Top 5: Gateway Books (Plus Follow Friday)

This week for TGIF, Ginger asks "Gateway books: Which particular books opened you up to a new genre?" Here are my top five...

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. My gran gave me a copy of this book when I was little, because I was so obsessed with the musical Oliver! Obviously it went way over my head, but it was the first classic I remember attempting to read. Later, my grandad bought me a whole heap of abridged classics that gave me an even greater taste, and as I got older I returned to them and Oliver Twist and quickly fell in love. By the time I was 17, I was a fully-fledged classic lover, going on to study English Literature at uni.
 
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I've read dystopian novels before - such as George Orwell's 1984, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and P. D. James' Children of Men - and while I did appreciate them, I still wasn't a massive fan of the genre as a whole. Which is why I was resistant to The Hunger Games for a very long time, until finally the hype became too much and I caved. Thank goodness I did, because I freaking loved the series - so much that I decided to give dystopian books more of a chance. 

Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares. When I was at uni, I had a friend who was really into YA. Not gonna lie, I judged her on it. I thought she was too old to be reading silly teen trash, and saw it as, well, really dorky (clearly I was going through a pretentious stage or something). Then, for my birthday, she gave me Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, one of her favourites. I'd seen the movie and enjoyed it (for some reason, I didn't turn my nose up at trashy teen movies as much as books), so one summer day I decided to give the book a go. I LOVED it, and devoured the whole series within a week. Needless to say, it caused me to do a complete 180 in my views of YA , not to mention made me feel pretty damn guilty - and silly - for being so judgey.

Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding. This was the first adult chick lit I read, and what a book to start the genre with! It made me laugh out loud more than any other book I could remember reading, and it still makes me giggle every time I read it. It's such a fun read, and Bridget's inner monologue is so easy to identify with. The experience of reading BJD has made me pick up many a chick lit book, with mixed results.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Ah, Twilight. I have a feeling I'll see this on many lists in answer to this question. It seems that Twilight introduced a lot of people to a lot of things, whether it be reading in general or a particular genre. For me, it was the first paranormal romance I really read. I picked it up not long after I started working at Girlfriend, curious to see what was sending so many teen girls (and, for that matter, adult women) ker-razy. Like so many others, I got completely sucked in, and went on a binge of vampire/paranormal romances for the next few months. Too much of a good thing meant I went off the genre completely for a while after that, but now I like to mix the odd PNR with contemporary, literary and other types of fiction.

P.S. This weeks Follow Friday question from Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View is: "We want to see what you look like! Take a pic with you and your current read! Too shy? Boo! Just post a fun pic you want to share." Because it's 11.15pm here and I'm not exactly ready for my close-up, here are some pics of me with my favourite author, Charles Dickens, instead. Or the closest I'll ever come to him, anyway.

At Madame Tussauds

At Dickens' house in London

Happy Friday everyone!

Follow Friday: Five Living Authors I'd Love To Meet

Follow Friday is a weekly blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. This week's topic is about authors we want to meet: "Name three authors you would love to sit down and have a meal with, just talking about either their books or writing advice."

Because I'm a) Mildly OCD and like everything to be in multiples of five, and b) Chronically indecisive, I'm going to cheat and name five authors I'd love to sit down with. To make it more realistic (like it would ever actually happen), I'm going to stick to living writers. Coz otherwise my fantasty dinner party would be pretty dead (badum bum).

1. J.K. Rowling. I'd say: "What would it take for you to write the prequel of Harry Potter, and tell the story of Snape, Lily, James and co's time at Hogwarts in more detail?!" Then I'd do whatever it took - hand-feed her chocolates, make endless cups of tea, fan her with palm leaves... Just call me Dobby.

2. Markus Zusak. I'd say: "How did you get so awesome?! Can you rub some awesomeness off onto me?" Because The Book Thief is just 100 per cent pure awesomeness and amazes me every time I read it.

3. Charlaine Harris. I'd say: "Will Sookie end up with Eric at the close of the series?" If the answer is no, I might have to hold her hostage, Misery-style, until she gets it right. What? I'm not crazy. Just crazy for Eric.

4. William Goldman. I'd say: "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me Fezzik doesn't die in Buttercup's Baby." If you've read the anniversary edition of The Princess Bride, you'll know how much that "bonus" chapter/fake sequel leaves you hanging - literally, in Fezzik's case.

