What book(s) kindled* your love of reading?

[wiggydiggy]

Some images of the books I have:

Five on a Treasure Island
A Famous Five book but from 1950 when they were known as the 'Fives Books' and just called 'Five [insert adventure title]'
The second image show some of the rather spiffing drawings these books are often enhanced by.



The Famous Five - Five on Finniston Farm
1979 now and a cover using images from the 1970s TV series, this has been released on DVD though I've never seen it.


Mystery - The Three Investigators
This is a compilation published by Marks and Spencer of the 'Alfred Hitchcock Introduces' The Three Investigators series though I believe these stories were written later.


Dreamtime (Compilation)
Stories specially written for the Australian Childrens Book Council, the theme in this is 'Dreamtime' which is Aboriginal in origin. Some of these stories deal with racism which I found hard to understand as a youngster, other stories go into wild fantasy. A great collection.


The Hardy Boys - The Mystery of the Disapearing Floor
The mystery Franklin W Dixon strikes again, it's interesting that the image on the front doesn't match the actual events well at all but this is a theme common with all books I find!


Dan Dare - Pilot of the Future
A beautiful collection of the first Dan Dare serial from 1950, the original pages are scanned warts and all so you get a really good idea of what it was like to read these back in the day.

 

[Dadam]

A big Cornwell fan here. I started in the 90s with the Sharpe series after seeing the TV show around that time. I've read all the Sharpe, all the Grail series and the Saxon ones, plus the Arthur series.

 

[a.twiddler]

I distinctly remember getting the chills while reading an Edgar Allan Poe anthology in the school library one rainy lunchtime aged 13 or 14. "The Premature Burial", "The Cask of Amontillado", "The Imp of the Perverse", "The Tell Tale Heart", "The Pit and the Pendulum", etc. At that age I found it scary but addictive. This led to one of my younger aunts suggesting some stuff by Dennis Wheatley. I particularly remember "The Ka of Gifford Hillary" though was not so keen on some of his other work. This led to a phase of reading gothic horror stories and general thrillers, though I read a range of other genres as well.

We covered "The Dam Busters" as part of the curriculum which led to other WWII novels from the library. There was a lot of WWII literature about at the time, still in living memory for many, including my parents and grandparents, who weren't inclined to talk about it much.

 

[KnittyNorah]

I've been an avid reader for as long as I can remember. The furthest-back book I can distinctly remember was a picture-book abridged version of Black Beauty; this must have been very expensive in the early 1950s as it was beautiful full page, full-colour glossy illustrations throughout; I think it came from my uncle who was a farrier. I also have memories of Little Grey Rabbit (Alison Uttley), Brer Rabbit, and Milly-Molly-Mandy, certainly before the age of 7. Black Beauty stayed with me, I remember reading the unabridged version at about 9 or 10, still looking at the pictures of the abridged one alongside reading the tragedies of the unabridged one. I also enjoyed some Enid Blyton books(esp Mr Galliano's Circus, the Five and her Nature book), lots of pony/horse series (by Pullein-Thomson sisters, Ruby Ferguson, Golden Gorse and others), various classics and adventure stories - and boy's comics. Girls ones - Bunty, Girl and the like - were, in the main, sickly-sweet and twee with only very occasional mild excitement, but boys' comics - Hotspur, Rover, the Eagleand others - had all sorts of adventures in them! My best friend at primary school had a wealth of childrens books from the USA, via family connections, so the Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew were also favourites.
We also had a partial set of Arthur Mee's Childrens Encyclopedia (from pre-war times, maybe the 1920s) which I adored. Two primary school pals and I followed the instructions in one volume to make gunpowder ... we blew the window out of one of our dad's garden sheds. This would've been in 1958 or 59; imagine if a bunch of 10 and 11yos did that today; we'd all have been sent for anti-terrorist deprogramming or summ'at ...
At the age of about 12, I was off school for a few weeks due to illness and my mum brought me a few books from the library. A biography of Marie Curie, a book of French cookery recipes - mainly pastries - and various travel writers introduced me to the world of 'adult' books, and I loved biographies and travel writing ever after, alongside school English Literature 'forcing' me to read classic (both old and modern) fiction. No forcing was required! Oh and some of the French pastry recipes became family favourites. One in particular I wish I'd written down when I left home ...
Over the years, leisure reading has been widely spread - anything from biographies, travel writing, history, animals, science ... and fiction of various types. I rarely read 'the latest best seller' or 'chick-lit' (tbh not really sure what that is), but otherwise read avidly across a wide range of genres, including both classic and modern. I do keep trying fantasy/dystopia, but can't get 'into' it at all, although some (not all) scifi is enjoyable.

I spent almost five years without being able to read print media at all, due to degenerative and then-inoperable eyesight issues, and learnt the hard way why 'talking books' are not always an answer, let alone an enjoyable one, and came to understand why my blind auntie, who died when I was in my teens, had often preferred to use Braille.
Surgical developments returned my eyesight during Covid Year and I'm back again as a regular user of my local library. I still enjoy Black Beauty but have long since lost the beautiful illustrated version I had, although the pictures from it are still crystal clear in my mind.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

A big Cornwell fan here. I started in the 90s with the Sharpe series after seeing the TV show around that time. I've read all the Sharpe, all the Grail series and the Saxon ones, plus the Arthur series.

