Every avid reader has a book that they hold near and dear to their heart. They have a book, the book, that started it all. But for me, it wasn't just a single book, or a single series - it was two series. One that motivated me to read in the first place, and another that pushed me to read on.
When I look back on my childhood, the book I enjoyed reading the most was not a single book, but a series. It's not Harry Potter, as you're probably thinking. It's the Geronimo Stilton series by Elisabetta Dami.
I remember one of my friends bringing one of her books to school and reading them. I fell in love with the characters, the adventures, the quirky illustrations and typography. So, at our annual Scholastic Book Fair, I begged my dad to buy me two of the books for 230 Pesos each. I brought them to Australia with me when we moved and I still have those books on my shelf today.
But Geronimo Stilton wasn't what made me an avid reader - it's what got me interested in the first place. It's what lead me to borrow books from the school library every now and then. The book (or shall I say books) that well and truly got me into reading and collecting books was The Hunger Games trilogy by none other than Suzanne Collins.
I picked up The Hunger Games after seeing a Facebook post about the movies three years ago whilst I was in bed. I remember my mum coming into the room to let me know she was going to work. Next thing you know, I was handing her $60 and telling her to go to Dymocks to buy me all the books in the trilogy. She came home with them that afternoon and I was delighted.
The Hunger Games got me going. After reading it, I stumbled upon Delirium and devoured it. Then I moved on to Divergent. And it all snowballed from there. My book collection is tiny compared to others, but for a 16 year old without a job, 70 books is pretty impressive. And I've only just begun. I still have so many books I want to read and discover. I now have a thirst for words, all thanks to The Hunger Games.
The Hunger Games is also what introduced me to fandom and Tumblr. As my love for the trilogy grew, so did my desire to talk about it and share the love. So I created a Tumblr dedicated to it and there, I found a community full of people who loved the books as much as I did. A year or so pass by after that and my Instagram page became full of bookstagrams.
The message soon became clear - I wasn't just an avid reader, I was a reader that wanted to share my love for books. And now, here I am, starting a book blog hoping to do just that. My book journey has only just begun, and I plan to share the rest of it with you guys - whether it'd be through reviews and discussions about my reads, or photos of my recent purchases.
'Til the next chapter,
Patricia x
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