Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Childhood reading habits

Please copy and paste this into comments and supply your answers! Mine are below.

1. Did you own any books as a child or rent from the library? What were they?
2. Were you a re-reader as a child? If so, which book did you re-read most often?
3. What’s the first adult book that captured your interest?
4. Are there children’s books that you passed by as a child that you have learned to love as an adult? Which ones?


1. Did you own any books as a child or rent from the library? What were they?

I had a lot of books, and I also wore out my library card. The books I'm most remember from childhood are all the Dr. Suess books, which my dad used to read to us before we went to bed. Also, I loved this book called A is for Annabelle and Where the Wild Things Are.

2. Were you a re-reader as a child? If so, which book did you re-read most often?

Oh yes, I read them all over and over again. I think that must be why I remember my childhood books so well, and today, even books that I remember loving, I sometimes can't really remember what they're about, because I don't have time to read them again and again.

3. What’s the first adult book that captured your interest?
Oh, how embarrassing, I think it must be those V.C. Andrews books, and I must have been... I don't know... 7th grade, maybe. And my mom forbid me to read them, because I was having nightmares, but I couldn't resist them (just as Corrine couldn't resist the incestuous love of her brother!) and read them under cover of night.

4. Are there children’s books that you passed by as a child that you have learned to love as an adult? Which ones?
I still love reading "children's" books today - there's Harry Potter, of course, which is great, and I recently read the Philip Pullman His Dark Materials books. And sometimes I read books to my little one year old friend, who's got some very charming infant books, like Goodnight, Gorilla, Goodnight Moon, and one, which I read for the first time just the other night, Jamberry, by Bruce Degan.

3 comments:

KHM said...

How fun! Thanks!

1. Did you own any books as a child or rent from the library? What were they? Both. A weekly family trip to the library was our big treat and even with limited resources owning books was given a high priority. My older sister is still on sh%tlist for taking posssession of our entire collection (secretly) when she got her first apartment.

2. Were you a re-reader as a child? If so, which book did you re-read most often? Oh, darling, childhood is all about the re-reading! I love to pieces Charlotte's Web, the Little House on the Prairie Books as well as Where the Wild Things Are and Harold and the Purple Crayon. But all time---Happiness is a Warm Puppy by Charles Schulz...

3. What’s the first adult book that captured your interest? I'm not sure how adult it is, but I wouldn't allow anyone to touch my copy of The Phantom Tollbooth. I remember feeling like it had some pretty sophisticated magic, I must certainly be a big kid... The book that really made me love to read as an adult, though, was Wuthering Heights. I faked being sick during my sisters' baccaluareate service so I could stay home and read it. That same year I also read nearly every single Shakespearian tragedy and loved them.

4. Are there children’s books that you passed by as a child that you have learned to love as an adult? Which ones? Oddly, The Chronicles of Narnia. I think my sisters loved them so much I needed to distinguish myself by not reading it.

Special K said...

Kathy, we have a lot in common! Also, my husband's fave book was The Phantom Tollbooth - I need to read it, I haven't yet!

Caitlin said...

1. Did you own any books as a child or rent from the library? What were they? We owned a lot, and borrowed a lot. I had one about puppies that was in Spanish called (I think) Los Perritos Son Asi, that was totally awesome. My parents did a great job of turning us onto really amazing kids' lit. William Steig, Lilian and Russell Hoban, Rosemary Wells, Maurice Sendak (I still love Outside Over There, all kinds of stuff!
2. Were you a re-reader as a child? If so, which book did you re-read most often? So many!! Too many to recount. Maybe my favorite was Benjamin and Tulip by Rosemary Wells, but I also liked Outside Over There...oh duh, my total fav was this fairy tale called East 'o the sun, west 'o the moon. So good.
3. What’s the first adult book that captured your interest? I think it was Animal Farm in 6th grade. But the first adult book that I was really in love with and have read about a million times is the Princess Bride, which I discovered after seeing them movie when I was about 13.

4. Are there children’s books that you passed by as a child that you have learned to love as an adult? Which ones? Not really...