While thinking about how many books I have, and trying to decide which ones to get rid off (Not enough space :sad:), I started to think about the books I read when I was a kid, and which really got me into the habit of reading.

I can dimly remember starting with the Ladybird reader series, which served our family well, all 40+ volumes were read by about a dozen of us cousins, passing along like prized heirlooms.

Then I graduated to Enid Blytons books. Oh Did we ever love those books. (Feeling nostalgic goes away to see whether they are available as e-books)

Then on to the Hardy Boys adventures. oh and Agatha Christie too.


Brings back so many pleasant memories.

So the Question I throw out to you all is, what books did you start off reading when you were younger. (Mind you the books I mentioned I was reading when I was 6 or 7, managing to convince the librarian that yes, I did want to read the big thick book, with actual stories not picture books)

Well, I have vague memories of a Zeuss book or two (there was one about fishing, maybe?), but the first books I dug into were the usual Hobbit/LotR standard for developing geeks, but also The Thomas Covenant Chronicles and Julian May's Saga of the Exiles.

...but I must confess that, like my former occupation, my main preference was for what is perhaps considered boring; for books of the type David Attenborough's Life on Earth and What Bird Is That? ("I believe it's the Lesser Spatchthroated Whittlecock, and she looks angry. Better move the pets and small children inside before she takes them back to her cave as a decorative playthings.").

Also, encyclopedias and atlases.

'Tis a wonder I didn't grow up to be some boring IT Project Manager with a bug-report up his backside and a penchant for pedantry.

No, wait, that's right, I did.

Cheers,
Marc (now reading about The Philosopher's Dog)

Let's see, Nancy Drew, Encyclopedia Brown, Alfred Hitchcock's The Three Investigators (that's what they were called, he didn't right them), Sherlock Holmes.

Digging waaaay back, there's some Richard Scarey and one that always scared me badly when I was like three called The Little Boy From Shickshinney. (sp?)

My father turned me on to SF when I was young, he'd let me watch Star Trek (the original series) even though I was only 9 or 10. I remember reading a lot of pulp type SF. Before that Roald Dahl was probably what I remember the most besides Go Dog, Go! which I memorized from having it read to me and my two younger brothers many, many times. AAMOF, I read it to my kidlets, too and we can still rote recite most of the book.

The lucky Starr series by Paul French(aka I. Aszimov)
Witch World searies by Andre Norton.

'Jennings' books, Anthony Buckeridge.
'Tripods' trilogy, John Christopher
'Horatio Hornblower' books, C. S. Forester

The librarian at the elementary school I attended really got me seriously interested in reading when I was in the 3rd grade by introducing me to The Little House on the Prairie series

I loved (and still love) the Secret Garden.

Winnie the Pooh
Watership Down
A book of King Arthur tales I found in a cabin in Colorado.
The Hardy Boys series
Foundation series, Asimov
A book about card tricks, I don't recall the title.

As a good Canadian girl (and a Maritimer as well) my first book memories are of the Anne of Green Gables series. I can still see in my mind the hard cover edition of the first book that I had - wonder if my Mom still has it?

I quickly turned into a mystery buff with Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and Cherry Ames.

Tracey

A book about card tricks, I don't recall the title.

Explains much.

As a good Canadian girl (and a Maritimer as well) my first book memories are of the Anne of Green Gables series.I much enjoyed those myself, though I didn't encounter them until the Disney Channel miniseries came out in the late '80s.

Gee, I always thought it was a CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) series ;):D

Fun fact, the first TV series was filmed about a 5 minute walk from our home in Ontario (not PEI) - we could see "Rachel Lynde's" house from our driveway!

Explains much.

We also had two sets of eEncyclopedia, the standard World Book, but my favorite was the "How it Works" set. I would browse through that for hours and hours. (Wait, that reminds me of another childhood favorite, Encyclopedia Brown.) I took that set with me, and had it up until my youngest child was about 14, then donated it to her science teacher.

