11/06/2026
A Girl & Her Bookshelf - Cubby Hole 2 š
This shelf holds my hardback David Gemmell collection.
David Gemmell was my dad's favourite author.
He's also the reason I fell in love with reading.
As I got older, Dad introduced me to science fiction and fantasy. Before long, both me and my brother Mark were borrowing his books. Or, more accurately, stealing them.
Whenever a new David Gemmell book was released, Dad eventually learned that buying one copy wasn't enough. He started ordering three. One for him, one for Mark and one for me.
I've read every one of these books multiple times.
They're old friends now.
The kind of stories you return to when you need familiar characters and worlds that feel like home.
What I always loved about David Gemmell's writing was the depth of his characters. They were flawed, brave, complicated and human. His stories were full of courage, loyalty and doing the right thing even when it was difficult. And there was almost always a strong female character somewhere in the pages, even when she wasn't the hero of the story.
I adore hardback books, although I seem to spend half my time reading them while trying to balance them in increasingly ridiculous positions.
But I wouldn't swap them.
These books carry memories.
Of Dad.
Of conversations.
Of eagerly waiting for the next release.
Of shared stories.
And it seemed only fitting that some of Dad's ashes should sit here too, alongside the books he loved most.
A small place on the shelf.
Still part of the story. ā¤ļø
Does anyone else have books they return to again and again, like old friends?
