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I’ve just discovered my Virginia Andrews collection and it brings back SO many memories!
I found Flowers in the Attic in a charity shop when I was in my early teens. I fell madly in love with the cover which I still think is amazing.
That window opens up to this brilliantly atmospheric illustration of the four children and their grandmother in the background.
I read this book in a fever, it captivated me and then I lent it to my best friend and soon everyone was reading it and we quickly moved on to the rest of the series!
The experience of group reading was new to me. I usually read books in isolation but all my friends were part of this experience and it was wonderful to discuss plot and characters for once. Flowers in the Attic was based on a true story apparently...
These books were my first books with ADULT themes but about child characters and aged 13 they were the perfect read. Felt a bit dangerous but never went TOO far (from what I remember!)
From Virginia Andrews I moved onto my mums bookshelves and devoured her blockbusters! Judith Krantz, Harold Robbins, Colleen McCullough...
Whatever happened to blockbuster books? And the Mini Series they spawned! I used to love them.
Whatever happened to blockbuster books? And the Mini Series they spawned! I used to love them.
And then on my dad& #39;s bookshelves I found Stephen King Dean Koontz and James Herbert and began my first foray into horror. I can still remember the absolute terror while reading Whispers...
Only when I was 18 and browsing second hand bookshops did I discover Lord of the Rings and the genre of Fantasy! It was like coming home at last. Without the internet finding books required effort and endless searching but the pay off could be huge!
YA wasn& #39;t really a thing when I was growing up - except for a few from authors like Lynne Reid Banks and Lois Duncan - which was a shame but left me free to pursue many genres and styles and now I have lovely eclectic bookshelves full of what I enjoy most.
