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Sunday Morning Book Thread 10-11-2026 [Sabrina Chase]
What books stuck in your head and made you the Reading Moron you are today? Even the ones that puzzle you still, or you know are the literary equivalent of a gas station hotdog. We do not judge here at the Book Thread! Not about reading, anyway. Fun books! Books that started you on the great adventure known as "the pictures are in your HEAD!" Books you read under the blankets with a flashlight and thought your parents didn't know about!
I was fortunate to grow up in a very literate home, surrounded by books. Many of which puzzled me greatly in my youth! But these are the ones I remember still with great fondness, and I often gift them to younger generations when I have the opportunity. - Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book I was fascinated by the devices and it probably led me into the twisty passages of experimental physics in the end. Also profoundly silly, a life philosophy that has guided me well. - Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag "Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats!" But he can only pick one ... - The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet I'm not saying I encourage children to get into spaceships powered by odd neighbors without parental supervision, but it is a great book and has a chicken doing noble deeds. And the importance of sulfur. - Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare Boy was it a shock when I got to the unexpurgated versions, let me tell you. Some of them are barely recognizable in the cleaned-up version. A Winter's Tale is almost reduced to a paragraph. - Danny Dunn series More science! - Space Cat Meets Mars Everyone wants a way to communicate with cats. - Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfeld. my first introduction to the concept that people really did think differently in ancient times, but it was believable and fun. Scary in some parts, like the concept that you could actually get killed for sacrilegious graffiti. - The Girl from Johnnycake Hill by Virginia Frances Voight. American history and early colonial culture. And the unwisdom of pet bears. - Mr. Revere and I by Robert Lawson. more fun American history, from the point of view of Paul Revere's horse. - Ferdinand by Munro Leaf. Illustrations by Robert Lawson. Responsible for me thinking for many, many years that wine corks grew on trees like bunches of grapes. I knew corks came from trees, see! And Lawson's illustrations made it very convincing.- The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. More profound silliness with words, numbers, and a bored little boy. SO MANY PUNS. - The Cricket in Times Square by George Delden My introduction to the concept of crickets as pets, a street-smart mouse, and a genial cat. - The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett Secret hideouts the grownups don't know about are the very best hideouts. - The House with a Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs - The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill. A great faux documentary with fun characters.
Comments
(Jump to bottom of comments)1
Tolle Lege
Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2026 08:59 AM (Ia/+0)
2
First?
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:00 AM (wzUl9)
3
Didn't go further on 1776 yet. Waiting to read something from Moki.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 09:00 AM (1Ff7Z)
4
Yep
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 11, 2026 09:00 AM (seCv0)
5
Besides calling em
On downward side of Winston Churchill's The Gathering Storm
And its a good day to get further along in it
On downward side of Winston Churchill's The Gathering Storm
And its a good day to get further along in it
Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2026 09:01 AM (Ia/+0)
6
I've been an old book about rocks and minerals. It's full of solid facts.
Posted by: fd at October 11, 2026 09:01 AM (MWfyi)
7
Good morning fellow Book Threadists. I hope everyone had a great week of reading.
Posted by: JTB at October 11, 2026 09:01 AM (yTvNw)
8
There's a fair amount of overlap between my childhood favorites and Sabrina's...
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 11, 2026 09:01 AM (FZ29D)
9
I remember De Seuss, but think first was Adventures of Dick and Jane
Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2026 09:03 AM (Ia/+0)
10
Missed it by a moth's whisker!
Morning, Book Folken. Of the classic treasured books from childhood, I can recall only Space Cat Goes to Mars, which I read in first grade. I somehow missed a lot of the usual childhood suspects like Pooh or Oz (except for the movie) or Mr. Toad and his friends. I went from Roy Rogers and Gene Autry young readers' adventures to Fleming's James Bond, then to Rex Stout and Ellery Queen. Since then I've been improving my mind with sensational fiction (as John Dickson Carr's Dr. Fell once said) and occasional literature.
Morning, Book Folken. Of the classic treasured books from childhood, I can recall only Space Cat Goes to Mars, which I read in first grade. I somehow missed a lot of the usual childhood suspects like Pooh or Oz (except for the movie) or Mr. Toad and his friends. I went from Roy Rogers and Gene Autry young readers' adventures to Fleming's James Bond, then to Rex Stout and Ellery Queen. Since then I've been improving my mind with sensational fiction (as John Dickson Carr's Dr. Fell once said) and occasional literature.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:03 AM (wzUl9)
11
I think my first favorite book was "A Fish Out Of Water". It was about a boy who fed his goldfish too much.
Posted by: fd at October 11, 2026 09:03 AM (MWfyi)
12
I've been an old book about rocks and minerals. It's full of solid facts.
Posted by: fd
Had a little book about rocks and minerals when I was a kid. Just loved it.
Posted by: fd
Had a little book about rocks and minerals when I was a kid. Just loved it.
Posted by: Tuna at October 11, 2026 09:04 AM (lJ0H4)
13
What books stuck in your head and made you the Reading Moron you are today?
I honestly don't remember.
Of your list, I only recognize Danny Dunn and Cricket in Times Square.
I honestly don't remember.
Of your list, I only recognize Danny Dunn and Cricket in Times Square.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 09:05 AM (1Ff7Z)
14
I really enjoyed The Flight to the Mushroom Planet. Prior to that book, I also liked Blanche the Blue Nosed Witch.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 09:05 AM (0U5gm)
15
Good morning morons thanks Sabrina.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at October 11, 2026 09:06 AM (RIvkX)
16
Good morning, Sabrina and bookish folk.
I didn't discover Bellairs until I was an adult, first reading his fantasy novel "The Face in the Frost", and only later his Lewis Barnavelt stories for children (illustrated by Gorey!). All well worth seeking out.
I didn't discover Bellairs until I was an adult, first reading his fantasy novel "The Face in the Frost", and only later his Lewis Barnavelt stories for children (illustrated by Gorey!). All well worth seeking out.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 11, 2026 09:06 AM (kpS4V)
17
Morning, Sabrina.
Howdy, Horde.