We have to add "Where the Sidewalk Ends", of course. If you're looking for a window into my psyche, that would probably be the definitive text. In fact, [shouting over into another thread] put this on on my list of books I want as e-books.

Curious George
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Hardy Boys
Zane Grey

Bobbsey Twins
Trixie Belden
Nancy Drew
Hardy Boys
Encyclopedia Brown
probably more .....

I do remember the first book I read and hated, and that was "The Forgotten Door", a story about a boy that falls from another dimension into our world. On his "world", there is no crime, no one lies, etc. etc. Even at a very tender age, I had a well-developed b.s. detector, and knew that the author had an ulterior motive, another agenda, going beyond the simple plot of the book. I couldn't have put it into those terms, but the feeling was there.

As long as we're being so open and honest and exploring our childhood together, you can put the Sears catalogs on my secret childhood reading list. The women's undergarment section, of course.

We also had two sets of eEncyclopedia

Oh Yes, That Brings back fond memories. We had a 30 volume Set of Encyclopaedia Britannica,andI remember spending hours and hours going through them.

Thought I have to admit to a guilty pleasure of going through old Argos Catalogs, that my faher had bought back with him from the UK. Could spend hours dreaming about the toys. Later on, graduated to the Radio Shack Catalog's :grin:

As for the classic SF, did't get into it till my mid teens, then discovered Asimov. Must have devoured every Asimov Book In the library (A palty half dozen) then spent most of my allowance over the next year trying to buy every Asimov book I could find.

Then In my G.I. Joe Phase started reading Tom Clancy, for all the detailed information of the weapons and systems.

Must not forget the old Pulps.(Mostly 2nd hand)
The Executioner (Mack Bolan)
Able Team
Phoenix Force
Perry Mason
Springblade
The Guardians

And also the classic comics
Asterix
Tintin
Archie Comics
Dandy, Beano, Topper, Beezer Annuals
The Phantom (The Diamond Comics ones)
Mandrake
Tinkle

Enid Blyton - especially Famous Five
Tales of Shakespeare
Legends of Ancient Greek & Rome
Both these last two I've re-found in PG ..
LOTR
and I even read the bible a couple of times ...

i can't remember the first book I read. My parents have read to me daily nearly from the start. This are the books I still remember the best. I do not know the English titles of all of them, sorry.

Enid Blyton - read everything that our library had

Michael Ende - "Jim Knopf...", "Momo", "The Neverending Story"

Erich Kästner - "Das doppelte Lottchen", "Das fliegende Klassenzimmer", "Emil und die Detektive" ...

Otfried Preussler - "Der Räuber Hotzenplotz", "Die kleine Hexe", "Das kleine Gespenst", "Der kleine Wasserman"

Astrit Lindgren - "Pipi Longstocking", "Ferien auf Saltkrokan", "Ronja, Räubertochter", "Mio mein Mio", "Die Kinder aus Bullerbü", "Die Brüder Löwenherz"

Karl May - everything with Winnetou in it

After reading some comics
Enid Blyton - perhaps my first English book
soon "graduated" to the routine stuff
three investigators
hardy boys
Nancy Drew - ( just one or two - I convinced myself this is a girls book:p),

I enjoyed them but they were never my "favourites", I simultaneously developed an interest in "World Classic series" (mostly abridged)
My favourites were

1. Robin Hood
2. Treasure Island
3 Mobi Dick (faniced myself on the deck many days!)
4. Alice in Wonderland )didn't like it much then - too unrealistic for me!)
5. Comedy of Errors
6. Robinson cursoe
7. Kidnapped

(I guess you get the picture :))

I was so proud when I finished "The Neverending Story" by Michael Ende.
It was a really, really fat book with small print.
What this book basically taught me was that reading is not a chore.

