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Archive through February 14, 2006

Reality TVClubHouse Discussions: Movies & Library ARCHIVES: Movies & Library 2010-1: Your favorite book of all time!: Archive through February 14, 2006 users admin

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Escapee
Member

06-15-2004

Monday, January 09, 2006 - 10:06 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Escapee a private message Print Post    
Beverly Cleary!

Tabbyking
Member

03-11-2002

Monday, January 09, 2006 - 11:18 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Tabbyking a private message Print Post    
all the talk of cherry ames and trixie belden brings back some good old memories! did you ever read the lennon sisters books? they were in the same vein.

i also loved the 'bio' stories with cut block pictures. i remember that the one on louisa may alcott was my favorite. little girls rolling hoops in the street for fun and how she wrote little women from so much she went through or saw as a kid...they taught me a lot of history while being fun-to-read stories like little house on the prairie.
the first book i remember reading for myself was 'the boxcar children'. our 2nd grade teacher read us a chapter each day. i couldn't wait for her, so i went to the library and checked it out and read the entire book in two days. not bad for just turning 7. another favorite, which i re-read several times, was called 'escape from warsaw' and it was about kids who were left homeless during the war and had to escape. i have no idea who wrote it and haven't seen it in years. i remember that i bought it through the little paper catalogs that came to school every month or so, before they had bookfairs.
there was a book i loved in 5th grade because it was called 'katie john'. my nickname was katie (a teacher refused to try and pronounce michaela) and my boyfriend was john. he cut out the ad from the little paper and stuck it on the corkboard and put a + sign between "katie" and "john".
i used to stay home sick when i was 8 or 9. my mom had the entire original nancy drew books in navy blue leather bindings. i remember having to have my little dictionary with me because i didn't know what 'running boards', 'torches' and other things were!

Metoo
Member

02-22-2005

Monday, January 09, 2006 - 11:39 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Metoo a private message Print Post    
Westtexan...as a children's librarian also, it really gets me excited to see adults that fondly remember their favorite books from childhood and want to share them with their own children.

Escapee
Member

06-15-2004

Monday, January 09, 2006 - 1:56 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Escapee a private message Print Post    
I remember escape from war saw and I remember those little "Scholastic" paper book advertisements that they used to hand out! Wow, such memories. Another couple of my favorites were Mrs. Frisbee and the rats of Nimh and Nothing's fair in the fifth grade.

I am going to have to start stockpiling these books for my two daughters. Anyone wanting to get rid of good reads like these, let me know, I will take them off of your hands. (Dang I need a book shelf.)

Weinermr
Member

08-18-2001

Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 4:17 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Weinermr a private message Print Post    
Childhood memories....

Black Beauty, Call of the Wild, Heidi, I read those three over, and over, and over again. The Dr. Doolittle series, the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Martian Chronicles, the Foundation trilogy, Brighty of the Grand Canyon, and the so very wonderful Mushroom Planet books by Eleanor Cameron. So many others I can't even remember at the moment.

When I got a bit older, I read all the Sherlock Holmes stories, from the very first all the way to the very last, and reread them again. I used to sit in college lectures, with my Sherlock Holmes book open, taking notes with one hand, reading as much as I could at the same time. I wonder why I dropped out of college at the time LOL.

Yesitsme
Member

08-24-2004

Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 8:01 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Yesitsme a private message Print Post    
Oh Escapee, I remember just pouring over those Scholastic papers for hours trying to figure out the one book that I would order (my parents would let me choose one each time.) I would probably do the same thing today. Most of the kids I know don't love reading and I hate that for them. It has always given me such delight!

Mamie316
Member

07-08-2003

Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 9:24 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mamie316 a private message Print Post    
I got a lot of really good little books from Scholastic. I still have some of them.

Tabbyking
Member

03-11-2002

Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 10:23 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Tabbyking a private message Print Post    
i loved the scholastic books and we got to choose only one, too. i don't personally like the school book fairs of today. the whole thing for me when i ran them was to get kids to see what they really wanted to read. i would let entire classes in for their entire half hour time. the principal got mad and told me 5 kids could come in at a time and they got 3 minutes as a group. helper parents would have little slips of paper and write down half a dozen things whether the kid picked out the books or not. i used to get furious when my kids would come home with a list of books they never saw or heard of and i'd get a total of 28 bucks due or something. i can remember being so excited to get the new scholastic catalog and spending so long picking my one book!
it's too bad so much of school things are about making money more than making readers...

i finally quit working the fairs, quit buying books for my kids through them and both kids got library cards instead and could spend hours at the library or bring a book home on loan.

there was another set of books i loved and i'll be dipped if i remember the names or author. there were maybe 3 books and it was turn of the century america and there were 3 or 4 daughters. i remember that the mom would hide pennies for when the girls had to clean house. i think i was maybe 11 when i read them. does the premise sound familiar to anyone?!
i would love to find some books i read as a child. i do have most of the happy hollister set, which i found on ebay a few years back.

