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Focus on Reading - Week 11 - Your Reading History
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Started out with mostly Encyclopedia Brown and Trixie Beldon mysteries. As a teen, I was obsessed with Harlequin romances, then moved on to the historical romances that were so hot in the 80's (what some call bodice rippers - I'm not fond of that term as it was meant to be derogatory but it is what it is). In the 90's, I moved back to mysteries - mostly the popular mystery series. That's when I started reading Sue Grafton's Alphabet series. But I also fell in love with time travel novels at the same time. That's what got me into the Outlander series :-).
Around 2005 I discovered the internet and the social networking reading world, and my reading choices EXPLODED. Now I read almost any kind of book. I read what fits my mood - historical and contemporary novels, literary fiction, memoirs, non-fiction, mysteries of all kinds - and sometimes even a Harlequin romance.
Oh -and after discovering that I really like to discuss the books I've read, I joined a few book clubs about a decade ago which broadened my reading world even more.
When I was young, it was Sidney Sheldon, and Danielle Steele. And there was one author whose trilogy was in part the backdrop for my early 20's. Just once on GR I saw the first book mentioned. Its about three daughters, and the father fathered three girls in three parts of the world, and had painted them together in a painting. None of the girls knew they had sisters, but each of the three books were about each of them. In Ireland, China, and India. And they each had a powerful love story. I was always a reader, but these three books were dog eared and well loved. I cried many tears for Aila and Ian, and the sisters Wan Chan and Genevieve. I even think they had a sequel about the daughter of the first two. I read Sally Quinn, and other nonsense, and some other beautiful books too. I used to love the bookstores, and I would go there to get books, especially before a trip. Since I wasn't on social media of any kind, bookstores were my only way of knowing what to read.I began reviewing books on Linked in, and I had about 300 reviews, many reviews that were lost, when they shut down that function. And I hadn't kept the reviews. I had just liked to write them. They closed their site and directed me to Shelfari. This is where I found a few friends. Kristel, was one of my first. I didn't belong to any groups, but all the people who were on there were talking about PBT and challenges, and god help me I thought I could never add a group or a challenge to my life. Anyone laughing? I couldn't keep up with these people. But I started hearing more about what people were reading and liking and I followed a few people and developed a rather nice shelf. Then Shelfari was closing, and everyone was forced to migrate to goodreads. I had just made friends with Anita like a month or two earlier, she was called Against the Tide or something. The reason I joined PBT, is that I didn't know how to find my few friends, and I figured this was a good place to start. Everyone migrated by the first of the year, and I was in the last hours of Shelfari, because as you guys know, I have never been all that tech handy, and five years ago I was way worse. So I joined in February, and the tag was women or women's point of view or something, and I was like, I can do that. March was Mystery, and I was like I can do that. And July was series.... The tags felt easy to me, and I ignored the year long challenges people were doing. I was like good for you, I am just getting my toes wet. But over the year I made friends, and was intrigued, and read for the fall flurries, and turns out I read 75 books in 2016. So in 2017, I joined the year long challenges, and you guys know I haven't missed a month since. Although Manga and graphic novels might have tempted me to. I am now an incredible groupie, and I read over 100 books a year, and now I listen to audio which is completely new. I also belong to the Jewish Book Club, but I read five or so of their 12 -24 selections a year. They are not a core group for me, but you guys sure are. My reading has changed drastically with PBT. For one, I have been exposed to authors and genres, and simply things I want to read. Managing my TBR is a fun task every day. And I love sharing my stories (and challenges) with you guys. I have made friendships and connections, and honestly, I have loved that.
I have an "Impromptu" Book Club that I locally run. Its a book group for moms too busy to be in a book group. And its impromptu, because we read what we want when we feel like it. While there are like 50 or so folks on the list serve, 10-15 of us run it in what I call my literary theocracy. We meet when we all feel the season is right. About 8-10 of us are serious about it. I largely pick what we read, although sometimes there is fabulous input. I love my book group ladies, and they are just an amazing bunch. My new Indian friend had us over for the Henna Artist, and she delighted us with Indian food, and she wore her Sari. She gave us all bindi dots and bangles, and it was an incredible rich and personal discussion. One woman suggested Rising out of Hatred, and let me tell you how powerful that discussion was for our membership. That was unforgettable. We are reading the Stationery Shop, again not my suggestion, for November 7th. These women look to me to make suggestions, and its because of you guys and Goodreads, that I know what to suggest!
So my reading has blossomed - but so have my horizons and my connections. And its really all thanks to you guys. I can't say enough nice things about this group in my life. So thank you, truly, from my heart.
Amy wrote: "ts about three daughters, and the father fathered three girls in three parts of the world, and had painted them together in a painting. None of the girls knew they had sisters, but each of the three books were about each of them. In Ireland, China, and India. And they each had a powerful love story. I was always a reader, but these three books were dog eared and well loved. I cried many tears for Aila and Ian, and the sisters Wan Chan and Genevieve..."Too Deep for Tears by Kathryn Lynn Davis! I loved that trilogy as well, ugly sobs.
