Bookshelf 📚
I've always been a big reader. Apparently, I was quick to pick up books and could read at a level above my age. This really helped me immerse myself and get lost in the stories. I mostly enjoy fiction, sci-fi, and fantasy.
During my early school years, I remember loving the Pizza Hut Book It! program, which looks to be still active. How it worked was you would read a bunch of books, collect certificates and exchange these for personal pan pizzas at pizza hut, that was fantastic. This program has been running since 1984; wow!
The other program that got me excited about reading was the Scholastic Book Club, which is also still running. I loved when the brochures would get handed out to us in class and couldn't wait to get home to decide what books I'd ask my parents to buy for me to read. Sometimes they would get them for me too.
Impactful Books and Authors
My earliest memory of really getting into books was during school in the early 90s. The Deepwater trilogy and Seddon Street Gang trilogy stand out to me vividly. It took me a while to figure out what the Deepwater trilogy was called, but a quick web search uncovered what I was looking for. I was pleasantly surprised that it was also written by a kiwi author.
Deepwater trilogy
Deepwater Trilogy by Ken Catran (wikipedia)
- Deepwater Black (1992)
- Deepawter Landing (1993)
- Deepwater Angels (1994)
Seddon Street Gang trilogy
Seddon Street Gang trilogy by Jack Lasenby (wikipedia)
- Dead Man’s Head (1994)
- The Waterfall (1995)
- The Battle of Pook Island (1996)
There are a few authors who I will go out of my way to read all their books. In a way, this makes it hard for me to branch out. I've spent a lot of hours reading these authors' work.
- Raymond E. Feist
- Peter F. Hamilton
- James S.A. Corey
- George R.R. Martin
Impact wise for the authors above, I'll talk about Feist first. One day, I picked up a book from my dad's bookshelf and was immediately hooked. I was quick to get immersed in the story and couldn't put it down, even if a lot of it didn't make sense. The book was Shards of a Broken Crown, book 4 of a set of 4 and 12 in the entire series to date. This was great news for me as I quickly picked myself a copy of Magician and worked my way through all the books he had written. Only a few years ago, I finished up with the world of Midkemia with Magician's End, the last book in the Chaoswar Saga and the final book in the entire Riftwar Cycle.
Currently reading
The book(s) that I'm currently reading.
Want to read
Books that I have lined up ready to read.
Recently read books
Here are the last books that I've read.
Last updated 30 December 2022