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 11:40 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
Island of the Blue Dolphins, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, most the classics, lol, I could go on and on! 4th-6th grade we had to work throughout the school (in the cafeteria, helping tutor younger kids or in the library.) I was always sent to the library being one of the few in my classes who read for fun and I'm almost positive during those three years I raced through every book there. I liked some, loved some, and hated some, though I read through each and everyone of them because it just seemed wrong not to finish a book I'd started. Picking just a few as favorites is close to impossible, lol, though I did enjoy more the books that came in series (still do.) Stand alone books are great but I like those that develop characters and a story over time.

Just off the top of my head some of the ones we've shared with the kids (besides the usual Dr Seuss and any of Silverstein's books) are the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (dang I can't remember the author but there's several books in that series.) I know theres more but my mind has gone blank, lol.

I love Scholastic! Because their prices are so dang reasonable, I usually order several books at a time from each of the kids catalogs, then do a fairly large order around Christmas. Not only for my kids, but I give books as gifts for the neices, nephews, neighbor and friend kids. We got the new catalogs today and I haven't had a chance to go through them yet. Kidlets still have about 30 bucks in gc's for the bookstore so I'm thinking this will be an order to put up for gifts rather than something for them.

Mamie316
Member

07-08-2003

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 7:27 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mamie316 a private message Print Post    
I used to handle the book orders for my kids' class. I would always buy a ton of the Scholastic books, a lot of them the teacher would recommend to me.

My daycare kids go to the book fair at their school and end up buying junk. They never buy books. They buy posters and little toys.

Yesitsme
Member

08-24-2004

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 8:00 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Yesitsme a private message Print Post    
My friends used to buy posters, too...I think Scholastic was the proud retailers of the "Hang in there" kittie cat! I would have never wasted my precious choice on posters....books were always better to me.

I thought about another series I liked. Encyclopedia Brown. Those were fun. And the 4th Grade Nothing author was Judy Blume, I believe. She started writing at the end of childhood years. I loved her, too. LOL....I remember that I thought she was rather racy. Thrilling!

One of my heroines of my growing up years was the children's librarian at our public library. She was always so encouraging to me....and even let me break the 6-book maximum rule on occasion. She was the perfect person for that job...she loved books herself and always had a bit of a gleam in her eye, like she suspected she knew the plot of life.

Mamie316
Member

07-08-2003

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 8:05 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mamie316 a private message Print Post    
One of the books I bought from Scholastic back when I was in school was Life Among The Savages by Shirley Jackson. I loved it back then and loved it more when I became a mother myself and understood exactly what she was writing about. I recently ordered a double edition of that one and the sequel Raising Demons. I can't wait to reread the savages and read the demons.

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 10:06 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
Judy Blume! Thank you Yes that was driving me nuts last night but I didn't want to go searching through Kota's bookcase to find the books in the middle of the night, lol.

I hate book fairs. Yep there's the little toys and posters which always seem to catch kids eyes first, but everyone I've ever been too is so chaotic. Books are just thrown out on tables or racks with no seperating them by age or subject and the kids have to dig through everything to find something they want to read thats not too young or old for them. Plus when I take the kids to buy books I like for them to have a place where they can sit down, get comfy and read a little to see if this is a book they'll like. B&N has a bunch of little seating areas, especially in the kids section where the kids can plop down and read for awhile, even Waldens (or Borders now I guess) which is in a tiny little shop has several places for them to sit down and read. Our book fairs always end up being in a classroom that's packed with people where you can barely move without running into someone and certainly can't sit and get comfy with a book! Must be a throwback to the library when I was a kid, lol, they had a corner with pillows, several comfy chairs, or even if you wanted places you could lay down, kick your shoes off, and get busy reading. buying a book should be almost as much fun as reading it, not rushing through some busy room and having to wait til you get home to find out exactly what it is you just bought!

Escapee, I just gave away two boxes of books Monday that the kids have outgrown. Before Caleb was born we'd started buying children's books. Didn't have a ton of money so we started with everytime I went to buy a book I'd buy a kids book too. And when Christmas rolled around and people'd ask what I wanted, I say oh a set of Dr Seuss books, lol. That year Caleb got Dr Seuss, a set of Hardy Boys books, several younger children books, and a subscription to Highlights magazine addressed to Baby Wargod since he wasn't born! Seemed a little silly, but it was important to me they had a good collection. We've been very lucky too, having a lot of kids in the family that are different ages and friends with kids that books, much like clothes, have been passed around and around. Once someone outgrows them they get passed down. Sometimes you end up with what you'd already given away if you had a second baby. Since we stress these books are theirs now but will one day be someone elses they tend to take pretty good care of them. Swapping them back and forth is a great way to keep kids in books, specially if theres age gaps and one child is growing out of them as another is growing into them.

Mamie316
Member

07-08-2003

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 10:13 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mamie316 a private message Print Post    
When I had my son, I entered every book club imaginable. I was always at the book store with him, buying more books. The same with when my daughter was born. I passed the most of them down to my sister's kids. They've been truly loved and that's the best thing about books.

