Seewalds 20 - Fashionably Modest and Baby Curls

[Mela99]

1 hour ago, VixenToast said:

I still think of Number the Stars. It has always stuck with me. Basically after that I would read every holocaust book I encountered. Then I found Anne Frank. Ill trade Karen Brewer in for Anne Frank, any day. Mom tried getting me into BSCLS with Karen. I hated that dumbass bitch.

come to think of it, I disliked all those tween books until I read American Girl (too easy to read) then Dear America/Royal Diaries. I realized my fiction of choice was historical  By the time I graduated, my mom was pretty well used to my usual selection of sex, scandal, and royalty, always history. The Other Boleyn Girl was my first rendezvous into adult historical fic, and I was 14. I remember squealing when I got to a raunchy part in pep band (at a game) and having to explain it to the incredibly Mormon clarinet player who was by my side. 

Harry Potter and ASOUE (and to a much lesser extent, no shame here, Twilight) were my fave youth series outside of Dear America.

 I love love loved the BSC. Karen Brewer was an insufferable little shit. I used to have most of the series until it was destroyed in a flood....

[Hmmm_idolatry]

1 hour ago, PennySycamore said:

  I think I was in 6th grade before a read A Wrinkle in Time.

I remember reading that book in class.  I especially remember another girl in the class bringing a note to the teacher that said that as a Christian, she couldn't read this book because it contained (according to her mother) "dark magic" references.  I went home and told this to my mother and said, "She doesn't get to read it because it's evil.  Maybe I shouldn't have to read it either.  Can you write a note too?"  My mother laughed at me and said something like, "Hell no.  You will read that book.  I don't care if it's evil.  Her mother is a complete idiot.  You need to learn to read things and decide for yourself if they're bad.  Don't ever let anybody tell you that you can't read something."  I remember being annoyed because I wanted to get out of the work; however, as an adult, I'm so proud that my mother encouraged me to think for myself, and not be swayed by idiots who think they're doing what God wants. 

I didn't like that book, but I'm still glad my mom didn't fall for that religious nonsense.  I loved mysteries, BSC, SVH, Beverly Cleary, The Secret Garden (still one of my all time faves), Anne of Green Gables, and Judy Blume.  I'm just not much of a sci-fi/fantasy person (oh, but I loved the Indian in the Cupboard book), even as an adult.  I am however, grateful that my parents encouraged me to read anything I could get my hands on.  

[season of life]

I read the BBC graphic novels as a kid. They were pretty good but I related to Mary Anne the most because she was shy...plus her dad came off as a jerk.

[ADoyle90815]

I read several of the books mentioned on this thread, Judy Blume, BSC, SVH, and Beverly Cleary. Recently, my niece got into the Ramona Quimby books when she did a book report on one of them. I was also into the Little House books, and for my niece's birthday next week, I'm getting her the Little House books in the box set, as she's the age I was when I was into them.

[send*the*ferrets]

I found out about banned books when I read The Giver, and decided I wanted to read all of them. Some of my favorite children's books are the ones they try to ban! A Wrinkle in Time is amazing, the author has some other books I remember liking as well. 

[Shadoewolf]

I got into VC Andrews in my teens, especially the Ruby and Heaven sets. Then my mom bought me Heaven's Price by Sandra Brown because I too was an injured ballerina, but she didn't realize how much sex was in the book. I read alot of her mysteries and some Nora Roberts too.

[Bad Wolf]

A Wrinkle in Time and The Giver are banned? I love those books. I gave my grandson The Giver boxed set last Christmas. I just discovered italics. 

[PennySycamore]

@Hmmm_idolatry,  what's funny about your classmate not reading A Wrinkle in Time because it was evil is that Madeline L'Engle was a devout Episcopalian although she was a more liberal Episcopalian.  She believed in universal salvation and did not hold with eternal punishment as it conflicted with her belief in a loving God.

[Bethella]

I've read a lot of the stuff people have mentioned. Some of my favorites that haven't been mentioned: the Animorph series by KA Applegate; the Alanna/Diane/Kel/Beka books by Tamora Pierce; the Valdemar books by Mercedes Lackey (more recently the 500 Kingdoms books); and anything by David Eddings.

[Carm_88]

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

[patsymae]

3 hours ago, feministxtian said:

As of right now, I've been "prohibited" from buying more books...something about 1 bedroom apartment and overflowing bookcases. So...after we move into a bigger place (let's hear it for a 3 bedroom place!) I'll be able to add to my collection again. I'll definitely be looking for those books...somehow I get the feeling me and the UPS guy are going to become great friends! 

 

***Mr. Xtian would never really prohibit me from doing anything but given that we do have overflowing bookcases and live in an oversized closet, we're trying not to add anymore stuff in here. 

Get a Kindle

[feministxtian]

1 minute ago, patsymae said:

Get a Kindle

I have one but I don't like reading on it...maybe I'm just old but I LOVE the feel, smell, weight of books...