And then there's fond memories of graphic stories like "Where The Wild Things Are*" (Maurice Sendak) or "Little Nemo in Slumberland" (Winsor McCay)

I recently realized that my mom had great taste in selecting my children's books.

* Spike Jonze (http://german.imdb.com/title/tt0386117/) is working on a movie based on the story :)

I know I read books prior, but honestly the first ones I recall are the Choose-your-own-Adventure style books. Oh, and Mad-Libs (Holds head in shame). I could pretend I was sitting there with James Joyce, but I know it was probably a Spy-vs-Spy comic. A bit down the line I started reading various classics and then got into SFF and Horror like Fritz Leiber.

-MJ (I'm sick this weekend, so I might deny this post sometime during the week)

White Fang. Man I liked that book. It was some sort of cult classic amongst 9 year olds in my school.

Jock of the Bushvelt. Another dog story. A South African classic complete with racist overtones I never noticed as a kid.

Biggles. What a man. It seemed he fought through 2 world wars and flew everything that could shoot at other things.

The Hardy Boys. Devoured these.

Enid Blyton. Secret Seven, The famous Five. Tuppeny Feefo and Jinks.

Also read 20 000 leagues under the sea and a lot of HG Welles very young.

Looking at all the Enid Blyton Fans, does anyone know if any of her books are avilable as ebooks? I Checked on Fictionwise, but could not see any.
Same for any by Earl Stanley Gardner

Looking at all the Enid Blyton Fans, does anyone know if any of her books are avilable as ebooks? I Checked on Fictionwise, but could not see any. Probably not. She died in 1968, so there are no new books coming out that might motivate a publisher to bring out the older ones in eBook format to go with a recently published one. And, I don't think any are in the Public Domain since the earliest publication date I can find is 1928 for a retelling of Brer Rabbit.

Probably not. She died in 1968, so there are no new books coming out that might motivate a publisher to bring out the older ones in eBook format to go with a recently published one. And, I don't think any are in the Public Domain since the earliest publication date I can find is 1928 for a retelling of Brer Rabbit.

If she died in 1968, her work will enter the public domain in 2019 in "life + 50" countries; 2039 in "life + 70" countries.

Here're some books from my childhood I found important enough to read aloud to my own children:

Johann Wyss - _The Swiss Family Robinson_
Hal Gordon - _Divers Down! Adventure Under Hawai'ian Seas_
Madeline L'Engle - _A Wrinkle in Time_
J.R.R. Tolkien - _The Hobbit_ and _The Lord of the Rings_ as well as _Roverandom_ and _Mr. Bliss_ --- need to find a copy of C.S. Lewis' _Boxen_

and an illustrated (and much abridged) _Children's Bible_

Currently I'm reading Rudyard Kipling's _Captains Courageous_ having just finished Geronimo's autobiography, both an interlude from reading biographies of American Presidents (we just finished Theodore Roosevelt, hence the segue into Geronimo, since TR granted permission for the writing of his autobiography) --- still need to find a good kids biography of President Taft though, then we'll continue on through President George W. Bush, pausing on the way to read some history books I remember (a book on WWI flying aces, another on the Battle of Midway, &c.) as well as books on notable others (Winston Churchill we'll probably do right after Franklin Delano Roosevelt).

Then, I'm planning on starting over again at the beginning and reading mythologies / folk heroes starting w/ Gilgamesh and working my way up to King Arthur, interspersed w/ historical personalities and inventors and artists --- guess I'll need to go through all the biography sections in the local libraries, note names and birth dates in a spreadsheet, then sort on the year of birth....

William

A. A. Milne's book of children's poetry- "When We Were Very Young".

I can still recite fragments. My favourite poem was "Disobedience" in which a protective child warns his mother:

James James said to his mother,
"Mother," he said, said he
"You must never go down to the end of the town
If you don't go down with me."

The mother disobeys his instructions, goes downtown without him, and disappears. James James makes it absolutely clear to everyone it's not HIS fault. I really loved his categorical denial of responsibility.