Childhood treasures? I dunno. I was always reading, but almost nothing jumps out as a 'treasured book.' Earliest stuff I remember was a set of supermarket encyclopedias, a bunch of Little Golden Books, some volumes from one of the half-a-billion Doubleday book clubs (All the Mowgli Stories, Treasure Island, Tales from Shakespeare), Classics Illustrated comics. And whatever I could scrounge at the library. The usual hodge-podge, I suppose.
Howdy, Horde.
Childhood treasures? I dunno. I was always reading, but almost nothing jumps out as a 'treasured book.' Earliest stuff I remember was a set of supermarket encyclopedias, a bunch of Little Golden Books, some volumes from one of the half-a-billion Doubleday book clubs (All the Mowgli Stories, Treasure Island, Tales from Shakespeare), Classics Illustrated comics. And whatever I could scrounge at the library. The usual hodge-podge, I suppose.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 09:06 AM (q3u5l)
Posted by: San Franpsycho at October 11, 2026 09:08 AM (RIvkX)
19
When I was a kid I was fascinated by books about Greek mythology. I was surprised to learn decades later that my husband--who grew up hundreds of miles from me in a very different home environment--shared my youthful fascination.
My favorite series when I was a girl were Henry Huggins and Henry Reed, not girly books. Never went through the horse and romance phases that most girls did.
My favorite series when I was a girl were Henry Huggins and Henry Reed, not girly books. Never went through the horse and romance phases that most girls did.
Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at October 11, 2026 09:08 AM (VV/pN)
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 09:09 AM (CjHsb)
21
Good morning horde
Sorry I've been missing threads
Wanted to scan the comments while cooking beef heart for the dog
Reading the latest HG Parry
Sorry I've been missing threads
Wanted to scan the comments while cooking beef heart for the dog
Reading the latest HG Parry
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:09 AM (znREB)
22
The Lorax and the Sleep Book are two family traditions I have handed down. I have my original edition of The Lorax (with the Lake Erie reference) and the revision.
The Sleep Book is incredibly effective, both on me, my kids and now my grandkids. They never make it to the end.
The Sleep Book is incredibly effective, both on me, my kids and now my grandkids. They never make it to the end.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 11, 2026 09:09 AM (ZOv7s)
23
Space Cat Meets Mars - Everyone wants a way to communicate with cats.
Yes, I'd imagine it would make it a lot easier for the cat to relay its direct orders to be followed to the precise letter.
Yes, I'd imagine it would make it a lot easier for the cat to relay its direct orders to be followed to the precise letter.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:10 AM (6ydKt)
24
I started reading Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy this past week.
Not quite top tier, but still very good in its own way. Usually highly recommended by booktubers everywhere.
It's very much a character-driven story rather than a plot-driven story.
Not quite top tier, but still very good in its own way. Usually highly recommended by booktubers everywhere.
It's very much a character-driven story rather than a plot-driven story.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 11, 2026 09:10 AM (FZ29D)
25
I recall having a copy of Little Black Sambo, which was actually a very good story. I should have kept track of that book, as I believe it is banned now.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 09:10 AM (0U5gm)
26
If I had to pick an early book that made me the reading moron I am today, it'd be Heinlein's The Puppet Masters. Found it when I was 12 or 13, finished it, and said "Why didn't anyone tell me about this before?"
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 09:11 AM (q3u5l)
27
This week I finished George Pelecanos's The Cut, another of his very readable crime novels set in DC -- in residential neighborhoods, not in the "corridors of power." Pelecanos is very much like Elmore Leonard in his concerns and language.
Also finished, Lou Berney's 2025 Crooks. It's billed as a "novel about crime and family," but it is not a Godfather clone. The family has nothing to do with the Mob. Instead, they are *petty* crooks, small-time con artists and scammers. The story starts in Vegas in 1961 where hustler Buddy Mercurio meets Lillian, a redhead who is hard to impress, and continues on with their five children. Four of them grow up learning the ways of minor-league crime and how to cheat and hustle. The novel is utterly fascinating, the characters well drawn and often funny. Yes, it's told in present tense. Usually when I see a novel written that way I lose interest. Not this time; present tense works here because the story *moves*. Recommended.
Also finished, Lou Berney's 2025 Crooks. It's billed as a "novel about crime and family," but it is not a Godfather clone. The family has nothing to do with the Mob. Instead, they are *petty* crooks, small-time con artists and scammers. The story starts in Vegas in 1961 where hustler Buddy Mercurio meets Lillian, a redhead who is hard to impress, and continues on with their five children. Four of them grow up learning the ways of minor-league crime and how to cheat and hustle. The novel is utterly fascinating, the characters well drawn and often funny. Yes, it's told in present tense. Usually when I see a novel written that way I lose interest. Not this time; present tense works here because the story *moves*. Recommended.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:11 AM (wzUl9)
28
I should have kept track of that book, as I believe it is banned now.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 09:10 AM (0U5gm)
Common Sense tells us it's probably a good idea to forget all about that book.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 09:10 AM (0U5gm)
Common Sense tells us it's probably a good idea to forget all about that book.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 09:12 AM (1Ff7Z)
29
If I had to pick an early book that made me the reading moron I am today, it'd be Heinlein's The Puppet Masters. Found it when I was 12 or 13, finished it, and said "Why didn't anyone tell me about this before?"
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026
***
As I did at nineteen with the Past Through Tomorrow collection. I said, "So *that* is how SF is supposed to work!"
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026
***
As I did at nineteen with the Past Through Tomorrow collection. I said, "So *that* is how SF is supposed to work!"
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:12 AM (wzUl9)
30
Good morning Readists! Thank you Sabrina!
I read and remember several of those on the list. Let me add, "Lion at Large" and a collection of American fables and tall tales, like Pecos Bill and such.
I read and remember several of those on the list. Let me add, "Lion at Large" and a collection of American fables and tall tales, like Pecos Bill and such.
Posted by: goatexchange at October 11, 2026 09:13 AM (hyS0X)
31
Seasonally appropriate: I wish I could get my hands on some vintage Dorrie (the little witch) books by Patricia Coombs.
*actually, they are out there, but they're pricey.
*actually, they are out there, but they're pricey.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 09:13 AM (CjHsb)
32
I had a Sambo book. It's not racist. Sambo was a badass who captured a tiger.
