I’m Ollie and I love reading graphic novels and fiction, usually of the scary variety. However, I do love an occasional picture book with beautiful art!
What did you like to read when you were young?
I loved reading children’s fiction when I was young, but my favorites include The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall and The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart.
What five desert island books would you choose?
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell – The first book (and my favorite) in the Simon Snow trilogy.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson – an adult horror classic from the 1950s that I think about at least once a week.
Emily the Strange: The Lost Days by Rob Reger – a book written like diary entries (complete with endearing doodles) about an amnesiac nocturnal teen who wakes up in the town of Blackrock – a small town in the middle of nowhere that is lacking in black rocks and is decidedly both very dull and mysterious.
Tomie by Junji Ito – a manga collection of horror stories about Tomie, one of Junji Ito’s most well-known characters.
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman – a wholesome graphic novel about two boys attending secondary school in the UK, who become fast friends and fall for each other.
Is there a book that changed the way you see the world?
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is one of the most hauntingly beautiful books I’ve read. Jackson’s writing style is both chilling and surreal and has changed the way I read books (and raised my expectations for the horror genre!)