I also recall, as a 10 year old, trying to borrow Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" from the local library. The librarian refused to let me have it. I am STILL bitter and twisted about that.

Good Morning! Awww shucks .... this was a heartwarming thread to start the week with.

I have a very clear memory of my first "real" book. Mom bought me a beautifully bound copy of "Black Beauty" before I could read, so it stayed next to my bed until I could read it. I would go to sleep looking at the beautiful horse running through falling autumn leaves, and wake up to see if I could read it. I was awfully proud when one morning, the letters just clicked, and suddenly I could read. After that, they couldn't stop me from reading!

My short list:


Black Beauty
The Aristocats
Nancy Drew (of course)


And then it got weird:


All of my Granny's Reader's Digests going back to the 1930's
Same for her big stack of ancient National Geographics
Grimm's Fairy Tales (the "real" stories which scared me and they didn't match up to the cartoons anyway)
Comic books - Little Lulu, Casper, etc


And then I met my first scifi book: Nova

And it's been a wonderful journey through books ever since.

Currently I'm reading Rudyard Kipling's _Captains Courageous_ having just finished Geronimo's autobiography, both an interlude from reading biographies of American Presidents (we just finished Theodore Roosevelt, hence the segue into Geronimo, since TR granted permission for the writing of his autobiography)

William,

Who did Mr. Roosevelt need to grant permission for the writing of his autobiography to? Himself?

Who did Mr. Roosevelt need to grant permission for the writing of his autobiography to? Himself?

Yeh - he must have talked himself into it ...

A chip off of the old block eh Harry ?

:rofl::rofl:

I much enjoyed those myself, though I didn't encounter them until the Disney Channel miniseries came out in the late '80s.

Gee, I always thought it was a CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) series ;):DAh, yes, thanks for the correction: you're quite right, I should have said that I first saw the miniseries on the Disney Channel (we didn't get the CBC in Houston). In fact, as I recall, it was on one of their free weekend previews and the preview ended before the miniseries, resulting in my buying the thing so I could see the end of it. :rolleyes:

HarryT asked:
>Who did Mr. Roosevelt need to grant permission for the writing of his autobiography to? Himself?

It was necessary for the transcriber of Geronimo's autobiography to go over the head of the War Department to Pres. Roosevelt who granted permission for Geronimo to tell his side of the story.

William

Oh, I see. Sorry - thought you meant Mr. Roosevelt's autobiography :). Thanks for the clarification!

My first regularly-read books were things like Curious George. (No, I'm not going to see the movie.) Then I started reading mostly comics... but as many of those were Classics Illustrated, I soon started buying the original lit of the Classics comics, most notably the works of Wells and Verne.

That (plus a school reading of A Stitch in Time) got me into SF, which pushed me into the Bradbury catalog, then the Clarke catalog, then Star Trek, then (thanks to a not-so-exciting trip to the grandparents' one weekend) to Doc Savage.

My favourite poem was "Disobedience" in which a protective child warns his mother:

James James said to his mother,
"Mother," he said, said he
"You must never go down to the end of the town
If you don't go down with me."

The mother disobeys his instructions, goes downtown without him, and disappears. James James makes it absolutely clear to everyone it's not HIS fault. I really loved his categorical denial of responsibility.


@RCR: Here is the full text, part way down the page:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006011206686

The Kingston Trio did that as a song in the early 60's. (At least, it was them or somebody very similar). Now you've got the song running through my head! :p

Whoops, I take that back. It was The Chad Mitchell Trio (similar style to the Kingston Trio). Have a listen:
http://www.amazon.com/Bitter-End-Chad-Mitchell-Trio/dp/B000001843
I've got it on vinyl still! From a friend - I wasn't quite old enough to be collecting albums when it was new.

My first real, real reading adventures:

Danny Dunn, the Invisible Boy. (I LOVED the Danny Dunn books!)

