Dear Elliot,

One of my favourite things at the moment is how much you love books. You can happily sit and amuse yourself looking at books on your own, and can tell us the titles of most of the Thomas books we own (quite a few!)

I, on the other hand, have done less reading in the past two years than at any point in my life. Funnily enough, I don’t class repeated “I have this little sister, Lola..” or “Thomas was a Really Useful Engine” as particularly stretching literature at the age of 32.

Thankfully your grandparents came up with a brilliant idea to get me back into my reading habit and I’m now the proud owner of a Kindle. This means I now need a book list.

Looking on several lists that other like-minded bloggers have created  (see the lovely Aimee over at More than Toast who is an inspiration in herself) and those compiled by the powers that be dictating the “Top 100 books to read before you die”, I’ve come up with a slightly shorter list for myself, but would love recommendations to add to it (I’m already a book and a half down don’t you know!)

1. The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
2. The Illiad – Homer (and The Odyssey)
3. Enders Game – Orson Scott Card
4. Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides
5. Ghost World – Daniel Claves
6. On the Road – Jack Kerouac
7. Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston
8. Beloved – Toni Morrison
9. Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace
10. To the Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf
11. The Island – Victoria Hislop
12. When God was a Rabbit – Sarah Winman
13. The Outcast – Sadie Jones
14. The Man in the Picture – Susan Hill
15. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Mary Ann Schaffer + Anne Barrows
16. The Sea, The Sea – Iris Murdoch
17. The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
18. Her Fearful Symmetry – Audrey Niffenegger
19. Hangover Square – Patrick Hamilton
20. The Book Thief – Marcus Zusac
21. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith
22. When You Reach Me – Rebecca Stead
23. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
24. A Million Little Pieces – James Frey
25. Enduring Love – Ian McEwan
26. Me Before You – Jojo Moyes
27. The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
28. The End of the Affair – Graham Greene
29. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius – Dave Eggers
30. The Glass Castle – Jeanette Walls
31. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou
32. The Women’s Room – Marilyn French
33. Love Virtually – Daniel Glattauer
34. The Other Half of Me – Morgan McCarthy
35. Catching the Sun – Tony Parsons
36. Delirium – Lauren Oliver
37. Miracle on Regent Street – Ali Harris 
38. The Distant Hours  – Kate Morton
39. Sister – Rosamund Lupton
40. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time – Yasutaka Tsutsui
41. Saturday – Ian McEwen
42. Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
43. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon
44. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis de Bernieres
45. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne
46. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
47. Small Island – Andrea Levy
48. A Ladies Paradise – Emile Zola (in French?)
49. My Dear, I Wanted To Tell You – Louisa Young
50. The Wierd Sisters – Eleanor Brown
51. The Master – Colm Toibin
52. The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro

So that’s one per week of 2013 which is highly unlikely to be accomplished, but we can but try. I’ve tried to get a big variety of styles and authors in there whilst also including some books which quite frankly have been on my “to be read” shelves long enough I just need to get on with it.

And, Elliot, don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll find plenty of time to introduce you to the wonderful worlds within lots of books this year. It really won’t be long before you’re reading all on your own. I can’t wait!