Today, you’ll find me over at Stuck in a Book, taking part in today’s instalment of My Life in Books. This is a feature where Simon invites bloggers to talk about some of the books that represent important milestones in their lives. Besides me, you can also see what Frances from Nonsuch Book.(You might want to read my choices in conjunction with the Triple Choice Tuesday I did for Reading Matters last year, because I deliberately picked different titles this time.)

My ideas for a childhood favourite included You Tell Me by Roger McGough and Michael Rosen, and Word Box by Gyles Brandreth… but I went for something else in the end.

When it came to choosing one of the first ‘grown up’ books I enjoyed, there was only ever going to be one author. There were many possible books, but one stood out for the place it had in my life.

The book from early adulthood could easily have been The Prestige or Perdido Street Station… but I chose a different one.

My choice of favourite book from the last few years might have been The Rehearsal, or Skippy Dies, or Forgetting Zoe, or An A-Z of Possible Worlds, or so many others… but, as you’ll have gathered by now, it’s none of the above.

As for the book that might surprise people… you’ll just have to go and see.

I think it certainly surprised Frances. Simon gave us a list of each other’s choices (without revealing who we were or showing us what the other had said about their books) and asked us what we thought they said about the person choosing. I was interested to see Frances’s comments – I think she captures the essence of what I most like to read.

I really enjoyed taking part in this, and I’d like to thank Simon for inviting me. Do check out the My Life in Books archives, as it’s a fascinating feature.

Finally, should you now be visiting this blog for the first time – welcome, and I hope you find something of interest here.