Books books boooooks!
Mmm, a nostalgic trip down the books of my childhood...

A picture-book version of The Hobbit when i was ~7, which led onto reading the proper book shortly after. Probably the first 'grown up# book I read, and I ripped it off in English lessons for years after with noone noticing :D A few years later I tried my dad's copy of LoTR but never managed to struggle past Tom Bombadil. Shame I guess.

Everything by Roald Dahl

The Dark Portal. First in a trilogy of books about 'The Deptford Mice' and their travails against evil rats who live in the hearts of the dark sewers. The first book I ever remember being frightening - so much so I had to stop reading first time round. It helped me realise that literature has the power to do more than just entertain you.

Memoirs of a Dangerous Alien. It's been such a long time that I can't even remember the plot any more, but I do remember that as soon as I picked it up I couldn't put it down and when I'd finished it left me feeling like no book had done before. Or perhaps I'd had dodgy prawns or something.

Culture Shock. Edited by Micheal Rosen, it's a compilation of poems and random lines selected for children, but not in a patronising way. It helped me realise poetry doesn't have to have rigid form, perfect rhymes and proper English to be entertaining and insightful. I found it battered and neglected in a dusty bookshelf at school and stole it - a school is no place for good books.

Germinal. The story of Étienne Lantier, an itinerant worker in rural 19th century France who gets a job down the mines and becomes caught up in the fevour of working class revolution. My mum's always pushed me to read 'proper' books, and this was one of the first she gave me. I fell in love with Zola's work and it introduced me to some of the wonders of European (particuarly French) literature.


Finally, to steal a couple which other people have already mentioned

Adolf Hitler - My part in his Downfall. The first book which left me frequently laughing out loud
Catch 22. Probably my favourite book of all time.
( Cassius Kray floats like a butterfly, stings like a trout, Fri 16 May 2008, 3:08, Reply)