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Poirot

Poirot

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Some here have talked of current books being read, but those conversations led me to think about books I read as a kid, or in high school....the old books, some classics, maybe just a fad. Now I never read A Scarlett Letter, but did see the movie. That doesn't count.

As a kid, I was a huge reader. I devoured books, I reread many, and do to this day. Little Women was a fav, as was Little Men (a sequel). I have read Gone With the Wind, and marvel at how close the movie is to the book. (I still have the book) I can remember in high school having to read Silas Marner, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Shakespeare, none of which impressed me much. My dad had this collection of various authors, and so I read Edgar Allen Poe's stories, but Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes intrigued me, and I ended up a huge fan of Agatha Christie's books. Also used to devour all those gothic romance novels. LOL.
Back to the classics......I have read Pride & Prejudice, Jayne Eyre, Captain Horatio Hornblower, Wuthering Heights. But I also read, as a kid, all the Hardy Boys adventures, and was a late comer to Nancy Drew, but read those, too. There are more, am sure no one ever heard of them. But what about you? Back in your youth, what did you have to read, enjoy reading, still remember???
 
I did read A Scarlett Letter in high school. Also Wuthering Heights. I've read Forever Amber a couple of times. At some point in my early teens I read several Zane Grey books. lol. I think I thought I was going to be a rancher when I grew up. Ha!
I, too, struggled with Shakespeare. Much easier to understand when watching it performed.
 
I wasn't a big reader as a kid but the first book I remember not being able to put down was Amityville Horror... I remember starting it about 1pm on a Friday and finishing it on Saturday around the same time. That was my first "big" paper back lol. In Jr. High loved to order books through Scoolastic from school.I did read a lot of those. I started reading ghost stories and never stopped I was hooked lol. I still have those books too.
 
Although my mother read all sorts of children's literature to me when I was a young child, I didn't care for reading as I was growing up so I read only a few books other than what was required in school. A bit later in life I regretted missing out on the classics and spent about ten years trying to fill that gap. I read Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Great Expectations, Lorna Doone, Ivanhoe, A Tale of Two Cities, Les Miserables, Crime and Punishment, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Grapes of Wrath, The Good Earth, Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn, and yes, Barb, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and many others. Better late than never. I enjoyed them and am glad I did it decades ago. Don't think I could stay focused now.

I like this tread. Barb, I'm sure I read Silas Marner in school but have forgotten the story.
Soapy, lots of ghost and horror stories for you. I would feel haunted!
Lil0, I think you would have made a good rancher!
 
I was and still am an avid reader. Fortunately my parents had an extensive library from their own youth and from my greatgrandmother who was a teacher. As a kid I remember the Elsie Dinsmore books, The Bobbsey Twins books, reading Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn books, Old Yeller, Little Women. Gosh, I could go on and on. I still like looking through their books today, some are so old it's funny to see how things are described...love it!
 
Oh, my, you all reminded me of so many others. I did not think anyone would have read Elsie Dinsmore series besides me. I owned that lot. My mom read a lot, and had tons of book, and I would read hers. One time, in 7th or 8th grade, I was chosen for some survey about what books I read, and I was so scared to admit I read "adult" books (like Forever Amber, for instance).
I had a whole series of books about a character named Mary Selwyn. When I first moved here, all my books were still packed in boxes in the basement, because we had no book shelves for some reason. Anyway, one day the wash machine was overflowing, cannot even remember what was wrong, and of course we did not notice, but we could hear the water pump which would not shut off. Went to check, and basement had 3 or 4 inches of water thru out. The boxes were soaked, and the books all ruined. Tried to dry them out, but little book worms appeared.....we had to throw them all away. I tried to replace my books thru the years, flea marts, etc. no luck.
Last night, I got curious about the Selwyn books, figuring no one ever heard of them either, so googled the name. Well, up came Amazon.com with the first two "original" books. Both for $645.00 !! The picture of the one looked exactly like mine. Sigghhhh.
 
Oh yeah I got the Little house on the Prairie set as an adult LOL and LOVED them and bought others that wasn't in the set like the bio Laura.
 
I also enjoyed the Black Beauty books because I love animals, read the Pippi Longstocking series, and of course as a younster had to have the Dr. Seuss books. Same thing happened to us Poirot, my parents' basement flooded and we lost a lot of old books. What a shame.
 
I remember a book from ,maybe, 2nd grade "The Crybaby Calf." I have tried to find a copy but can't That was my first book in a long life of reading. I read a series of boks "Donna Summer" and also The Bobbsie Twins, Little Women, Black Beauty. I have the Jeenete Okee books. really like them. Only other one I can think of is The old man and The Sea
 
I keep trying to find something to read but nothing lately has clicked. I even found myself reading Harlequin romance novels. Tried to get through 50 Shades but 25 pages in, she was still describing his office and the view, so I lost interest. Sad, huh?

