Books have always been an integral part of my existence, they have opened my mind to the impossible, made my heart feel the deepest of emotions, shown my eyes unseen things and breathed life into a plethora of dimensions and realities that have allowed me to travel through space, time and place all whilst curled up under the sheets with a pot of tea next to me. This love affair began when I was child and my mother would read me to sleep and gift me books on birthdays and at Christmas. This love affair dove into the depths of my heart when I first learned to read and started with copies of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and the entire Roald Dahl collection. This love grew when my dad gifted me books like Gandhi and Mandela for Kids to when JK Rowling released The Philosophers Stone to when I borrowed The Monk Who Stole His Ferrari to working my way through my mothers Daniel Steel collection, to reading fictional philosophy and then falling in love with Paulo Coelho to being gifted books from my boyfriend to reading my son to sleep and teaching him to read - books have and will always be in my life, molding and shaping my mind & heart and teleporting my body into different realms.
In celebration of World Book Day and my love affair with books, I want to share some beautiful photographs and some of the books from my collection, that I've read and what they have meant to me or why I fell in love with them, I picked these four:
The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
As a child my mother would tuck me in every night by reading me this book. I remember thirsting for bedtime throughout the day to get to the part of the day when I could finally dwell into the adventurous world that awaited me in the Faraway Tree with Moonface and the gang. This book is art of the foundation of love upon which my affinity for books rests. A definite must have for all parents, the copy that I have is old and tattered but I can’t wait to buy one that is in good condition for my son who also loves bedtime stories.
Love by Paulo Coelho
This book was one of the very first gifts that I received from my boyfriend in December 2014, he was thoughtful enough to cop me a book filled with love quotes from all my favourite Paulo Coelho books who also happens to be my favourite author. I love reading this regularly, I feel like the book is an embodiment of our love and also the artwork in the book is pretty sick, which makes me love it even more seeing as how visual of a person I am.
Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder
The owner of Orumbonde Books (my favourite bookstore) recommended this book to me in January this year and I haven’t stopped mentally thanking him since!!! I am obsessed with this philosophical fiction about young Sophie who goes on an adventure to the love of wisdom with Professor Knox, her mystery philosophy professor.
Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho
When I travelled to India in December 2015, I stopped by a bookstore in Nasik and I fell head over heels for it because I couldn’t believe how incredibly cheap the Paulo Coelho books were over there compared to Namibian bookstores, so I went ahead and bought as many of his books as I could carry that day and amongst them was this gem! This book helped me to accept my Generalised Anxiety Disorder diagnosis and taught me to live and love more fiercely, more fearlessly and more freely.