Posted by: fd at October 11, 2026 09:13 AM (MWfyi)
33
My childhood faves
Go Dog Go
Groliers iunior classics
Edith Hamilton's book on mythology
5 chinese brothers
Dunno the title but a book of Japanese folktales
Go Dog Go
Groliers iunior classics
Edith Hamilton's book on mythology
5 chinese brothers
Dunno the title but a book of Japanese folktales
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:13 AM (znREB)
34
As a precocious little sh*t I didn't read a whole lot of children's literature. I was demanding to join the Mobe before I was allowed to cross the street by myself.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at October 11, 2026 09:13 AM (RIvkX)
35
I remember having a copy of Sambo as well, and yeah, it was a good story.
And we can't corrupt the minds of the young with good stories, now, can we?
And we can't corrupt the minds of the young with good stories, now, can we?
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 09:13 AM (q3u5l)
36
Typing one handed is challenging
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:13 AM (znREB)
37
One of my enduring childhood treasures is Weapons and Warfare of the 20th Century. A rather hefty volume, my grandmother bought it for me at a book store where it was on clearance. Part of the reason was that I looked rather cartoonish lugging the thing around.
I was done with kid lit by 4th grade and my knowledge of Judy Blume and other authors was because we did library time and books were read aloud to us. I would never have read them on my own.
I was done with kid lit by 4th grade and my knowledge of Judy Blume and other authors was because we did library time and books were read aloud to us. I would never have read them on my own.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 11, 2026 09:13 AM (ZOv7s)
38
The left hand is gloved and holding raw heart
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:14 AM (znREB)
39
"Star Trek Log Eight" by Alan D. Foster gets moving once it sheds its base story, adapted from the "Star Trek" animated episode "Eye of the Beholder." Now the Enterprise crew is going hunting at the request of their former captors the Lactrans, who want to snare a rare creature for their zoo. They don't know where it lives or even what it looks like -- but they do know of a long-lost planet in the boonies of the galaxy whose inhabitants might be able to help. Step one: find the planet.
I hope to finish this before Friday, when I'll head for the TxMoMe, with stops at a couple of Half Price Books stores on the way.
Hope to see some of you folks!
I hope to finish this before Friday, when I'll head for the TxMoMe, with stops at a couple of Half Price Books stores on the way.
Hope to see some of you folks!
Posted by: Weak Geek at October 11, 2026 09:14 AM (KsJzp)
40
As kid I liked some Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein, Clifford The Big Red Dog, Curious George, and also Judy Blume books were really popular at the time so they made us read those.
When I got older I was hooked on Choose Your Own Adventure and Encyclopedia Brown for several years.
When I got older I was hooked on Choose Your Own Adventure and Encyclopedia Brown for several years.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:14 AM (6ydKt)
41
The Six Most Terrifying Creatures of Middle Earth:
https://tinyurl.com/ytr5dnk3
The star players and also nameless horrors burrowing in the dark places.
https://tinyurl.com/ytr5dnk3
The star players and also nameless horrors burrowing in the dark places.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 11, 2026 09:14 AM (kpS4V)
42
Lessee...
Dr Seuss but "Green Eggs and Ham" most of all.
I loved loved loved "Little Black Sambo". I thought it was so cool that he turned tigers into butter for pancakes! I honestly believe that had an effect on my thinking and writing.
A ton of children's science books. Apparently, i asked my folks a lot of questions about everything, so they bought me science books to fill my knowledge void.
The Winnie the Pooh books by Milne.
Tom Swift, of course.
Somewhere along the line early on I discovered Greek and Roman mythology and the German stuff a bit later. Man, did I love those tales. Like, Sabrina, when I read the unexpurgated versions later on, well, that was a surprise.
Grimm's Fairy Tales and FTs from other lands like Japan.
"Doctor Doolittle in the Moon"
"A Wrinkle in Time"
A ton of science and dinosaur books along the way.
Probably, that's it for early reading.
Dr Seuss but "Green Eggs and Ham" most of all.
I loved loved loved "Little Black Sambo". I thought it was so cool that he turned tigers into butter for pancakes! I honestly believe that had an effect on my thinking and writing.
A ton of children's science books. Apparently, i asked my folks a lot of questions about everything, so they bought me science books to fill my knowledge void.
The Winnie the Pooh books by Milne.
Tom Swift, of course.
Somewhere along the line early on I discovered Greek and Roman mythology and the German stuff a bit later. Man, did I love those tales. Like, Sabrina, when I read the unexpurgated versions later on, well, that was a surprise.
Grimm's Fairy Tales and FTs from other lands like Japan.
"Doctor Doolittle in the Moon"
"A Wrinkle in Time"
A ton of science and dinosaur books along the way.
Probably, that's it for early reading.
Posted by: naturalfake at October 11, 2026 09:15 AM (YSUhf)
43
Typing one handed is challenging
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:13 AM (znREB)
Well, I'd expect it'd be hard to type with one hand and raise a still pumping heart overhead in triumph at the same time!
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:13 AM (znREB)
Well, I'd expect it'd be hard to type with one hand and raise a still pumping heart overhead in triumph at the same time!
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 09:16 AM (1Ff7Z)
44
In reading news, I had to give up on Graham Green's The Ministry of Fear because the plot is too convoluted for my exhausted brain to deal with at bed time. I either need something linear or something I can reread.
Still working through City of God. About a third of the way through it.
Still working through City of God. About a third of the way through it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 11, 2026 09:16 AM (ZOv7s)
45
I also had several of the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators books, and my cousin and I would trade Hardy Boys books back and forth in order to read more of them.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 09:17 AM (0U5gm)
46
Someone upstairs reminded me.
"Kipling's "Just So Stories" and the "Jungle Book"
Read those a few times.
"Kipling's "Just So Stories" and the "Jungle Book"
Read those a few times.
Posted by: naturalfake at October 11, 2026 09:17 AM (YSUhf)
47
38 The left hand is gloved and holding raw heart
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:14 AM (znREB)
This is some serious multitasking!
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:14 AM (znREB)
This is some serious multitasking!
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 09:17 AM (CjHsb)
48
The left hand is gloved and holding raw heart
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:14 AM (znREB)
---
Mine too!
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:14 AM (znREB)
---
Mine too!
