If you are my age, you probably read some of these, too. The Bobbsey Twins. Trixie Belden. Phyllis Whitney mysteries for children. My mom was my chief reading advisor at the time and she loved mysteries as a child, so this genre was no surprise.
The Age of Gothic Novels: Age 10-14
Does anyone read these any more? Do you even know what a gothic novel is? A young-ish woman goes to live in a scary place with a handsome but mysterious man. Dorothy Eden. Victoria Holt. Mary Stewart. Phyllis Whitney gothics for adults. Again, my mom guided most of my reading. She liked gothics, so I liked gothics.
The Age of Classics: Age 14-17
My wonderful high school English teachers put me onto classics. With a few exceptions (boo, Heart of Darkness), I got easily hooked after reading Animal Farm, It Can't Happen Here, Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Death of a Salesman, The Bell Jar, Metamorphosis, and Magister Ludi.
I became obsessed with The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry when I was eighteen. I read it over and over. And over.
Then I met my husband and discovered science fiction. Please don't think I'm talking about fantasy; this was real science fiction. Nothing contemporary either. Old science fiction writers like Ray Bradbury, Alfred Bester, Fritz Leiber, Robert Heinlein, Theodore Sturgeon.
The Age of Children's Picture Books: Ages 28-35
I bet you can guess why my focus changed. Yep, it's all my Jonathan and Benjamin's fault.
I will never stop reading picture books.
The Age of Literary Fiction and Nonfiction: Ages 35-Now
This happened serendipitously. I did some work in League City, a town near me, and I stopped one day at the League City Library. I wish I could write the librarian from back then a letter and thank her. She knew how to pick some amazing literary fiction and nonfiction, and it completely upped my game.
That's my movement through the genres. How about you? Have you changed what you read over the years? Or have you pretty much stuck with one genre as the years have passed?
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Ahhhhh Trixie - I adored her so much (she even holds up as a nostalgic read now :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd Victoria Holt's books were great. I also loved the historical fiction of Jean Plaidy and Catherine Gaskin.
It's fascinating to see the different phases we go through isn't it? I even read several of the Dune books in my twenties!!
The power of a well-read Librarian should never be underestimated - my primary school librarian did it for me.
I wonder where your reading journey will go next?
Me, too!
DeleteI haven't read any of these actually. I know my reading tastes have changed drastically through my life. At five or six, I just read and reread The Magic Faraway Tree series. At seven/eight, it was all about horses. For a while there, I didn't read so much but by 13/14 it was all vampires as the Twilight movie came out. Then I read lots and lots of YA (which I still do now), but at 20 I'm a little more diverse in my reading—I love classics, poetry, plays, and even some non fiction now and again.
ReplyDeleteYou have taken your own trip through books.
DeleteI went through the same science fiction phase. I loved the old stuff. But I can't seem to get excited about most of the new stuff. A couple of exceptions are Robert J. Sawyer and Connie Willis.
ReplyDeleteIt has been many, many years since I've read a good scifi book. Thanks for sharing some current favorites.
DeleteMy tastes have changed dramatically too, but I still have a soft spot for the older sci fi I read as a kid. Even if sometimes they don't hold up as well as I remember (it's just a different experience at say 14) I'll always be grateful for the impact those books had on me growing up. Good stuff. :)
ReplyDeleteAgree!
DeleteI haven't read any of these, except The Bell Jar. But it's funny how things change. I really liked your post today. Thanks for sharing, and for stopping by my TTT earlier. :)
ReplyDeleteSo glad I've moved past gothic a.
DeleteMy arc pretty much followed yours except I've never read the gothic stuff, and I read Ray Bradbury during my high-school "classics" years. (Dandelion Wine is still one of my favourite books.)
ReplyDeleteAnd in addition to literary fiction, I still enjoy mysteries, especially golden-age.
I was never really crazy about the gothic books, especially those with ghosts.
DeleteThere are so many wonderful children's books out there! :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, I know.
DeleteI love this! I was definitely a mystery reader as a child too bthoug I think that's gone into now. There have been different types of mysteries and different levels of suspense as time as gone on. I like seeing how your taste evolved over time.
ReplyDeleteI rarely read mysteries these days.
DeleteI like how you wrote this post divided over different ages and tastes :)
ReplyDeleteAnd it's so true how reading tastes can change! When I was a kid I read scary children's stories like Goosebumps. When I was a young adult I read adult fiction. And now I'm an adult and I'm reading young adult fiction :)
Love the flip flop.
DeleteThis was a really interesting post idea, and gives us a great look at how you've progressed as a reader. I've never really looked back on my reading in that way, and you've really got me thinking now!
ReplyDeleteAlso, since having a child I absolutely love picture books!
Reading With Jade
Children certainly change your reading tastes.
DeleteI love how you showed the progression of your reading interests! What an interesting way to tackle this week's Top Ten list. I was into gothic novels for a time, as well - but not until I was a bit older. Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey is what got me interested in the genre.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteWow! This is a really cool post. I wish you had included children's pictures from childhood too and not just the mysteries. (How do you read childhood mysteries at age 2?) It would have been fun to see the comparison between the picture books you read as a child (that you remember) in comparison to the ones you are reading to your children. Have you gotten your hands on Click, Clack, Moo? Or Knuffle Bunny? I think those children's books are already getting older, but they are my current favorites! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know why my parents didn't snap lots of shots of me reading as a child. Sad about that.
DeleteWow! This is a really cool post. I wish you had included children's pictures from childhood too and not just the mysteries. (How do you read childhood mysteries at age 2?) It would have been fun to see the comparison between the picture books you read as a child (that you remember) in comparison to the ones you are reading to your children. Have you gotten your hands on Click, Clack, Moo? Or Knuffle Bunny? I think those children's books are already getting older, but they are my current favorites! :)
ReplyDeleteI was reading at two, but mostly the backs of cereal boxes. Perhaps I should add a stage....
DeleteI LOVED brown bear. I read it with my Littles often as well. It'll always be a favorite in our house
ReplyDeleteI LOVED brown bear. I read it with my Littles often as well. It'll always be a favorite in our house
ReplyDeleteI've recently started reading picture books again because I work in a library and often take part in the story time sessions. Oftentimes they're more well-written than popular fiction titles! I went through a really dark crime phase in my early teens, and as I've entered into my twenties I've regressed back to rereading beloved children's books - I'm very backwards, but it's lovely to be able to revisit older books.
ReplyDeleteLove this list! I will never be too old for picture books. I think that is why I love graphic novels now! :) Happy Reading!
ReplyDelete