This is the week when there are so many “best of” lists that it feels like too much pressure to finish the already large to be read pile before engaging with these lists and adding even more to your to be read pile.
So I have decided to revisit books that have given me joy – without searching out books from my bookshelves but going on memory and finding books within easy reach.
What books remain with me, years after reading them…..A small pile. A delightful pile. A pile of well-read and well-worn books that await fresh eyes.
And one book, yes, the faded yellow Salinger at the top of the pile, from my teenage years when I wrote my name and followed it with an exclamation mark! And the second from my childhood – Watership Down. Both of these to hand as I have passed them on to my teenagers. The rest are more recent reads, but diverse and wonderful – poetry, non-fiction, short stories and a novel.
In advance of the 31st December …. Happy Reading and Happy New Year!
Shauna Gilligan Writer 