Liz Butcher resides in Australia, with her husband, daughter, and their two cats. She’s a self-confessed nerd with a BA in psychology and an insatiable fascination for learning. Liz has published a number of short stories in anthologies and has released her own collection, After Dark, in 2018. Her debut novel, Fates’ Fury released September 2019, soon followed with LeRoux Manor in September 2020 which you can purchase here.
One of the many things I loved about visiting my grandmother as a little girl was her secret stash of books. In a little cupboard in her bedroom, she kept an unknown number of children’s books and if we’d been especially well behaved, she’d gift us one. So from very early on, books held a magical, mystical quality for me. They were something precious to love and read over and over again.
As an adult, it still astounds me that I get to write my very own books—books that I hope others will love and read over and over again. Today, I thought I’d share with you five books that I’ve read more times than I can count!
Whenever I’m asked to name a favourite book, this one is always the first one that comes to mind. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. It’s a heartbreakingly beautiful story, not just about a boy and his favourite tree, but the lengths we go to for the ones we love the most. The boy takes what he wants from the tree, again and again as he grows, until at last he’s an old man and the tree has nothing left to give except its love for the boy. I attribute my love of trees to this book, and even now I find it hard to read without tearing up.
Perhaps my love of trees is also what drew me to Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree series. I think I’ve read everything this author ever wrote, but these books will always be my favourite. In our backyard stood an enormous tree, which I would climb up and read for hours on end. The perfect setting for a story about three children and a magical tree filled with mystical creatures and a magic world found at the very top, which changed all the time. I felt Enid’s creation come to life and sitting in that tree; the characters became as real to me as I’m sure they were to her.
The third on my list I discovered in grade four, The Key and The Fountain by John Pinkney. This book introduced me to the concept of déjà vu and triggered a lifelong love of creepy old buildings. After reading this book I longed to find a rusty key, left behind and forgotten, just waiting for someone (me!) to come along and (re)discover it. I fell in love with the idea that the past and the present can be the same and that some things are meant to be. Over and over again.
Next came Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay. After a family trip to the location, this iconic Australian landmark completely mesmerised me, and even before I read the book, I felt the eerie stillness of the place. It was like the enormous stones held age-old secrets and the higher you climbed, the closer to the past you got—and when you reached the top and looked out at the sweeping plains, it was all too easy to feel like you’d gone back in time. So it was no surprise that I fell in love with this book (and subsequently, the movie). I desperately wanted to know what happened to the missing schoolgirls and their teacher, and what magic the ancient rocks possessed. While I was disappointed upon reading the separate and final chapter to learn the book was a work of fiction, it didn’t become any less haunting or mesmerising.
Last but not least is my introduction to Clive Barker, with his book The Thief of Always. A fable of sorts, told in the dark and twisted way only Barker can do. It’s a story of caution—be careful what you wish for combined with don’t accept gifts from strangers. Only the child in the story eagerly accepts all that is offered to him. Unbeknownst to him, for every day he spends in the strange house, a year passes in the real world. I feel in love with Barker’s story telling, even if reading this book made me want to go and hug my mum!
Even though I’m all grown up, and there’s limitless books for me to read—more than I will ever get to—I still return to these from time to time to recapture the magic and intrigue these represented to me all those years ago. I just hope my daughter will grow up to love them as much as I do.
You can find Liz on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest, along with at her website.