The first three Tarzan books. My mom bought them for me at a rummage sale so that I would keep quiet while she looked for deals. I was around 10 years old, so that was pretty hefty reading for me.

And in my teens, my favorite books of all time were from the Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe. I've read the first book from that series, The Shadow of the Torturer, several times since then.

Ahhh, the good ole days before bills and mortgages...

The earliest books I remember reading were the Hardy Boys series. Then I found out the same author wrote the Nancy Drew books and read those. Now, when I read them again to my kids I can't believe how lame/repetative they are.

The other early title I remember was reading _A Wrinkle In Time_. I think that got my started on SF. Also, the Hobbit was an early favorite.

BOb

(I LOVED the Danny Dunn books!)I loved those! I also really liked The Mad Scientists' Club -- I recently learned there are other books in that series (I only knew of the one) but I haven't tracked down copies to read them yet, so don't tell me what happens!

I also remember a series of "mystery" stories, whose name I can't remember ... I guess its several details that stand out strongly in my memory. The characters were a group of four or five friends who ran a neighborhood detective agency. I remember one female character, but I think the rest were all male. There was a geeky gadget character, a character who's main contribution was his sense of smell (he had a big nose, too) and the main character who wasn't all that smart, but was clever and charismatic. I think that character's name was "Dirk McGurk, but since I haven't been able to find anything about the books, I'm doubting if I'm remembering that correctly. :shrug:

Ring any bells for anybody?

I've been hunting for some years for the name of a book I read in 1965 or 1966. It had a boy named Henry (?) who was bright, had a friend, and solved mysteries or problems or the like. It could have been one of a series since there were so many like that at the time but it was not Encyclopedia Brown or any other one that I've been able to track down. In the particular book I'm thinking of, the boy came up with the idea of using insurance as a means to avoid wars between nations. The book was important for me because this was probably the first instance that I sat down on the floor and read a book intensely from purely personal desire. I was not read to as a child and this book started me to read for pleasure. I was about nine at the time. As an adult I've been very curious about what had suddenly grabbed my attention. If you recognize it, I'd be most pleased in hearing from you.

Whoops, I take that back. It was The Chad Mitchell Trio (similar style to the Kingston Trio). Have a listen:
http://www.amazon.com/Bitter-End-Chad-Mitchell-Trio/dp/B000001843
I've got it on vinyl still! From a friend - I wasn't quite old enough to be collecting albums when it was new.


Thanks. That really put a smile on my face.

Black Beauty was an odd book I thought, I just remember the sad bits.

It was also very controversial in South Africa believe it or not. The draconian censorship board that guarded the morals of the country banned all material deemed to be unsavory or that posed a risk to the countries security. I am not sure which of those 2 categories Black Beauty was deemed to represent but apparently the censor board never read the book and mistakenly believed it to be the tale of a black beauty queen. In apartheid South Africa that was enough to get the book banned until the board were informed of their error. Apparently beautiful black horses were acceptable but beautiful black women were not. Oh yes, You just have to love the "good old days".

Great thread!

As a child, my favourites were:

Emily Rodda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Rodda#Emily_Rodda) - Rowan of Rin, Finders Keepers
Paul Jennings (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Jennings_(Australian_author)) - 'Round the Twist' short stories
Ian Flemming - All the James Bond books
Roald Dahl - Matilda, The BFG

The earliest books I remember reading were the Hardy Boys series. Then I found out the same author wrote the Nancy Drew books and read those. Now, when I read them again to my kids I can't believe how lame/repetative they are.


No, that's not entirely true.

Both the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series were published by a publishing house called the "Stratemeyer Syndicate" using "house names" for their "authors" - "Caroline Keene" for Nancy Drew, and "Franklin W. Dixon" for the Hardy Boys.

