Well, I have finally plucked up the courage to do this, so let’s get cracking!

Before we get started, how about I give you a little bit of background?

My name is Clare and I love reading.  It’s as simple as that really.

Ever since my neighbours in Wales gave me my first copy of The Adventures of The Wishing Chair by Enid Blyton at the tender age of 5, I have officially been hooked.

From then on, I went through all the Enid Blytons – I devoured the Famous Five, lived through the school terms at Malory Towers and desperately wanted to have lots of adventures.  Judy Blume was another author I loved, as she answered all the questions I was too scared to ask (thank you Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret).

Fortunately my Mum and Dad were avid readers too, and my Mum religiously took me to our local library as often as she could.  After working my way through all the kids books I was interested in, I started on the adult shelves, and via Danielle Steel I ended up at Jilly Cooper, who to this day is one of my favourite authors.

I was lucky enough to study English literature at Leeds University, and even though as I waded through Beowulf (in the Anglo Saxon original text thank you), and Paradise Lost (can’t remember any of it),  my love of reading has never wavered.

I then spent quite a few years in the reading wilderness, as working and raising a family meant my reading was limited to when I had a few spare minutes  – usually five minutes before I crashed out at the end of the day.

Now, with everyone able to look after themselves a bit more, I have decided do something just for me.

I am reading again, but this time with a difference.  If I am not enjoying a book,  I put it down and move on to another one.  From now on, I am only reading books that interest me, that capture my attention and make me forget where I am and what I am doing.  I am reading selfishly from now on, and hope that I inspire you to do so too.

This blog will simply be about books I have loved, and anything that I hear about in the book world that I want you to hear about too.

Life is too short to read what you think you should, so read selfishly instead!