5. Stephanie Perkins. I'd say: "Be my best friend?" I'm guessing she's as fantastic in real life as she is in her writing.

Follow Friday: A Visit From Mr Darcy

Follow Friday is a weekly blog hop hosted by Parajunkee's View. This week, her featured blogger is Erika from Let's Talk About Books, who asks: "ACK! Your favorite book/movie character (example Hermione Granger played by the Emma chick) just walked into the room! Who is it and what would be your first reaction? You get extra points if you include visual stimulation."

This is tough, because there are a helluva lot of characters I LOVE, but if I had to choose just one I'd go with Mr Darcy from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, for all the obvious reasons - he's handsome, intelligent, witty, kind, passionate, caring and has a very large... estate.

As for my reaction? This pretty much says it all...

Follow Friday: Top Five Characters I'd Switch Places With

Follow Friday is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee's View. This week the question is: "The magic book fairy pops out of your cereal box and says, 'You and your favourite character (from a book of course) can switch places!' Who are you going to switch with?"

So because I was thinking of doing a top five along these lines (not to mention the fact that I’m chronically indecisive), I've decided to turn this into my top five for the week! That’s not cheating, is it?  Anyhoo, here’s who I’d switch with…

1. Diana Barry from the Anne of Green Gables series. My initial thought was to switch with Anne and get myself some Gilbert action, but then I realised that this would mean I wouldn’t get to actually meet Anne. I love her so much that I’d rather be best friends with her than in a relationship with Gilbert – just like Diana! Plus Anne and Gil belong together - I wouldn’t want to get in their way. 

2. Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.  I know, I know, Elizabeth and Darcy belong together, too, but screw it – I want a piece of Darcy for myself! Plus being mistress of Pemberley wouldn’t be disagreeable.
 
3. Princess Buttercup from The Princess Bride. She won Westley’s love and the affection of Fezzik and Inigo, but she’s the dumbest dumb dumb ever. I’d totally kick more butt than her, and keep Westley, Fezzik and Inigo, too, thankyouverymuch.
 
4. Peter Pan from Peter Pan.  I was going to say Wendy, but I think I’d rather stay in Neverland. I never want to grow up.
 
5. Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series.  It would be awesome to be magical. And attend a school like Hogwarts. Not so much the whole, y’know, fight to the almost-death with a Dark Lord and his Deatheaters, but I guess you gotta take the good with the bad.

Who would you switch places with?

Follow Friday: Zombies and Mel Gibson

Follow Friday is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee's View. This week the question is, "What are you doing to prepare for an upcoming zombie apocalypse and/or the return of Mel Gibson to the silver screen? (Both of which could be terrifying.)"

This question has made me realise I'm doing NOTHING to prepare for a zombie apocalypse, eep! Unless, of course, you count watching Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead repeatedly. Y'know, for research purposes. I also watch A LOT of trashy TV, which turns my brain to mush, so the zombies wouldn't want them anyway, right? RIGHT?!

As for Mel Gibson, well, I'll just continue to ignore his existence. Hey, do you think that'll work for the zombies, too?

Follow Friday: Five (Bookish) Facts About Me

Follow Friday is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee's View. This week the topic is, "Give us five book-related, silly facts about you." Note the key word is silly...

  
1. I have a habit of reading books while cleaning/watching TV/walking/doing assorted daily activities. I know it's a bit silly for someone who's not particularly coordinated and can't walk in a straight line under normal circumstances, but I can't help myself. Hence my affinity for Disney's Belle. That's a princess I can relate to.

2. One of the first things I do when I pick up a book is smell it. I love the way new books smell. I love the way old books smell. My nose is twitching just thinking about it.

3.When I was about 10, I was a member of The Babysitter's Club Club. I got sent three books from the series per month. I stopped at #112 because, by that stage, I had outgrown them. I got rid of my (many) doubles a few years ago but I can't bear to part with the rest of the collection... which is currently collecting dust in my parents' roof.

4. I'm obsessed with adaptations. If there's a movie or TV version of a book, I have to watch it. If there's a book version of a movie/TV show, I have to read it. Even if I don't particularly enjoy it, I still like to compare the differences.

5. I have a degree in English Literature (and History), which I don't exactly use in my everyday life. This blog is an attempt to remedy that somewhat - a refocus on my literature-loving roots!