My Life in Books

Last night, while I was sitting lazily on the couch, I saw this cute tag on the youtube page of Jenny (Sunny Sweet Pea) and I wanted to try to answer her questions.
I'm fond of books since I was a child! There are photos
about me at two years old with books on my knees, all intent on turning the colorful pages.
Through books I could travel with the imagination, live fantastic adventures, identify myself in the different characters, and understand the value of friendship, loyalty, courage and kindness.
In the years that passion has never left me and, although the various daily tasks don't allow me to read a lot , I always keep a book on the bedside table to read a couple of pages before sleeping.

1. What is the first book you remember reading?

The story of Babar, the elephant, his wife Celeste and their children was one of my favourite when I was at nursery school and the first one I remember reading when I was six!
Their adventures were funny and, as an only child, I really wanted a big family like theirs!

2. What books make up your childhood?

How wonderful are the illustrations of this book?!! Even now, at 26 years old, I love flipping through it, becoming a little girl again for a while. It is one of those book I want to treasure for my future children, because I want them to know the fantasy world of mice that swarm the countryside and rejoice it with their squeaks.

And this is the second book I cherish with love from my childhood!!! I received it as a gift for Christmas when I was five years old and it suddenly became my favourite!!! Beatrix Potter was a brilliant writer and painter and last year I realized my dream and I went to see her house in the Lake District! It was fabulous to be there, walk through  the country roads that have inspired her stories and see a lot of rabbits in the fields, wondering which of them could have been Peter rabbit... 

3. What's the first series of books you devoured?

I've really grown up with Harry Potter!!!I received the first one when I was eleven and for years, until the last one, I've waited with anxiety the release of the new books!
The magic world, created by the writer, is incredible, the characters are full of personality and their adventures are amazing: I couldn't take my eyes from the book until the last page!!!

4. What books have you, or could you, read over and over again?

I've read "Little Women" at least three times and I could read it again!I also watched the movie adaptation and the cartoon when I was young and I liked both of them! Jo was absolutely my favourite character and some months ago I also read a book entitled "The Little Women letter", of Gabrielle Donnelly, which explores the imagined lives of Jo March's descendants, three sisters who are both thoroughly modern and thoroughly March. 

I read this book in italian last year and I lived every page!!! It is wise, funny, perceptive, compassionate, often unbearably sad, and the loveliest book I've read in ages! Now I want to reread it in english, because I think it's worth it.

" I want all of you, forever, you and me, everyday".. this book is a story about the enduring power of love, and about miracles that only this sentiment can do. I've read it many times and it is one of those books that make me feel full of hope and confidence in the future and in the happiness that only love can make you feel.

5. What books take you back to a certain point in your life and why?

This book by Astrid Lindgren brings me back to my childhood, particularly on summer evenings spent with my grandparents from Florence. Before I went to bed my grandfather used to read me this funny story of Martina, a Swedish girl with blond hair like mine, who lived in a beautiful wooden house by the river, used to have donuts with hot chocolate for breakfast, and often got into troubles. It was "our" book, and it will always have a special place in my library.

Bury me in my boots was published in 1968 when Sally Trench was only 21, and it tells about her four years on the streets of London, between drug addicts, vagrants, homeless and alcoholics. During these years she tried to take care of the marginalized and outcasts she met, bringing them food, aids, physical assistance and  emotional comfort.
This was my mom's book and I read it when I was seventeen, full of ideals and big projects, so it always reminds me this period of my life, which laid the basis for my future choices.

This was the first book I read for an exam when I was at the university in Venice. It reminds me the first months in this amazing city, the sense of freedom that I've felt, the long nights with my friends, chatting and laughing, the days passed in the library and the long strolls to explore all its beauties.

6. What book changed your life, or could at least change someone elses?

 
I think "The Language of flowers" could change someone else's life because it is a story that shows how you can find your way home even after all the bridges behind you have been cut...

7. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, which book would it be? 

 
If I could only read one book for the rest of my life, I would choose: The Pilars of the Earth.
In my opinion this book is a work of art, and I've loved it from the first to the last page!The storyline is captivating, intricate, and exciting, and the characters are complex and interesting.
The building of the cathedral, with the almost eerie artistry of the unschooled stonemasons, is the center of the drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love, which begins with the public hanging of an innocent man and ends with the humiliation of a king.

I would be really happy to know your answers to these questions!!! I'm sure the books we love can reveal a great deal about ourselves...

Love 

xoxo

Martina