I love books. I’m one of those who hates to fold pages, cut them up or draw in them, (beyond writing my name on the first page of the book). I try to keep my books in good condition and really, really hate to throw out books…even if they are trashy ones.
I used to read alot when I was younger, unfortunately, I just don’t have as much time to do that now. Then, I could bury myself in a book, slumped in a chair and be lost in another world for the rest of the day. It was very easy to entertain me.
As much as I love movies, books are really quite something. Without the moving pictures and the sound, you have to use your imagination to ‘view’ and ‘feel’ what the author has written.
Hubby subscribes to this club in the UK called the Folio Club- they published books in hard cover. Not just hard cover… but bound in leather or cloth…you know… the old fashion type.
The type of books that belong to old, wooden shelves, in a nice library, and where you can imagine yourself sitting down in front of a fireplace/ balcony/ garden, with a cup of tea and reading the book. You get what I mean?
As much as I love the books that I read now, it’s the books that I read in the past that I have fond memories of…
Mostly alot of Enid Blyton’s like the Malory Towers, the Famous Five, the fairy tales etc. The Borrowers, Mary Poppins, Beautrix Potter, Heidi, Chronicles of Narnia, Little Women… they all accompanied me through my childhood years.
Do children read these nowadays? Or is it mainly all those ghost/ monster stories that fascinate them?
One of the series that I liked was the Anne of Green Gables series. It was even filmed into TV series a few times but I still prefer the book.
It’s a simple, simple story.
A little orphan girl was mistakenly sent to an elderly couple by mistake, who had actually requested for a little boy…to help them out in the farm.
This sparky little girl never lets anything her down, is always optimistic and adventurous. She is direct but not mean and loves those around her. Naturally, the elderly couple grew attached to her.. and loved her dearly, as she did to them. The rest of the story is really about her stay there on the farm, her adventures as she grows up.
See, it’s a very simple story right? In fact, somebody would probably say it’s too goody-goody. Thank goodness for such ‘goody-goody’ books when I was young then.
Even today, it’s still good to reach out and read these ‘do good, be good and feel good’ novels. It’s great to escape from the real world for awhile and relieve the age of innocence.
I wonder if anyone will laugh at me if I go out and buy the entire Fanous Five series. Maybe I can pretend that I’m buying them for my nephew….
Isn’t the illustration beautiful?
hehe, me too used to love love love to read when i was small. enid blyton [esp the naughtiest girl in school series, & something about flyaway tree or something?], famous five, secret seven, nancy drew, hardy boys… hehe, don’t think kids these days read these books anymore…
then i ‘graduated’ to agatha christie, and those high school romance like sweet valley high and stuff… 🙂
god, such an awfully long time ago!
p.s. but i re-read the candy candy series recently… was surprised that i actually still cried when i was reading it!
^^ u r not the only one, thou’ i doesn’t read much during my youth days, but, i also went round to find some “old” enid blyton books that i ever read b4 for my little nephew. See that u love the books much, still in “good” condition.
ah… BB i was thinking abt the naughtiest girl series n the other one was flyaway bed (i think)ke..ke…anyone still keeping those huh ?? ^^
von
I think it was called the Magic Faraway Tree and it was a series. Different lands end up on top of the tree each time. I think I remembered there was a story where everything in the place was edible. Sure made me hungry when I read that story.
小甜甜？ All those girls are always so pretty, with their big eyes and the guys so handsome. Maybe that’s why we like K series so much. Think there’s some similarity. ^^
i also read those during my younger days n i even read the malay version of both famous 5 n enid blyton.
talking about sweet valley..still rmemeber how i’ll read one book in one nite just so i can return the book without any surcharge haha..
and like anne..i love gilbert @@~
Tiffany, I have found a kindred spirit. I too am an avid fan of Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery. She wrote so simplistically about the life of “Anne Shirley with an E” I can’t even tell you how many times I read those books and even watched the canadian movies when they brought them out. I love the classics. I too remember them best. The fun Pollyannas of the world and the Nancy Drew’s meant alot to me and always carried me away. No books can even compare to those precious classics for me. I also love Pride and Prejudice too. I could write more but have to stop or be here all night talking about these wonderful classics. Of course I found a wonderful world of poetry out there to! Thank you for awakening a corner of my past.
I come from a family of book lovers so reading is second nature to me. I still have my old Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books. I’ve read Thornbirds when I was in 5th grade.
I had a collection and Sweet Valley High and Mills and Boons during my hs days.
I’m so happy my daughter is also into reading.
I guess all of us grew up reading almost the same books. They were really innocent stories, weren’t they? I used to read alot of Barbara Cartland books when I was a teenager. The one, single kiss always came on the last page of the book. : )
Mrs A- Anne of Green Gables is a classic, it never fails to bring a smile to my face as I read her antics. Poetry? You should speak to my husband then…he has quite a few books on them…
Yokee & bb & Marissa- I must admit that I never read the Sweet Valley series. This was after my time…I wasn’t a teenager by then. hahaha!
barbara cartland? she’s the one who writes about historical heroines and romances, right?
never read anything by her… seen lots of her books though… think i was reading trashy jilly cooper books then…. and i think when i was in high school, there was a sydney sheldon craze :p
I love Barbara Cartland when I was young. I think I still have 3 of my fave paperbacks from way back when in my collection.