longdistancewinner Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Great book - I loved Judy Blume as a kid. The first one I read was Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret. She's written some adult novels too but I haven't read any of them. She's great, isn't she? I loved Superfudge and It's Not The End Of The World, as well. I can't say I've read her adult novels, but she's a really powerful author for kids. Though, I'm read that Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, actually is one of a hundred books that is often requested to be censored or banned. Ridiculous - it confronts teenage issues and people want it banned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 She's great, isn't she? I loved Superfudge and It's Not The End Of The World, as well. I can't say I've read her adult novels, but she's a really powerful author for kids. Though, I'm read that Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, actually is one of a hundred books that is often requested to be censored or banned. Ridiculous - it confronts teenage issues and people want it banned. They were great books. I agree with you - I liked how she dealt with real issues and the characters were real people in the way they were portrayed. She had a book Deenie, I believe that dealt with a girl facing being diagnosed with scoliosis and having to wear the brace. I think Are You There God is a great book for young girls to read - there is NOTHING in that to cause it to be banned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manderlyh Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Who knows what was the very first book I read? I learned to read before I was in kindergarten, so I don't remember. I wonder if my mom does. Uh, I hate to say it, but probably the Baby Sitters Club. Not exactly literary material, but that series did get me into reading. I am sure that one of the Baby Sitters Club books was ONE of my firsts! I had ALL of them when I quit reading. Even the Super Specials! LOL #6---I know it starts with "Old Ben Brewer was crazy as crazy could be. He ate fried dandelions, and after he turned [50?] he never left the house unless he went to the yard." Yeah. I'm sure that was one of my first ones because I read that over and over again--before I was a good enough reader to read it without being frustrated. There was one other book that was a chapter book that I read, perhaps before that one. I can't remember the name of it or who it was by, but I can picture the cover in my head. It had a girl with blonde hair with a skirt and a collared shirt on, with books held tightly over her chest. She was leaning against a white picket fence, and the neighbor boy was on the other side of the fence--maybe taunting her? Tolkien himself is the guy that made me want to be an English major. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to go past community college before, but the idea of studying something awesome like Anglo-Saxon language and changing the way the world viewed Beowulf (and actually getting paid to do it) sounded right up my alley. I'm still not sure about teaching, but I'm pretty proud of myself for making it this far (not to toot my own horn or anything). My parents didn't even go to college. Sorry for the life story there, heh, but it just shows to go you - books are powerful things! I'm the first one in my family to go to college, too. Literally the first in my family--all generations, etc. to get a bachelor's degree, (counting my mom's siblings, my grandparents, parents, cousins, etc). In fact, in my generation, I'm the ONLY one to graduate high school so far--my cousins are 29 and 23, my sister 23. My other cousins are still in school, so we'll see with them. I'm sure the three in my generation that are still in school will finish--my sister is a sophomore and my two cousins are a junior and a freshman. They're all good kids who do well in school, so I'm sure they will graduate. I had a Judy Blume Boxed set. I LOVED Starring Sally J. Friedman As Herself. It came in a boxed set that my dad gave me for Christmas one year that included Fudge, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Are You There God, It's Me Margaret, and another one, I'm sure. I had already read most of them, but I loved those books! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzldoc Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Seriously though, this is the one that first moved me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeppFanForever Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Mine was My Brother Stevie by Eleanor Clymer. How's it going "Dancin'Days" as well as our fellow die hard hard core ZEPPELIN fanatics? The week's been going pretty fast along with the weather producing a lot of rain which is really needed here in Austin and San Antonio. This is another good question. The very first book that I ever read was in the 5th Grade. The title of the book is "I AM AN AMERICAN" by Olive W. Burt. It really left a very good impression on me because I had to memorize certain paragraphs and quote it word for word in a school play that would be performed live in a large auditorium in front of hundreds of people including our parents. I even had the lead part in the play which meant that I had to memorize more paragraphs. It was a success! Another great book that left a real good impression on me is the one that fellow ZEPPELIN fanatic "Virginia" chose. It is the book entitled "A SEPARATE PEACE" by John Knowles. ROCK ON! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knebby Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown. Again, not my first book, but reading it aged 11 changed me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~tangerine~ Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Great book - I loved Judy Blume as a kid. The first one I read was Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret. Me too. I was maybe 9 or 10 (even younger possibly) when i read her books. They certainly left an impression as i was entering into the wonderful world of puberty. My favorite Judy Blume book was "Forever". Other early books i read that stand out were Stephen King's "Pet Cemetary", "The Talisman", the series of V.C. Andrews books starting with "Flowers In The Attic", Alfred Hitchcocks short stories, especially "The Tell Tale Heart" and all of Mary Higgins Clarks suspense/mysteries. On a more historical level, i loved Homer's "Iliad". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katuschka Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Six Bullerby Children, I think. Astrid Lindgren was a genius. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zanadu Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Six Bullerby Children, I think. Astrid Lindgren was a genius. She definitely was! It's also incredible that Lindgren never won a Nobel Literature Prize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Thanks for mentioning Judy Blume; I'd forgotten about Are You There God... I picked Separate Peace because it was the first book I'd read that had a real twist to it and wasn't kids lit. But I did love Judy Blume, Little Women and I probably should've mentioned the Trixie Belden series because I'm still reading mysteries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Me too. I was maybe 9 or 10 (even younger possibly) when i read her books. They certainly left an impression as i was entering into the wonderful world of puberty. My favorite Judy Blume book was "Forever". Other early books i read that stand out were Stephen King's "Pet Cemetary", "The Talisman", the series of V.C. Andrews books starting with "Flowers In The Attic", Alfred Hitchcocks short stories, especially "The Tell Tale Heart" and all of Mary Higgins Clarks suspense/mysteries. On a more historical level, i loved Homer's "Iliad". Forever was a great book. I also read the Flowers In The Attic series - loved them too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Maybe it was "I will not eat them in a box. I will not eat them with a fox?" I remember it had something to do with a lighthouse (the teacher's book) But now that I think about it one of my first books may have been either by HG Wells or Edgar Rice Burroughs. I had gotten into sci-fi then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footsteps of Dawn Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Who knows what was the very first book I read? I learned to read before I was in kindergarten, so I don't remember. I wonder if my mom does. I am sure that one of the Baby Sitters Club books was ONE of my firsts! I had ALL of them when I quit reading. Even the Super Specials! LOL #6---I know it starts with "Old Ben Brewer was crazy as crazy could be. He ate fried dandelions, and after he turned [50?] he never left the house unless he went to the yard." Yeah. I'm sure that was one of my first ones because I read that over and over again--before I was a good enough reader to read it without being frustrated. There was one other book that was a chapter book that I read, perhaps before that one. I can't remember the name of it or who it was by, but I can picture the cover in my head. It had a girl with blonde hair with a skirt and a collared shirt on, with books held tightly over her chest. She was leaning against a white picket fence, and the neighbor boy was on the other side of the fence--maybe taunting her? Awesome!! Glad I'm not alone. I don't think I ever read all of them, but I zipped through quite a few in my time. Kristy's Big Day (#6) was the one where her mom got married and they had to babysit a ton of kids, right? Yeah, that was a good one! I think my all-time favorite was The Ghost at Dawn's House (#9). I so wanted to move to New England and live in a "haunted" house with a secret door after that, hehe! I liked the Super-Special when they came to California, too, but I was bummed that they went to Universal Studios instead of Disneyland (being the Disney freak that I was/am). I'm the first one in my family to go to college, too. Literally the first in my family--all generations, etc. to get a bachelor's degree, (counting my mom's siblings, my grandparents, parents, cousins, etc). In fact, in my generation, I'm the ONLY one to graduate high school so far--my cousins are 29 and 23, my sister 23. My other cousins are still in school, so we'll see with them. I'm sure the three in my generation that are still in school will finish--my sister is a sophomore and my two cousins are a junior and a freshman. They're all good kids who do well in school, so I'm sure they will graduate. Wow! Congratulations on your accomplishment! It's not the easiest thing in the world, that's for sure, but definitely worth it. In my extended family, I do have one cousin with a PhD in physics (something to do with lasers - don't ask me, lol!) and my youngest cousin just started college this year, but considering that I have 3 more cousins besides them, that's not the best ratio, heh. So I guess I'm the second one in my family who's going to graduate from college, technically, but nobody has before our generation. So anyway, high five for making it this far!! That's so cool that you're teaching - it's nice to know somebody else has gone through just about the same thing as me and is now out there helping another generation to learn important skills. I'm not sure what exactly I want to do after graduation, but it's definitely an inspiration to see other people out there helping to change the world, and it inspires me to want to do something like that too, so thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manderlyh Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Awesome!! Glad I'm not alone. I don't think