Posted by: High Priest Xoctyclahtolchitl at October 11, 2026 09:18 AM (ZOv7s)
49
I remember reading Superfudge and doing a report on it. 3rd grade maybe? Never read another Blume book.
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 11, 2026 09:19 AM (seCv0)
50
I missed out on Mowgli as well. My jungle reading was the original Burroughs Tarzan novels, which Ballantine began reissuing in paperback about '63. My father, who'd grown up with them, bought them all as they came out. Of course I had to see what it was all about. I was captured by the story of the young Tarzan as he is raised by Kala and the great apes, and then meets Europeans for the first time.
The first novel, the collection of short stories called Jungle Tales of Tarzan (flashbacks to his young jungle days before meeting white men), and several of the succeeding novels like Nos. 8 and 16 are quite good. You wouldn't want to write like Burroughs now -- but he kept a story moving like a high-speed train.
The first novel, the collection of short stories called Jungle Tales of Tarzan (flashbacks to his young jungle days before meeting white men), and several of the succeeding novels like Nos. 8 and 16 are quite good. You wouldn't want to write like Burroughs now -- but he kept a story moving like a high-speed train.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:19 AM (wzUl9)
51
In what world do little boys sit around a treehouse reading books? They're playing Cowboys and Indians, mumbly peg, or catching tadpoles in the creek. And No Girls Allowed. In a few years the treehouse becomes the vault for storing the forbidden girly magazines.
Posted by: I gotta ask at October 11, 2026 09:19 AM (H26ja)
52
Oh yeah, forgot Winnie the Pooh.
My aunt had a copy of a Br'er Rabbit book that I can't remember the name of now. It was the one with the 'tar baby' in it.
I loved it because my aunt would read it to us kids at bedtime and she was very, very, good at imitating the voices and accents that the characters had.
My aunt had a copy of a Br'er Rabbit book that I can't remember the name of now. It was the one with the 'tar baby' in it.
I loved it because my aunt would read it to us kids at bedtime and she was very, very, good at imitating the voices and accents that the characters had.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:20 AM (6ydKt)
53
I recall asking for and receiving a hardbound copy of The Ship by Bjorn Landstrom for my tenth birthday. Beautifully illustrated book covering the development of ships through time. It is still on my bookshelf.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 09:20 AM (0U5gm)
54
Lovely picture up top!
What a remember reading a lot of as a kid was a collection of six books which my mother had as a kid and was called "My book house" series edited by someone named Olive Beaupre Miller from the 1920's. It contained stories and poems for kids with delightful drawings. Of course I read lots of others things as well, but I still have the book house series.
What a remember reading a lot of as a kid was a collection of six books which my mother had as a kid and was called "My book house" series edited by someone named Olive Beaupre Miller from the 1920's. It contained stories and poems for kids with delightful drawings. Of course I read lots of others things as well, but I still have the book house series.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:21 AM (JrHfD)
55
You wouldn't want to write like Burroughs now -- but he kept a story moving like a high-speed train.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:19 AM (wzUl9)
Why not? Fast paced stories might be what it takes to get more people reading. Complex, tedious stories probably put more people off of reading that lesser writing.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:19 AM (wzUl9)
Why not? Fast paced stories might be what it takes to get more people reading. Complex, tedious stories probably put more people off of reading that lesser writing.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 09:21 AM (1Ff7Z)
56
The American Heritage two volume Civil War. Had the colorful battlefield illustrations that drew me into reading.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at October 11, 2026 09:21 AM (JzUSu)
57
Had a bunch of the Golden Nature Guides too. As many as I could lay hands on. Roy Chapman Andrews' dinosaur stuff. Roy Gallant's astronomy books for kids, with the Bonestell illustrations.
During the Sputnik and early Mercury program years, I dimly recall bubble-gum card sets devoted not to football and baseball but to astronomy and the space program. Also using a lot of the Bonestell illos. Damn, I wish I still had those.
During the Sputnik and early Mercury program years, I dimly recall bubble-gum card sets devoted not to football and baseball but to astronomy and the space program. Also using a lot of the Bonestell illos. Damn, I wish I still had those.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 09:21 AM (q3u5l)
58
I also had several of the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators books, and my cousin and I would trade Hardy Boys books back and forth in order to read more of them.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026
***
Yes, I had a period with the Hardy Boys too. I missed out on the Investigators books and only came to AH's crime and horror anthologies (edited by someone else, who had great taste, and with AH's name on them) when I was about eleven. DC comic books were starting to seem a little childish, and the anthologies were perfect for me.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026
***
Yes, I had a period with the Hardy Boys too. I missed out on the Investigators books and only came to AH's crime and horror anthologies (edited by someone else, who had great taste, and with AH's name on them) when I was about eleven. DC comic books were starting to seem a little childish, and the anthologies were perfect for me.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:22 AM (wzUl9)
59
Wolfus, the beast must be fed
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:22 AM (znREB)
60
49 I remember reading Superfudge and doing a report on it. 3rd grade maybe? Never read another Blume book.
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 11, 2026 09:19 AM (seCv0)
Freckle Juice and Blubber were popular when I was in elementary school, had to read both of those.
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 11, 2026 09:19 AM (seCv0)
Freckle Juice and Blubber were popular when I was in elementary school, had to read both of those.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:22 AM (6ydKt)
61
Books for Precocious Little Sh*ts
-Animal Farm
-1984
-1985
-We
-A Clockwork Orange
-Emphyrio
-Wyst
-Make Room! Make Room!
-Animal Farm
-1984
-1985
-We
-A Clockwork Orange
-Emphyrio
-Wyst
-Make Room! Make Room!
Posted by: San Franpsycho at October 11, 2026 09:22 AM (RIvkX)
62
My father read a lot of Mark Twain to me. He did this well past the point where I could read and I think it was because he wanted to share it with me but also because he is of a generation where people still read books aloud in company.
Radio replaced that, but his parents were old enough to do it, and there is something to be gained by hearing the words spoken, hence the enduring popularity of things like audio books.
I also only saw him on weekends, and he didn't relate well to kids (now that he's a great-grandfather, he's more whimsical and less reserved around them), so it was a think he was comfortable doing.
