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The first book to change my life was "Jane Eyre". I first read it when I was eight-and-a-half, mostly to prove to my sister that I wasn't lying when I said I was a good reader. That motivation lasted about two pages - and then I was swept away. "Jane Eyre" showed me very clearly that an adult can speak to a child and be understood - that a child is capable of understanding on a very sophisticated level: both Jane in her early years and I, reading her story, showed ourselves capable of interpreting what other people said was too complex or challenging for us. I also learned at that early age that books don't have to be about people my own age to be interesting - and that led me on to reading all sorts of things which opened up my world and my imagination. And, of course, I had my second-ever experience of falling in love (Captain Kirk was the first!), which was magical.

Since then, I have read "Jane Eyre" about every two years. Each time I read it, different things stand out to me, but it hasn't lost the magic of that first time. I still feel very, very brave reading the Red Room chapter (after the first time, I always skipped that bit until I was fourteen and screwed my courage to the sticking-place); I still feel indignant for child Jane; I still fall in love with Rochester; I still feel Jane's desolation and then the rightness of her reward at the end. If any book is magical, this one is for me.

I'm in the UK, and yes, I will pay postage if you should choose me!