not to my taste.

Twitter was buzzing with quotes, reviews and photographs for World Book Day today so I thought it appropriate to photograph a selection of some of my favourite books to keep with the theme.

I've got quite a big pile of recently purchased books to read and have promised myself that I'll make the time to read more. I've loved reading since my childhood and have such fond memories of reading classics like Black Beauty, Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels and the Faraway Tree.

The escapism of a make-believe land and a character embarking on a great adventure gave me inspiration to write my own magical stories from around the age of seven. The writing bug caught me there and then and the grasp on my imagination has never relented.

Some of my closest friends say I live in a fairytale world, always dreaming of a happy ending with the perfect characters. Life isn't a fairytale, I know that, but if you can escape into a good book and allow your imagination to run wild, who knows what wonderful ideas might come from it.

I hope some of you had a chance to pick up a book today. My favourite book is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Here is an excerpt to end my blip today:

"The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice.

'Who are you?' said the Caterpillar.

This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, 'I - I hardly know, sir, just at present - at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.'

'What do you mean by that?' said the Caterpillar sternly. 'Explain yourself!'

'I can't explain myself, I'm afraid I'm not myself, you see.'