I don't remember learning to read. I know I wasn't one of the prodigy children who is reading at 2 but I have a feeling I knew how to read much earlier than I "officially" learned but just didn't know I could. I have always been entranced with books. Even as a baby when I was cranky and not wanting to sit still if someone sat me down with a book I was instantly quiet, instantly mesmerized. I have photos of pretty much everyone in my life reading to me at one time or another and I am always still staring at the page in front of me.
But my relationship with books isn't flawless. When I was in middle school and high school I resented how much I liked to read because it wasn't cool and if anyone found it I'd look like a nerd. So I hid it. I didn't talk about books and I tried to pretend I didn't love it. One of the best things about getting older is that you stop caring about stupid things and I happily re-embraced my love of reading at the end of high school and through college. Thankfully that phase of really intensely worrying about what people thought came to an end and never reappeared. But all this musing led me to think about what books I really loved at different stages. I was also inspired by this post from Deb Nance at Readerbuzz.
Age 0 - 5:
Baby's Birthday by Patricia Mowers, Illustrated by Eloise Wilkin - I am 36 years old but if I mention this book to either of my parents (who are divorced and haven't spoken in 10 years at least) they both will instantly respond in a sing song voice "Wake up Baby! It's your special day". Apparently this was my favorite book and one I insisted on reading on a very regular basis. I think it was really the illustrator who I really loved because almost all of my favorite books at this point were illustrated by Eloise Wilkin.
Age 6 - 10
The Babysitter's Club by Anne M. Martin - I read The Babysitter's Club right from the beginning and anxiously waited for new ones to come out. About the time I was reading these my mother was in graduate school and she would meet up with her study group at this bookstore where one of the members worked. I would sit on the floor and read at least one of these from cover to cover!
Ages 11 - 15
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - I don't quite know what prompted me to pick up this chunkster of a book. It could have been seeing the movie at someone's house or it could have been that I wanted to see if I could read a book this long. Whatever the reason I end up really enjoying it and being surprised with how different it was from the book.
Ages 16 - 20
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher - I don't know why I picked this book up the first time but I do know I fell in love with it almost immediately. This was probably the first book I read that was multi-POV and while that took some getting used too I did love Penelope Keeling.
Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie - This is the first of Agatha's books that I remember really enjoying. Poirot can be a little tricky to connect with but I LOVED this one and love it as much now as I did when I was a teenager.
Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell - This book pulled me in and kept me jumping at noises for quite some time! The smell of maple syrup made me nervous for awhile. Her next few were really good too but then I kind of lost interest in the series.
Ages 21 - 25
This was a busy time for me. I ended a relationship and completely redirected my life, graduated from college, got a "grown up job", and met and married my husband. I also started reading romance after a push from an IRL blogger friend (though she wasn't a blogger at the time) Lisa.
Devil's Bride by Stephanie Laurens - This was the first romance I ever read and I adored it. Not only that but I read it basically in one sitting. I reread it a few years ago and definitely didn't feel the same about it but I'll always have a soft spot for it!
The Duke and I by Julia Quinn - This was the first book by an author that quickly became an auto-read. This is one that still holds up pretty well after a number of years. While this isn't my favorite Bridgerton I still love Daphne and this story as a whole.
Tears of the Moon by Nora Roberts - Pretty much ditto to the Julia Quinn book. This was the first book I read by a now favorite author. This is still on of my favorite of Roberts' trilogies.
Ages 26 - 36
Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright - This is a children's book but I didn't discover it until I was in my late 20s. I loved Enright's Four Story Mistake and read it countless times but I'm almost mad I didn't discover this book as a child because I would have loved it! I did enjoy it plenty as an adult so all is not lost.
One Bad Apple by Sheila Connolly - This was one of the first cozies I read and really got me obsessed with the genre. This series and author are still one of my favorites
Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis - Up until this book I had primarily read historicals when it came to romance. With the exception of Nora Roberts and the occasional other author I never really seemed to find a contemporary that really stuck and seldom reached for this sub-genre.
Looking Forward:
I think my main thing going forward is that I'd like to take more reading risks - more books outside of my usual genres, more books that I think might make me cry or make me think or question or learn. But I don't want to expand so much I'm no longer reading books by favorite authors or books that make me happy.
If you're thinking back what books stand out to you in different phases of your life? Anything you want to change about the way you read?
I love this post so much!! So interesting to look at your reading like that. I don't remember a lot when I was younger - I know I read but don't remember the books. In high school I remember Catcher in the Rye, The Color Purple and The Bell Jar as ones I had to read but LOVED. Twilight was what got me back to really reading a lot when I had started work. I also try to branch out my reading too.
