Friday, November 06, 2009

What were some of your favorite books when you were a teen?

I had so many. My mom always enjoys telling people at all my book signings that I used to love to read O'Henry. It's true. I loved the twists many of his stories took, similar to a Hitchcock movie.
In middle school I collected and read every single Nancy Drew novel ever created. Some of the novels were handed down from relatives and were old and valuable. Sadly, I lost the entire collection when my parents house burned down in the Witch Fires in 2007. I also loved Sunfire historical romance novels. That collection perished as well. Loved Mark Twain, and Jack London. To this day Call of the Wild is one of all time favorite novels.
It's so nice to see that the young adult genre has grown so much, especially with the Simon Pulse ro com series. The books for young adults now address such relevant issues and are easily relatable. We didn't have as many options for high school aged teens when I was growing up. In high school, I read a lot of the same things my parents and grandparents where reading. Stephen King, Pet Sematary and The Shining probably being my favorite. I also loved Dean Koontz. I was addicted to horror movies and novels, thus explaining my fear of the dark and need for a night light in my thirties. I also used to read these steamy, scandalous Sidney Sheldon novels that my grandmother of all people gave me.
I usually never read a book twice but it would be kind of fun to revisit some of my old favorites. I wonder if I would still like them.

3 comments:

Serina said...

I used to be a fan of the Goosebumps series (I also have a huge fear now and can't stomach watching anything horror or gory). Bantam's Love Stories series were my absolute favorites growing up (still are). I started writing because of them, and the Super Editions (including the "His. Hers. Theirs." mini-series) and the different trilogies (ie Prom, Year Abroad, Brothers) inspired me to start writing in the guy's POV. And of course, there's Harry Potter:)

Ms. Yingling said...

I was completely addicted to Anne of Green Gables. I would reread the entire series every school holiday. It gave me a REALLY warped perception of life!

Kelly McClymer said...

I loved O. Henry. Loved him. Stephen King scared the heck out of me, though. And Christopher Pike used to make me want to cry, his characters were so bleakly amoral.

I didn't discover Madeleine L'Engle until I was a teen. Or Anne of Green Gables. And then I was addicted until I finished all the back list.