 |
| Welcome to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day in April (except Sundays), I’ll be sharing a short bookish memory with you. |
In my last Blogging from A to Z challenge post,
I talked about how I was a reluctant reader until I discovered that some books
don’t suck. Conveniently for this challenge, two of those non-sucky books start
with T.
As an elementary school student, my parents and
teachers forced me to read every day, and by the time I got to fifth grade, I
was bored with children’s books. I wanted to read an adult book. So, I snuck
one out of my parents’ dresser drawer. The book turned out to be Stephen King’s
The Tommyknockers. I managed to read
the majority of it before my parents discovered I had it and took it away. This
book got me hooked on horror. After my Tommyknockers
experience, I wanted to read more scary books.
The Tommyknockers – Stephen King
Something was happening in Bobbi Anderson's idyllic small town of Haven, Maine. Something that gave every man, woman, and child in town powers far beyond ordinary mortals. Something that turned the town into a death trap for all outsiders. Something that came from a metal object, buried for millennia, that Bobbi accidentally stumbled across.
It wasn't that Bobbi and the other good folks of Haven had sold their souls to reap the rewards of the most deadly evil this side of hell. It was more like a diabolical takeover . . . an invasion of body and soul—and mind.
The second book that helped turn me into a
bookworm was Bridge to Terabithia by
Katherine Paterson. This one was a Christmas gift from my parents. It was more
age-appropriate than my stolen Stephen King book. Terabithia had everything I didn’t know I wanted in a novel. It has
a rural setting, a little bit of magic, and some serious topics. Even as a kid,
I hated reading fluff. I read this book so many times that I had parts of it
memorized.
Bridge to Terabithia – Katherine Paterson
Jess Aarons' greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in his grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new girl boldly crosses over to the boys' side and outruns everyone.
That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie Burke become inseparable. Together they create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods where the two of them reign as king and queen, and their imaginations set the only limits.
It’s slightly strange that I connected with both
of these books. They don’t have much in common. But, if I hadn’t read them, I
probably wouldn’t be running a book blog right now. These were the stories that
helped me realize that books could be entertaining.
What’s the first book that you remember loving?
Wow, it's awesome that you still remember the books that made you love books and reading. I, unfortunately, cannot remember my favorite childhood books. I do remember that I loved graphic books when I was in Junior high school.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I love this challenge. I want to participate someday.
Thanks for sharing. :)
I hope you do participate next year! It’s challenging (I guess that’s the point of a _challenge_), but it’s a lot of fun.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Another reluctant reader here. I prefered living in my own imaginary worlds as a kid, not being shuttled off to someone else's. A middle school teacher picked up on my love of horses to get me reading Walter Farley, Marguerite Henry, Patsy Grey and other horse-centric stuff.
ReplyDeleteThe first book I remember loving deeply was A Wrinkle in Time. I felt like it so "got" the feeling of being a brainy weirdo who didn't fit in socially and longed for something more than the petty concerns and squabbles of middle school.
http://laurelgarver.blogspot.com/2017/04/t-thankful.html
I read a lot of horse-centric stuff, too! I loved Black Beauty, The Black Stallion, and the Misty books.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I honestly don't remember anything from childhood. I loved to read but can't remember what. In high school I loved Catcher in the Rye and The Color Purple.
ReplyDeleteI still need to read The Color Purple. I liked Catcher in high school, but I didn’t really appreciate it until I reread it as an adult.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
The first book that really stuck with me was The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I read it when I was six and fell in love with the world and the sense of adventure. I suspect that the games I tended to play for a while after that had a lot of dragons and adventures in them!
ReplyDeleteCait @ Click's Clan
I read The Hobbit so many times as I kid. I was also a little obsessed with it.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I think I've loved books since I was a baby. I still have some of my favorite first books - the ones I learned to "read" by memorizing the story. My niece was a reluctant reader until we discovered the Gateway Chronicles by KB Hoyle. We couldn't read them to her fast enough so she started reading them herself. And then she couldn't put a book down. I sent her two big books for her birthday which she got on Friday. I told that I was glad they came in time for the weekend so she could maybe read one. She assured me they would both be done before the end of the weekend. Girl Who Reads
ReplyDeleteI’m glad your niece found some books she loves! Sometimes the right book makes all the difference.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
The first book I really loved, and still have the original copy of, is Bears in the Night by Stan Berenstain. I loved the cartoon bears! The Black Stallion books were an obsession with me as well-I loved the horse races in them!
ReplyDeleteI loved The Black Stallion books, too. As a preteen, I’d read anything with a horse on the cover.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I read Terabithia as an adult and enjoyed it but haven't read Tommyknockers (but I know some of their stories from mining communities in the West).
ReplyDeletehttp://sagecoveredhills.blogspot.com/2017/04/u-is-for-ursa-major.html
Tommyknockers isn’t King’s best work, but it’s the first King book I read, so I’ll always love it.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Awesome story! I snuck books out of my mom's bookshelf. I wish she had had something like Stephen King there for me to steal. I remember reading so very age inappropriate romances. Glad you found these as a child.
ReplyDeleteJane Eyre was the first book I remember loving. Mostly because of the bullying scenes at the beginning of the story. It helped me feel I was not alone.
ReplyDeleteI adored Bridge to Terabithia when I was a kid. I thin I read Tommyknockers too, but I'm not 100% positive.
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction