I just read this post about favorite childhood books over on The Magic Violinist’s blog, so I thought I’d join in the fun. I’m blessed to have grown up in a book-loving household, so I’ve loved books and reading since day one of my life, pretty much.

What is the first book you remember reading on your own?

Probably various Dr. Seuss books, but my first non-picture book I remember reading was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. And of course the rest of the Chronicles of Narnia.

 

What is the first book you remember having your parents read to you?

In amongst the Dr. Seuss and Beatrix Potter books, my mom read a lot of Tasha Tudor’s books to me. Take Joy! was always a favorite, because I love anything Christmas. I also remember Corgiville Fair, because who doesn’t love corgis?

 

What is a book you read on the recommendation of your parents or a friend?

I think either a classmate or a teacher in one of my elementary Sunday School classes mentioned the Mandie mystery series to me. My church library had quite a few of them, and my love of history was whetted by the engaging heroine Mandie and her life in late 19th century North Carolina.

 

What was your favorite book in elementary school?

Too many to name! I went through phases: sometimes I was into historical stuff like the Mandie series or the Little House on the Prairie books. Sometimes I was into fantasy, like The Chronicles of Narnia or classic fairy tales (my parents have a ton of antique books in the house, so I probably read an early printing of one of these):

I loved the Ramona series, and the Box Car Children series. I also enjoyed some of the great classics, like Little Women and The Secret Garden.

 

What was your favorite book in middle school?

I got into the American Girl books in middle school, I think, because they were a fairly new thing at that time (yes, I’m that old). My sister was really into American Girl and had one of the dolls; I never got a doll, but I read most of the books. Kirsten’s stories were my favorite. I’m pretty sure it was during these tween/early teen years that I delved into The Lord of the Rings for the first time, too.

 

What was your favorite book in high school?

I was pretty much into everything geeky in high school. I reread Lord of the Rings, along with Tolkien’s others like The Silmarillion and The Book of Lost Tales. I also read pretty much every Star Trek and Star Wars book that came out, and I started collecting X-Men comic books.

I think I also read Rebecca for the first time in high school (for a class); it was rather different from my normal chosen reads, but I absolutely loved it.

 

What book did you check out of the library most often as a child?

I remember checking out any Dr. Seuss books that I could find, because for some reason we didn’t own any at all. I had most of the Beatrix Potter books, though, so I could just read those at home.

When I was a little older, I remember checking out The Jungle Books a couple of times, because my old paperback copy had fallen apart.

 

What book did you make all your friends read?

I’ve always recommended The Chronicles of Narnia to anyone and everyone, and I still do. When I was younger, I remember telling a couple of people about The Lively City O’Ligg, and they looked at my like I was nuts. This was another of the antique books my parents had lying around the house, and I think it was long out of print by the time I was born – so naturally my peers had never heard of it. (I think it’s in print again, according the the all-knowing Google, but when I was a kid it was a pretty scarce book).

 

What is the book that made you love reading?

Not really sure. I’ve loved reading since I was old enough to read, and loved listening to my parents read to me before that. I remember feeling like a reading champion, though, one summer when I read the entire Little House on the Prairie series in like two days.

 

What is your favorite middle-grade read now?

I’m not really reading MG at this very moment. But I’ve been wanting to re-read the Mandie series – especially the few books at the end of the series that my childhood library didn’t have, so now they’ll be a first-time read.

What is your favorite YA read now?

Again, not really reading this right now. Also, when I was growing up, YA as a specific genre wasn’t really a thing (if it did have a name, it definitely wasn’t popularized).

What was the first long series you read as a child?

Not sure what constitutes “long” versus “short” series, but The Chronicles of Narnia was definitely my first series that I read on my own. And then all the others I’ve mentioned (Little House, Mandie, Box Car Children)

 

Now I’m tagging you! What were your favorite books as a child?