MY LIFE IN BOOKS
Author Ellen Berry takes us through the fiction – and non-fiction – of her formative years and beyond
Five Run Away Together by Enid Blyton As an only child growing up in a tiny Yorkshire village, I spent heaps of time curled up with books. When I tried to read Famous Five stories to my daughter I realised how terribly dated they were. But back when I was a kid, I yearned to escape in a rowing boat to Kirrin Island and have thrilling adventures of my own.
Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner
A rip-roaring adventure passed on to me by my dad – I still treasure his original yellow-jacketed edition, published in 1929. Set in Germany, and featuring a young boy setting out on a train journey on his own, it seemed so exotic to my childhood self – especially as I had never been out of the UK!
Oor Wullie annuals
I’d never encountered Oor Wullie until we star ted having holidays at a farmhouse B&B near Kircudbright in south-west Scotland. Visiting children were allowed to ride ponies and, best of all, cosy up in the living room in the evenings where an enormous pile of Oor Wullie annuals sat by the fire. I spent hours with the famous dungaree-wearing character and his cheeky mates.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
A novel focusing on father and son. Christopher is a boy with huge ambitions in life, who also happens to have Asperger’s – and Haddon captures his voice brilliantly. I adored it, as did my then-teenage sons. The entire family devoured it!
Us by David Nicholls
I loved Nicholls’ huge seller, One Day, but I think I loved this more. He per fectly captured the tricky – and sometimes agonising -– dynamics between the middle-aged scientist, Douglas, and his troubled teenage son. Relationships,
Snowdrops On Rosemary Lane by Ellen Berry Avon PB, £7.99 Last winter Lucy had a plan. She’d fallen in love with tumbledown Rosemar y Cottage as a child so, thir ty years on, when she lost her city job and discovered the cottage was for sale, it felt like fate. She and her family would transform the cottage into a B&B. But a year can change ever ything… Now Lucy and her children are on their own, and Christmas looks set to be their last on Rosemar y Lane – until she meets James, who might offer a different kind of future. Should Lucy leave the cottage behind? Or could this winter on Rosemar y Lane be the star t of something new?
A lovely seasonal romance.
Single All The Way by Karen King Bookouture PB, £7.99 (Amazon)
To escape recent hear tbreak, single mum and daughter Meg and Sally head to the Cornish coast.
But love has a way at Christmas time… families and growing older are themes I love to write about, and Nicholls is brilliant on the hear tbreaking and hilarious details of ever yday life.
Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg
Not a novel, but a guide to writing – and one that changed my life. Through her own personal stories, plus writing exercises, Goldberg stirred up a great urge in me to start telling stories of my own. Suddenly, with her guidance, it felt possible.
The Christmas Invitation by Trisha Ashley Bantam Press HB, £12.99
Meg’s never gone in for mistletoe, tinsel or baubles. Will a Christmas in the snowy countr yside change her mind?
Christmas at Rachel’s Pudding Pantry by Caroline Roberts HarperImpulse PB, £7.99
Step inside Rachel’s farmhouse Pudding Pantr y. Snow is falling, mince pies warming and mistletoe waiting for lovers to meet!