In this first episode of Best Book Forward I was delighted to be joined by Helen Paris; author of Lost Property and The Invisible Women's Club. Helen shared wonderful memories of buying her childhood favourites with her dad at WHSmiths at weekends, a wonderful teacher who introduced her to a book she loves and the books that inspired her love of reading and writing. Helen’s Desert Island Books choices are: Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler Of course, when you’re talking to somebody who is as passionate about books as Helen is, lots of other books get mentioned so here are the other books we talked about in this episode. Second Spring by Kate Codrington Another Life by Jodie Chapman Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce If you would like to hear more from Helen Paris, please do keep an eye out as there is a bonus episode coming where we discuss more about Helen’s life as a reader and a writer and she shares a bookish secret with us! For more content from me you can follow me on Instagram or visit my website www.bestbookforward.org Best Book Forward is produced by Buckers at Decibelle Creative @decibelle_creative / www.decibellecreative.com