World Book and Copyright Day

Today is for those who write and read. Alas, not so many read anymore. A lot of youngsters don't touch a book but rather play on their iPhone or iPad.

Of course, this doesn't mean a lot. When my sister was a kid, she did not read either. But now (she's in her fifties) she does read, albeit occasionally. I, on the other hand, have done little less than reading all through my life... and as a consequence, I began to write my own novels.

In Stratford-On-Avon they are remembering one of the greates authors of all time, William Shakespeare. His work has lasted throughout time and is still a masterpiece. How beautiful his words are!

I think it is good for children to grow up in a family where someone reads. I had the good luck to have a granddad who adored books, and who read to me when I was only 1 or 2 years old. He even did this in French. His favorite author was Alexandre Dumas, and without realizing it, I listened to Les Trois Musquetaires or La Tulipe Noire or La Reine Margot. And don't ask my why, but I do know what the last one is about! The other two I read later on, when I could hold a book in my little hands as well. Before I was ten years old, I had read all the books in our local library twice or more than than.

And I must confess I still have a fondness for those authors I used to read when I was much younger: Catherine Benzoni, Alexander Dumas, Catherine Gaskin, Laurie McBain, Katherine Woodiwiss, Margaret Campbell-Barnes, Dorothy Eden, Phyllis A. Whitney, ...

Who are your favorites?