Wayne
 
Not so sad Wayne. These days I go mostly for thrillers in fiction and I like nonfictions like ancient history, archeology, etc. My tastes change as the years go on...:)
 
Wow ! Great thread ! :clap:

Of course, I read a lot ! And I do mean a lot ! :) When I was younger, in high school, other kids used to laugh at me because I always had a book in my hands in-between classes. Apparently, that made me boring and a loser ! Well... Who's laughing now ? :D From reader to writer, I'd say I'm vindicated.

So :back:The first book (aside from comic books like Tintin or Asterix) I read was "La maison de Winnie l'ourson" (a Winnie The Pooh story). Evidently, I read the translations, as I hadn't learned to speak English yet. :) Later, I read "Anne, la maison aux pignons verts" (Ann of Green Gables). It was the first time I actually cried while reading. Such a beautiful and heartfelt story. I also read, in high school, all books by Agatha Christie, my favorites being the ones with detective Hercule Poirot. And a few books by Mary Higgins Clark. I loved the suspense.

When I learned English, I read children's novels, like Old Yeller. Loved it ! And many Disney stories too ! And shorter, kids friendly versions of classics, like Moby Dick, 10 000 Leagues Under the Sea, Treasure Island, etc. I tried later to read Interview with a vampire, but it was a little bit too hard for me at the time. And now, I'm not into vampire stories anymore. I prefer beautiful stories. Like the ones written by Rosamunde Pilcher (September, The Shell Seekers).

Amazingly enough, I still prefer to read in French. I know translations aren't as good as the originals, but when I read, I want to relax. Not so much "work". Shame on me, right ? But to my defense, I do watch movies in English ! :D
 
No I don't think its sad either Wayne..not much to choose from these days . I started Stephen Kings 11/22/63 last November still haven't finished it...of course more time and new glasses would help lol..
 
Though this thread is about books we read when young, (and I was a voracious reader from a little kid thru the years. Yep, Anne of Green Gables, wonderful story. A lot of Mary Higgins Clark. Hated Steven King. Read Carrie. Ugh, And a part of Cujo. I was gifted years ago with TommyKnockers, and have never read it, sits in the bookcase. Most times books are better than movies, if made from them, and two that come to mind are The Firm, and Six Days of the Condor.
I had several of Louisa May Alcott's book, Little Women, Little Men, Jo's Boys. Lost them in the flood, too.
 
ktspirit said:
Not so sad Wayne. These days I go mostly for thrillers in fiction and I like nonfictions like ancient history, archeology, etc. My tastes change as the years go on...:)
Click to expand...
We have some of the same tastes KT. I LOVE archeology, history, thrillers. At one time I was big into Anne Rice and loved The Witching Hour and the sequels, The Divinci Code and many books like that. Right now I'm reading a book called The Passage (not toofar into this one yet) to be followed by the follow up book called The Twelve.

And one of my all time favourite chidhood books was Where The Wild Things Are!! Loved it and thought the movie was actually very well done too.
 
If you like history mixed with fiction, you might try a book I read years ago, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It wasn't so much the story but the detail about how things like building were done in Medieval times. Fascinating!

Hey, anyone remember Little Lost Bobo?
 
As a teen I read the same books, JS. You're right though, they were all the same. I read Flowers in the Attic and some of the sequels but then got bored of them.
 
I'm so glad you have this topic.

We started a Book Club topic at NBC message board around the time the Olympics started to keep board going.

I read a lot of books since I'm alone. I've read a lot of teen/YA the past few years. I read adult books too.
I like historical novels at times. Mystery probably my fave.

The book I'm reading now is the "The Uninvited Guests" by Sadie Johns. I'm enjoying it. It's different
from most books I read.
 
As a child I remember having a collection of Little Golden Books down the cellar that I would rediscover periodically. The Color Kittens was one favorite. Kittens with cans of paint :)

Teen years I read Partners in Crime, a collection of short stories about a married couple who are detectives and loved it. Agatha Christie wrote it and that started my mystery bug. Read lots of Agatha Christie, then other mystery writers, Sue Grafton, Patricia Cornwell, Sara Paretsky. Steve Allen wrote comedy/mysteries that were very entertaining. The Hobbit series, All Creatures Great and Small series by James Herriot.

This year I was looking over the bin of library books for sale and a cover picture of a beautiful long haired orange cat looking at me caught my eye. Dewey The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. I read it in two days, it was so heartwarming. A little kitten dropped into the book return of the library one cold winter night, librarian found him, he lived at the library for 17 years.
 
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