Hello Sophia
Hope you are fine : )
This is a very insightful topic indeed.
It is also hugely personal.
Reflective of nurture and nature.
Nurture: based on formative years of unconditional book-parenting from grandparents and parents. To include my tutors both home and abroad.
Nature: private boarding schools were surrounded with green. The blushed skies of the most beautiful hues you can imagine and the rain belong to India always. The lushest green belongs to Ireland and the UK countryside. Our Welsh tutor in particular used to take classes out in nature once a week. It reminded me of ๐ฎ๐ณ; was homesick more often than not.
Both of the above were reflected in the movies and the books therein.
The themes were based on reality, overcoming insurmountable odds, the importance of honesty and integrity. Patriotism for language, culture and staying grounded. Including BBC documentaries.
Primary school
Lots of Enid Blyton and also the Indian illustrations Amar Chitra Katha. Rani Padmani stands out in my mind till this day.
Formative
1- Ben Hur
<<Judah Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace>>
2- My Experiments with Truth
<<Shri Mahatma K Gandhi himself>>
3- the Bible
4- Ambedkarโs India
<<Dr Ambedkar Saheb himself>>
5- Indian History (the heritage list)
<<Cannot find where these books are>>
Several documentaries โฆ
Teenage
6- The Great Gatsby
<<Scott Fitzgerald>>
7- Sylvia Plath โค๏ธ
<<her poems mostly>>
Marriage
8- all the Irish books ๐ฏ
JFK
<<Fredrik Logevall>>
The Great Hunger - Ireland 1845-1849
<<Cecil Woodham-Smith>>
many more โค๏ธ
Fan of
9- Sir Ratan Tata
<<Peter Casey>>
10- Maharaj Shivaji
<<Vaibhav Purandare>>
and my Irish husband ๐ฏโค๏ธ haha
With respect to my guests I encourage them to worship their own respective faiths and offer 9-10- along with the Mahabharata.
Thank you once again Sophia for having given me the opportunity to write via Paula.
And to AirBNB.
Best wishes,
Cheryl