Following on the heels of Ginger and Shalini, here are my first books (as I remember them):
First Book I Loved: Relic (Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child)
I loved a lot of books as a young kid, but this was the first book I remember not being able to put down. I was probably 14, and seriously, I think I read it in three sittings. And FYI, the movie DOES NOT do the book justice. Fun fact: the characters from Relic are still a staple in newer Preston/Child books as they continue to develop the story. Highly recommend.
First Book I Hated: The Jungle (Upton Sinclair)
Really, 7th grade language arts teacher? Really? What you saw: a graphic and compelling message about society and socialism. What we saw: a boring to the point of being comical book about meat.
First Series I Read: Christopher Pike’s Remember Me Series
I loved horror as a kid – it was macabre and creepy and totally irritated my mom. Pike’s content also tends to slant supernatural, which is always interesting to me.
First Fantasy/Sci-Fi Book I Read: A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L’Engle)
Every kid should read this book because it makes you think about things bigger than yourself. Science, time, space, human relation – it’s a lot for preteens to handle but you come out the other side better after having to wrap your mind around it for a couple hundred pages.
First Book That Made Me Cry From Laughing: If Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? (Erma Bombeck)
I found this in our bathroom reading bin at age 15 and couldn’t put in down. I still love Erma Bombeck. She’s an astute observer of society, an acerbic wit, and a fantastic writer. Basically, she’d be the best blogger ever if she was still around.
First YA Book I Read and Loved: Island of the Blue Dolphins (Scott O’Dell)
This story resonates with young girls, even if they don’t know why. To this day, I can’t recount the story, but I remember feeling empowered by it.
First Horror Book I Read: Ripper (Michael Slade)
I blew through a bunch of Christopher Pike books before taking on actual adult horror. Ripper is part mystery, part all-out slasher. I’ve read it like five times.
First Book I Was Completely Obsessed With: Chronicle of A Death Foretold (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
Book obsession didn’t hit me until I was in my teens; as a kid I had bazillions of new books to read thanks to Mom’s penchant for unloading $200+ at book fairs every few months. But Garcia Marquez’s beautiful story hit me like a freight train with its blend of emotion, family, violence, tradition, and elegy. So many things all mixed together.
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