ReplyDeleteYou know I don't think I've read any of those three. I do have The Bell Jar on my list and I hope to get to it soon. I read the Twilight books too and did enjoy them. I can see why that got you back into reading.
DeleteI was always a reader too... we'd go up north or somewhere for the weekend and I would read the whole way, and my dad would always say look around once in a while, look at the trees. I thought that sounded like the worst advice ever lol. And I remember the Hardy Boys phase like you do Nancy Drew probably- yes they were ALWAYS getting hit on the head and captured. How did those idiots survive?? Hello concussion like in every book!!
ReplyDeleteRight! I know they weren't nearly as concerned with concussions then but one would think there would be some long term consequences! I didn't read all that many Hardy Boys books though I did like them. For some reason I seem to remember a lot of bombs in the books.
DeleteI absolutely love this post! I enjoyed Deb's, and now yours too - it's really interesting getting to know a little more about the reader you... Which sounds weird when as book bloggers we predominantly talk about books, but I mean how you've grown as a reader.
ReplyDeleteI was very much like you, and hid my love of reading during high school years, and even for a while there I kind of didn't talk about my love of MG and YA books as an adult, but book blogging has definitely helped me to embrace my book choices.
Roald Dahl stands out to me when I think of childhood reading, and Cecelia Ahern's books have been with me since mid teens.
Thank you! It's nice to know that I wasn't the only one who struggled with being a reader. Some how I never read Roald Dahl as a child. I don't know if it was a down phase for the books or if I just missed them. I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last year and really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to reading more!
DeleteWhat a fun post! I've always been a reader, too, and certain books or genres stand out at certain ages. Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden were so much fun. I remember loving The Shell Seekers, and can you believe I still haven't read GWTW? Might have to do a post like this one day :)
ReplyDeleteOh I hope you do! I enjoyed thinking back to what I really liked reading and why. GWTW is a bit on the angst-y side but I've been surprised with how much of the story has stuck with it.
DeleteInteresting progression Katherine. Mine would look pretty similar except I also had a huge addiction to Enid Blyton as a younger reader (who was much more popular in the UK/Ireland as far as I know). For the longest time I only read books by women! Which seems mad now as I crossed off so many authors that I love nowadays, I can't remember when I threw that rule out the window but I'm glad I did. Harry Potter opened the door to Fantasy for me and The Hunger Games did the same for dystopia.
ReplyDeleteI adored The Shell Seekers as well and that book has put Cornwall on my must-travel-to bucket list. And before the year is out, I will try both Jill Shalvis and Sheila Connolly!
Cornwall is on my top 5 places to visit and it is most definitely because of The Shell Seekers! I'm aware of Enid Blyton but I don't think I had heard of her when I was a child. She's on my list of children's fiction to read. Harry Potter definitely opened me up to the idea of reading fantasy or even books with magical realism and I'd like to expand on that.
DeleteI'm 25 years older than you are, but I think most of my first favourite books are illustrated by Eloise wilkins too. And I read GWTW for the first time when I was 13, and loved it. And Agatha Christie wrote some of the first adult books that I ever read.
ReplyDeleteHave you read Elizabeth Enright's The Saturdays and Then There were Five? They are part of the Melendy children series. One precedes The Four Story Mistake and the other follows. These are three of my all-time favourite books.
Love this post!
I have read all the Melendys books now but for some reason Four Story Mistake was the only book I read as a child. I absolutely loved it and read it many times but I guess it was harder to find books in the pre-Amazon days. They're some of my absolute favorites!
DeleteLove your view through the ages of your reading and recognise some of the same books at similar times and others I read later. Loved The Shell Seekers too but was much older. I just so need to reread some. My reading has changed but I still like certain types of genres I have liked for years.
ReplyDeleteI always been a mystery lover and that has always been a constant. The Shell Seekers is a book worth reading. There are so many details to pick up on and with all the different POVs I always identify with someone different.
DeleteThis is a fun post. I think I was around the same age as you when I read Anne. It was more because it was when I had 'spending' money and spent lots and lots of time at second hand bookstores! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's so cool! Second hand bookstores didn't really factor into my life until later but I practically lived in one during college. It was definitely my happy place!
DeleteWhat a great post!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteMan, you are so good to remember what you read during these time periods of your life. Wow.
ReplyDeleteIt took awhile to pin down the ages! I've been spinning this around in my head for awhile!