Edward Stratemeyer (the publisher) and later on, his two daughters, sketched out rough plot outlines for each book, but the actual writing of the books was "farmed out" to a variety of different authors. Most of the early Hardy Boys books were actually written by a chap called Leslie McFarlane, and most of the early Nancy Drew books were written by a woman called Mildred Benson.

The plots are, as you say, very predictable and mechanistic, but I love reading them.

Both series were "re-written" in the 1950s to update them and make them more "politically correct" - the original books had very negative and stereotypical portrayals of black and chinese characters, for example - but were drastically shortened and the plots simplified in the process, it being apparently felt that, by the mid 1950s, teenagers would be put off by 300-page books. Most "fans" consider the "original" versions of the books to be enormously superior to the re-writes. I suspect that it would have been the re-writes that you would have read.

Natch, agree on _The Mad Scientists Club_ books --- though I haven't read those to my kids, I am planning on purchasing a set for them.

William

I forgot about this one.

"My Side of the Mountain" it really captured my imagination and I wanted my own hawk. I was sure that I could run away and live on a mountain if I had to. I think it was made into a movie as well.

the ones i've forgotten about are those , I think in a series , where the story line is something to do with buffalos , but can't for the life of any remaining brain cell remember much more .

Both series were "re-written" in the 1950s to update them and make them more "politically correct" - the original books had very negative and stereotypical portrayals of black and chinese characters, for example - but were drastically shortened and the plots simplified in the process, it being apparently felt that, by the mid 1950s, teenagers would be put off by 300-page books. Most "fans" consider the "original" versions of the books to be enormously superior to the re-writes. I suspect that it would have been the re-writes that you would have read.

Interesting... thanks for the info. So... anyway to get the originals? I would be interested in reading one just to compare.

BOb

Black Beauty was an odd book I thought, I just remember the sad bits.

It was also very controversial in South Africa believe it or not. The draconian censorship board that guarded the morals of the country banned all material deemed to be unsavory or that posed a risk to the countries security. I am not sure which of those 2 categories Black Beauty was deemed to represent but apparently the censor board never read the book and mistakenly believed it to be the tale of a black beauty queen. In apartheid South Africa that was enough to get the book banned until the board were informed of their error. Apparently beautiful black horses were acceptable but beautiful black women were not. Oh yes, You just have to love the "good old days".

I've said it before and I'm saying it again - I'm lucky to live in the U.S.A. I have a problem with censorship and would probably have spent my life in jail if I'd been born somewhere else. Hearing your story makes me realize how much I take "freedom of speech" for granted. I hope things have gotten better in the last decade or so for you.

Interesting... thanks for the info. So... anyway to get the originals? I would be interested in reading one just to compare.

BOb

A company called "Applewood Books" reprinted excellent fascimilies of the original versions of the first dozen or so "Hardy Boys" books a few years ago. I'm not sure if they're still in print, but they're easy to get 2nd hand on Amazon, etc.

And then there's the child's book about a native girl left alone on an island with dolphins for friends. Don't recall the title, but I think it's still considered a classic.

And then there's the child's book about a native girl left alone on an island with dolphins for friends. Don't recall the title, but I think it's still considered a classic.

This one? http://www.amazon.com/Music-Dolphins-Karen-Hesse/dp/0590897985

A company called "Applewood Books" reprinted excellent fascimilies of the original versions of the first dozen or so "Hardy Boys" books a few years ago. I'm not sure if they're still in print, but they're easy to get 2nd hand on Amazon, etc.

To follow up, I've checked and they're out of print, but easy enough to get. See, for example, here (http://www.amazon.com/Tower-Treasure-Hardy-Boys-Book/dp/1557091447/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210097047&sr=1-1).

And then there's the child's book about a native girl left alone on an island with dolphins for friends. Don't recall the title, but I think it's still considered a classic.

Actually, no, not that one. This one:
http://www.amazon.com/Island-Blue-Dolphins-Scott-ODell/dp/0440940001/
"Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott ODell. Text says it was based on a true story. I don't think I knew that!

