I can’t remember what the very first story I read was but I vividly remember receiving a gift of a lovely illustrated copy of 101 Dalmations - I loved that book and read the story many times.
I also recall reading a few of the illustrated books from the Noddy series by Enid Blyton in my pre-school days. I wasn’t that impressed with the stories but I remember some of the titles - Noddy goes to School, Noddy goes to Toyland, Noddy gets into Trouble. I can remember the colourful illustrations of the characters more than the stories, which all had the same basic theme, really - Noddy being naughty and getting into trouble!
I was the youngest child, so once I’d learned to read, I quickly moved on to reading story books for older age group children, which my older siblings had collected over the years.
I couldn’t join the Library and choose my own books until I was 7, so until then I worked my way through all the books in the house - some that stick in my mind are
The Borrowers, Just William, tales of Robin Hood, Black Beauty, Treasure Island, The Black Arrow, loads of Enid Blyton stories such as The Famous Five and The Secret Seven, fictional stories about life at Boarding schools like Mallory Towers and The Chalet School.
Wow, you have a great memory to remember all those books. I remember reading a lot when I was young and loving library books. But I don’t remember the titles as well as you have. I remember that I had to have a book to read before I fell asleep.
I used to receive the ‘Rupert Bear Annual’ each year, but after graduating from the usual early nursery stories I mainly read science and reference books. The first novel I read from cover to cover was ‘A Christmas Carol’ a book I read over and over again just before Christmas each year. I suppose it got me feeling all festive.
I then binged on ‘Biggles’ books. A fearless pilot and adventurer…
Like Pipsqueak, I too fondly remember Children of the New Forest … a children’s novel written by Frederick Marryat and set in the time of the English Civil War. The story follows the fortunes of the four Beverley children who are orphaned during the war and hide from their Roundhead oppressors in the shelter of the New Forest where they learn to live off the land.
I was given it as a prize in Primary 7 and still have it.
I dont remember my first book,but i do remember reading Brer Rabbit by Enid Blyton.
I loved it and the rest of the series was just as entertaining.
My 2 son`s also loved me reading them to them,sadly i let a in-law borrow them and they gave them away,i was damn furious.
Grown up novel? Probably “Fluke” by James Herbert when I was 11 or 12. I was a voracious reader and have a much older brother who this belonged to and was likely away at Uni when I swiped it. My first classic literature novel that I read out of choice (rather than the school syllabus) was Tess of the d’Urbivilles which I bought from a second hand book shop for about 10p when I was 14. It was about the time Tess was out at the cinema and it probably influenced me to buy the book.
I hadn’t heard of ‘Gimlet’ Mr Smith, so I googled it and realise that the books were written by W E Johns, the same author as ‘Biggles’…So no, I’ve not had the pleasure. However, while I was googling it, guess what? A load of Biggles books popped up and I thought I might just see if I can remember any of them and read one again. Do you think that when you like something it stays with you as you grow older? I still see things in Mrs Fox that attracted me to her fifty years ago…
People change though Mr Smith and my question is: If you liked reading a certain book when you were younger, would you still get the same enjoyment from it as you did then…? Obviously, judging by the high divorce rate, not every one feels the same about their partner. Or do they?
The joy of discovery would be gone. You’d have already read it, so you know how it plays out. But you’d still have familiarity and constancy and the memories.
I think it does explain it. It’s about familiarity, constancy and memories. When you watch an old movie, it’s familiar. You liked it before, so you feel you will like it again. You have the good memories of watching it before and it’s always there to watch again, so there’s constancy.
I do still have a couple of shelves of “old favourites” in my bookcase and have read some of them many times over.
When it comes to children’s literature, returning to read it as an adult is different to reading it as a child.
@Butterscotch - I thought you described the feelings about losing some of the joy of discovery but still having the pleasure of familiarity and constancy very well.
There is also sometimes an additional surprise element about returning to childhood favourite stories as an adult - although the original joy of discovery is a little lost when you already know the storyline, I find that reading the book again through adult eyes sometimes throws up extra nuances in the story or the characters that I maybe didn’t notice when I was reading it as a child - sometimes I notice an author’s underlying theme or social commentary which my childhood mind had never noticed.
I have had that feeling when I re-read
The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe and several other stories from the Chronicles of Narnia - there was a lot of symbolism in that which passed me by in my youth.
The Lord of the Flies was another such children’s book that seems much more shocking to read when you are a parent than as a child.
I even noticed the undercurrents of social class and prejudice when I re-read the fantasy series about imaginary little people living under the floorboards in the books called “The Borrowers” !
Most of the books I re-read tend to be adult classics but I still have a soft spot for a few of the old novels and poetry books I read as a child and teenager, so will dip into them from time to time.
The Enchanted Wood and the Faraway Tree books were so very stimulating as far as the imagination went. The illustrations weren’t lavish, just ink line drawings but they worked. Imagine getting arrested by an upside down police officer in the the land of topsy turvy.
This isn’t on my things to do list I hasten to add
