Sure you were.

A great kids book series is the Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket. The story is all about three siblings, Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire, whose parents have died and in each book they are hoisted to a new foster parent, as the previous ones have the unfortunate habit of being killed.

Read them, or get your kids to read them! I think that they have some gothic flavouring, though.

Hi Intrigue - love the Lemony Snickets - listen to them on tape to and from work (when Wogan's on hols). Very funny and very odd.

I love the Lemony Snickets too, though I've only got the first three.

The adult book the blokie did, Watch Your Mouth, is good too. Not for the easily offended, mind you.



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Do something pretty while you can...

I've never read or even seen any books about Worrals (although I'd heard of her), but did read one or two about Gimlet (including the one in which he met Biggles). Does anybody else here remember reading any of WE Johns' SF series?

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This was willed where what is willed... can get rather silly.

I've got a couple of WE Johns' SF novels, not his best work, in fact rather dire. But I don't particularly like SF as a rule.

Gimlet was a somewhat grubbier, uncouth Biggles, minus aircraft, but jolly good adventures nonetheless. Worrals shouldn't be too hard to find at about the same price as Biggles reprints if you're lucky.

WOW lots of cool books, took me back to my childhood and pretty much left me there!! (some may say i never left in the first place!?) On top of the obvious ones that most people listed, Anne of Green Gables (then all the ones that followed) I so wanted to be Anne!! and I totally loved Gilbert!!! (the scary thing is as i grew up most of my 'crushes' were actually over 'book people'!?!?!?! Other faves: Green Knowe books by L. M. Boston!

The thing I was wondering as I was working my way through all these book e.mails was 'what did Enid Blyton do to our brains?' re-reading these books as a more grown up type person I find it scary how much I still want to be part of that 'spiffing' world of Ham and Tomato sandwiches, and ginger beer dispite the prejudice!!!!!

ha, sorry Jon, I was OBSESSED with Little Women. Basically, I read and anything and everything by Louisa May Alcott. Overall, my favorite childhood books are as follows: The Velveteen Rabbit, Little House in the Big Woods, Where the Red Fern Grows, Jane Eyre, Watership Down, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, and Lord of the Flies. Of course, I occasionally indulged in @#$%& Nancy Drew detective novels ;)

I've got all the 'Little Women' books too, though I didn't read them until I was grown up, not that I grew very far up, nut you know what I mean. I've got all the 'Little House' books too, though I could never stand the TV series. I've seen bits of some episodes more recently on Channel 4 and realized I was right to loathe it when I was 8. The books are fascinating though - Laura is by no means as goody-goody as she seems at first. I was astonished to learn that her little sister, Carrie, went on to become a newspaper editor.
I've got Mrs Frisby, too, which is an excellent book. First read that aged about 11. I was much younger when I first read 'Watership Down'. I didn't really understand it properly then, but I enjoyed it.

I discovered not so long ago that Laura had a baby brother who died at 9 months. He was born in between Carrie and Grace. Add that to the son Laura lost, and think of the son her daughter, Rose, lost, makes for an interesting genetics question.

I learnt to read with Beatrix Potter (apparantly at the age of 2 I pointed to one of the big letters and said "that's a 'N'". My parents breathed a sigh of relief, taught me the rest of the alphabet, and allowed me to read for myself instead of correcting them everytime they substituted a 'then' for an 'and' etc).

I loved the Just So Stories (still do) and Narnia (despite all the Christian metaphors, which were lost on me till someone explained them).

I first got into sci-fi through Terry Pratchett, and a chap called Paul Stewart who wrote some lovely books, 'Adam's Ark' and 'The Thought Domain' being the only ones I could find on Amazon (I *know* there are more out there), and they are all limited availability (ie out of print :( )

I did also love Little Women and What Katy Did - that era fascinated me.



I drink to drown my sorrows. Unfortunately they've learnt how to swim.

Hmmmm.....I can't actually remember ever not being able to read, having apparently learned by the time I was 3. I can recall not being able to read cursive script though.

My parents read to me a lot when I was a small child, including Dr. Seuss, the Narnia and Little House books, and Winnie the Pooh (most of which I also read later myself). I particularly remember a book called 'Are you my Mother' (You are not my mother, you are a SNORT!). I've also been told I had a propensity, to stand on someone's feet while hitting them in the knees with a book and saying "Book! Book! Read! Read!". Apparently I wasn't the subtle type.

I'm told I taught myself to read largely from a Dr. Seuss Dictionary. From then on I pretty much read whatever was in the house, or looked interesting in the library. Books I particularly remember include E.B. White (Charlotte's Web, Trumpet of the Swan and Stuart Little), The Borrowers, Frog and Toad, The Cat Club books (including Pickles the Fire Cat). I loved Mrs. Frisby and the rats of NIMH as well.

During late elementery school and Junior high, I read many of mom's old books, such as Anne of Green Gables, Dear Daddy Long Legs and so on, and the books she was currently reading, mainly Agatha Christie and Rex Stout mysteries. Also Judy Blume books, 1984, and other things that escape me at the moment.

By High School, I'd gotten hooked on Fantasy and SF, particularly Ursula LeGuin's books. I loved the Earthsea trilogy. I even did an oral book report on "The Left Hand of Darkness" (which was an interesting experience). This was the era during which I read Tolkein. I was also into Robert Aspirin, Anne McCaffrey and Piers Anthony. Oh, and Doctor Who novels as well, particularly of shows that didn't exist anymore (yep, I was an avid Whovian in my teens and early twenties).

By college I was also reading everything by Heinlein that I could find, which kept me busy for quite a while. And my roommate lent me things like P.G. Wodehouse books and Asterix comics.

But basically, I've always read a lot, of whatever was around and looked interesting.

This is my first posting on here, but I read anything and everything I could get my hands on...but the small-town libraries I had access to left much to be desired. I read all the typical Narnia (which I still love), Tolkien, Little House, etc...but another series I loved but didn't see anyone mention is The Borrowers series - and my guilty pleasures were Sweet Valley High and the Babysitters Club! [sheepish grin]

Excuuuuuse me, but I mentioned The Borrowers right at the top of this thread. The books were probably my favourite of all my favourites, and certainly the one that has stood the test of time best. I identified very closely with Arrietty ... well, apart from being a girl, that is. (She was the girl, not me).



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I am very interested in the Universe. I am specialising in the Universe and everything surrounding it. - E. L. Wisty

And I mentioned The Borrowers in my post too. Forgot to mention The Phantom Tollboth and Willy Wonka though.

Oops sorry! I guess my skimming skills are not so good as they once were!

But welcome anyway, Hayley, since those *other* two were too rude to say it. (Shame on you!)

Welcome Hayley, before I get accused of being rude...

Find a comfy chair, make yourself at home and feel free to add any kind of madness to the mix. And the more the better - I'm trying to get my percentage down...



PSD

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This is the work of an Italian narco-anarchic collective. Don't bother insulting them, they can't read English anyway.

Welcome (belatedly) Hayley! I really wasn't trying to be rude earlier, just posting quickly because I had to go get a cake out of the oven.



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"I've often said that the difference between British and American SF TV series is that the British ones have three-dimensional characters and cardboard spaceships, while the Americans do it the other way around."
--Ross Smith

What type of cake? And where's my slice?