What was the first book that you read?

[Palash]

So guys, what was the first step in this crazy journey of yours.

Mine started with Treasure Island.

PS- Academic books and comic books don't count.

[Erica]

My first actual novel would be Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (I read all the HP books out of order lol)

But before that I read a bunch of kids' chapter books like the Magic Tree House and A-Z Mysteries and such.

[Ilsen]

I think I started with Dear Dumb Diary

[Palash]

Erica wrote: "My first actual novel would be Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (I read all the HP books out of order lol)

But before that I read a bunch of kids' chapter books like the Magic ..."
Harry Potter and Sorcerer's stone was my third book.

[Rich, Dream Hunter]

Um... I was obsessed with the Magic Tree house series, Read the Pokemon series (have to catch up with them again), And what REALLY kicked my reading was Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monster (yeah, I read the second and third book before the first, such a lawbreaker... :) )

[The Half-blood Reader]

I know it's probably not what you were aiming for, but I've been reading since always, specially if you count my mother as my own personal voice actor/live audio-book provider. xD haha

Books like The Foxwood Treasure from the Foxwood Tales, with lovely art and charming writing, or Sesame Street books, illustrated fairy tales...

Once I started learning to read, I would re-read them over and over. The bug was there early on.

[Rich, Dream Hunter]

Regsly wrote: "I know it's probably not what you were aiming for, but I've been reading since always, specially if you count my mother as my own personal voice actor/live audio-book provider. xD haha

Books like ..."

Same I have a habit of re-reading the books I read, which I'm rereading the Hunger Games, the 6th time in a row this week...

[The Half-blood Reader]

But if you really want to know which book was the BOOM in my life, and also a novel... It was Flowers in the Attic. That was 14 years ago, I'm 26 currently. Age-wise, I was definitely not the targeted audience, and parents nowadays will roll over and pass out from the idea of "a child" reading about "such things".

But honestly? You can't measure maturity in numbers. And you can't account for living experiences. Each person's life is unique and children don't need as much protection from such things as people nowadays think they do. (even if they don't watch/read certain things, advertisement for films & shows pretty much shows them violence, assault, etc anyway) I understood it, I wasn't traumatized and it didn't turn me into a twisted deviant xD No regrets at all, it helped me understand early on how much I liked gothic-horror

[The Half-blood Reader]

Erica wrote: "My first actual novel would be Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (I read all the HP books out of order lol)"

&

Palash wrote: "Harry Potter and Sorcerer's stone was my third book."

You guys are reminding me of my 6th grade self, borrowing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets from the school library, and trying to read it at the end of the day, after all that homework, tiring classes and walking to & from school. I fell asleep a bunch of times from how tired I was and how late it was for me at that time. And when I didn't, I got really aggravated at Dobby for what he was doing, screwing Harry over xD I felt like wringing his little neck at that moment lmaoooo Because for me child abuse was very serious, and the idea of Harry possibly getting beaten up was too real for me...

[The Half-blood Reader]

Rich wrote: "Same I have a habit of re-reading the books I read, which I'm rereading the Hunger Games, the 6th time in a row this week..."

Really? :D All this talk of The Hunger Games in the discussions made me pick the series up again after all these years. I've pretty much finished them in a week lmaoooo

[Rich, Dream Hunter]

Regsly wrote: Age-wise, I was definitely not the targeted audience, and parents nowadays will roll over and pass out from the idea of "a child" reading about "such things".

But honestly? You can't measure maturity in numbers. And you can't account for living experiences. Each person's life is unique and children don't need as much protection from such things as people nowadays think they do. (even if they don't watch/read certain things, advertisement for films & shows pretty much shows them violence, assault, etc anyway) I understood it, I wasn't traumatized and it didn't turn me into a twisted deviant xD No regrets at all, it helped me understand early on how much I liked gothic-horror "

WORDS OF THE WISE!

[Dorota]

I don't really remember winch book was my first one I start with the comics of Mickey mouse and some book what they give you at school. I remember my mom reading to me when I was six The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly and later I go to the cinema with my class and I fell in love with that book. I still have that book and I don't really know how many times I back to it. I'm 25 and I will read this book to my little monster when she will be a little be bigger 😀

[Polina]

It's an impossible question). I can't remember the first one, because well... it's been more than 20 years :). And I'm not sure if you can consider rhymes to be books. But I truly began to enjoy reading because of 19-20 century YA books about girls. "Like Little Women", "Anne" etc. I could relate to the characters, and I think that's exactly why I enjoyed the books so much.

[Caity]

I didn't manage to learn how to read until first grade, which was a bit late, honestly, but once I did learn how to read I was rather voracious in it and I haven't stopped in nearly 23 years years. Some of my earliest books were:

The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter (I may even still have this)
The Velveteen Rabbit
Where the Sidewalk Ends
The BFG
Where the Wild Things Are
Madeline
Any and all Berenstain Bears books
Dr. Seuss books, of course
Little Golden Books
Babysitters' Club
Dear America and Royal Diaries
American Girl book series
The Phantom Tollbooth
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
And TONS of others because I was always begging my parents for more books.

I had a lot of books I loved, lol. Harry Potter was what eventually wound up setting a course for me to read a lot of fantasy, but it doesn't get the credit for kickstarting my reading habit by any means.

ETA: I just found one of my FAVORITES from when I was little:


I was in love with the cover art. Still am, actually.

[Bec]

Did anybody else have an obsession with the Animorphs and Deltora Quest series in primary school (forgive my Aussie schooling). I loved these to bits.

I also remember reading stuff like Saddle Club, a lot of Enid Blyton (I think this was at my mum's insistence), the Berenstein Bears, and Goosebumps. But I mean I read a tonne as a kid. Mum would hate punishing me to my bedroom because I would just lay in bed and read.

I also have vivid memories of getting the first Harry Potter book while being sick and home from school about a month after it was released. Thank you to my daddy-o for beginning that obsession for me.

[The Half-blood Reader]

Becca wrote: "Did anybody else have an obsession with the Animorphs and Deltora Quest series in primary school (forgive my Aussie schooling). I loved these to bits. (...) I also remember reading stuff"

Sorry, I don't know them. But I'm from Portugal, so my experience as a reader has several differences from the majority of people in the group!

I do love Goosebumps. I get the shivers with The Haunted Mask and the 3 books about the Living Dolls (those are so creepy).

[Tal]

My first big series that I read was Percy Jackson in second grade when my brother told me I couldn't finish it in two weeks.
I read all the Tinker Bell books

[Bec]

Regsly wrote: "Becca wrote: "Did anybody else have an obsession with the Animorphs and Deltora Quest series in primary school (forgive my Aussie schooling). I loved these to bits. (...."

I always found the first Goosebumps book the creepiest - Welcome to Dead House.

[The Half-blood Reader]

Becca wrote: "Regsly wrote: "Becca wrote: "Did anybody else have an obsession with the Animorphs and Deltora Quest series in primary school (forgive my Aussie schooling). I loved th..."

I still haven't read that one, funny as it is xD I don't remember if I watched the episode either, I was so young!

[Sonja]

A doll's house by Ibsen

[Seljan]

Ilsen wrote: "I think I started with Dear Dumb Diary"

I like Dear Dumb Diary but I think I started with Diary of a Wimpy Kid

[Chloe]

I started my YA journey reading The Hunger Games

[Ayla]

Darcy wrote: "I started my YA journey reading The Hunger Games"

That's such a great series to start with! :D

[Chloe]

Mine started with the hunger games too.