YES!!!!!!! Gutteral ugly sobbing! Saw it just once on goodreads within this last year, and never otherwise!! Thank you for reading my story and providing me with that memory!
Amy wrote: "The reason I joined PBT, is that I didn't know how to find my few friends, and I figured this was a good place to start. ."There is a group here specifically for former Shelfari members:
Shelfarians
I was reading before I started kindergarten. And I've been a voracious reader my whole life. I read the typical chapter books that young kids of the '50s read (loved the Betsy books by Carolyn Hayward), moved on to Nancy Drew and then to my horse-crazy days with Marguerite Henry and Walter Farley, but also loved some classics I had at home - Little Women and Heidi. By 7th grade I was beginning to look at "adult" books, thanks to my local bookmobile librarian, who noticed I had read everything in the children's area (there was no such area as "young adult" then) ... the first book he recommended to me was My Ántonia. But I also loved reading nonfiction - biographies of the Mayo brothers who founded the Mayo Clinic, for example, or books about sharks (I literally read every book on sharks available in my city library). I had joined Junior Great Books and we were reading some heavier tomes - Moby-Dick or, the Whale in 7th grade! And of course my college-prep curriculum in high school was heavy on classics - Pride and Prejudice, Silas Marner, The Scarlet Letter, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Crime and Punishment plus most of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets. And, perhaps, most memorably To Kill a Mockingbird, which remains my all-time favorite book.For my own enjoyment I read all sorts of contemporary authors, and this continued into college: Sidney Sheldon, Philip Roth, Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen King, Victoria Holt, Jacqueline Susann.
By one or two years out of college I was a member of Book-of-the-Month club, Doubleday Book Club, and Literary Guild and buying 3-4 books every month. I read anything that caught my eye - fiction, nonfiction, mysteries, horror, romance. And I still do, though my love is literary fiction.
Like most of us, I was an early reader - both parents are teachers and I was a first child so I got a lot of help. I read most of the children's books and whatever was in the school library or public library. By 9th grade, I was working after school so my pleasure reading went down. I read the usual high school assignments to get ready for college and the secret ones (Peyton Place, etc.) We literally kept the books at school in our lockers and passed them around - no one dared to take it home. We would read it in slow classes where we would not get caught, at lunch and in cars in the parking lot. We had the "good" pages marked. After college, I read less and I regret that. During my 28 months of Peace Corps, we just exchanged books and got a great variety along the way. That is where I started to read European writers and more spiritual, heavy stuff. Later after I came back to the U.S. and finished grad school (read stuff there - organizational theory and human relations and economics books). Finally graduated for the last time and had the good fortune to end up at a university which had a lot of teaching development stuff going on including books on being better teachers. We sometimes had discussions on those books. Our of that came people who just wanted to read books and discuss them. There were 3 or 4 book groups on campus and the new public librarian started 5 or 6 book groups at the same time. -- classics, business, odd books, mystery, general. I became a book group fanatic when I retired because I could read most of the time. I have started 3 different book groups and still belong to two now - we read anything and everything. The zoom book group that started during the pandemic (because none of us wanted to go out) is still going and tends to read heavier books - no light stuff (two of the county librarians organized it and they pick stuff like Nomadland). We are still going a year and a half after we started - although some groups are actually meeting. What do I read - certainly a lot different from my younger days - popular stuff, what is on the best seller list (I gave Shuggie Bain and Harlem Shuffle low ratings even thou they were popular). I read reviews from Kirkus, NYT, etc. and Bookreads and decide on my TBR list A nice word for my reading is eclectic. peace, janz
For me it all started with Nancy Drew. Well the passion for reading avidly, mysteries in particular, started there.I grew up on a dairy farm near a small town in NYS just a few miles from the PA state line. My parents, both of whom only had 8th grade educations, read to us as young children but we had no exposure to classics like Winnie the Pooh, The Velveteen Rabbit, etc. My parents just did not know about books like that. Plus farming is 24/7 - most of their reading prior to retiring from farming, was the newspapers and magazines. Anyone else remember how Good Housekeeping Magazine used to include an abridged novel every month? I read several Mary Stewart romantic suspense that way! Trips to the town library were rare because those were the days when you went to town about once a week at best, and in winter far less often. I attended a catholic elementary school that had a minimal library, mostly stories of saints and such. There was no town bookstore. Source of buying books was paperback racks in the grocery store and the 5 & Dime. What books were around the house were mostly young children’s books and Reader’s Digest Condensed books – yes I read many of those!
Then on my 10th birthday in 1965, my older brother who was away at college gave me 3 Nancy Drews – The Secret of the Old Clock, The Secret of Red Gate Farm:, and The Secret of Shadow Ranch. I still own those 3 books. That was it, I was obsessed. I showed them to friends at school and we started trading whatever books we could get --- Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Bobbsey Twins, Cherry Ames – some of these were physical copies of books my friends’ mothers or older siblings had read. My first boyfriend was a boy who traded his Hardy Boys for my Nancy Drews – 5th grade I think. Anyone remember the book Five Little Peppers and How They Grew? Around then my mother found a mail order source of Dr. Seuss books from my younger sister and Happy Hollister mysteries for me, 2 arrived every month! I LOVED those books and I still own them - they featured a large family where the kids solved mysteries and they were set in all kinds of cool places -- cool to someone who had never been anywhere at least.