To follow up, I've checked and they're out of print, but easy enough to get. See, for example, here (http://www.amazon.com/Tower-Treasure-Hardy-Boys-Book/dp/1557091447/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210097047&sr=1-1).

Thanks... This is interesting:

by Franklin W Dixon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Franklin%20W%20Dixon) (Author), Leslie McFarlane (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Leslie%20McFarlane) (Introduction)

BOb

A company called "Applewood Books" reprinted excellent fascimilies of the original versions of the first dozen or so "Hardy Boys" books a few years ago. I'm not sure if they're still in print, but they're easy to get 2nd hand on Amazon, etc.

Intersting document here that list original authors and re-write authors.

http://www.keeline.com/Hardy_Boys.pdf

BOb

I was a big fan of The Lemonade Trick, by Scott Corbett, and Space Cat, by Ruthven Todd. Both were illustrated by Paul Galdone, who seems to have illustrated my childhood. During my pre-teen years, I became a big fan of Henry Gregor Felsen, who wrote several books about teenagers, cars, and the dangers of driving badly. They had titles like Hot Rod, Road Rocket, and Crash Club, to name just a few. They were weird mixtures of juvenalia and gore. The other book that comes to mind is Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, which holds up better than the rest of the aforementioned books.

I have to add "The Mouse and the Motorcyle", by Beverly Cleary.

I just remembered one of my first books, given to me for Christmas by Mum & Dad (I only believed in Santa Claus insofar as believing in Santa Claus cheered my parents, which thus cheered me, which thus meant we were all happy and I got more presents). Anyway, the book was Rusty, the Nimble Numbat. Oh, look, ebay has one for sale:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260211489912

I enjoyed that one. I'm not sure where it is, but probably still somewhere at Mum's place (she never chucks anything out).

Cheers,
Marc

Intersting document here that list original authors and re-write authors.

http://www.keeline.com/Hardy_Boys.pdf

BOb

That's very interesting - thanks. I hadn't actually realised that so many of the re-writes were completely new stories rather than "edits" of the originals.

Actually, no, not that one. This one:
http://www.amazon.com/Island-Blue-Dolphins-Scott-ODell/dp/0440940001/
"Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott ODell. Text says it was based on a true story. I don't think I knew that!I immediately knew exactly which one you were talking about, badgoodDeb. I guess that it made more of an impression on me than I realized. :nice:

Several of my childhood favorites are mentioned above. But I still fondly remember, and occasionally reread when possible, books by Rosemary Sutcliff and Ronald Welch (Ronald Oliver Felton). I wonder if either author is available in ebooks?

I also enjoyed Madye Chastain's quartet set in 1850's New York city.

Barb

Long in-tooth childhood brought me to Denis Wheatley's works - especially the Roger Brook and Gregory Sallust storylines ...

Ghosts Who Went to School (http://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Went-School-First-Printing/dp/B000NLBX66/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210183832&sr=8-1)

That was about when I was 6. It is amazing that after all these years, I still can remember the cover. And Mortimer and Wilbur.

I just have to read that again.

The first "adult" book I remember reading and loving was The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, when I was 10.

I should add Charlotte's Web to this list. Our second grade teacher read this to us. About the only thing I remember from second grade.

BOb

I read all the Hardy Boys, Young Detectives, and a vast selection of sports books. But the First book I remember which really carried me to a different place was "A Wrinkle In Time" by L'Engle. I mourned her passing.

Okay, just to make me show my age:
Tom Swift
Hardy Boys
Tarzan
Classic Comics
Dr. Dolittle
Uncle Wiggily

Enid Blytons (pretty much all the books, including school stories), William (Richmal Crompton), Edgar Wallace, Sudden (Oliver Strange), Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour, all the Perry Masons, Agatha Christie, JH Chase, PG Wodehouse, Robert Ludlum. Too bad all these folks have since gone to the big Library in the Sky!