Radio replaced that, but his parents were old enough to do it, and there is something to be gained by hearing the words spoken, hence the enduring popularity of things like audio books.
I also only saw him on weekends, and he didn't relate well to kids (now that he's a great-grandfather, he's more whimsical and less reserved around them), so it was a think he was comfortable doing.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 11, 2026 09:22 AM (ZOv7s)
63
"Sure, we're too old to change the world, but what about that kid, sitting down, opening a book, right now, in a branch at the local library and finding drawings of pee-pees and wee-wees on the Cat in the Hat and the Five Chinese Brothers? Doesn't he deserve better?"
Posted by: Lieutenant Bookman, Library Cop at October 11, 2026 09:23 AM (H26ja)
64
32 I had a Sambo book. It's not racist. Sambo was a badass who captured a tiger.
Posted by: fd at October 11, 2026 09:13 AM (MWfyi)
D-i-t-t-o.
Posted by: fd at October 11, 2026 09:13 AM (MWfyi)
D-i-t-t-o.
Posted by: Eromero at October 11, 2026 09:23 AM (LHPAg)
65
Did anyone here ever read the Great Brain series of books?
I enjoyed those a lot when I was a kid. Very entertaining.
I enjoyed those a lot when I was a kid. Very entertaining.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 11, 2026 09:24 AM (FZ29D)
66
Yes, I had a period with the Hardy Boys too. I missed out on the Investigators books and only came to AH's crime and horror anthologies (edited by someone else, who had great taste, and with AH's name on them) when I was about eleven. DC comic books were starting to seem a little childish, and the anthologies were perfect for me.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:22 AM (wzUl9)
I forgot those, too.
Read a few of them and I think I read Nancy Drew at some point.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:22 AM (wzUl9)
I forgot those, too.
Read a few of them and I think I read Nancy Drew at some point.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:24 AM (6ydKt)
67
The American Heritage two volume Civil War. Had the colorful battlefield illustrations that drew me into reading.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at October 11, 2026 09:21 AM (JzUSu)
---
I inherited the family copy of that, but far more influential was the copy of Churchill's The Second World War created by the editors of Life magazine. Lavishly illustrated with the highlights of his work, it captivated me whenever I visited my grandmother, and when I realized that Churchill wrote much, much more, I wanted to read it all.
And by happy coincidence, my other grandparents had all six volumes, and were happy to loan them to me. My book report for 6th Grade was The Gathering Storm.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at October 11, 2026 09:21 AM (JzUSu)
---
I inherited the family copy of that, but far more influential was the copy of Churchill's The Second World War created by the editors of Life magazine. Lavishly illustrated with the highlights of his work, it captivated me whenever I visited my grandmother, and when I realized that Churchill wrote much, much more, I wanted to read it all.
And by happy coincidence, my other grandparents had all six volumes, and were happy to loan them to me. My book report for 6th Grade was The Gathering Storm.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 11, 2026 09:25 AM (ZOv7s)
68
The first chapter book I ever read and the book that started me on a lifetime of reading was Robb White's The Secret Sea. After that, I read a brick library of White's book. But it was The Little Red Hen that formed my basic economic philosophy.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 11, 2026 09:25 AM (ndZc7)
69
The Great Brain series and then Narnia. Never bothered with Tolkien.
As an adult, I red Parliament of Whores and then every book mentioned there. Especially important were Closing of the American Mind and Gulagarchipelago.
As an adult, I red Parliament of Whores and then every book mentioned there. Especially important were Closing of the American Mind and Gulagarchipelago.
Posted by: Accomack at October 11, 2026 09:26 AM (9H7EW)
Posted by: smartass at October 11, 2026 09:26 AM (J4Dwc)
71
I remember loving a series of stories anout a little girl or maybe 2 little kids visiting with fairy creatures inside a big tree.
In my mind I remembered the author as Enid Blyton bit looking at her books as an adult I don't see a match
In my mind I remembered the author as Enid Blyton bit looking at her books as an adult I don't see a match
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:26 AM (znREB)
72
I loved The Phq
A Tom Toll Booth. I first read it in college for a lark. I reread it years later when I found and bought a trade paperback edition and then a couple of more times reading it to my son. Favorite line:It’s more important to know whether there will be weather than what the weather will be. - The Whetherman
Still reading Pride and Prejudice. Still mildly surprised at how much I am enjoying it. Still think Mr. Bennett is the best.
A Tom Toll Booth. I first read it in college for a lark. I reread it years later when I found and bought a trade paperback edition and then a couple of more times reading it to my son. Favorite line:It’s more important to know whether there will be weather than what the weather will be. - The Whetherman
Still reading Pride and Prejudice. Still mildly surprised at how much I am enjoying it. Still think Mr. Bennett is the best.
Posted by: Who Knew at October 11, 2026 09:27 AM (xbMkL)
73
Didn't get to Burroughs until after I'd found Heinlein and started my decade-long dive into sf. Ace Books had some of the Tarzans, but they did a lot of his non-Tarzan/Mars books. Ballantine had all the Tarzans and Mars novels. Grabbed almost all of them, and they were fun. Haven't revisited Burroughs in who knows when.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 09:27 AM (q3u5l)
74
Alas, the current schedule leave me little time for the Book thread, so I must take my leave. Thanks, Sabrina!
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 11, 2026 09:28 AM (ZOv7s)
75
I had a Sambo book. It's not racist. Sambo was a badass who captured a tiger.
Posted by: fd
Dude, there's not a single LGQXYZEIEIO in it!
Posted by: fd
Dude, there's not a single LGQXYZEIEIO in it!
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 11, 2026 09:28 AM (ndZc7)
76
Richard Scarry! (Not the knockoffs made by tracing and photocopying his stuff, but the real deal by the real guy. Especially The Great Pie Robbery.
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 11, 2026 09:28 AM (78a2H)
77
You wouldn't want to write like Burroughs now -- but he kept a story moving like a high-speed train.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:19 AM (wzUl9)
Why not? Fast paced stories might be what it takes to get more people reading. Complex, tedious stories probably put more people off of reading that lesser writing.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026
***
Burroughs's Tarzans were kind of complex, in that there was usually a big cast of characters beyond Tarzan himself. Burroughs would follow one group, perhaps the villains Tarzan was attempting to stop, until a cliffhanger point -- and then switch to another group or to Tarzan himself. These were written to be magazine serials, so I guess the cliffhanger at the end of each installment was mandatory. But it worked.
