Question du jour

[vanillafluffy]

In the spirit of back-to-school, what is your favorite book that you had to read as a student?

Treasure Island. As far as I'm concerned, that's the ONLY good thing that happened in 6th grade. Our teacher was a 24-karat asshole, I have no other good memories of that year, but the adventures of Jim Hawkins are a shining exception

Comments

[jdsgirlbev]

As a student, nothing stands out. But when I was in..umm..grade 5 or 6, I found The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath by Alan Garner. For years he refused to write the last book in what was planned to be a trilogy, because he had grown to dislike the characters(!) and his then style of writing (!!) BUT I have NEVER grown tired of Colin and Susan, Gowther or Cadellin. They are great childrens book, and more people, adults included should find and read them. I just read that he's released Boneland which finishes the trilogy, just last month. YEA!!

Another set of FANTASTIC books is The Dark is Rising sequence. Seven books written by Susan Cooper.

[vanillafluffy]

When I run out of stuff on my Nook, I may have to look them up!

In high school, I started reading Howard Pease, who wrote boys' adventure-on-the-high-seas stories in the 30s and 40s. I've read as many as I could find---they're not easy to find, and these days, cost the earth, as they're out of print. (And VERY non-PC.)

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[vanillafluffy]

On the short list of reasons I kinda wish I'd had a kid, sharing favorite books with them is huge. I was lucky in that my mom read to me (at least til I was old enough to read for myself (thru kindergarten), and afterward bought me books regularly. Even when I was well past Nancy Drew and the Bobbsey Twins, she'd hand me a book when she was done with it, or a novella/condensed book in some 'zine---back in the days when women's mags actually published fic....

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[vanillafluffy]

My mom hooked me on Dick Francis---"Enquiry" was condensed for one of her 'zines, "Travels With Charlie" and others. My dad was mostly about Louis L'Amour---"Down the Long Hills" hooked me there---although he also gave me "Breed of Giants", a marvelous book about Shire horses in England. My brother got into the act, too---being 15 years older than me, he passed along Mary O'Hara's Goose Bar Ranch trilogy, which I appreciate more now than I did then. As a kid, I read it for the horses; these days I marvel at the panoramic view of Wyoming and the way she undersstands the mysteries of the human heart.

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