Seewalds 20 - Fashionably Modest and Baby Curls

[VelociRapture]

2 hours ago, MsSaylor said:

Oh man I loved so many of the books mentioned here as a kid!! I was obsessed with LHotP books and lots of others. The Giver for sure. In middle school my obsessions were Stephen King and the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe. I got really into poetry after my 6th grade teacher read Annabelle Lee to the class one rainy afternoon. Truly an example of how a teacher can change the trajectory of a kids life by believing that an 11 year old can understand and appreciate something great! 

Did anyone read the Wayside School books by Louis Sachar. Obsessed.  

... I may or may not have floated Anna Belle as a potential name for our daughter... husband may or may not have said no... because he read the poem too and knows I adore Poe... that bastard... 

[rainbowbabycakes]

I've always been a reader.... Loved BSC, I wanted so bad to start my own club, lol... I read the little sisters books too, but didn't like them as much. Boxcar children were favorites too (there is an animated movie on netflix, which is totally true to the first book, I watched it a couple of years ago). Sweet Valley, Goosebumps, Judy Bloom, Beverly Cleary, all of those are amazing... And Sideways Stories from Wayside School, lol. I'm trying to get my son into some of these books too. Thankfully he loves to read as much as I do.

 

Harry Potter came out when I was in high school, I think (at least I remember my friends reading them), but I'm not generally into those kinds of books. I caught a glimpse of a movie when I was a youngish adult (19 or 20 maybe), and it piqued my interest, so I picked up the first book... Love them

[PennySycamore]

@rainbowbabycakes,  my third grade teacher read The Boxcar Children books to us in class.  I loved those books!   I also loved the All of a Kind Family series by Sydney Taylor.   The author based the books on her own family and growing up on the Lower East Side.

[WiseGirl]

I loved All of a Kind Family.  Trixie Belden anyone or am I really dating myself?.....

[ivyalba]

I have been reading these forums a long time and the book discussion was one reason I decided to join up! (apologies in advance if I mess something up) My entire family LOVED the Redwall books growing up. I remember Brian Jacques coming to our local bookstore (in the US) and at the time Tubthumping was really popular and I remember my mom keeping a close eye on my brother when he brought his books up to be signed because he kept saying he was going to ask Brian Jacques if he liked "pissing the night away" since he had somehow learned that meant drinking. He was a really nice guy so that makes me like the books more, plus I always think of my brother trying to cause trouble when I see a Redwall book and it makes me laugh.

I also really liked Gary Paulsen, though I'm not sure if his books would be considered young adult really in the sense you all are talking about. Hatchet, Brian's Winter, etc. 

[patsymae]

7 hours ago, Playagirl said:

I feel the same. After my house became overflowing with books several years ago and I started getting the evil eye from my husband, I switched to a kobo and now I've progressed to downloading books onto my tablet. I try to find free ones because I can easily spend far too much money on books. It definitely saves on space but I really miss the tactile sensation of holding an actual book in my hands though - flipping pages on a screen will never compare.  Must be my age.

I also read Nancy Drew and the Bobbsey Twins as a kid. I loved Christmas because I was guaranteed to have one or two of either series underneath the Christmas tree every year. I even got a couple Hardy Boys one year.

Guess we're all the same age. I also read Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, also got one or two each Christmas. One Christmas I got a beautiful illustrated Little Women. I also remember a series about a teenager named Donna that I liked as at the time I thought teenagers were very glamorous. Anybody remember it?

I love print (writer and editor so figure) and thought I'd never be interested in a Kindle but got one for a gift and I love it. Don't have to lug a ton of books around and I also live in a small space. I keep print books that are art books, come cookbooks, and books .  I want to write in like workbooks (although I know people who use the annotation and note/share features more) but anything that's just text, Kindle is fine for me. Plus all of the classics that are out of copyright are free. And if you don't like it just remove it without having to feel guilty or figure out what to do with a print book.

[Fun fact: After ereaders came out sales of Romance books skyrocketed. Theory being that since no one could see what someone was reading they felt OK about having them).

[Maggie Mae]

44 minutes ago, WiseGirl said:

I loved All of a Kind Family.  Trixie Belden anyone or am I really dating myself?.....

I loved them too. But I think that's the thing with books - at least before the 90s disposable culture really got started.

I read Happy Hollisters, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Three Investigators, Cam Jenson, Babysitter's Club (No apostrophe this time! Janine would bore me to death with my typo on the last post :)), Trixie Beldon was VASTLY superior  to Nancy Drew, All in the Family, My Side of the Mountain, The Farthest Away Mountain, Escape from Witch Mountain, A Wrinkle in Time, VC Andrews, Stephen King, pretty much everything. Indian in the Cupboard, Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Fairy Rebel, etc. Oh and all the American Girl historical stuff! Like Kristen's trip across the US where her friend dies of cholera and end up walking to Minnesota; or when Samantha finds out that a friend of a friend was scalped in a sweatshop. 

I read the books my mom read when little, and the books my grandpa had, and the books at the library. But at some point the "adults" decided that kids "weren't interested" in anything printed before a few years ago and started purging libraries and throwing away old books. Heartbreaking. 

 

[laPapessaGiovanna]

11 minutes ago, Maggie Mae said:

 

I read the books my mom read when little, and the books my grandpa had, and the books at the library. But at some point the "adults" decided that kids "weren't interested" in anything printed before a few years ago and started purging libraries and throwing away old books. Heartbreaking. 

 

Exactly!  A couple of years ago I wanted to buy an Astrid Lindgren book as a gift for a cousin's birthday.  The bookshop assistant told me: "Lindgren? But those are very old books!". And so what? Should we stop reading some of the best books just because time passes? Ridiculous. He didn't have the book I wanted because it wasn't trending, I should have ordered it and waited but he tried to convince me to buy something "newer" instead. I'm not a customer any more of course. 

[fluffernutter]

8 hours ago, nst said:

summer sisters is an excellent book for the older set

Smart Women and Wifey! OMG I read those as a teen and they seemed so risqué! Def adding those to the list. I think I still have the hardback of Summer Sisters from when that came out!

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

10 hours ago, Italiangirl said:

i love the traditional book but is so convenient to have all those books in the kindle (i could read till late and nobady could tell cause i don't nedd to switch on the lights xd 

Being able to read in bed in the dark without bothering my husband or my kids is my favorite thing about my Kindle and my Nook. 

6 hours ago, Carm_88 said:

The Percy Jackson books were good too! I forgot about those as well. 

My DH and I discovered Rick Riordan books as adults and we love them.  He has a new series (Magnus Chase) that is Nordic mythology. And before the Percy Jackson books, he wrote adult mysteries (Trés Navarre).

6 hours ago, Audrey2 said:

My Mom was a fourth and fifth grade teacher in the mid to late 60's, before I was born, so I had the bonus of reading her classroom library books. 

I had the opposite experience. My mom started teaching kindergarten when I was in second grade. Almost all of my picture books went to her classroom as soon as I outgrew them. 

[TeddyBonkers]

1 hour ago, patsymae said:

*snip*

[Fun fact: After ereaders came out sales of Romance books skyrocketed. Theory being that since no one could see what someone was reading they felt OK about having them).

Actual conversation I've had on a plane:

Perfect stranger, seeing me with a Kindle: Oh, what are you reading?

Me, brand new to the fun world of e-erotica: *coughcough* Pride and Prejudice.

I think my blush must have discouraged him from further questions. 

[singsingsing]

2 minutes ago, TeddyBonkers said:

Actual conversation I've had on a plane:

Perfect stranger, seeing me with a Kindle: Oh, what are you reading?

Me, brand new to the fun world of e-erotica: *coughcough* Pride and Prejudice.

I think my blush must have discouraged him from further questions. 

Hey, I'm 100% certain that there's some Pride and Prejudice erotica floating around out there!

[Nikedagain?]

8 hours ago, sta_sha said:

This thread is making me want to dig out my box of childhood favourites!

@nausicaa I read Wait 'Till Helen Comes when I was maybe 7...scared me so much I slept with my lights on for weeks!

I haven't read all of the posts, just recently we listened to The 5 Little Peppers and How they Grow, The Boxcar children and The The Railway Children on Libravox. It's a free app. There might be other apps, but my 12 year old with severe autism seemed to calm immediately, so that is a HUGE endorsement! 

[Maggie Mae]

1 hour ago, laPapessaGiovanna said:

Exactly!  A couple of years ago I wanted to buy an Astrid Lindgren book as a gift for a cousin's birthday.  The bookshop assistant told me: "Lindgren? But those are very old books!". And so what? Should we stop reading some of the best books just because time passes? Ridiculous. He didn't have the book I wanted because it wasn't trending, I should have ordered it and waited but he tried to convince me to buy something "newer" instead. I'm not a customer any more of course. 

The reprinted the Pippi books a few years ago. Kind of annoying though, I'm sure they made some changes.

"They" did that to the BSC when the rereleased them - modernized it. As though kids are incapable of recognizing that kids in the 80s had different but similar technology and dressed in the fashion of the time. We read books from the 50s,60s, and 70s and maybe had to have telegraphs explained, but it's not difficult to ask questions. 

[Percy]

I am older so Cherry Ames nurse series, The faraway tree series, Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys.  Basically anything I could get my hands on.

I also have too many books that I can't give away.  My kindle is my friend.

[Exposed Collarbone]

1 hour ago, Maggie Mae said:

The reprinted the Pippi books a few years ago. Kind of annoying though, I'm sure they made some changes.

"They" did that to the BSC when the rereleased them - modernized it. As though kids are incapable of recognizing that kids in the 80s had different but similar technology and dressed in the fashion of the time. We read books from the 50s,60s, and 70s and maybe had to have telegraphs explained, but it's not difficult to ask questions. 

Sweet Valley High went through modernization as well. When I read them the twins were a perfect size 6, and when they rereleased them the twins became a perfect size 2. Thank goodness they didn't contribute to body issues or anything, 

 

On a different note, I read Christopher Pike and RL Stine (the teen series not Goosebumps). I really thought my teen years were going to be much more exciting than they turned out to be. 

[emscm]

2 hours ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

Being able to read in bed in the dark without bothering my husband or my kids is my favorite thing about my Kindle and my Nook. 

My DH and I discovered Rick Riordan books as adults and we love them.  He has a new series (Magnus Chase) that is Nordic mythology. And before the Percy Jackson books, he wrote adult mysteries (Trés Navarre).

I had the opposite experience. My mom started teaching kindergarten when I was in second grade. Almost all of my picture books went to her classroom as soon as I outgrew them. 

I LOVE Rick Riordan. I am unashamed to say that I am a 30 year old with an obsession with young adult lit.

When I was doing my English Ed masters I took a young adult lit class, and it was one of the best classes I've ever taken. Every week we had the choice of a few books from a certain genre to read and someone taught an interactive mini lesson on each. I decided I should probably get into the books my students read and I've been hooked ever since. 

Im obsessed with Percy Jackson and I can't wait for the next Trials of Apollo book to come out (probably my obsession with mythology adds to my love of his series). I also love everything by John Green and if anyone needs a quick read and a good cry go get Looking for Alaska. If you need a quick read and a good laugh read An Abundance of Katherines. 

[Playagirl]

13 hours ago, Italiangirl said:

 (i could read till late and nobady could tell cause i don't nedd to switch on the lights xd 

But then you missed the fun of hiding under your blankets with a flashlight late at night trying not to get in trouble for being awake way past bedtime.

[VineHeart137]

1 hour ago, Maggie Mae said:

The reprinted the Pippi books a few years ago. Kind of annoying though, I'm sure they made some changes.

"They" did that to the BSC when the rereleased them - modernized it. As though kids are incapable of recognizing that kids in the 80s had different but similar technology and dressed in the fashion of the time. We read books from the 50s,60s, and 70s and maybe had to have telegraphs explained, but it's not difficult to ask questions. 

I remember reading the original version of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, and the description of the belted sanitary napkins threw me for a loop (I hit puberty in the 90's and had never heard of such a thing), but I rolled with it and learned something new. I later read an updated version and they changed that part to describe the modern adhesive pads.

[Bad Wolf]

I didn't think I would like my kindle,   but when I was downloading  books from my local library on a train going from CT to VA, I became a believer. 

[melon]

VineHeart,those belted sanitary pads were awful.Sorry,for the TMI but that is what I used when I started at age 11.

I hated both of them.My monthlies and the belted sanitary pads...so uncomfortable.

[Emkay]

11 hours ago, church_of_dog said:

As a library employee, I feel the need to put in a plug for library books, for those who want to read-but-not-own, or read-now-and-own-later!

Also, I agree about the tactile sensation of actual books (plus I love to read in the bathtub), but sometimes an author will have a book (a novella, most likely) be published in e-book form ONLY.  If I'm enjoying a series then I hate to skip a relevant bit of the series just because it's not offered in paper form!  

But I didn't want the "extra gadget" factor of a kindle.  That's when I discovered you can download free software called "Kindle for PC" or "Kindle for Mac", and then put e-books on them just like with an actual Kindle.  I don't love reading page after page on the computer screen, but it's not something I do often, and I prefer that to a separate gadget, as I said.

There are Kindle apps for Android and iOS, too! Kindle is one of the formats our library's emedia is offered in. Fellow library employee here- we even offer a card for strictly online resources for our patrons who are interested in such an option! I love having a physical book, especially before bed, but when riding the bus, etc, having ebooks/audiobooks on your phone is really convenient. 

[Playagirl]

2 minutes ago, melon said:

VineHeart,those belted sanitary pads were awful.Sorry,for the TMI but that is what I used when I started at age 11.

I hated both of them.My monthlies and the belted sanitary pads...so uncomfortable.

Yep. And the thickness. For a very petite 12-year-old those suckers were like wearing a brick between the legs. And pretty hard to hide the fact that you had your period as you couldn't just stick a couple in your back pockets before you left for school in the morning. I was so grateful when adhesive ones came out, when they got thinner and when I finally discovered tampons.

[Bad Wolf]

They were horrible, and if you weren't careful, they smelled, too. Yay menopause.

[VixenToast]

21 hours ago, Carm_88 said:

I also read Ella Enchanted about 6 million times. Such a good book!  

As did I. Then the movie came out brutally butchered it. they got it wrong, they got it all wrong!!! It makes me so damn mad. They took an incredible book and ruined it. Ugh. I'm gonna go watch EE hate vids on YouTube now.

Also,  I read Gone with the Wind when I was around 14. Small parts of it are racist as fuck, but god damn, that book is a masterpiece and I recommend it but only after repeatedly telling people that parts of it are irredeemable in its racism.

and one other book I read the crap out of was Catherine, Called Birdy by Caroline Cushman (iirc) Def. recommend that to everyone who is interested. Yay medieval teen repeatedlythwarts fathers attempts at arranged marriage. Very good.