I read a lot of fiction, poetry and some non-fiction too. There are far too many to name all my favourites, so here are just a few books in no particular order, that have a special place in my heart.

Fiction

The Dark is Rising Sequence - Susan Cooper

There are five books in this fantastic fantasy sequence. Over Sea Under Stone, The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King, and Silver on the Tree.

The Naughtiest Girl in the School - Enid Blyton

When I was little I loved this series, about a girl who gets into all sorts of trouble while she’s away at boarding school. I didn’t ever enjoy the Secret Seven or Famous Five, but did like The River of Adventure and the Castle of Adventure.

His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

The three books are all brilliant. Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, but my favourite is the middle one.

A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving

A book for adults partly about war. Shocking, violent, tear-jerking. Long after you have forgotten the minutia of the story, Owen Meany remains with you as a person, rather than a character in a book.

Poetry

Opened Ground - Seamus Heaney

I keep this by my desk and dip into it frequently. Wonderful, moving poetry. Some of the deceptively simple poems about Ireland bring my childhood memories of holidays with Irish friends and relations flooding back. His Nobel Lecture from 1995 give a fascinating insight into his work too.

Lines in the Sand - edited by Mary Hoffman and Rhiannon Lassiter

Over one hundred and fifty poems, stories and pictures about war and peace. Inspired by our feelings about the conflict in Iraq, and with all royalties and profits going to UNICEF.

Mr Noselighter - Roger McGough

An excellent story poem. Mr Noselighter wears red woolly socks ‘to keep the ground off his feet.’ I also love his adult book Summer with Monica, which is all about a very intense relationship, from the exciting beginnings to the melancholy end.

Non-fiction

A Room of One’s Own - Virginia Woolf

An essay on Feminism in 1928. We are all better educated now, but this book kept my determination burning through my middle years, and is still well worth reading today.

As I walked out one Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee

There is so much between this book’s pages. It starts with Lee leaving his tiny Cotswold village as a boy and ends with the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. In between is his unfurling affair with Spain. The first couple of pages have one of the best descriptions of the mixed feelings of an adolescent leaving home that I have ever read.

You may buy the books mentioned above from Amazon.co.uk