Burroughs also had a solid pulp imagination. His Africa was peopled with all sorts of lost or exotic civilizations: the forgotten city of Opar, or a long-lost colony of the Roman Empire, or a hidden valley with dinosaurs and intelligent humanoids with fur and tails.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:19 AM (wzUl9)
Why not? Fast paced stories might be what it takes to get more people reading. Complex, tedious stories probably put more people off of reading that lesser writing.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026
***
Burroughs's Tarzans were kind of complex, in that there was usually a big cast of characters beyond Tarzan himself. Burroughs would follow one group, perhaps the villains Tarzan was attempting to stop, until a cliffhanger point -- and then switch to another group or to Tarzan himself. These were written to be magazine serials, so I guess the cliffhanger at the end of each installment was mandatory. But it worked.
Burroughs also had a solid pulp imagination. His Africa was peopled with all sorts of lost or exotic civilizations: the forgotten city of Opar, or a long-lost colony of the Roman Empire, or a hidden valley with dinosaurs and intelligent humanoids with fur and tails.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:28 AM (wzUl9)
78
I've been reading "Rogue Male" by Geoffrey Household (1939). It was referenced in a Pendergast novel, so I gave it a whirl.
It's a thriller, a "hunter" is actually possibly a would-be assassin, but he gets caught and tortured, then escapes. This is the beginning of the book, and it looks like the rest of the book will follow him eluding capture and getting back to England(?).
There aren't any chapter breaks, which is unusual and doesn't offer any good rest stops. I'm not sure if I'm interested enough to finish it.
It's a thriller, a "hunter" is actually possibly a would-be assassin, but he gets caught and tortured, then escapes. This is the beginning of the book, and it looks like the rest of the book will follow him eluding capture and getting back to England(?).
There aren't any chapter breaks, which is unusual and doesn't offer any good rest stops. I'm not sure if I'm interested enough to finish it.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 09:29 AM (CjHsb)
79
forgot those, too.
Read a few of them and I think I read Nancy Drew at some point.
Posted by: SpeakingOf
I had about 25 Hardy Boys books.
Read a few of them and I think I read Nancy Drew at some point.
Posted by: SpeakingOf
I had about 25 Hardy Boys books.
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 11, 2026 09:29 AM (seCv0)
80
Heh, Perfessor, I just mentioned that!
Posted by: Accomack at October 11, 2026 09:29 AM (dJCmT)
81
Childhood treasures? Once I got past the sound out every word stage, it comes down to three and a series. They all go back to second grade, so late 1950s.
First and foremost, Treasure Island with the Wyeth illustrations. This was the book that showed how words and stories could bring me to a different world. It also taught me to keep a dictionary handy. (Having the dictionary at hand led to a life long interest in etymologies and how words develop over time.)
The Rolling Stones, a Heinlein juvenile. Adventure, humor, a bit of adult cynical attitudes, family, and science. It showed how the real world, science, could work in fiction. It ignited a decade long love of science fiction, especially space operas like the Skylark and Lensman series.
Dr. Seuss books. The poems and 'silly' words showed me how reading could feel like music.
The series was the Hardy Boys. They had so many interests that led to mysteries and danger that required determination and ingenuity to solve.
First and foremost, Treasure Island with the Wyeth illustrations. This was the book that showed how words and stories could bring me to a different world. It also taught me to keep a dictionary handy. (Having the dictionary at hand led to a life long interest in etymologies and how words develop over time.)
The Rolling Stones, a Heinlein juvenile. Adventure, humor, a bit of adult cynical attitudes, family, and science. It showed how the real world, science, could work in fiction. It ignited a decade long love of science fiction, especially space operas like the Skylark and Lensman series.
Dr. Seuss books. The poems and 'silly' words showed me how reading could feel like music.
The series was the Hardy Boys. They had so many interests that led to mysteries and danger that required determination and ingenuity to solve.
Posted by: JTB at October 11, 2026 09:30 AM (yTvNw)
82
I did a fifth grade book report on The Exorcist, which raised a few eyebrows, not only for the subject matter, but also for the books I was reading by then. A lot of police stories, UFO/Bermuda Triangle books, shark books, and Ian Fleming.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 09:30 AM (0U5gm)
83
Ballantine had all the Tarzans and Mars novels. Grabbed almost all of them, and they were fun. Haven't revisited Burroughs in who knows when.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026
***
At age ten I was not ready for the John Carter of Mars series. They confused me. Perhaps I should try at least the first one now.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026
***
At age ten I was not ready for the John Carter of Mars series. They confused me. Perhaps I should try at least the first one now.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:30 AM (wzUl9)
84
Almost done with Wonder Confronts Certainty, on the Russian greats vs Russian commies.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at October 11, 2026 09:30 AM (JzUSu)
85
Also a huge fan of the Mad Scientists' Club series by Bertrand Brinley. I see there's a small press which has brought them back into print. I may get a set . . .
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 11, 2026 09:31 AM (78a2H)
86
I have to admit that I have never read Treasure Island to this day. At home we had an edition with illustrations, and I found those interesting, but never got into the book itself.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:31 AM (wzUl9)
87
Ad had books with colored plates of rocks snd minerals. There was onion skin between the pages of photos. It was a treat to look through.
There is one Dr Seuss book I hated -
" Are you my mother?"
Sooo traumatizing 😁
There is one Dr Seuss book I hated -
" Are you my mother?"
Sooo traumatizing 😁
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:31 AM (znREB)
88
I still don't understand why "Little Black Sambo" is considered racist . I guess because " Sambo "is considered a racist name? . He is a very intrepid little boy getting the tigers to chase each other around the trees and turning themselves into batter.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:32 AM (JrHfD)
89
I just finished reading Johnston McCulley's "The Mark of Zorro," which was the novel that first introduced Zorro to the world. (Or, rather, Senor Zorro, as he is always referred as) It's a short, light read, but pretty fun. The first half can be a little slow, with its focus on a silly courtship, but the latter part of the book really picks up.
