Book Chat – Formative reads: books that shaped my taste

Hi friends! Today I feel like talking a bit about books that have been formative for me, which also seems like a great way to introduce myself a bit more on this blog. 

As readers, we probably all have that list of books that we’ve read at some early point in our life and that stuck with us. We take a lot from the books we read when we’re young. They help identify the genres and types of characters we love reading about, and they enable us to know which kinds of books are better left on the shelf. Books can help us through tough times, they can reflect some reality and introduce new thoughts. Sometimes, they can provide new ideas. They can feel comforting, make you feel understood, like a secret between the reader and the author.

For me, the most formative books are the ones that are linked to a specific moment or interest that I have. I could say that all my favorite books brought or taught me something, but some of them were part of my transition from childhood to my teenage years, and some others are more linked to my first steps into adulthood. They influenced my choices in terms of subsequent reads and showed me what I liked in the novels I read. This is obviously a non-exhaustive list, but here are two novels and one trilogy that still mean a lot to me!

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

This novel has always been in my life. I remember reading an excerpt in school when I was around ten years old. It was a scene featuring Cosette as a child but I can’t remember which one. At that point, I didn’t know anything about the book and thought she was the main character! A few years later, as a teenager, I got into musical theatre and at the same time, really discovered this book and read it over the span of a year. Les Misérables is very linked to my passion for musicals, my interest for one cannot be explained without mentioning the other. I will probably never reread this novel from beginning to end but I sometimes enjoy revisiting my favorite parts. If you haven’t read this book, I do recommend it, especially if you’re not intimidated by big novels! (Also, my opinion on this is that it’s 100% ok to skip the pages that bore you, really, it is.)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I haven’t reread this trilogy since the first time I read it when I was fifteen, but at a time when I wasn’t much of a reader, it took my attention and got me completely obsessed for weeks. Mainly, The Hunger Games made me interested in dystopian fiction. After this one, I read other young adult trilogies of the genre but didn’t enjoy them as much. I also read dystopian classics and liked them a lot, but THG will always be my reference! What I love in dystopian universes is that it gives a lot to think about. It’s also a type of sci-fi that is usually a reflection of some reality. As a writer, it’s definitely a genre I love playing with.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Arguably my favorite book, or at least, the one that has been so close to my heart for the longest time. I read The Song of Achilles for the first time not long after its publication in 2011, after it got some hype on the corner of Tumblr I lived in at the time. This was almost ten years ago, I was a young teenager who already identified as LGBTQ+ but who was very confused. Today, it feels like getting queer books is a very normal thing, we get new releases every month. Things weren’t like that when TSOA got published. When I read this book, it was the first time I held in my hands a published work that told the story of queer people, and in such a gorgeous way. Up until then, I thought these stories could only exist on fanfiction websites. But apart from the queer representation, The Song of Achilles is most of all a beautifully written book that influenced me a lot as someone who loves writing. 

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There are obviously many other books that mean a lot to me, but as far as formative books go, this short selection feels pretty accurate. Since I read these, my taste has changed and evolved and my list of favorite books includes many other stories. I may not think about these books everyday but I’m very aware of the marks they left in my reading and other aspects of my life!

What about you? Tell me about your formative reads in the comment section! ❤