Books and reading have always been a big part of our babaà world. In our new series we ask friends of babaà about their reading style, favourite books, and emotional connection to the written word.
For the fifth in our series we asked Matilda, aged 14, to tell us more about her passion for reading and her life with books. Thank you Matilda.
can you recall the book that made you fall in love with reading?
Well, not exactly, I guess I’ve always really liked reading, ever since I learned, but I do remember LOVING one particular book when I was about eight. It was called Pages and Co. Tilly and the Bookwanderers and I read it about three times in two years. Maybe that’s what really got me started?
where do you keep all your books and how do your organize them?
I try to keep my books on their shelf, but they end up all over the house, particularly at the end of my bed, I just leave them there when I’m reading them or finish one just before bed, and I never remember to put them back. I also try (tried) to keep them in alphabetical order, but what with never putting them back, that attempt didn’t get very far
what are you going to read next?
I think I’m going to read Franny and Zooey next, my mum has an old copy she read when I was little, and I found it on our bookshelves, so I think I’ll give it a try.
the last book that made you laugh?
I don’t usually exactly laugh with books, I grin or let out a sort of “Ha”. However, I read a book called The Wicked in Me and it isn’t a funny book, but one of the characters has this thing where he lies about ANYTHING. So he’ll just go up to a stranger, put on a fake accent and change his name, which can be really funny.
describe your ideal reading environment. show us!
I can read anywhere, in class while everyone else is practically shouting, at home, on the Metro, in museums, while I’m walking ( and I haven’t walked into a lamppost yet ) etc. Ideally, I would be at home, sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and a snack, with Taylor Swift singing in the background and a cat on my lap.
is there a certain emotion you’re looking for when picking out what to read?
The best sign is if I’m obsessed with the book immediately, when the first few chapters give me a smiley, happy, comforted feeling in my gut. That’s what I look for, that’s the best feeling. But then there are books that I have to work a little to full get a hang on the story, and those can turn out to be just as good as the first kind.
you have 12 uninterrupted hours to read right now, what do you reach for?
The thing with me is I sometimes overestimate my reading abilities, so I always bring more than one book with me, even if I’m only going out for a couple of hours, so I’d definitely take more books than I was actually going to read. Definitely I Capture the Castle, a Jacqueline Wilson and The Hate U Give (THUG), but maybe a romance or other because, well, romance.
you walk into a bookstore…what section do you go to first? how come?