[RosyDaisy]

I have Kindle Unlimited and Texture subscriptions. I love them.

[Italiangirl]

i love read and when my room start to be too full of stuff that i don't have any more space i buy a kindle and i discover so many writers who just sell on line! 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 

[HarleyQuinn]

11 hours ago, onekidanddone said:

Hack? How so?

That those "diaries" she published weren't real. She made them up or in one exception with Jay's journal, she took a real life suicide and added a bunch of satanic stuff to it. 

The Toast had some funny articles about coming to terms with the fact that you thought Go Ask Alice was real.

http://the-toast.net/2013/09/20/discovering-go-ask-alice-wasnt-real/

http://the-toast.net/2014/04/25/fake-lines-from-go-ask-alice/

[nst]

16 hours ago, fluffernutter said:

No lie- I LOVED Judy Blume and my summer plan is to re-read all of her books on my kindle. 

summer sisters is an excellent book for the older set

[Playagirl]

6 hours ago, feministxtian said:

I have one but I don't like reading on it...maybe I'm just old but I LOVE the feel, smell, weight of books...

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.

[sta_sha]

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!

[church_of_dog]

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.

[singsingsing]

Other books I loved when I was a kid (in the 8-12 age range, I guess): The Giver, The Girl Who Owned a City, Tuck Everlasting, The Secret Garden, Heidi, Harriet the Spy, one of the Anne of Green Gables books (it was about her kids - I think it was called Rainbow Valley or something like that? I don't know why, I couldn't get into the rest of them but I read that one like eight times), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, A Wrinkle in Time and two of the sequels (didn't like the one about the brothers). I also LOVED Goosebumps, especially Night in Terror Tower and The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena. I liked anything with an historical and/or supernatural element (so basically nothing has changed).

There are a few books I remember loving but I can't recall the titles or authors: one was about a girl who was in a plane wreck in the ocean as a toddler. She was raised by dolphins and discovered by humans when she was a teenager, and they tried to teach her human language and behaviour. Another was a book about a girl in Newfoundland during WWII. She was transported to some kind of alternate Medieval-ish universe. I think her name was Jean? Something is telling me that the author was Alison Baird. I should really just look this stuff up. Another was this freaking crazy book about a kid whose family gets a dog. The kid treats this dog like his sister, and the dog slowly, over the course of months, actually transforms into a human girl. The parents are like super chill about this, and tell everyone she was adopted. The kid is jealous of all the attention his dog-sister is getting. The family's pet cat is totally unimpressed. Man, that was a bizarre book, and I loved it.

[Incognito22]

This thread is great.  My stepdaughter and I were trying to figure out some books to read together.  You guys have done all the work for me.  Thanks!

Someone mention doll house murders.  I was reading that as a kid and lost it before I could finish it.  It was a library book so when it turned up I brought it back before finishing it.  My mom gave me a HUGE bag of nickels and dimes to pay the fee...( never made that mistake again).  The librarian obviously caught on and told me the fee was one million and some change.  The look on my face must have been a precursor to tears because  she quickly told me the real fee.  To this day I still think about that book.  Guess I should read it to finally know the ending. 

[MsSaylor]

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.  

[Carm_88]

6 minutes ago, MsSaylor said:

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

I did! I loved them!  I forgot about those too. I was also really into Goosebumps. The Percy Jackson books were good too! I forgot about those as well. 

[Audrey2]

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. When I was four, she read Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright, which became my favorite chapter book. I decided to learn to read because she wasn't reading it fast enough! It was the story of Portia and her brother, Foster, who spent the summer with their cousin, Julian Yarmen. While exploring in the woods, Portia and Julian happen upon an old resort town around a dried up lake. They meet the two inhabitants, a sister and brother, Pindar and Minnihaha and spend many summer days hanging out with them. That book fueled my imagination.

Other books I remember reading were Escape from Warsaw (children whose Mom was taken away, so they had to rely on their wits and each other), Charlotte's Web, Ghosts Who Went to School, Ready Made Family (three foster kids who were adopted), A Room for Cathy, Heidi, Follow My Leader (a book about a boy who was blinded and learned to use a guide dog) and Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher, another favorite. Betsy lived with a couple of great aunts and was thought to be a delicate child, until the doctor heard her great aunt cough. Betsy was then shipped off to her much older cousin's house on a farm, where she went to a one room school and learned to be independent. My favorite part was when the girls decided to form a sewing circle to clothe Elias, one of the little boys who lived with his father who was a drunk. The idea was to clean up Elias so he would be adopted. 

I also read the Carolyn Haywood "Betsy" series. 

 

I almost forgot- Call Me Bronko was another favorite. It was the story of a displaced person (10 or 11 year old boy, as I recall) from Poland who moved in with an aunt in New York after WW2. It was the story of his adjusting to live in the United States. 

[Carm_88]

Henry is very unimpressed with his surroundings. 

And I'm going to add Bridge to Terabithia. Heartbreaking but good.