All the classic Zorro tropes are present, even if somewhat subdued. Zorro only carved a 'Z' on something once, but it was a pretty intense moment... Also, previous to this, I had just read a Zorro comic (based on the 50s tv show) where Zorro had a mute sidekick/butler named Bernardo. Bernardo really felt like a gimmicky made-for-tv character, but it turns out he was in the novel! He was a pointless character in the novel, but he was there nonetheless. Good on them for actually being able to change the source material for the better. Modern tv/movie writers could learn a thing or two from that...
All the classic Zorro tropes are present, even if somewhat subdued. Zorro only carved a 'Z' on something once, but it was a pretty intense moment... Also, previous to this, I had just read a Zorro comic (based on the 50s tv show) where Zorro had a mute sidekick/butler named Bernardo. Bernardo really felt like a gimmicky made-for-tv character, but it turns out he was in the novel! He was a pointless character in the novel, but he was there nonetheless. Good on them for actually being able to change the source material for the better. Modern tv/movie writers could learn a thing or two from that...
Posted by: Castle Guy at October 11, 2026 09:32 AM (3v7ra)
90
79 forgot those, too.
Read a few of them and I think I read Nancy Drew at some point.
Posted by: SpeakingOf
I had about 25 Hardy Boys books.
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 11, 2026 09:29 AM (seCv0)
They had a lot of books, Nancy Drew, too.
Back then you could get kids to read that much.
Now they can barely handle Harry Potter in nine books.
Read a few of them and I think I read Nancy Drew at some point.
Posted by: SpeakingOf
I had about 25 Hardy Boys books.
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 11, 2026 09:29 AM (seCv0)
They had a lot of books, Nancy Drew, too.
Back then you could get kids to read that much.
Now they can barely handle Harry Potter in nine books.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:33 AM (6ydKt)
91
Yes, I read books under the covers with a flashlight. My parents liked my reading choices but had this silly idea that young children required sleep. How was I supposed to get to sleep without knowing what Long John Silver was going to do next?
Posted by: JTB at October 11, 2026 09:34 AM (yTvNw)
92
Hmm ... childhood favorites ...
"The Big Green Thing," the first book I read by myself. I was 4. I know this because Mom noted it in the book. I wish I had it now, but I've gone through their (now my sister's) house, and it's not there. (The thing was a kite.)
"Calico Row," about being polite to others.
"The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats.
Yes, "Little Black Sambo."
"Never Talk to Strangers," written in rhyme.
In early grade school, "The Johnny Cake Mine."
A book by Ben Bova (I don't recall the title).
And, in late grade school, "The Mad Scientists' Club."
Oh, yeah -- the Hardy Boys!
"The Big Green Thing," the first book I read by myself. I was 4. I know this because Mom noted it in the book. I wish I had it now, but I've gone through their (now my sister's) house, and it's not there. (The thing was a kite.)
"Calico Row," about being polite to others.
"The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats.
Yes, "Little Black Sambo."
"Never Talk to Strangers," written in rhyme.
In early grade school, "The Johnny Cake Mine."
A book by Ben Bova (I don't recall the title).
And, in late grade school, "The Mad Scientists' Club."
Oh, yeah -- the Hardy Boys!
Posted by: Weak Geek at October 11, 2026 09:34 AM (KsJzp)
93
88 I still don't understand why "Little Black Sambo" is considered racist . I guess because " Sambo "is considered a racist name? . He is a very intrepid little boy getting the tigers to chase each other around the trees and turning themselves into batter.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:32 AM (JrHfD)
Yeah, it's basically the name.
It conjures up images of little black slave boys to some people so it's verboten.
Just like they got rid of Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:32 AM (JrHfD)
Yeah, it's basically the name.
It conjures up images of little black slave boys to some people so it's verboten.
Just like they got rid of Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:34 AM (6ydKt)
94
"My aunt had a copy of a Br'er Rabbit book that I can't remember the name of now. It was the one with the 'tar baby' in it."
Uncle Remus. Written by Joel Chandler Harris of Eatonton, Ga, where they are quite proud of Brother Rabbit and even have a Br'er Rabbit museum.
Uncle Remus. Written by Joel Chandler Harris of Eatonton, Ga, where they are quite proud of Brother Rabbit and even have a Br'er Rabbit museum.
Posted by: fd at October 11, 2026 09:34 AM (MWfyi)
Posted by: BifBewalski - at October 11, 2026 09:34 AM (QVmho)
96
Good morning!
Beloved books from childhood must include Richard Sary's books - Cars and Trucks and Things that Go, Busy Busy World, etc..
*Found goldbug!
Beloved books from childhood must include Richard Sary's books - Cars and Trucks and Things that Go, Busy Busy World, etc..
*Found goldbug!
Posted by: Lizzy at October 11, 2026 09:36 AM (rOKnE)
97
a branch at the local library and finding drawings of pee-pees and wee-wees on the Cat in the Hat and the Five Chinese Brothers? Doesn't he deserve better?"
Posted by: Lieutenant Bookman, Library Cop
--
Our local kids library is infested with that crap
Posted by: Lieutenant Bookman, Library Cop
--
Our local kids library is infested with that crap
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:36 AM (znREB)
98
Finished Three Witnesses by Rex Stout, a collection of three mid-length mysteries involving Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin.
The first tale is The Next Witness, where Leonard Ashe is on trial for the murder of an employee of an answering service. Wolfe is bothered by the facts of the case, and skips his subpoena to testify for the prosecution to instead gather evidence for the defense.
When a Man Murders is the next tale, of a wealthy man who was presumed dead in Korea and his estate paid out. Then, years later, he reappears briefly, before ending up on the floor of a hotel room, with a bullet hole in his head. Wolfe must determine if the man's remarried wife, her new husband, or a legatee is behind the death.
Finally, Die like a Dog involves Archie trying to return a raincoat, but instead taking possession of the dog of a murdered man, and Wolfe needing to get to the bottom of who the murderer is.
Nero Wolfe is reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes, a man of uncommon perception, while his assistant Archie, who relates the stories in first person, unlike a staid doctor acts and speaks like a gumshoe of noir films. Very entertaining.
