I have a huge collection of books. I am sure I'm not alone here.
What I find interesting is the ones from my childhood I choose to keep. Even more, the kids' books I pull out and reread every once in a while.
I certainly read a lot of Trixie Beldon and Nancy Drew in my day and, while I still am fond of mysteries, I have no compulsion to keep those books around, and even less to reread them.
But there's a stash. It includes A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN, SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON, MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, and the MAIDA and MARY JANE books. (Anybody familiar with the last ones? They're very old; I have a MARY JANE printed in 1918, and MAIDA books from the early 20's. The MARY JANE books are basically travelogues for kids; she lives in/traipses through most of Europe. The MAIDA books are about a poor, sickly little rich girl whose powerful father basically arranges all kinds of cool adventures for her.)
I'm not sure what that list of books says about me. That I have a wanderlust, I suppose, though I don't indulge it as much as I like. Do I have a secret adventurous side? Perhaps I only like to read about adventures. But maybe I have it hidden inside of me, locked up because I'm too scared to run with it. Hmm.
Do you have books from your youth that you hang on to/reread? And is there a common thread there?
Susie
I was given Shel Silverstein's A Light In the Attic when I was young. I've reread it several times, and a few months back, I bought several other of his poem books. My DH read them to my pregnant belly and now I share them with my little boy.
ReplyDeleteSadly, Suz, I don't have any books from my own childhood. There was a fabulous book of fairytales that was so worn it had no cover-- and I'd give a lot to know what happened to it. I did read Nancy Drew a lot and a number of other things-- but have none of those books now. I loved the mysteries and the books that had young girls doing adventuresome things-- though I can't seem to recall authors or titles!
ReplyDeleteHowever I have a number of my sons' books. . . still packed away and waiting for the grands. Hey-- I have grands now. I should go find those boxes, unpack them, and ship them to the kids! Thanks for the jog to memory!
Susie--
ReplyDeleteI love MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN and was quite thrilled to see it in an airport bookstore last week when I was browsing the young adult section.
I loved THE SECRET GARDEN. I still have my collection of the POOH books. (I got my son his own set.)
THE BLACK STALLION, maybe because it was my daddy's book.
Hmmm...I'm seeing a pattern here. It's about people controlling their lives and being unwilling to accept a no. (g)
I still have all of my Little House books, which I still read when the mood strikes.
ReplyDeleteI still have all of my Trixie Belden, Nancy Drews, and Hardy Boys. The books I've been kicking myself for ever giving away are my Sweet Valley Highs. I keep thinking that if I ever get a niece out of my bro & SIL, I'd love her to read them.
The others I wish I still had are my Betsy & Tacy books (anyone remember them?). I LOVED those books when I was a little girl and felt like I grew up with them, since I read Betsy Gets Married. I still remember the description of Tib's front door. :) I'm 30 and read them for the last time when I was around 12. I miss them.
Isn't nostalgia an interesting feeling? It always makes me wish I could go back to my childhood (just not school).
I read all the Trixie Beldon and Nancy Drew books, plus the Bobsey Twins and Cherry Ames. I also fondly remember all the children's classics, i.e. Black Beauty, Treasure Island, etc. I don't have any of those, though (no idea what happened to them!)
ReplyDeleteThe books I did keep--actually, the books I hunted down as an adult--were the Elswyth Thane books I first read when I was about 13. I've got hard copies of her entire Williamsburg series and most of her other titles. I re-read them on a regular basis.
Not only do I have books from my childhood. I have books from my mother's childhood that I have passed on to my daughters. All time favorites are Little Women and Little House in the Big Woods. I have romances from early teens, Mary Stewart, Jill Tattersall, Jane Aiken Hodge so forth.
ReplyDeleteI have a house filled with books, which is how I like i.