The first "adult" book I remember reading and loving was The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, when I was 10.

Wow - that's pretty heavy stuff for a 10 year old!

Wow - that's pretty heavy stuff for a 10 year old!

Not sure I completely understood the all the "heavy stuff" in the novel. I saw it more as an adventure story in a Twilight Zone fashion. But it started my love of Science Fiction and Bradbury, I went from there to Rocket Summer, and Fahrenheit 451. I actually ended up giving a book report on Fahrenheit 451.

I believe I reported it was about firemen.:)

And if Bradbury were to rewrite Fahrenheit 451, what temperature do eInk screens burn at?

I actually ended up giving a book report on Fahrenheit 451.

I believe I reported it was about firemen.:)

:p


(the message i have entered is too short. please lengthen it to at least 5 characters.)

I was 11 when I read Fahrenheit 451 and was staggered by it. The Martian Chronicles was a bit later, around 14. I was a geek before there were geeks, I knew of *no one* else my age who read for recreation much less read SF. It wasn't *cool* to read for fun. My parents would take the the family to the library once every two weeks and I'd spend an hour or so pouring over all the books, looking at magazines and reading newspapers from all over, at least the English language newspapers.

Not sure I completely understood the all the "heavy stuff" in the novel. I saw it more as an adventure story in a Twilight Zone fashion. But it started my love of Science Fiction and Bradbury, I went from there to Rocket Summer, and Fahrenheit 451. I actually ended up giving a book report on Fahrenheit 451.

I believe I reported it was about firemen.:)

It is about firemen. The protagonist of the book is exactly that - a fireman.

It is about firemen. The protagonist of the book is exactly that - a fireman.

Harry, it behooves me to mention, as one of the Unutterably Silly, the distinct possibility that Donnageddon may be an Unutterably Silly person that has been sneaking under the radar.

I can only offer the suggestion, therefore, that in the aforesaid "book report" Donnageddon may have had his lingua firmly emplaced within his bucca.

On behalf of the Unutterably Silly, may I offer our apologies for this interruption to regular transmission. ;)

Cheers,
Marc (CHERRYPOPBOING!-uggle-uggle-uggle)

Captain Grant's Children by Jules Verne
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Search_of_the_Castaways

and of course Two Years' Vacation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Years%27_Vacation

It is about firemen. The protagonist of the book is exactly that - a fireman.

Thanks, Harry. I guess I deserved that gold star for my report!

:)

The Secret Garden - just as good now as an ebook

The Black Octopus, George E. Rochester - the book that started me out as a sci-fi collector. Got it from the school library. Unobtainable now.

anything Roald Dahl.

Nancy Drew
Bobbsey Twins
Babysitters Club
Ronald Dahl
Seuss
Anne of Green Gables series
The Secret Garden
The Railroad car kids (cannot remember the name of that series)
Chronicles of Narnia
Little House on the Prairie books
Watership Down
The Dana Fuller Ross books that are 25 books named after a state starting with Independence and I think ending with Celebration - I'd love to get that series in ebook format!

Nancy Drew
The Railroad car kids (cannot remember the name of that series)

The Boxcar Kids. I'm pretty sure that's the series you're referring to.

Not a "book" technically, but I vividly remember getting National Geographic's "World" magazine.

"National Geographic" always used to be a favourite in the school library - especially the issues featuring those parts of the world where clothes are not in fashion :).

Yes, the ever popular photojournalist explorations of the "Ubangee Ubetcha" tribal dances.

"National Geographic" always used to be a favourite in the school library - especially the issues featuring those parts of the world where clothes are not in fashion :).

Scotland :p

Scotland :p


Oi .... :chinscratch:

"National Geographic" always used to be a favourite in the school library - especially the issues featuring those parts of the world where clothes are not in fashion :).

I don't remember pictures from the Greek Islands in that magazine.

BOb

Well.. I do remember some pictures from polynesia. :wink: