BTBC Day 8: Favorite Books

Topic: Favorite Childhood Books

Man, I loved to read. I would read all the time, anywhere. I'd stay up all night. I'd read under tables. My biggest complaint growing up was that I didn't have some huge stereotypical tree to read under. Yes, I actually complained about that! All we had were corn fields and tiny newly planted trees. Now I go back and visit my mom and our backyard tree is breathtaking!

Photo of the disappointing tree when I (on the left) was 4

Photo of said disappointing tree when I was 24

When I was Little

I don't really recall too many picture books. I do know my parents read to us. Maybe they loved it, but maybe it was torturous having to read three separate books before bed. I think the hard part came when it was our turn to read to them and we'd always pick the long ones!

My brother was a reluctant reader and he would check out only one book from the library when my sister and I would check out the number we were allowed which was equal to our ages. So when we were 7 we could potentially leave the library with 21 books! The author that finally connected with my brother was  Richard Scary, i think it helped that there might have been some cartoon that went along with it, but I still remember him getting excited about reading those books and trying to hide it, and I wasn't wise back then like I am now, but always observant!

My mom would take us to the library every two weeks. She hated those overdue fines, but we were sooo good at racking them up! She'd also take us to the discount book store and we'd each get to pick one book to buy! Maybe I remember wrong and we went less often, but it was a time all three of us looked forward to an enjoyed. I came across a great article that kind of sums up that my mom (the first grade teacher) did at least one thing right, which is she got her kids to love reading without them realizing it!

I really liked Swimmy. (All Leo Leoni really.) We passed this book down on my high school swim team to the best generation leader. I got it! One of the highlights if my swimming career! The 2nd was winning the first ever MVP aware for team spirit!

I pushed myself to read chapter books because my sister started in 1st grade, that smarty pants. The first book I read in first was Jog Frog, Jog. I was SO proud of myself. I think I actually stapled the book to my 4th grade All About Me Poster. I held on to it through high school, but I think it's lost to the ages now.

But by 2nd grade I was reading those Baby-sitter's Club books right alongside my sister!  Except maybe they were a little hard for me because I took to calling my sister an idot, a word I misread. Apparently, I had meant to call her an idiot.

I also read all the Little House on the Prairie books. My 4th grade teacher read the first one and I was hooked! I also loved John Bellairs Mystery novels...ooh and Encyclopedia Brown! The problem with most of these authors and books was that they were popular in the early late70's and Early 80's. I distinctly remember being frustrated that the authors of these books were dead, dying, or retired and they weren't writing MORE books for me to read!

I also loved the "classics." I devoured them. I remember reading Gulliver's Travels, Tom Sawyer, Oliver Twist, Huckleberry Fin, Little Women, Moby Dick, any I could find!  I had to do a little searching to find out exactly what I was reading back then, but apparently they are called "Great Illustrated Classics" and are big business on ebay. Somehow, one day after a line of questioning to my mom, I discovered that these texts were written for kids and weren't the "real" thing. Silly me!

I was a little disappointed that I wasn't reading the real thing and the accomplishments I thought I had been making felt tarnished a little. In adulthood, I did make it a point to re-read the ones that had really impacted me.

In middle school I read all the Rebecca Caudill books every year. My claim to fame was that I read Harry Potter before it was popular, in 1997! The school Librarian personally recommended it to me. La.De.Da. In 7th and 8th grade I really got into Walter Dean Meyers. My favorite was The Glory Field which examined the history of slavery.

As an Adult

I've made an effort to expand my readings. I minored in English in college so I read a lot then, my favorite author was Kurt Vonnegut.

But, I might have read more in the year I spent abroad in a Korea. I couldn't watch TV and lived in a very rural area where no one spoke English. I read to pass the time and to jump back into the magical reality of another world, when my reality left something to be desired.

 The only titles available there were really "classics" or "pop culture" novels. So I'd switch between a Dan Brown or Sofie Kinsella books and a classic. During this time the absolute best books I read were John Steinbeck's East of Eden and Gabriel Marquez' 100 Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. The best pop culture book was The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

                                                                                   

What's next???

One More Point

I haven't been "taken away" by a book or author, really, since then. I WANT to be transported. Captured. I want to be moved.

I'm not sure if I'm lacking the time, or if I need a more care and stress free environment, or maybe the appropriate author or book has yet to be found.

Either way, I'm still looking.