Top 5 Books That Influenced Me As A Reader
I have read a lot of books in my life. Some of them I have forgotten a lot about them as I have a terrible memory. However, some of them have stuck with me. I still remember every detail and they mean a lot to me personally. I decided that I would share with you the five books that have really influenced me throughout the years. Some of them started off my love of books and some of them are the reason this blog that you’re reading now exists. All five of these massively influenced me and are an important part of my reading journey.
1. The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
I was bought the first four Harry Potter books by my Grandad back when I was about 8 years old. I fell head over heels in love with this magical series and it was the first series that I truly followed through and waited for the next book to release.
Harry Potter will always have a special place in my heart because without it I probably wouldn’t have become the nerdy bookworm that I am today. I can’t actually remember reading all that much before I started reading this series. I’m sure there were many, as I remember my parents reading the Chronicles of Narnia to me as a child, but this series is the first one I remember truly reading and following it myself. Because of this it will always be one of the book series that I will hold close to my heart forever.
It breaks my heart with everything that has since happened with JK Rowling lately, but I won’t let her views ruin my love of this series. Harry Potter is a nostalgic love of mine and one I will still revisit often.
2. PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
PS, I Love You was a book that I came across when I was 16-years-old. I was just starting to study A Levels in Sixth Form and this gem of a book was on my A Level English Literature ‘additional reading’ list. I just picked it at random as one of them to read and I fell in love with it. I read it in about a day, I couldn’t put it down. After that I went and bought Cecelia Ahern’s entire catalogue of books. I still own all of them and she still remains to this day one of my favourite authors.
Before I read PS, I Love You I had been a reader but I would read a book, then maybe pick one up a couple of months later. After I read this book I picked up another… then as soon as I had finished that one, another. This is definitely the book that turned me into an avid reader and ever since that day I am never not currently reading a book. That was 13 years ago.
3. The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer
This is another one that I read in my days at Sixth Form. I can’t actually remember what it actually was that made me pick this one up. It was either a friend recommending it to me, or the movie was about to come out and I decided to read it before seeing the movie. Anyway I picked it up and devoured the entire series. Breaking Dawn was just newly released.
This was the very first YA book that I read. I know this series gets a lot of hate and honestly, I’m not the biggest fan of it anymore. It’s not one I will re-read again but it opened my eyes to the world of YA and because of that I will always love it and it will always hold a special place in my heart. If you’ve been following this blog for any amount of time you will know that 99.9% of the books I read are YA. Without this book I never would have read any of them and I can’t thank Stephanie Meyer enough for what she has done for the YA community. Regardless of whether you like the books or not, you can’t deny the powerhouse that Stephanie Meyer is. Now… can she please bring a sequel to The Host out for me please?
4. Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
Noughts and Crosses is probably the one book that really, personally affected me. I was 18 when I picked this one up. It was the very first dystopia book that I read, though at the time I didn’t realise it and didn’t know what dystopia really was. I’ll admit I lived in a bit of a bubble at this point in my life. Even at 18 I’d never really realised racism was a thing where I was. I knew it happened elsewhere but I had lots of friends of different races and didn’t understand why people would treat them differently and I certainly didn’t realise the impact that it was having. I was incredibly naïve.
This book opened my eyes to the injustice that a race could experience and how profound it really was. This is also the first book that truly broke my heart. I still to this day have never finished this series because of how much this one broke me. It devastated me. I remember coming up to the ending thinking something will change this… it will… it will… it didn’t. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much at a book as I did at this one. I was still in a depression and crying over an hour later. Nothing has ever hit me quite as much since.
I have recently rebought this book and intend to finish the series. After 11 years, I am determined to read the rest of the series… if I can be brave enough.
5. Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout
Now we’re going to fast forward a few years… I was 21-years-old and I had just started a book blog called K-Books. I was trying desperately to get a following and after taking part in the cover reveal for this book, Entangled Publishing decided to take a chance on a completely unknown blogger and offered me an early copy… what I would learn was an ARC… of Obsidian. I accepted as I was just so excited but I didn’t actually think I’d enjoy it. Why? Because it was a book about aliens… why would I want to read that?
I finished Obsidian in 1 day. I devoured it and immediately went and bought the only other book by Jen at the time… Half-Blood. If you know me, you know what happened. It started an obsession with everything Jennifer L Armentrout wrote… and it is still present. She is still my favourite author in the world and I have now read this book over 15 times. I still to this day adore it, and it will always hold a special place in my heart because it was my very first ARC and it was the first book I read by Jen, my favourite author in the world. For that reason it will always remain one of my very favourites.
What books massively influenced you as a reader?
K-Books
I’m Kayleigh, a teacher and blogger who is obsessed with all things bookish. I love reading YA books of all genres and I am happiest when sharing my love and passion for books.