Books Published When I Was Born

So, of course, I wasn't reading immediately after birth (though I began, my mother told me, when I was only two), but my mom was a reader, a big reader, and these were the books that were published around the time I was born, in the mid-1950's. 

Back then, my mom would only have had access to books through the once-a-month bookmobile from the public library or books that would have arrived from her membership in Book-of-the-Month Club or books she could have bought at the drugstore in the tiny town in Texas, population about 1000, where she lived.

How likely would it be that my mom read these books? What would she have thought of the books? Let me take a look.

Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk, published 1955. Bestseller about a woman who wants to become an actress, and falls in love with a man who is embarking on an artistic career but has no interest in marrying and living a conventional 1950's life. 

How likely would it be that my mom read this book? Very likely. 

What would she have thought of the book? Enjoyed it.

Peyton Place by Grace Metalious, published 1956. Bestseller about "how three women are forced to come to terms with their identity, both as women and as sexual beings, in a small, conservative, gossipy New England town, with recurring themes of hypocrisy, social inequities and class privilege in a tale that includes incest, abortion, adultery, lust and murder." 

How likely would it be that my mom read this book? I'm almost positive my mom read this book.

What did she think of the book? She thought it was racy.

Seize the Day by Saul Bellow, published 1956. 'The story centers on a day in the life of Wilhelm Adler (a.k.a. Tommy Wilhelm), a failed actor in his forties. Wilhelm is unemployed, impecunious, separated from his wife (who refuses to agree to a divorce), and estranged from his children and his father. He is also stuck with the same immaturity and lack of insight which has brought him to failure. In Seize the Day Wilhelm experiences a day of reckoning as he is forced to examine his life and to finally accept the "burden of self."'

How likely would it be that my mom read this book? Possible.

What did she think of the book? Might have enjoyed it.

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin, published in 1956. "The book focuses on the events in the life of an American man living in Paris and his feelings and frustrations with his relationships with other men in his life, particularly an Italian bartender named Giovanni whom he meets at a Parisian gay bar." 

How likely would it be that my mom read this book? Very unlikely that my mom had access to this book.

Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie, published in 1956. Detective novel. 

How likely would it be that my mom read this book? Very likely. 

What did she think of the book? Enjoyed it. She liked mysteries all her life.

Howl and Other Poems by Allan Ginsberg, published in 1956. 'In "Howl" Ginsberg denounced what he saw as the destructive forces of capitalism and conformity in the United States. San Francisco police and US Customs seized "Howl" in 1956, and it attracted widespread publicity in 1957 when it became the subject of an obscenity trial, as it described heterosexual and homosexual sex at a time when sodomy laws made homosexual acts a crime in every state. The poem reflected Ginsberg's own sexuality and his relationships with a number of men, including Peter Orlovsky, his lifelong partner.'

How likely would it be that my mom read this book? Very unlikely my mom would have had access to this book.

Diamonds are Forever by Ian Fleming, published in 1956. Spy novel.

How likely would it be that my mom read this book? Possible.

What might she have thought of the book? Enjoyed it. 

Imperial Woman by Pearl S. Buck, published in 1956. Imperial Woman is "the story of the last Empress in China, born into one of the lowly ranks of the Imperial dynasty. According to custom, she moved to the Forbidden City at the age of seventeen to become one of hundreds of concubines. But her singular beauty and powers of manipulation quickly moved her into the position of Second Consort."

How likely would it be that my mom read this book? I think my mom read all of the Pearl S. Buck books about China. She later recommended them to me.

What did she think of the book? Loved it.

The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault, published in 1956. Historical fiction "set in ancient Greece, the second of her works to feature male homosexuality as a major theme."

How likely would it be that my mom read this book? Likely.

What did she think of the book? She loved historical fiction.

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester, published in 1956. Science fiction.

How likely would it be that my mom read this book? Very unlikely. I don't think she ever read any science fiction.

My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell, published in 1956. "Autobiographical work by British naturalist Gerald Durrell. It tells in an exaggerated and sometimes fictionalized way of the years that he lived as a child with his siblings and widowed mother on the Greek island of Corfu between 1935 and 1939."

How likely would it be that my mom read this book? Very unlikely.

What might she have thought of the book? She would have enjoyed the story.

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, published in 1957. It's historical fiction, the story of "a physician and poet, and takes place between the Russian Revolution of 1905 and World War II."

How likely would it be that my mom read this book? Likely.

What did she think of the book? She loved historical fiction.

On the Beach by Nevil Shute, published in 1957. Post-apocalyptic novel. "The novel details the experiences of a mixed group of people in Melbourne as they await the arrival of deadly radiation spreading towards them from the Northern Hemisphere, following a nuclear war a year previously. As the radiation approaches, each person deals with impending death differently."

How likely would it be that my mom read this book? Possible.

What might she have thought of the book? I think she would have enjoyed it.

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss, published in 1957. Children's book.

How likely would it be that my mom read this book? Certain.

What did she think of the book? She read it over and over to me. It was my first book. We both loved it.

Thank you to Davida Chazan @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for today's prompt.

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.