When I was 12 or so, my piano teacher, a farm widow living a mile from us, sold her farm and moved into an apartment in town – a block from the library! Across the street from the 5 & Dime that had paperbacks! Suddenly I was able to go to the library once a week! My allowance went to buy books – mostly Harlequin romances (my mother had one set in Alaska that I loved and started me on those) but also bestsellers. I had half an hour every Friday while my sister took her piano lesson to go to the library. This lasted until I went to college. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately, the library had adult books and young children’s books – very very few books for young teens - there was no YA section back then. No Nancy Drew. No youth appropriate classics. Also at about this time I moved into public school as catholic school ended with 6th grade. That provided me with better school libraries.
All these events expanded my reading dramatically. By end of junior high school I was reading mysteries by Agatha Christie, romantic suspense by Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt, suspense by Mary Stewart, Helen MacInnes and Alistair MacLean, biographies and plays – I was obsessed with Eugene O’Neil. Adventure type stories like Kon Tiki. Classics – tons of classics by Kipling, Alcott, Brontes, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain, Thomas Hardy, Dickens, but no Austen. Lots of best sellers: James Michener and Sidney Sheldon in particular. Quite a few Harlequins. Tolkien. Lots of mass market paperbacks and contemporary fiction like Native Son, Go Tell It on the Mountain, and Johnny Got His Gun - this was late 60s/early 70s - antiwar, abortion rights, and civil rights marches and protests all influencing my reading.
Attending an Ivy League college of course expanded my reading greatly – adding French literature (mostly in French), reading the complete works of Samuel Beckett, Thomas Mann, Nietzsche, and the Greeks – oh did I read the Greek classics! Light reading was still bestsellers and mysteries mostly. Between college and law school I read a lot of the popular authors of the day – Cheever, Joan Didion – while still reading mysteries and other crime fiction and contemporary romance, and lots and lots of feminist literature. Historical mysteries. Law school – who had time to read during law school? I didn’t except summers when I would catch up on favorite mystery authors like Sue Grafton. After law school saw my reading gradually become less diverse – I’d still buy whatever caught my eye but rarely actually read anything other than cozy mysteries, crime fiction, the rare fantasy series, and contemporary light fiction. I was in a terrible rut for years and years. Classics and more serious reading would slip in there but not a lot.
One day a friend asked me to join her in doing the Popsugar reading challenge – this was 2016. I saw it as an opportunity to get out of my rut and read some of the books I’d bought and ignored. That’s also when I started actively tracking my reading on GR, joined a Popsugar Group there, started writing reviews, joined PBT. My reading has become far more varied, I’ve read a LOT of the books I’d accumulated over the years and now find I have to schedule time for my favorite mystery authors!
In truth, I’ve not really dropped any reading – just keep adding on to the types of books I will read. Mysteries, suspense and thrillers are still my favorite go to genres. I still read cozies and Harlequins, romantic suspense, thrillers, classics, bestsellers, and a much broader fiction array. I read more memoirs and biography, probably the same amount of non-fiction. I also steadily read those classics that I missed as a kid - The Secret Garden for example.
This was a great topic.
Peacejanz wrote: "and the secret ones (Peyton Place, etc.) We literally kept the books at school in our lockers and passed them around - no one dared to take it home. We would read it in slow classes where we would not get caught, at lunch and in cars in the parking lot. We had the "good" pages marked. ..."O.M.G. YES! We did that too...reading mostly in the mandatory study hall! The main books in my day were The Hite Report, The Sensuous Woman, Forbidden Flowers, and Terry Southern's Candy. It was the early 70s after all. I also remember Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives being considered scandalous and needing secret reading.
As a young child my mother read to me. I started with the Dr. Seuss books, gradually increasing in complexity. As a grade schooler, I read mysteries, longer books, like Charlotte's Web and lots of books about horses.As a teen, my reading took off. In high school, we were given a Classics Reading List and asked to pick three. I read the entire list. Thus, my love for the classics started early. These are books most kids disliked because they "had to read them." But I loved them! My favorite author as a 16-year-old was Thomas Hardy.
At that time, there was a used bookstore not too far from us, and my dad told me I could read as much as I wanted, since these books were very inexpensive. They were a wide variety of just about everything you see in used bookstores - thrillers, espionage, adventures, love stories, contemporary best sellers from several years earlier, books about animals, more literary classics, and lots of stuff I probably "shouldn't" have been reading at that age. I didn't have to hide anything, though. No one worried about what I was reading, since I am the only reader in my nuclear family.
In college, I read for my classes and as much as I could when time permitted. This is where my love of non-fiction blossomed. I read philosophy, science, biographies, mental health, history and lots of books in Spanish for my language classes. I was a runner, and read lots of books about health and physical fitness.
