Okay...so since this is my first post, it would be apt if I talk about the first book that got me hooked on to reading as a hobby...that would be Enid Blyton's Famous Five series. To be honest, if we hadn't gone to the UK when I was a small kid, I don't think reading would be my hobby. My parents bought me my first Famous Five book from a carboot sale somewhere in England. 1 book soon grew to a whole series; from book 1 to book 21.
The Famous Five comprise of 4 kids - Julian, Dick, Anne, Georgina (George for short) and George's dog Timothy - who always seem to fall into some sort of adventure during their school holidays. And not just an ordinary adventure, but a "hair-raising adventure", as quoted from one of their books. They'd solve smuggling mysteries on farms, a kidnapping mystery somewhere and so on. Their adventures really thrilled me, and back when I was 8 or 9 yrs old, I'd fantasize having the same sort of adventures too (although it'd be a million years before I, or anyone I know, would have those kind of adventures). Sometimes I incorporated their adventures into the games my sisters -Aishah and Yusraa - played, and we'd have a lot of fun pretending to go camping in the living room and riding horses using the sofa cushions. Hahaha. In fact, I used to read so much that my sisters actually hid one Famous Five book just so that I'd spend more time playing with them! I remember searching for that book everywhere in the house till I gave up. The book was eventually found a few years later when we were packing up to return to Malaysia. Huh. But my sisters have now picked up the reading habit too, although Yusraa and Sumayyah don't read as much as me and Aishah. Ehem...no offense my dear sisters! :-D
Anyway...I also read other books by Enid Blyton, like Malory Towers, Secret Seven, St-Clare, the Secret series, the Faraway Tree adventures and so on. These books are really fun to read and it definitely worked my imagination. Anyone who wants more info on Enid Blyton or her books can click here.
