Your Life in Books

Image by Jess Watters from Pixabay

 

Thank you to everyone who wrote me to tell me about their favorite books and the first books they remember reading. Many of the books were new ones for me. I didn’t know if you wanted your names printed, so the entries are anonymous….
 
Here is what you said:
 
“Books by Elizabeth Enright were some of my favorites. Gone Away Lake and
Return to Gone Away  were books I read over and over. When I introduced
our daughter to them I saw them with fresh eyes and saw that they had a
much richer vocabulary and more nuanced writing than I see in much of
today’s fiction for children. I am glad they are still available!”
———————————-
 

“The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
Lois Lenski titles
Heidi
American biographies
Now my favorite book is always the last I’ve read or listened to. . .
    Queen Sugar by Natalie Baszile”

———————————-

 
“There are just so many. My mom used to read to us from the time we were
born. I could read when I was three. My first set of books was The
Bobbsey Twins, though I kept trying to steal my brother’s Hardy Boys
books. My mom collected a set of the Happy Hollisters. I passed these on
to a neighbor when I outgrew them. My favorite book as a child was The
Secret Garden. I read Romeo and Juliet when I was ten. It was hard to
get the library to let me take it out as it was in the adult library and
children weren’t allowed to take  books out of the adult library.  I
would sit there and read while I waited for my sister.  We had a
Bookmobile that came around each week, and sometimes I could smuggle an
adult book out if I mixed it in with my other five books and the
librarian wasn’t paying attention. Now I read a lot of John Kellerman,
Fay Kellerman,  have all of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plumb books. I do
love to read and I always have.  It’s so important to instill a love of
reading in your children.”
—————————————————-


“I have a Robert Louis Stevenson book from childhood; I adore it.  And an
Alice in Wonderland. “

————————————————

“As a child I loved Nancy Drew and I am still a mystery novel fan
Currently Jacqueline Winspear is a favorite, and I always love Sarah
Paretsky, Elizabeth George, and Faye Kellerman.  One of my favorite
non-mystery novels is Greg Sarris’s Watermelon Nights. And an
Indian/American novelist I read lately. Can’t think of her name. I read
her new mystery novel and then read one of her non-mystery novels.
Fascinating.”

———————————————

“Heidi, by Johannq Spyri, is the book I remember from my childhood. It
was published in 1881, according to Google.”
———————————————–


 
“I loved most all of the books you mentioned. (See previous post, My Life in Books)
 
I also really enjoyed horsey books like all those of Marguerite Henry
(Misty of Chincoteague, King of the Wind, Seastar) and Will James
(Smoky the Cowhorse). That was probably around the end of elementary
school that I read those. I also had a thing for Mark Twain (Huck Finn,
Tom Sawyer) but I reread some others recently that I found tedious.
 
I’ve just been rereading many, many old books in the bookcase, last read
50 to 60 years ago!  Amazing how thoroughly I’ve forgotten the stories!
(e.g., Great Expectations)
 
My grammar bible has always been Chicago Manual of Style, or better
yet, its updated version, A Manual for Writers of Research Paper,
Theses, and Dissertations (Chicago Style for Students and Researchers,
NInth Edition) by Kate L. Turabian.
 
I recently received as a gift Dryer’s English. Love it!”
—————————————————–


 
“As a child and early adolescent, I read far more books than I do now.  An English teacher in junior high wrote on one of my book reports, “Never lose your love of reading.”  Wonderful advice but, somehow and unfortunately, I did; I’m not sure why.  Now I read mostly articles in the paper and online.  However, “back in the day,” like you, I read most, if not all, of the Nancy Drew books.  I read many of the Dana Girls mysteries, also by Carolyn Keene.  And I remember a book (or series of books?) about Penrod and Sam that I enjoyed.  However, I can’t recall anything about it/them.  I was introduced to the books about David and Claudia from watching Robert Young and Dorothy McGuire portray them in movies shown on TV back in the 50s.  The movie Gentleman’s Agreement prompted me to read the book as an adolescent.  Because I had a rule about finishing every book I started, it took me a couple of summers after I saw the movie to start, then re-start and finish, Gone With the Wind.  I finally broke my self-made rule with Gail Sheehy’s Passages, and I don’t know why. “

————————————————-

“Somewhere around 1985, I think, a friend had a secondhand bookstore. He knew that I liked science fantasy and pointed out the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. I have read the entire series multiple times and have recommended it to hundreds of people… I even started my granddaughter on them when she was nine. I cried when McCaffrey passed away.”
—————————————————-

 
“On Persephone’s Island: This memoir of a New York woman marrying a Sicilian man is head and shoulders above all those ex-pat-aren’t-the-locals-adorable memoirs. I reread it every few years and have read passages on my radio show.”
————————————————- 

“Housekeeping: I read this novel every few years and much of it I read aloud, to myself. Marilynne Robinson’s use of language is exquisite.  

The Gastronomical Me: This book shows MFK Fisher at the height of her narrative power. The chapter “The Flaw” is, to me, her quintessential work.  

My Father’s Dragon, The Dragons of Blueland, Elmer & the Dragon: My favorite books from childhood. How can I resist a blue-and-yellow- striped dragon with red paws? For most of my life, this dragon has strolled through my dreams.
 
Wuthering Heights: Best English novel about love ever ever ever. Essential reading. 
 
Unplugged Kitchen: The only cookbook, other than my own, that I keep close to my desk. It’s delicate, pristine, and inspiring.”

——————————————————————

“I am self-employed, providing proofreading and copyediting services for college textbooks. So after working all day on texts, such as geology, math, or psychiatry among so many other subjects, I like to read historical romance books, mostly Regency or Georgian. I have also read many of Philippa Gregory’s books.”

—————————————————————

“Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Beales. Read with my son when he was in high school.
About a black woman in an all-white school in Little Rock, Arkansas.
She came to Santa Rosa and lived with a Sonoma state psychology professor and went to Montgomery High. That professor I met as a patient.
It is a fabulous story about her courage! ”
—————————————————————–


 
“Not sure if it is a favorite, but certainly the most memorable is Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby, Jr.  I read the book over 40 years ago and it still haunts me.  The subject matter, the unique voice and style is gritty, lifelike and memorable.
 
Also The Cunning Man and The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies — elegant, learned, engaging.”

——————————————————————–

 
“I love Hemingway’s Movable Feast for both writing and subject matter. Absolutely wonderful companion is The Paris Wife, fictional other-side-of -the-story by Paula McLain. Then if you want a modern story in Paris, albeit unexpectedly odd, Paris Exit by Patrick DeWitt is a lot of fun. I recommended it to a German client of mine who likes dark and weird, and she loved it. It’s quite readable for high-intermediate/advanced level ESL learners.
 
I’m also reading Word by Word, The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper thanks to a post of yours some months ago! Thanks. I love this book. Very funny and fun.”

——————————————————————–

“I’m a simple woman. I see books, and I am sold