DeleteI know I have been reading since I was a kid as I remember the Little Golden books and the earliest I can remember is Pokie Little Puppy and Brer Bear and Brer Rabbit and my dad use to read them to me. I remember reading the book about eating a worm (they made into a movie but can't remember the name...lol) and can't remember much more and I don't have any books from my childhood as that home was destroyed by a tornado. Then I remember Steven King books and how my love of horror began as a teen, then my genres just sort of bounced all over. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry about the house. We have quite a few tornados here but so far we've been really lucky. I've read The Poley Little Puppy so many times! It was the Tornado's favorite for awhile. I always was craving some kind of yummy dessert after reading it!
DeleteYeah, I don't know when I started, but I now I loved reading as far back as I can remember. I was kind of a 'bad girl' in high school and was considered 'cool', but everyone knew my love for reading. My friends even got me books for Christmas and birthdays. I'd come home buzzed after a party and read. lol. -sigh- Those were the days. I don't think I've read any of those books you mentioned, though. Horror was the majority of my genre of choice growing up. And The Saddle Club. I loved those.
ReplyDeleteGosh, I didn't have the greatest childhood when I was living with my mother, but after reading different blog posts from different bloggers I feel lucky for two things. First, no one on either side of my family ever said something was a boy's only toy, or girls don't do that; and two, my best friend in junior high, and part of senior high, was the daughter of the junior high school librarian and her father was an English teacher, so reading in our group of friends was totally acceptable and I never had to think of hiding it. I did, however, not read very much when I was touring with bands. I do have to admit when I did read during those times it was this series of drugstore paperbacks about naughty stewardesses. Ha ha. Great post I loved reading about your reading evolution. :D
ReplyDeleteAlso, your baby picture is adorable!
DeleteThis is a great post and I loved seeing your books through the year. I read Gone with the Wind when I was eleven, and had blown through The Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis and Agatha in middle school. I did not care who saw me reading, and preferred it.
ReplyDeleteYou're the same age as my oldest daughter - I'm not sure I can remember what I read at your age (now). I loved Nancy Drew when I was a pre-teen. Spent all my babysitting money at the bookstore. My reading increased when our youngest left for college and that's when I started blogging. Now I read about 100 books/year and thank God I love to read. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool idea for a post! I really love seeing what books stick with them throughout the years. I was always a reader, and the one thing my parents wold buy without question were books. They didn't really even bother checking to see if it was something I could or should read (unless it was obviously too adult for me), if I was interested they bought it. For better or worse it made me appreciate pretty much every type of book before I hit adulthood. I didn't read as much in high school, but I was mostly busy with schoolwork at that point.
ReplyDeleteI think I have a golden book or two with that same kid's book illustrator, I remember loving the pictures but I'm not sure if I actually liked the stories they accompanied.
I don't know if I could do a post like this. I've asked my mom about my favorite books when I was younger than five and she doesn't remember. Neither do I, sad to say. I know I wasn't an early reader--I was right on time, my mom would say. Haha
ReplyDeleteEarly on, my daughter showed an interest in books, but less so now. It makes me sad in a way, but then I remind myself she's only five--so it's still early yet to tell for sure. And sometimes people do come into their love of reading later in life.
Nancy Drew was a favorite of mine and the Girls of Canby Hall. I never got into the Babysitter's Club or Anne of Green Gables.
I loved this post, Katherine. Thank you for sharing your journey through reading with us!
Loved this post and pics:)
ReplyDeleteSo many wonderful books on this list! I read The Bobbsey Twins, loved Nancy Drew and Anne of Green Gables and read them over and over, loved Sleeping Murder and The Shell Seekers and The Four Story Mistake... Like you, Devil's Bride was one of my first historical romances and longtime favorites, and while I didn't love The Duke and I, I fell in love with the Bridgertons when I read the sequel. There are others here I've read and enjoyed, if not loved, and a few I should probably look into.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is a terrific post idea; I loved seeing what you were reading when.
I love this post and sorry I missed it first time around!
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of your books and grew up with somewhat similar taste. Enjoyed the photos too! I hope to be able to take time and do something like this in the future. I would have to do some serious contemplating though-- so many titles to mentally rummage through and highlight at my age, lol.
I remember reading Gone with the Wind about the same time you did!
ReplyDeleteI also absolutely loved the Nancy Drew books and Babysitter's Club when I was younger. Last year, I managed to convince one of my students to give the Babysitter's Club books a try and she loved them as well.
Thanks for sharing!
Amanda
Always fun to see how someone's reading developed! My brother was a huge Hardy Boys reader but I only ever read a few Nancy Drew books. I think I tended to read all over the place - much as I do now!
ReplyDeleteI also don't remember when I learned to read but it was by age 3-4, since I was reading before I hit kindergarten. Parents who read did this! I love the books you have picked out and you have solved a quest for books for Christmas presents for this year! I have a problem with three sisters, since the read voraciously and almost always have read what I send them!
ReplyDelete