Should have read classics discussion

What books got you hooked on reading either as a child or an adult?
I remember loving the The Boxcar Children and Eddie and Gardenia that were read to me as a child. I also enjoyed reading Little House on the Prairie and The Flight of the Doves on my own as a kid. But it probably wasn't until I read the entireThe Chronicles of Narnia series that I actually saw myself was a reader. How about you?

I absolutely adored The Chronicles of Narnia and read them all - but I didn't realise I was a book worm until later when I was hooked on Willard Price's adventure books and would spend weekends rereading them and imagining myself getting involved in all the action - I loved that series!

Kerri wrote: "What books got you hooked on reading either as a child or an adult?
I remember loving the The Boxcar Children and Eddie and Gardenia that were read to me as a child. ..."

The Arthur Ransome books. First introduced to them when my mother one summer day suggested reading "Swallows and Amazons" to my sister and me. I said no thanks, I wasn't interested in a book about birds and fat women. But as I passed the doorway where she was reading, I heard this neat stuff about kids and boats and camping and adventures, and from then on I was totally hooked on Ransome and reading.

Also hooking me were the little orange covered biography books for children that my library had in abundance -- books about interesting people, from Florence Nightingale to Daniel Boone to Lincoln and Washington to Booker T. Washington. I realize now that they were very chauvinistic, but I loved reading about these lives and devoured the books over and over. (Our family went to our small community library every Tuesday evening. I had my own card from the time I was five, and within a few years I had read every children's book in the library and most several times.)

And, of course, I devoured The Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and Nancy Drew.

Kerri wrote: "What books got you hooked on reading either as a child or an adult? "

Some books I remember treasuring... and still do:

Two Bad Mice- Beatrix Potter
Peter Rabbit- Beatrix Potter
The Velveteen Rabbit- Margery Williams
A Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Graham
The Reluctant Dragon - Kenneth Graham
The Borrowers - Mary Norton
A Wrinkle in Time- Madeline L'Engle
The Secret Garden- Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Great Brain- John D. Fitzgerald
The Giving Tree- Shel Silverstein
The Little Prince- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Various books illustrated by John Tenniel
My Book House set- various authors and illustrators

Azalea wrote: "The Velveteen Rabbit- Margery Williams."

My reaction to this book every time is: "awww, the Velveteen Rabbit, love!"

I just had that reaction in my head reading through your list - I blame you ;P

The Secret Garden

The chronicles of Narnia, Where the Red Fern Grows, and To Kill A Mocking Bird. Love them all then and now.

Hayley wrote: "Azalea wrote: "The Velveteen Rabbit- Margery Williams."

My reaction to this book every time is: "awww, the Velveteen Rabbit, love!"

I just had that reaction in my head reading through your list -..."

:) I read this again every now and then with a middle school student or even high school student during a tutoring session. Some love it openly. Others admit they love it but don't want me to tell anyone else. :) It is a good story to read and compare with Kate Dicamillo's The Misadventures of Edward Tulane. (Edward is also a bunny, but don't call him a toy.)

When I was a teen back in the 70's, The Lord of the Rings books pulled me in and I ended up reading them all in about one month. Very engaging for me at that age.

The one that I remember the most was The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles. It was read to me by my 4th grade teacher and it got me hooked! I loved horses as a kid so I read everything by Marguerite Henry, Walter Farley. My parents also had some children classics with red covers that I devoured!

I checked with my library and they have some of the Arthur Ransome books so I am going to read at least one in 2012. Also, I forgot about the Lord of the Rings triology...great books but I didn't read those until college. And I still want to read The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles because of Lisa's recommendation.

The Sweet Valley books definitely played a big part in getting me hooked on reading. I read all of those series (Twins, High, University) voraciously in elementary and middle school.

Kayla wrote: "The Sweet Valley books definitely played a big part in getting me hooked on reading. I read all of those series (Twins, High, University) voraciously in elementary and middle school."

Me too. :)

Kayla wrote: "The Sweet Valley books definitely played a big part in getting me hooked on reading. I read all of those series (Twins, High, University) voraciously in elementary and middle school."

I've never read those.

Kerri wrote: "Kayla wrote: "The Sweet Valley books definitely played a big part in getting me hooked on reading. I read all of those series (Twins, High, University) voraciously in elementary and middle school."..."

You can give them a try. But can't say how you would feel reading them now. They were a great delight during the teens!

My first reading addiction was Go, Dog. Go!.

Elementary school evenings were filled with The Great Brain books, anything by Jim Kjelgaard - Big Red, etc., - The Borrowers and The Chronicles of Narnia.

By the time I discovered The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in middle school, I was an unrepentant bookworm.

I loved being read to as a child - I am so grateful to my grandmother for indulging me in this way. My favorite book as a child was "Heidi", by Johanna Spyri. Must have read it ten times over the course of my elementary school days, and once more as an adult.

Tim wrote: "My first reading addiction was Go, Dog. Go!.

Elementary school evenings were filled with The Great Brain books, anything by Jim Kjelgaard - Big Red, etc.,..."

I loved Are You My Mother?. It is one of the picture books that I remembered my mom reading to me.

Hayley wrote: "I absolutely adored The Chronicles of Narnia and read them all - but I didn't realise I was a book worm until later when I was hooked on Willard Price's adventure books..."

Both of those for me too. Actually as far as I can remember The Chronicles of Narnia were my first ever books I was introduced to at about 5 years old when mum read them to me. The next year at six I read through the series myself. I went on as a child to go through Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, The Redwall Series, The Hobbit, Pilgrim's Progress, Little Women, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh and then finally at about grade five I read The Lord of the Rings (which led me onto a fantasy addiction in a way). Now my literature studies have led me on to short stories and plays and mysteries and classics.

The Clue of the Broken Locket, a Nancy Drew book, got me hooked when I was a kid. It's one of the very few books that I've read more than once because it was so good.

The Brothers Grimm fairytales, Anne from Green Gables, Little Prince, The Secret Garden and Uncle Tom's Cabin were a big part of my childhood. They stimulated my mind and soul.

hands down-love in the time of cholera. I'd carry my copy everyyywhere while reading it.

It was Cat's Cradle for me. That book was eye-opening for me in regards to what can be accomplished with literature. Got me picking up books left and right.

I cannot remember a time when I was not reading. I loved going to the library and picking out books. Some of my favs (though not all) were anything by Judy Blume, The Complete Little House Nine-Book Set , The Fear street series, Where the Red Fern Grows , The Swiss Family Robinson , Anne of Green Gables Series , plus many others. I was an avid reader at a young age, and still am today lol.