After going into the work force, my reading decreased. I read lots of business books, and only occasionally for fun. When my son was young, I read to him every night. He loved the Magic Treehouse series. I kept up with his reading for school. We read the Harry Potter books, separately but simultaneously.
When I found Good Reads in 2015, I started adding the books I've read in the past. I am sure I have only catalogued a fraction of the books I've actually read.
I love this place! It's so wonderful to find a community of readers who understand when you say you read hundreds of books a year. Non-readers think I'm insane, but I enjoy books way more than television or movies. I love picturing the scenes in my mind's eye, and giving voices to the characters (just in my head not out loud). And it's great to discuss them online with others. The experience is way more pleasurable when we point out how a book impacts us individually. Others see things I did not, and it deepens my appreciation for these books.
Now I read mostly literary fiction, historical fiction, and non-fiction. In non-fiction, I enjoy history, exploration, memoirs, biographies, science, and psychology. I'm fond of books related to the arts. I occasionally read contemporary fiction, science fiction and, more rarely, fantasy. I tend to avoid romance, horror, thrillers, and paranormal. I will read the first book in a series, but rarely continue to read them all (with a few notable exceptions).
I think I have honed my reading to books I expect to enjoy. I like books that make me think and enjoy learning about our world.
Booknblues wrote: "Amy wrote: "ts about three daughters, and the father fathered three girls in three parts of the world, and had painted them together in a painting. None of the girls knew they had sisters, but each..."Too Deep for Tears - I read that too! I even remember where I was reading it
Robin P wrote: "Too Deep for Tears - I read that too! I even remember where I was reading it "Me too! I was camping in the Sierras by Mt. Shasta, on the McCloud River at Ah-Di-Na campground.
When we would go camping, I often called it a 3 book or 4 book weekend.
My brother came home from first grade with his Dick & Jane book and taught 4-year-old me what he had learned each day. I was soon reading thick books that had belonged to my mother, like the full versions of Heidi, The Water Babies, The Story of the Treasure Seekers, and fairy tales. Like Theresa, I grew up on a farm, though we had sheep instead of dairy cattle, a little more forgiving in schedule. In fact Theresa and I lived maybe 10 miles from each other as the crow flies but in different states so we would never have known each other, we just met here last year!Our local library was small and I think I read all the children's books. There was no interlibrary loan. But when I was 10 we moved to Philadelphia and the libraries were amazing! I loved books with magic in them like Half Magic, Five Children and It / The Phoenix and the Carpet / The Story of the Amulet, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, etc. I also liked books about ordinary "normal" kids (because my family was so different from that, in my opinion) - I read lots of Bobbsey Twins. My brother read lots of sci-fi, so I read Fahrenheit 451 and a couple others that I think were too old for me.
I also am from the era before YA books. I started reading classics around age 11, such as Dickens and Dumas. I was in a college-prep high school where we read a LOT of classics. Outside of school, I read and adored The Lord of the Rings. In college (also like Theresa), I was a French major & also took English lit classes. I went to grad school for French lit and it almost ruined my love of reading - we had so much reading to do every week, and then we were to pick it apart and ruin all the pleasure!
My mother loved mysteries but I only got into them in adulthood, reading Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Mary Stewart. I did Book of the Month and Literary Guild for a while (I remember getting the book Roots that way.) I mentioned in another thread that I eventually joined a wonderful book group at a women's bookstore where I was introduced to lots of modern authors and began to diversify my reading.
Now my favorite genres are historical fiction, historical mysteries, historical romance (see a theme there?), literary fiction, some fantasy & sci-fi, nonfiction on psychology, education, history, women's issues.
I am loving this discussion -- and someone said she liked books that made her "think." I agree - that's what I always tried to teach my students - high school, university, wherever - think about what you read. How does this pertain to me? What can I learn? peace, janz
I don't really remember when I was younger than 12 what I read, but in grade 7, our teacher asked us to write down all the books we read that year. I came second in my class at around 150 books. What was I reading?
I think a lot of teen series (Cheerleaders, Girls of Canby Hall, and of course, Sweet Valley High were among my favourites.
Also teen romances. I don't remember what the series was called that I read the most of... Oh! Sweet Dreams, I think.
Also around that time, though, I was already starting to read Stephen King. He was a favourite right away! Overall favourite genre in later high school was definitely horror.
University, I read very little for fun. Spring/summer I had a bit of time to read and I mostly remember lots of Stephen King and horror, continuing on.
Now I read a huge mix of things. Easier to say what I don't read ("epic" fantasy, romance, westerns...). That's about it.
Amy wrote: "When I was young, it was Sidney Sheldon, and Danielle Steele. ..."Oh! And this reminds me - also in high school (and into university), I read a lot of VC Andrews.
Thinking more when I was younger, someone mentioned Encyclopedia Brown. I read some of that. Also, some Nancy Drew (and a couple of Mom's old Trixie Beldens). Also, Choose Your Own Adventure!And Beverly Cleary. Some Judy Blume, but I wasn't as crazy about her.
