Comic books were my first reads. As a kid in the 1980s, on Saturdays I’d run to the local store and buy Buster, Whizzer and Chips, The Beano, The Dandy and Whoopee. If I wanted more, then I’d have to do a lot of chores.
I’d spend ages reading and re-reading them becoming lost in the lives of the characters. For one reason or another they were all my best friends.
Well into my teenage years I’d spend ages in the local library or first- and second-hand book stores. Each book was a separate world or universe daring to be discovered. At this stage in life I developed a love of fantasy adventure stories. Books evoke emotions, develop rational thinking and, obviously, help you learn new things. There’s nothing more rewarding than gaining a fresh perspective on something that you thought you knew or how one phrase – one small phrase – used by an author sums up a feeling you’ve found so hard to describe.
As I’ve gotten older I still read a lot of fantasy novels and comic books. Hiking has become a big passion in my middle years, and so now I read a lot of travel books as well. Plus, as a parent there’s no greater joy than sharing the countless worlds that books have to offer with your children.