Lemony Snickett told me to never trust anyone who doesn’t carry a book with them, and I took that to heart and still don’t leave the house without one.

This list was more of a struggle than I thought it would be, I’m quite easily pleased and if I enjoy a book, I tend to call it my favourite which results in a very long list. My family is full of avid readers who all have very varied tastes and this influenced a lot of my reading growing up. Even now, we still love gifting each other books and recommending our current reads to just about everyone. A lot of the books on this list come from when I was a teen, and I was the most into reading I have ever been. Whether it's a memory of the first series I bought as it was released and eagerly awaited each new instalment, or my friend's in school passing along the same book so we could all get in on the hype, or reading the books of my mum’s childhood favourite show, all the books on this list hold a special memory. They are more just the words inside. For quite a solo hobby, making this list reminded me that one of my favourite things about books and reading is how it fosters community and connection.