I do remember at some point I read "Charlotte's Web" and "Black Beauty" and "Heidi".
I love how everyone remembers Too Deep for Tears!!!
Someone mentioned reading at camp....I went to a week long 4-H camp in Watkins Glen, NY for several summers starting at about age 10 I think. I remember one year the book I took to read was Oliver Twist! My cabin mates thought that was pretty odd. None of them brought books to read. Truthfully there was no time really to read.College for me was Barnard College in NYC - not only did I have use and access to ALL the libraries in all the schools making up Columbia University, but the local bookstores where you purchased your class books were treasure beyond belief. Gradually I found other marvelous bookstores in Manhattan. I had never before experienced bookstores like that. While I was in high school, a mall opened in a nearby city that had a Coles. It wasn't very good.
Bookstores in NYC tended to be open until at least midnight. It was my habit for many years to stop after work at Colliseum Books in Columbus Circle - it was my therapy, and how my massive physical TBR got started. Alas, the store is long gone, as is the original Shakespeare & Co. (UWS hangout on Saturday Night while waiting for the Sunday NYTimes deliveries to the corner newstand) and all 4 of my favorite mystery bookstores.
I love reading everyone's "origin stories" here!I never heard of Too Deep for Tears. It's on my TBR now!
I definitely remember reading Nancy Drew. And also the Bobsy Twins (a little younger reading level).
We moved around a bit when I was really young and I ended up attending 3 different schools across 2nd and 3rd grade - and my reading had fallen far behind grade level and was a real struggle.
My parents were very avid readers themselves and they came up with the idea to pay me above and beyond my allowance for any books I read. They would look at any book I was going to read and assign it a dollar value based on how long and how difficult it might be. I used to keep a running list on the fridge and would "collect" once a week.
This was soooooo long ago and the actual amounts look really tiny now - a book at my grade level might be worth 10 or 15 cents. Something a little longer or a little above my grade level would be worth 20 cents. And reading out loud to my younger brother was worth 5 cents.
I honestly don't even remember when they stopped paying and I was just reading because I loved to read! One of the best things my parents ever did for me.
Theresa wrote: "Peacejanz wrote: "and the secret ones (Peyton Place, etc.) We literally kept the books at school in our lockers and passed them around - no one dared to take it home. We would read it in slow class..."Actually I never had to hide what I read at home...it was at achool really. My parents did not monitor what I read at all.
What an interesting topic! I've been enjoying everyone's responses.Like everyone who has written in, I have been a life-long reader, encouraged by my mother who always loved books. Rather than write about my childhood, I'll share here how my tastes have both changed and stayed the same through adulthood. Looking back, I've always been drawn to fiction and memoirs. And, I have always liked to read about different countries and cultures.
Some of what I've read is due to how authors were writing during the years I was reading them. I remember reading Pearl Buck's "The Good Earth" as well as all of James Michener's books about different cultures. Later, I discovered and devoured books about immigrants here in the U.S. Amy Tan, Gish Jen and Isabelle Allende come to mind.
Quirky and/or well thought out characters have always interested me. I remember reading books by Larry Mcmurty ("Cadillac Jack"), Tom Robbins, Anna Quindlan, *Phillip Roth, *J.D. Salinger, Elizabeth Strout and Richard Russo ("Empire Falls"). I also have read a lot of Ann Tyler, Eleanor Lipman, Alice Hoffman and Allegra Goodman's books. (*I now think of Phillip Roth and J.D. Salinger as misogynistic.)
I must have read a ton of "Chicklit" (AKA the more politically correct "Women's Fiction"). I don't find it as appealing now. Likewise, I'm no longer as enamored by novels about dysfunctional families. And, there was a time when I loved books with magical realism in them. Now, less so, although I still like them. I had read many of Jodi Piccoult's books, but stopped, due to hating the twists in her endings. In general, I'm not a fan of thrillers and books with twists.
I seldom reread books, because there are so many new ones to read. It's interesting though when I do reread, because I find myself thinking about the book differently, based upon my stage of life.
I sometimes think the word 'journey' is trite, because it's been overused. However, it does fit here. My reading life has been a journey!
I have loved reading for as long as I can remember. My first memory of reading was trying to sound out the words in a Cinderella Golden Book when I was five. My first experience with the ability to have a book transport you to a different reality was Charlotte's Web in third grade. I still remember my mom rushing in to see if I was injured because I was crying so hard. After that, I read many of the popular books that young girls in the early 60s liked, especially Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, the Hardy Boys and my favorite, Cherry Ames. My first "adult book" was Valley of the Dolls, which I read on a cross country trip from New Jersey to New Mexico the summer before I went into seventh grade.
I was lucky my mom was a big reader and we walked to the library every week since she didn't know how to drive. My dad was in the military so I went to a new school every single year except my senior year of high school. I was always the "new" kid and found it so hard to make friends because we were just going to move again. Books became my friends and my refuge and I still feel more comfortable with them than people.
