What's in a name?

So I often get asked why my online blog name is trueatfirstlight... and the answer is actually a lot simpler than you think. When I first started out blogging, my username was always saager2. You can still find me on most things under that name, but when I began to think about privacy away from school friends and classmates, I came up with trueatfirstlight. The title of a book by one of my all time favourite authors, Ernest Hemingway.

This blog post is literary propaganda, and I urge you all to read. And here's why:

I know it's hardly a cool thing to do anymore, people don't crave the paper-cuts and the musty smell of books anymore when they can be doing other things, but books give you a depth of knowledge that cannot be mined anywhere else.

Although films provide us with a visual aid to characters, plot lines etc, there is a need to read. Books allow the brain to absorb information and then process it. Gone are the days when I would dedicate whole afternoons to reading, but when I get the time I can be found at approximately 3am with eyes wide open lost in a book.

Not only do books give you a somewhat more interesting personality, they also set you apart from people who don't. Books are an abyss of knowledge, where you can "plunder the hallowed heights of Troy" or go to Hogwarts with Harry, as cliche as it may seem, reading is a journey which never costs more than ten pounds.

A book is a vessel of humanity, and it should be treated as such. Dog-eared, tattered, warn, yellowed out pages - those are books who have truly lived. The pristine pages of a shelf full of textbooks have nothing on a thumbed through copy of Jane Eyre or even The Bell Jar.

There is a book for everybody. I like to think of reading the same way I think about dating - don't think me weird. If you read a book and you don't like it, doesn't mean you won't read anything ever again. It teaches you what you do or don't like about the book, the author, the writing style etc, so you know what to look for next time. Bad reads are just as important as good reads in making you a successful and mindful person.

10 books I think everyone should read:

1.) The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald:
My all time favourite book, set in the prohibition era in America, the story reveals true insights into personalities, disappointment, history and the dangers of success.

2.) The Catcher In The Rye - J.D Salinger
Another of my all time favourites, though completely different in style, The Catcher In The Rye is a tale of loneliness, finding oneself, aimless travelling... don't give up on this book. Although slow to get stuck into, a worthy piece of literature.

3.) Ham On Rye - Charles Bukowski
A masterpiece by my favourite poet, the almoost biographical story depicts the life of Henry Chinaski, Bukowski's alter ego in his novels. Heartbreaking, subtle and yet scrupulously detailed, this book is an insight to a low life drunk, tramp and heartbroken man burdened with the unease of his upbringing.

4.) Anne Frank's Diary, The Diary Of A Young Girl -  Anne Frank.
Almost self explanatory, if you haven't already, read this book. A scarily personal portrayal of a young girl's thoughts as she hides in Amsterdam under Nazi occupation. Unique, enriching and incredibly heartbreaking, this story needs to be read by all. Besides which, it's extremely quotable.

5.) Private Peaceful - Michael Morpurgo 
Although primarily a children's book, this is the first book I wept my heart out to by Morpurgo. If this book were food, it would be a homemade soup made on a fire. It warms the heart, tears it in two, and then mends it. A tale of family, first world war and love, this story shouldn't be put aside for the mere fact it was intended for a younger audience.

6.) Anna Karinina - Leo Tolstoy
Stealthy, hearty, sometimes irritating, Tolstoy recreates late 19th century Russia as it was for the elite. Adultery, mental illness, false imagery and the like, a story from Tolstoy not to be missed.
*Not reccommended if you have a short attention span, this book makes a very good paperweight as it probably weighs the same as a small child.

7.) To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee 
My second favourite book, and also incidentally the book I studied for my GCSE's, this is a story that changed lives. I mean literally. Not a civil rights book as such, but Lee paints the innocent picture of a childhood in Alabama in 40s. Crime, childhood and innocence put together the puzzle of protagonist Scout's father, Atticus, a lawyer in Maycombe County. This is something everyone should read, if only to understand humanity a little better - and also to smile at how adorable Dill and Scout are.

8.) Lucky - Alice Sebold.
This story kept me up all night. An entirely true story based on the authors life, this story had me writhing with anger and sadness but suspense and relief too. Incredibly explicit but will turn the feminist cogs in anybody, even if they're a little rusty or indeed haven't ever been used. This is a story about justice, not rape.

9.) Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys 
A prequel to Jane Eyre, one of the most popular pieces of literature in Britain, Rhys provides readers with the story of Bertha, the mad women in the attic. Incredible in its venture to reverse prejudices towards white Jamaican women. This book is a must read if you read Jane Eyre - which you should because it's equally good, but this book contests Victorian attitudes - and the notion that readers simply swallow whatever they have read.

10.) Försvunnen  (Vanished Eng. translation) - Liza Marklund
Last but not least, an author from my hometown of Stockholm, Sweden, an ex investigative journalist, Marklund is one of the most well respected authors in Scandinavia. This book, pacy and gripping will keep you up all night if you like Nordic Noir, and tells the raw but frighteningly true story of abusive relationships and women who are forced into hiding. A must read.


So there we are. If there are any books that anybody would like to reccommend to me, I would be more than grateful.

xo