Over the past couple of weeks I've had the treat of reading books I don't normally get the opportunity to read, or at least not as much as I'd like.
I received three books as gifts which I would never have picked out myself and it's been quite an adventure dipping into them. There's been a ghost story from the 50s, a spy story from the 70s and a crime novel from the 1930s.
There's something calming and reassuring in reading a book from past times, I find, in both their subject matter and the style of writing, and it has been perfect for the winter afternoons when the outside world can be shut behind a curtain and the fire lit.
Earlier this week though I rekindled more happy reading memories from my childhood, though this was prompted by hearing the sad news of the death of the children's author KM Peyton, aged 94. Best known for her 'Flambards' series, Kathy visited us in Woodbridge in 2012 with her good friend Meg Rosoff.
It was such a thrill to meet Kathy. For so many years her name and the title 'Flambards' has instantly transported me back to a library in Gloucestershire where I first discovered this wonderful coming-of-age series of stories about horses, flying, family and romance.
It seemed to me at the time, one of my first 'grown up' books. Though set in the period just before the first world war (and first published in 1967) it felt new and modern. There wasn't such a thing as 'young adult' literature then. The books were also beautifully dramatised on television and I can remember the sensations of both reading and watching the series with great power and significance still.
So I'm wondering what new memories we'll be making with our reading this year. What will be the outstanding novels? What will be the life changing non-fiction titles?! Which children's books will set our young friends and relatives alight? And what will we remember of how we discovered them all?!
Thank you for reading.