My favorite genre was always mystery, followed closely by historical fiction. I was an early lover of European and Nordic Noir and I had a twenty year period where I really loved any kind of romance. In my early 20's Rosemary Rogers came out with Sweet Savage Love, a book that was considered erotic for the time. I was hooked. No more Grace Livingston Hill or Barbara Cartland for me.
Even though I was always a fast reader, it really exploded when I joined Shelfari and PBT. I added so many books from different genres after reading member reviews. I love fantasy and YA now, which are books I never even considered before.
I'm retired and read for great portions of the day, occasionally broken up by golf and the "appetizer and cocktail" hour while my husband fixes dinner every night. But even then I read newspaper stories to him while he cooks. When my work colleagues asked what I planned to do after retirement, I said "Read". They said, "you can't read all the time". I'm happy to be proving them wrong!
I can't believe I missed Too Deep for Tears. It's just my kind of book. It's on my TBR now and is even available to read for free if you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber.
Olivermagnus wrote: "I have loved reading for as long as I can remember. My first memory of reading was trying to sound out the words in a Cinderella Golden Book when I was five. My first experience with the ability to..."Olivermagnus, I relate to so many things you said, including reading more since being on GR and being retired. I thought we were already GR friends, but we weren't, so I have sent you a friend request. I looked at your shelf and we have a lot of authors in common. I see you loved one of my favorite books from early adulthood - Five Smooth Stones.
My memory only goes so far back, but I do remember being really into the Sweet Valley Twins books when I was younger and then the Sweet Valley High books as I got older. I went on a reading hiatus the middle part of my life after I joined the military and started a family. I picked up reading on a regular basis again in 2006. I remember reading a few different genres back then, but really didn't expand those until I joined PBT. That's when I really started reading outside my comfort zone, but found that I like genres I never would have tried, like historical fiction.
There were a couple of years after I reconnected with my (now) boyfriend where I only read a handful of books (was going back and forth 2 hours down the road on the weekends...lol), but still had my bookshelf crammed full. I'm doing better this year, but still not up to where I want to be.
LibraryCin wrote: "And Beverly Cleary. Some Judy Blume, but I wasn't as crazy about her."Oooh, I forgot about those 2. I did read stuff by both of them. I liked them both, but leaned more towards Judy Blume.
@Olivermagnus- your mention of Rosemary Rogers triggered the memory of my freshman year at Barnard and a classmate intoducing me to her favorite romance writer and book The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. Yes, definitely dialed up the historical romance to a more erotic level! I can still see us in her dorm room discussing it while on her desk sat ignored her pre-med homework. I left Georgette Heyer behind for a while after that.
Holly R W wrote: "In general, I'm not a fan of thrillers and books with twists...."Me too! I thought I was the only one.
I find my recent reading to be more international than ever before. I love reading authors from different countries around the world. The other recent trend for me is reading older books. I find I have missed many great books over the years and am now trying to "catch up."
Guys, (Sue and Oliver), I hope you enjoy Too Deep for Tears. But please remember I was 20-22 at the time. It's no Hearts Invisible Furies, or Weight of Ink. But.... if Love Story wins, I expect at least a few of it to read it, because its just such an easy pick!!!
Amy wrote: "Guys, (Sue and Oliver), I hope you enjoy Too Deep for Tears. But please remember I was 20-22 at the time. It's no Hearts Invisible Furies, or Weight of Ink. But.... if Love Story wins, I expect at ..."Right, I'll be interested in how it fares these days.
Yeah, I must admit I am embarrassed to tout it now... Think of it as a Danielle Steele, Nora Roberts, or a Sally Quinn. Maybe more like a Rosamunde Pilcher. But hey, what if it still holds up and we bring it back?
I have always loved reading. I probably didn't read before I went to school, but at the time we lived in a multigenerational household with extended family nearby. I always had adults around to read to me (and Captain Kangaroo who read the best stories). My mother read to us at bedtime with my brother on the top bunk and me on the bottom. I remember
The Gateway to Storyland and
Raggedy Ann Stories and Bobbsy Twins and a lot of Dr. Seuss.Strangely, as I got older, I wasn't encouraged to read. My mother seemed to feel that it was a waste of time, or that it made me too weird in that I preferred reading over outdoor play. But after 2nd grade we moved quite a bit, every 2 or 3 years. Like Neil Gaiman I lived more in books. It was wonderful to discover Shelfari and PBT and online book discussions. I thought, These are my people!
That read aloud Raggedy Ann had been my Aunt's copy, probably bought for her in the 1920's (sadly defaced by MY crayons) helped me segue into 19th century classics. I can't count the number of times I read Heidi, The Secret Garden, The Little Princess and everything that Louisa May Alcott wrote. That made it easy to move on to Dickens and Austen.
As a teen and through my 20's I read fantasy and science fiction. I thought I wouldn't like mysteries, too scary. But, PBS Masterpiece Theater and Mystery got me hooked on the classics. Michener got me started on serious historical fiction.
