HOL

Nearly everyone who has had access to the magic of the written word, in whatever way, will have been profoundly moved by a book. Maybe it was one that got you through a very difficult time or brought you closer to someone. Perhaps there’s a book that once changed your outlook on life. One that might have inspired you to do something or given you the courage you needed. Or maybe there was just a moment where you discovered the unadulterated pleasure of immersing yourself in someone else’s world. And of course there's the myriad other ways that I can’t possibly imagine, not being you.

While books and the impressions they leave are deeply personal, it would be amazing to see the impact certain ones have had on the HOL community (though I bet I can predict around 7 that may well crop up….). So, if you’d like, this is your place to share those books that have made a difference to you (big or small) and the reasons why. What the folk at World Book Day chose to call ‘Writes of Passage’.

As far as I can remember, Matilda was my foray into magic. My mother used to read it to me when I was a child, to attempt to instill a respect for power, and more, a love of books into me. And it worked!

I identified a lot with Matilda. From the point of view of a child me, my parents were not the best (mostly due to long work hours and chores they gave me, something that is not considered bad by older children or adults) and one of the teachers had it out for me, whether I deserved it or not. So similarly to Matilda, I dreamed of getting my revenge on the teacher, wanting my parents to play with me more or getting back at bullies.

The book helped me go by in those years, by letting me lose myself in my imagination, telling me that was okay to be a little weird and instilling a love of books that still remains to this day.