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 10:34 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
Agreed Mamie! I came close to throwing a couple books away the other day (missing covers or a couple ripped pages) and then remembered they'd been through probably 6 or 7 little sets of hands. They still were readable and had all the pages so in the box they went to be shared between my youngest nephew and two youngest nieces.

One of the funnest parts about passing down the books, especially the ones the kids really love, is listening to them after the cousins or friends have read them. "Mommy just finished reading me that Junie B. book you sent over, I loved it when..." and then they talk about their favorite parts. For a book lover, it's totally awesome to hear kids discuss books!

Mamie316
Member

07-08-2003

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 10:57 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mamie316 a private message Print Post    
I so agree, War! I love when the kids are so into a story. A lot of my kids' favorites became my niece and nephew's favorites. I have rebought (don't even know if that's a word!) some of my kids' favorites for them now. (they are 23 and 20) I know that they will love reading them to their kids one day because they do bring back many happy memories.

Yesitsme
Member

08-24-2004

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 11:38 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Yesitsme a private message Print Post    
Even though I was the 2nd of 5 children, I still have my books. My older sister would pass them on to me, but I REFUSED to part with them. (The exception was "The Wind in the Willows," which is the one book I had but never read and I don't think they would take that one since they knew it wasn't special ro me.) I have not had a niece or nephew that have inherited my love of reading yet, though a couple of my younger nieces are showing promise.

Tabbyking
Member

03-11-2002

Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 6:24 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Tabbyking a private message Print Post    
my mom read us 'the wind in the willows' when i was really little. it was fun just to have us all piled in a bed and her reading to us. and i remember 'brer rabbit' and 'tar baby' and a lot of other characters that she introduced us to. we had a manx cat that we called 'tar baby'.

Chaplin
Member

01-08-2006

Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 10:05 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Chaplin a private message Print Post    
The Diary Of Anne Frank, Island Of The Blue Dolphin, Jane Eyre, The Little House Books, Louisa May Alcott books, To Kill A Mockingbird, A Separate Peace, Mary Queen Of Scots, Tom Brown's School Days and many more to list.

I was a serious reader as a kid and read many adult books that the librarian kept trying to tell me were beyond my years. I learned to read when I was 3 so I was always advanced in language and reading.

My Mom finally told the librarian once that if she did not believe me that I could read these books and comprehend them then she would prove I could. So I read to the librarian and told her what the story was about that I reading. Then I gave her a written book report on two books. Well she never stopped me again!

Kattatude
Member

04-28-2005

Monday, February 13, 2006 - 9:46 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Kattatude a private message Print Post    
Grimm's Fairy Tales is the book that began my love for reading as a child. Heidi, Little Women, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Diary of Anne Frank and Nancy Drew were some of my favorites way back then. In high school, the book that made the biggest impact on me was Exodus by Leon Uris.

I can't remember exactly when I read Sophie's Choice, whether it was high school or shortly after, but that's another book that deeply affected me.

Some of my favorite authors are Pat Conroy, John Irving, Taylor Caldwell, Leon Uris, Herman Wouk, Maeve Binchy, Pearl S. Buck and Larry McMurtry.

Chaplin
Member

01-08-2006

Monday, February 13, 2006 - 4:57 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Chaplin a private message Print Post    
I love Leon Uris!!!!!!! QB VII was the first of his I read in High School as we had to do it as a project for Law class as there was this wonderful example of a great Libel case in it. Then I saw it on TV and now I own that on DVD as well as Exodus. I have seen Mila 18 also on TV and want to find that on DVD. I was also profoundly amazed by his book Trinity. His books were always good. The book of photography his wife wrote on Ireland was beautiful. Too bad Leon Uris has passed away. I also love Herman Wouk and want to get both of his Winds Of War Miniseries on DVD.

Teachmichigan
Member

07-22-2001

Monday, February 13, 2006 - 6:44 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Teachmichigan a private message Print Post    
Excellent choices Chaplin! I love Uris (reading Battle Cry at the moment), and Wouk has been a favorite since Jr. High (and the miniseries). I started reading him them, and it's still a great pleasure to pick up one of his books in the summer and just wallow in it!

Supergranny
Member

02-03-2005

Monday, February 13, 2006 - 8:40 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Supergranny a private message Print Post    
Uris also wrote the Haj...especially relevant in this day of suspicion and prejudice.

Maris
Member

03-28-2002

Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - 6:27 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Maris a private message Print Post    
I dont have a favorite book of all time but these are some that I loved and have read many times.

Burr - Gore Vidal
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
The Mayor of Casterbridge - Thomas Hardy
The Good Earth - Pearl Buck
Sons and Lovers - D.H. Lawrence

Anything by John LeCarre, Trevanian.

Colordeagua
Member

10-25-2003

Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - 9:09 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Colordeagua a private message Print Post    
A childhood memory....

Little me was sitting in a BIG green naugahyde (vinyl/plastic) chair in the warm sun in our enclosed front porch reading a book about Jane Addams and Hull House. Our beagle puppy was sleeping in the chair with me with his head on my lap. I was stroking his black "licorice button" nose with my thumb.

Wish I could go back to that day.