Just after my daughter was born, I had a conversation with my principal. She was the best administrator I had in all my years of teaching. She worked long hours and she had a very long drive to and from work on LA freeways. I asked her how she managed it. (I had a less than 15 minute drive to work.) She said it was easy because she used the time to listen to audiobook tapes. I thought that was something I could NEVER enjoy. Famous last words. Listening to books, especially Harry Potter, while chauffeuring my children around town saved my sanity while they were growing up.
At this point in my life I'm addicted to my audiobooks.
I have always been a big reader. I was that kid under the blanket with a flash light trying to get in just one more chapter when the lights went out. In my younger days it was The Bobbsey Twins I was addicted to. Money was always tight in our house, but I was able to go to the library nearly every Saturday and always came home with a pile of books for the week. One of the favorites I remember borrowing numerous times was Daddy-Long-Legs-Loved that book.High School days brought "reading the forbiddens" into play for me too. The Godfather, Harold Robbins books. There were built in drawers in my bedroom, and those types got hidden behind them. I have always loved non-fiction, especially history books. Anything I could get my hands on, which included the Funk and Wagnall Encyclopedias that my mother got weekly with some kind of deal at the grocery store.
At one time I was Nora Roberts junkie, believe it or not-I loved her Irish Trilogies. Then I got into espionage and spy thrillers.
My love of Fantasy started about 9 years with a re-read of LOTR while recovering from back surgery. It now one of my go-to genres, along with Non-fiction and Historical Fiction.
I discovered Goodreads in 2015 and a couple years after I discovered there were groups here. I joined the SCR challenge, where there is no real chatting about books, just challenges. I wanted somewhere to talk books, which led me here. Until recently PBT and SRC where the only 2 groups I belonged to.
Joining PBT has really expanded my reading choices. I love reading all the reviews and finding new-to -me authors. This is a wonderful community, and I thank you all for being here!
I have really loved reading everyone's reading journey and finding so many similarities.I am one of the trio here, with Robin and Theresa who grew up on farms just a short distance from each other. Theresa and I were about 35 miles apart, and I would have to travel through her home town to visit my grandfather in Binghamton.
iN THE 1950'S
My parents were both readers and my mother read to us when we were small children. Not necessarily age appropriate books for 4-7 year olds, but The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Heidi, The Swiss Family Robinson among others.
iN THE 1960'S
This started me on my love of reading and in elementary, I went through a horse period, I also became interested in the Revolutionary war, after watching Johnny Tremain.
In high school, I was very focused on college bound literature and read many classics. We were given a list which was largely classics but also had some popular literature of the time. I remember reading The Strawberry Statement: Notes of a College Revolutionary and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, but I also read the Brontes, Jane Austin, Charles Dickens, Huxley, Orwell, Shakespeare and many others. These high school reads gave me a good strong base.
In the 1970's
In college my friends were reading Hesse and Vonnegut and I read as many of those as I could find. I read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Johnny Got His Gun, Trout Fishing in America. I also got into The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge and read about 5 of those Carlos Castaneda books.
Of course as an eclectic reader, I read anything I could get my hands on :The Godfather, Jaws, and other popular books. There was a time in the 70's where money was tight and I relied on the library and second hand used books, I bought at flea markets which made for some interesting choices. I read all the Agatha Christie I could find, Du Maurie, Mary Stewart. I went through a James Michener stage, discovered Ken Follet , Sydney Sheldon, Colleen McCullough, Susan Howatch and like others went through a regency romance period.
In the 1980's
At the beginning of the 80's, I went through a Watergate stage and read every book I could find about Watergate. The whole thing intrigued me. I also discovered Michael Crichton and Larry McMurtry. I moved from Regency to racier Medieval Romance.
In the 1990's
The 1990's were made up of a mix of medieval romances, Barbara Erskine wrote some time travel medieval that I loved. Lady of Hay, Kingdom of Shadows,Child of the Phoenix mysteries, I discovered the Harry Bosch series and Jeffrey Deaver and suspense. Also, important was John Grisham. I read all I could find. Also in the 1990's, a book I picked up at a grocery store fired my imagination, Outlander, I had no idea how many she would write over the years.
In the 2000's
At the end of the 1990's and the beginning of the 2000's, I was working in a fulltime job and working part time as an adjunct professor, and as much as I wanted to read, I had no time to. I picked up books from grocery stores, and wandered Borders and bought what I thought looked good. I also discovered Amazon and started making wishlists from recommendations and I bought them whenever I saw them. This made up an interesting library of books. I fell behind some of the mystery series which I had been reading.
I finally quit, both positions and moved to a part-time preschool teaching position where I had time for myself and time to read. When I picked up again I found an interest in more literary and more non-fiction books. In 2010, I discovered Shelfari and that propelled many of my future reads. I of course discovered PBT, which pushed me to read books, I never would have.
When Amazon closed Shelfari I moved here to Goodreads. PBT continues to add books to my TBR. I read many literary fiction now, but still love my medieval mysteries, nonfiction, travelogues, cozy mysteries, stories about animals, and a odd variety of books.
