Shalini over at Reading and Chickens, one of my favorite blogs, just posted this reader questionnaire about first books. I love hearing about people's reading experiences, so let's make this some sort of viral internet meme!
Answer about your first books either on your blog, with a link back to me or Shalini, or leave a comment here or on Reading and Chickens. It's like a chain letter without anyone threatening you with bad things if you break the chain!
Here are my firsts:
First Book I Loved
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.
I read this book over and over again when I was a kid and I loved the menacing silliness of the factory. Way better than either movie.
First Book I Hated
This is a tough one to answer. Even when I don't like a book, I usually can appreciate it in some way. Like the book The G-d of Small Things by Arundhati Roy was so overwhelmingly depressing that I was angry at the author, but it was so beautifully written I couldn't help but be glad that I read it.
I will say that I couldn't bring myself to finish The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen because I hated each and every one of the characters so completely that I realized if I were stuck at a party with them, I would escape through the bathroom window rather than stay put with a fake smile plastered on my face. Yeah, I guess I could say I hated that book.
First Series I Read
The Nancy Drew books by "Carolyn Keene." I didn't know until later that Carolyn Keene was a pseudonym and the books were all written by a lot of different ghost writers
First Fantasy/Sci-Fi Book That I Read
This is another toughie since I've been reading sci-fi and fantasy for a very long time. Early ones that I remember are War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, the Tripod Trilogy by John Christopher, and A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.
First Book That Made Me Cry From Laughing
I'm not sure which was the first, but I think Dave Barry's books were the ones that finally got me to laugh out loud, which I don't often do while reading.
First YA Book I Read and Loved
The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell.
First Horror Book I Read
I love horror, but I don't remember when exactly I first started reading it. Carrie by Stephen King was probably my first, but I didn't finish it because I felt so bad for the poor girl and I didn't want to see her covered with pig's blood at the prom.
First Book I Was Completely Obsessed With
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Stuck with me forever.
Okay, your turn! Let 'er rip!
Oh Franzen. So easy to hate! Can you believe I've never read Owen Meany? I think that's a popular answer; I'm gonna have to read it soon!
ReplyDelete