Yes, I’m a bookworm...

Yes, I’m a bookworm. No, I don’t live in a secluded, cobweb-covered cottage, I’m not an old lady surrounded by cats and I don’t spend my life perched in a rocking chair. In fact, I’m just like your average teenager.

I believe that you can blame Beatrix Potter for said habit. I won’t bore you with a long, soppy back-story but I will tell you this, receiving a collection of her best-loved stories as a christening present meant I was read to a lot as a child, building the foundations of my imagination as it is today. There are some great incentives to help children read at a young age, take the Greenaway Project for example. Not only did I experience the fun as a youngster, completing tasks set in drama and art along with my friends, I also had the chance to play the counter part: helping out wherever the bossy little things let me! I first heard of The Arthur Spiderwick Chronicles doing such work; the illustrations were so beautiful that it quickly became a favorite.

As I've grown older (I know, three years is a really long time), I began to notice that there was a bigger presence of readers online, using sites like Twitter to chat and share their thoughts, even sharing books in giveaways! Interacting with others who felt the same way as me was a real confidence boost and I became more comfortable when it came to airing my opinions in real life as well, I never would have been able to share this article before! BookTubers (you know, YouTubers who talk about books?) keep things fun too! It’s not all about reviews either, catch-up posts let you know what’s trending and keep you up-to-date with all of the latest releases. Hearing these people speak with such enjoyment in their tone can keep me entertained for hours.

While putting my face in front of a camera isn’t an option, I’d make too many people jealous with my movie-star looks you see, I have started writing things down in a blog. It’s only been a few months but I’ve already been sent books from publishers for free in exchange for reviews, further expanding my collection. I just have one problem with this though: I’m running out of shelf space! The best part of it all? Getting a quote published in one of my favourite books, Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. Yes, I’M IN A BOOK! This was such a big deal for me, it felt like all of my hard work had paid off and more than that; I was hugely proud of myself!

Looking to the future, I hope my silly little obsession with writers will one day lead to the flipside of publishing: working in marketing and sending out the books to encourage others like myself. And who knows, maybe I’ll end up working with authors in the future, but that all depends on whether I can put my inner fangirl, complete with childish excitement, to rest and find a professional cool.