@Theresa ...What books were around the house were mostly young children’s books and Reader’s Digest Condensed books – yes I read many of those!YES . the Reader's Digest Condensed books. My godmother got those and every time we visited, I'd hole up in the guest bedroom and go through her bookshelf, picking out one or two volumes. She always let me take them home. Two of the books I remember getting from her were a nonfiction account of the Lindbergh kidnapping (there are quite a few of those books and I can't guess which one it was ... but I read it in the mid 1960s) and Truman Capote's In Cold Blood
Book Concierge wrote: "@Theresa ...What books were around the house were mostly young children’s books and Reader’s Digest Condensed books – yes I read many of those!YES . the Reader's Digest Condensed books. My godmot..."
My parents had a number of those. I can't remember all the books, I read that way. I do remember The Possession of Joel Delaney, which I read on a Halloween and was one of the scariest books, I've ever read. I couldn't do it now.
Booknblues wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: "@Theresa ...What books were around the house were mostly young children’s books and Reader’s Digest Condensed books – yes I read many of those!YES . the Reader's Digest Con..."
I remember Marjorie Morningstar particularly. Also Herman Wouk.
@JoAnne - I too read The Godfather in high school - we probably read it at the same time. Left such a lasting impression. I borrowed it from the library and it was a fat big hardcover!
Theresa wrote: "@JoAnne - I too read The Godfather in high school - we probably read it at the same time. Left such a lasting impression. I borrowed it from the library and it was a fat big hardcover!"Indeed, big and fat and just barely fit behind that drawer!
Amy wrote: "Yeah, I must admit I am embarrassed to tout it now... Think of it as a Danielle Steele, Nora Roberts, or a Sally Quinn. Maybe more like a Rosamunde Pilcher. But hey, what if it still holds up and w..."Joanne wrote: "At one time I was Nora Roberts junkie, believe it or not."
You had me at Nora Roberts!! I go through Nora Roberts trilogies like candy.
Yeah I was thinking about how Theresa loves cozy romance. This trilogy could make a comeback in our little group. Especially if Love Story is the tag.
Amy wrote: "Yeah, I must admit I am embarrassed to tout it now... Think of it as a Danielle Steele, Nora Roberts, or a Sally Quinn. Maybe more like a Rosamunde Pilcher. But hey, what if it still holds up and w..."I agree, I might think it melodramatic now, but I guess that was the intent.
Theresa wrote: "@JoAnne - I too read The Godfather in high school - we probably read it at the same time. Left such a lasting impression. I borrowed it from the library and it was a fat big hardcover!"I stole my brother's paperback copy of The Godfather. When my father wanted company to go see the movie, my mother refused. She wasn't happy that he decided to take me, but I'd already read the book. I was always reading books that were 'too mature' or 'inappropriate'. ( Poor woman. My sister and I were always a challenge for her. )
Joanne wrote: "I have always been a big reader. I was that kid under the blanket with a flash light trying to get in just one more chapter when the lights went out. In my younger days it was The Bobbsey Twins I w..."Joanne - if your kids are all grown up, you might try a book discussion club. Your local public library can give you info about the library sponsored groups (unfortunately, many of us have gone Zoom because of covid) but some in-person groups are now starting. Try several. You will have someone to talk to about your books and will hear about other groups that may be more your style. peace, janz
How wonderful and interesting to read everyone's reading histories and memories! I, too, grew up in a house where reading was valued. I grew up in the Bronx, with a neighborhood library just a few blocks away. One of my most vivid memories is standing on a stool to write my name in the "book" to get my very own library card. I was 5 years old. I also remember the click and whirring sound that the camera made when the librarian checked out your books. There are certainly books that stand out more than others. Pippi Longstocking and Harriet the Spy were favs. In junior high (now called middle school), we had to read a book over vacation, and I chose Sammy Davis Jr autobiography, Yes I Can, all 600 pages! I still remember his descriptions of the racism he faced, especially when he was in the army. In HS I read many of the classics, and I began my love affair with science fiction. I still read a good amount of sci-fi (I am considering rereading Dune for the 3rd time). I added historical fiction and contemporary fiction after college and that has remained a large portion of my current reading. Somewhere along the way I started a book journal, and then looked for a way to do it online. That's when I found Goodreads. I joined several bookclubs on Goodreads but tired of everyone reading the same book at the same time. Finding PBT was book-life changing! The quality of the books I am reading has increased, and I am pushing myself to read books/genres out of my comfort zone. And audio books! During the worst of the pandemic, I was walking many miles and began listening to books. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would but still prefer reading with my eyes. Now retired, and having moved to NC, I am reading more. I joined a F2F bookclub as well. I was able to get a library card here in Asheville without having to sign my name in the big book, but having a library card is still very meaningful.
Have you always liked the same kind of books?- Yes. If I liked the series.
How has your reading changed and evolved over the years?
- I read a lot of books now.
Thanks for posting this!:)
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Books mentioned in this topic
The Godfather (other topics)The Godfather (other topics)
The Godfather (other topics)
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Harold Robbins (other topics)Kathleen E. Woodiwiss (other topics)
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Have you always liked the same kind of books ?
How has your reading changed and evolved over the years?