Laya, a student at Sheffield Hallam University, has written her reading journey for us, as part of her Ideas into Action module.

My first memories of reading for myself, as a younger sibling who wanted be just like her older sister, began with me copying and reading whatever my sister who is two and a half years older was reading at that time because as a child she was also an avid reader and would often share the books after she had read them. This included the Mr Men series by Roger Hargreaves and the Rainbow Magic series by Daisy Meadows but as a small child I could not understand or read properly but enjoyed the colour and trying to collect the whole series. These books still hold sentimental value to me today as I have kept the whole collection in my childhood room as I feel unable to throw them away. Also they still hold relevance to my life today as these books are the theme for my good friend’s birthday party in a few weeks. This shows the sentimental value these sorts of books have for everyone my age and the nostalgia they still have for many people. In talking to my mum about this blog to gather research from her about my childhood reading habits, she told me that when I was little I was also almost obsessed with a book called Eat Your Peas [by Kes Gray]. In this book Daisy’s mother tries to get her to eat her vegetable by promising her increasingly outrageous treats which according to my mum reflected my own attitude to peas when I was younger.

I loved reading as a child and getting read to by my Mum and Dad. However my love for reading declined when I got to secondary school and being forced to read made me lose the enjoyment I once had from it. During this time only choosing short and easy to read stories that probably didn’t interest me just to say I had read something for school because we were made to read or at least look like we were reading during form time. Although my love for reading was regained during the summer and going on holidays when I was not in school. I would read two or three whole novels when on a week long holiday either on the beach or near the pool. I would still describe this as my paradise and my idea of heaven. At this age I tended to read young adult novels usually of the sci-fi or dystopian genre like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or The Maze Runner by James Dashner, as I loved the romantic subplots with the action packed scenes.

Surprisingly in school as I got older my love for reading increased again as I enjoyed learning about Shakespeare and the plays and poems we had to learn for my GCSEs and A Levels. My favourites were Macbeth, Othello and Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is still my favourite book to this day and sparked a small obsession with the 1920s aesthetic and even having a 1920s themed birthday party just last year where I dressed as a flapper girl. The poetry side of my schooling however was something I just had to endure. Even though I no longer have a hatred for all poetry I only enjoy small parts like the metaphysical poetry of John Donne and Andrew Marvell. As I got more back into reading I had felt I had missed out on the children’s books and young adult books that everyone was so captivated by. Because of this it was only recently that I decided to read the whole Harry Potter series and also became fixated as I understood why there was so much praise for the series.

Currently I enjoy reading the typical classics including Bram Stoker’s Dracula, George Orwell’s Animal Farm and most recently Pride and Prejudice which has sparked a new love for the romantic genre. I love the social commentary of George Orwell’s novels as it mostly reflects my own views on history and politics that I still think are relevant today as I and the author both support socialism. I also have found recently that I enjoy the horror genre after reading Stephen King’s Misery whose tension and unsettling nature stayed with me for weeks after. In the future I am going to read more of his novels. I most want to read Carrie and Pet Sematary. Furthermore, my wish to read lots of ‘classics’ is due to a poster I own where you have to scratch off the books you have read, called the ‘100 books bucket list’. This has prompted me and pushed me to start reading more again. I am making my way through this list slowly and steadily as some of the books on there are not something I would usually read but I feel like it would make me broaden my horizons and read more genres. I am continuing to try and read more of these classics but I am also currently interested in reading online newspapers, magazines and blogs because it feeds my desire to continue my interests in reading but they are short enough that my attention span is not tested and can fit into my busy life at university. I find that trying to fit reading long novels that I do enjoy is difficult to continue in my university life so just reading short newspaper articles and blogs and keeping up with current events is easier for me. I am currently reading Daphne du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn and its mystery genre is something I would like to continue reading.

Here is Laya’s review of The King’s Secret Matter by Jean Plaidy.