I ever read all of them, but I zipped through quite a few in my time. Kristy's Big Day (#6) was the one where her mom got married and they had to babysit a ton of kids, right? Yeah, that was a good one! I think my all-time favorite was The Ghost at Dawn's House (#9). I so wanted to move to New England and live in a "haunted" house with a secret door after that, hehe! I liked the Super-Special when they came to California, too, but I was bummed that they went to Universal Studios instead of Disneyland (being the Disney freak that I was/am). Yes, it's Kristy's Big Day, LOL. That was the first one I read. I thought they DID go to Disneyland--I swore, didn't they ride the spinning teacups? The Pike triplets puked on them. (so sad I remember that, ROFL) Wow! Congratulations on your accomplishment! It's not the easiest thing in the world, that's for sure, but definitely worth it. In my extended family, I do have one cousin with a PhD in physics (something to do with lasers - don't ask me, lol!) and my youngest cousin just started college this year, but considering that I have 3 more cousins besides them, that's not the best ratio, heh. So I guess I'm the second one in my family who's going to graduate from college, technically, but nobody has before our generation. So anyway, high five for making it this far!! That's so cool that you're teaching - it's nice to know somebody else has gone through just about the same thing as me and is now out there helping another generation to learn important skills. I'm not sure what exactly I want to do after graduation, but it's definitely an inspiration to see other people out there helping to change the world, and it inspires me to want to do something like that too, so thanks! I'm not really "teaching" yet. I'm subbing, and that's a whole lot easier in the way of prepwork, etc., but it's also a lot harder because you don't know the kids, and sometimes, you don't know what the teacher wanted you to do if their lesson plans aren't very good or written toward someone they think will really understand what's going on. I sub in all grades and all subject areas--except I won't take a high school or junior high school math class, because I haven't had to do that kind of math in a long time. I'm certified in English 6-12, and I am working on a K-12 reading certification. I'm taking the Praxis II in April for reading and I have 2 more credits to finish for the certification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rover Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I rarely read a novel, rarely..... But, years ago, when I fianlly got around to reading the paperback, that I picked up from Half-Price Books, I was enthralled with the suspenseful and technical writing style of Robert Serling ans his novel: The President's Plane Is Missing It was later made into a poor TV movie. However.... the book, as written by Robert Serling, was very satisfying..... BTY, Robert Serling is the brother of the most famous Rod Serling..... of the Twilight Zone fame and more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotplant Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 First book is a tad hard to recall...even for those non-acid heads. Sally, Dick and Jane were my first. In my young teens, I suppose Autobiography of A Yogi, changed my way of thinking. In grade school Island of the Blue Dolphins made me want to go live on an island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manderlyh Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Island of the Blue Dolphins was one that I loved. I read it about 20 times, I swear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 The President's Plane Is Missing Was 'Escape From New York' based on that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kakdaddy Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 As a child: The Five Chinese Brothers As a young adult: The Road Less Traveled Now: Hallmark cards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlanetPage Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I enjoyed reading this thread....I love to know what kind of new feelings were introduced to that ever demanding heart.......... (at age 11 - Indo-Arabic Languages) Very first readings....many tales of immortal love/obsession penned by Sufi Poets, One of the most famous tale is that of Lalya and Majnu (Indo/Arabic/Persian Tale) Layla appeared as the Dark Princess and Majnu, (means "crazy"/obsessive man in love) was a fair shepherd. They die as eternal lovers, Majnu was declared "insane" In the Indo Tales, The Poet states... so I commence the tale of Lalya & Majnu, " The ink is dark, and the pages are blank"....(many, many versions exist in the Indo-arabic/Persian world). Two noted references of interest of Layla here: Layla has also been mentioned in many works by the "notorious" Aleister Crowley in many of his religious texts, perhaps most notably, in The Book of Lies. Popular culture * The name "Layla" served as Clapton's inspiration for the title of Derek and the Dominos' famous album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs and its title track. The song "I Am Yours" is a direct quote from a passage in Layla and Majnun. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layla_and_Majnun (For more info. if you find it interesting) ....Summer of '42 and Catcher in the Rye also influenced me in my teen's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I read 'My Sister's Keeper' by Jodi Picoult a few weeks ago. It really made me think. Was it good? I've seen a number of people reading it lately so my curiosity has been peaked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarlaxle 56 Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Er, either "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" or "The Hobbit", I'm not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.