Out of interest, which series was your favourite? Mine were the first two books in the Arthur series which had me refusing to put them down (the third had a little too much sorcery for me). He also wrote a series set in the American Civil War, which didn't quite do it for me either. It's difficult to read any of the Sharpe series without visualising Sean Bean, who was superb for the role. Shortly after reading Sharpe's Sword I was in the Royal Armouries in Leeds and there it was - a Kligenthal (?) sword as described in the book. I had been expecting to see a Baker rifle and Nock volley gun, but not one of those.

 

[Dadam]

Out of interest, which series was your favourite? Mine were the first two books in the Arthur series which had me refusing to put them down (the third had a little too much sorcery for me). He also wrote a series set in the American Civil War, which didn't quite do it for me either. It's difficult to read any of the Sharpe series without visualising Sean Bean, who was superb for the role. Shortly after reading Sharpe's Sword I was in the Royal Armouries in Leeds and there it was - a Kligenthal (?) sword as described in the book. I had been expecting to see a Baker rifle and Nock volley gun, but not one of those.

I can't really call it between the Grail quest, Sharpe and the Saxon stories tbh. Depends what I'm reading at the time. The Arthur stories were up there too but slightly behind for me.

The Armouries definitely have at least one Nock volley gun and a load of Bakers. I think they had both on display the last time I went (Feb this year) but the Nock gun might have been in a different area, in a naval display*. Are you sure there were no Bakers at all? That would a big omission from any Napoleonic section.

Edit: yes it's in the naval warfare gallery. The armouries actually have 7 of them! Source:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qnuu0nMFVA

 

[Hacienda71]

Post learning to read, C S Lewis, Tolkien, Arthur Ransom, Alan Garner were all authors I liked in my formative reading years

 

[Tail End Charlie]

I can't really call it between the Grail quest, Sharpe and the Saxon stories tbh. Depends what I'm reading at the time. The Arthur stories were up there too but slightly behind for me.

The Armouries definitely have at least one Nock volley gun and a load of Bakers. I think they had both on display the last time I went (Feb this year) but the Nock gun might have been in a different area, in a naval display*. Are you sure there were no Bakers at all? That would a big omission from any Napoleonic section.

Edit: yes it's in the naval warfare gallery. The armouries actually have 7 of them! Source:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qnuu0nMFVA

Sorry my poor sentence construction. I meant I had seen Baker rifles and Nock guns which I expected, but hadn't been expecting to see the Kligenthal sword.

 

[cyberknight]

The Dune series

 

[tyred]

I've always been an avid reader, although I no longer seem to be able to just devour books in the way I did when I was younger.

I started off with the Enid Blyton books and moved on to things like Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson and King Solomon's Mines. I also read a lot of old books that were lying around the house when I grew up, most which probably aren't known very well nowadays (if at all). Bunst and the Secret Six by John Newtown Chance is one in particular I have fond memories of. Also Mark Twain.

I loved the James Herriot books and got big into Robert Westall at one point. Starting with Sherlock Holmes, I became a big fan of detective type stories as a teenager and have read all Morse novels, all Dalziel and Pascoe as well as Reginald Hill's other stuff, all Inspector Frost novels and quite a few Agatha Christies amongst others.

I have always had an interest in poetry too, especially Robert Burns, Thomas Hardy and Patrick Kavanagh. A love of Hardy's poetry lead to a love of his novels.

I don't read as much nowadays. When I was young, I was a virtual recluse with a few mental health issues and did very little except read. I just don't have the time or the concentration span to read the quantities of books I did then but I still do read, although not a huge amount of fiction nowadays. I like biographies, history and cycling related books. I also like to dabble in the classics from time to time although I struggle with Dickens. I read Rob Roy a while back and didn't find it as difficult to read as I thought it would be.

 

[tyred]

Has anyone else read War and Peace? I read it probably over ten years ago. Wasn’t as heavy going as I thought.

I'd like to as I watched a short youtube video explaining it recently. The local library doesn't seem to have a copy and I'm keeping an eye out for a second hand one as I don't want to buy it new.

 

[matticus]

Has anyone else read War and Peace? I read it probably over ten years ago. Wasn’t as heavy going as I thought.

Woody Allen has — "I took a speed-reading course and read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It involves Russia."

 

[Time Waster]

James herriot, Morse, Dalziel & Pascoe? I don't quite know why but whenever I realise a book is a well known TV series I find it a big red flag telling me to avoid. Unfair I know! It also stops me reading the authors other doc too.

Having said that I have read collected stories of sherlock Holmes, but in my defence bought for me and I didn't realise it was also in a TV programme at the time. I was young and probably my parents thought I was too young for the TV adaptations at the time.

Does anyone else have these irrational decision factors too?

 

[Time Waster]

Woody Allen has — "I took a speed-reading course and read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It involves Russia."

I watched the film, I didn't know it involves Russia!

 

[matticus]

James herriot, Morse, Dalziel & Pascoe? I don't quite know why but whenever I realise a book is a well known TV series I find it a big red flag telling me to avoid. Unfair I know! It also stops me reading the authors other doc too.
<snip>
Does anyone else have these irrational decision factors too?

Well I do .. but not THAT irrational!