Ten Books from My Childhood I'd Love to Revisit -A Top Ten Tuesday for Thursday

I've just discovered a wonderful book blog -The Broke and the Bookish- where they not only talk constantly of books, but have a weekly book meme for other bloggers to participate in.

Where have you been all my life?

I'm a little late to participate in this week's meme -but then I realized I don't really care. It's too fun to pass up! So here is a Top Ten Tuesday for your Thursday.

Ten Books from My Childhood/Teen Years I'd Like to Revisit

(In no particular order)

1. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

This series was the bait that finally hooked me onto reading when I was about seven or eight. My mom was almost at her wit's end trying to find something that I would read, and The Magician's Nephew is what finally sealed the deal. Narnia was also my first introduction to the fantasy genre.


2. Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

(It really says something when my spell check insists 'Chincoteague' is not a word. Somebody needs to be edumacated about the important things in life.)

Very much a horse lover as a child, I've lost count of how many times I've listened to this on audio. I lived and breathed this story. And once I found out that Chincoteague was a real place and Pony Penning Day was an actual event? My parents never heard the end of it. I haven't hit that festival yet, but it's still on my Bucket List.
As a side note, the version narrated by John McDonough is the best, but Edward Hermann did a decent job too.


3. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede

The series has had a few redesigns, but don't be fooled. These are the TRUE covers.

Yet another series I strictly listened to, but I listened to them a lot. I discovered Princess Cimorene, the dragon Kazul, and the talkative magician Telemain around my tween years, and have only just introduced my parents to the first book. Family road trips for the world! Finally, they get to fall in love with the series my sister and I were (perhaps overly) obsessed with way back when.


4. Artemis Fowl series (and everything else) by Eoin Colfer

I discovered Eoin Colfer in my later teens, and I've been a huge fan since. Not only does he tell amazing stories, not only are his stories fun and creative, but he also happens to be a great writer, and has influenced my own writing far beyond any other author to date. I read through his collection every couple of years. And, and did I tell you about that time I met him?

 Me and Eoin Colfer. (Seriously, that never gets old.)

5. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

While I read the entire Time Quartet, this has and always will be my favorite. It was the first sci-fi book I ever read and it was new and different and intelligent and incredible. (For those of you interested in audiobooks, there is a version narrated by Madeleine L'Engle herself. In. Cred. I. Ble.)

6. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Narnia and Lewis may have introduced me to fantasy, but Tolkien showed me the epic end of the genre, bringing me into a world completely set apart from our own. This book taught me that imagination is an incredible gift. This was also one of the last books in my family's 'Dad Reads Out Loud' entertainment. After this, it was harder to find books both my sister and I liked, and I always wanted to keep reading when my dad wanted to stop. That's when I started reading to him, instead. For me, The Lord of the Rings quickly followed, but it was never quite the same without my dad trying to remember the different voices of thirteen dwarves, one wizard, and one burglar from one night to the next.

7. The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

I discovered this audiobook around the same time as Tolkien's books. It was charming and fun and different, and it had that 'classic' feel for me that I really loved. There was a sequel I read (The Princess and Curdie), but I never liked it as much. It always felt too moral-heavy, and I didn't like that Curdie went from being the perfect child to needing a lesson. Curdie was kind of a hero of mine.



8. Redwall by Brian Jacques

This series hit a couple of firsts with me. They were the first books over 200 pages that I ever read, Martin the Warrior was the first book to ever make me cry, and within the pages of Mossflower it finally hit me that all those words on the page were actually put there, in that order, by someone. Boom. I wanted to be a writer.



9. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Barrie taught me that being a child was a good thing, and if you could hold on to that part of you when you grew up, even better.
This is also when I discovered that some of my favorite movies were based on books, which meant there was even more in them to explore. *gasp*

 

10. The Princess Bride by William Goldman

 

This was a big deal for me in my teens. I grew up on this movie. I adored this movie. I quoted this movie with my family over breakfast, lunch, and anytime someone mentioned 'peanuts' or used the word 'inconceivable' (which, granted, didn't happen often unless we were setting ourselves up for it). When I found out it was a book, I was ecstatic. I did make my mom proof-read it, though. I was very impressionable and I didn't read adult fiction for reasons. So not only was this an added dimension to an old favorite, it was also the first adult fiction I ever read.

So there they are! Ten books that shaped me into who I am that I'd love to read again (and again and again and again).

What are some of your favorite childhood reads?