The first tale is The Next Witness, where Leonard Ashe is on trial for the murder of an employee of an answering service. Wolfe is bothered by the facts of the case, and skips his subpoena to testify for the prosecution to instead gather evidence for the defense.
When a Man Murders is the next tale, of a wealthy man who was presumed dead in Korea and his estate paid out. Then, years later, he reappears briefly, before ending up on the floor of a hotel room, with a bullet hole in his head. Wolfe must determine if the man's remarried wife, her new husband, or a legatee is behind the death.
Finally, Die like a Dog involves Archie trying to return a raincoat, but instead taking possession of the dog of a murdered man, and Wolfe needing to get to the bottom of who the murderer is.
Nero Wolfe is reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes, a man of uncommon perception, while his assistant Archie, who relates the stories in first person, unlike a staid doctor acts and speaks like a gumshoe of noir films. Very entertaining.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 09:36 AM (0U5gm)
99
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:34 AM (6ydKt)
So dumb. The actress who played Aunt Jemima went around and performed the character and made pancakes and loved the role and made a living from that.
So dumb. The actress who played Aunt Jemima went around and performed the character and made pancakes and loved the role and made a living from that.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:36 AM (JrHfD)
100
I think I read Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde when I was like 11 or 12.
It was a good Stevenson book, and it's not a long read either.
It was a good Stevenson book, and it's not a long read either.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:37 AM (6ydKt)
101
Fen most everything isn't racist, but the Racists have to push their agenda
Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2026 09:37 AM (Ia/+0)
102
Are You My Mother? is by P.D. Eastman, not Dr. Suess. Same guy who did Go, Dogs Go! Gets lumped in with the Doctor because both were published as "I Can Read" books with the Cat in the Hat on the spine.
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 11, 2026 09:38 AM (78a2H)
103
Ditto on the Greek and Roman myths.
Did anybody else have those Bantam Knowledge Through Color books? I've got a ton of them down in my basement book nook. It was a terrific series.
Did anybody else have those Bantam Knowledge Through Color books? I've got a ton of them down in my basement book nook. It was a terrific series.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 11, 2026 09:38 AM (kpS4V)
104
What books stuck in your head and made you the Reading Moron you are today?
Has to be Rifles for Watie, by Harold Keith. Liked it so much as a kid that I bought a hard cover from ebay when the school libraries went woke and hid them all from the next generation.
From there I went hard into Hemingway's short stories, and segued into Thomas Pain.
What books stuck in your head and made you the Reading Moron you are today?
Has to be Rifles for Watie, by Harold Keith. Liked it so much as a kid that I bought a hard cover from ebay when the school libraries went woke and hid them all from the next generation.
From there I went hard into Hemingway's short stories, and segued into Thomas Pain.
Posted by: BifBewalski - at October 11, 2026 09:38 AM (QVmho)
105
As a youth, I 'read' through a Richard Scary book until the binding had to be reinforced with shipping tape. There was also a particular atlas and a dinosaur book that left an impression on me.
Novel wise, I remember The Boxcar Children, Encyclopedia Brown, The Three Investigators...A bunch of dog books by Jim Kjellgard as well as Call of the Wild and White Fang. Then the Redwall and Dragonriders of Pern series took me into the full-length novels. Along with whatever Star Trek TNG or early EU Star Wars paperbacks caught my eye off the library shelves...
And, because I was weird, I would flip through the family encyclopedia set, looking for any topic that caught my eye. I would also read straight through some themed history or year-in-review supplemental volumes that were included in the set.
Novel wise, I remember The Boxcar Children, Encyclopedia Brown, The Three Investigators...A bunch of dog books by Jim Kjellgard as well as Call of the Wild and White Fang. Then the Redwall and Dragonriders of Pern series took me into the full-length novels. Along with whatever Star Trek TNG or early EU Star Wars paperbacks caught my eye off the library shelves...
And, because I was weird, I would flip through the family encyclopedia set, looking for any topic that caught my eye. I would also read straight through some themed history or year-in-review supplemental volumes that were included in the set.
Posted by: Castle Guy at October 11, 2026 09:39 AM (3v7ra)
106
We loved the Amelia Bedelia books, probably because dad loved puns.
Posted by: Lizzy at October 11, 2026 09:39 AM (rOKnE)
107
I've mentioned this before, but the novel that started me on my lifelong love of the classic mystery novel was . . . a Western. Roy Rogers and the Ghost of Mystery Rancho, a Whitman book from just before RR and Dale Evans began their TV series. Roy is a young Texas Ranger, and the death of a fellow lawman on the Mexican border draws him into a deadly struggle against a killer bandit who wears a skeleton mask and costume on his raids. Not even his own men know his real identity -- which is not revealed until the penultimate chapter, and it's a thunderbolt surprise.
I bought a copy of it some years ago and enjoyed the reread. Yes, it has plot holes big enough to ride Trigger through. But it has a narrative drive like nobody's business, twists and turns, a grand climax, and the thunderbolt surprise. It led me to the Hardy Boys, and eventually to Stout, Queen, Carr, and Christie.
I bought a copy of it some years ago and enjoyed the reread. Yes, it has plot holes big enough to ride Trigger through. But it has a narrative drive like nobody's business, twists and turns, a grand climax, and the thunderbolt surprise. It led me to the Hardy Boys, and eventually to Stout, Queen, Carr, and Christie.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:39 AM (wzUl9)
108
So dumb. The actress who played Aunt Jemima went around and performed the character and made pancakes and loved the role and made a living from that.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:36 AM (JrHfD)
Can't have a black women dressed like a maid serving white people food. People might get the wrong idea.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:36 AM (JrHfD)
Can't have a black women dressed like a maid serving white people food. People might get the wrong idea.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:39 AM (6ydKt)
109
We used to be a thing.
Posted by: Henry and Beezus & Pippi Longstocking at October 11, 2026 09:40 AM (H26ja)
110
When I was a kid some of the books I best remember reading were L. M. Boston's "Green Knowe" books. One of the, "An Enemy at Green Knowe" gave me a memorable nightmare. On the science fiction front Andre Norton and Robert A. Heinlein were early favorites. And, having run across a paperback copy of Edgar Rice Burroughs "Thuvia, Maid of Mars" I developed a life long addiction to his tales of Barsoom and the adventures of Tarzan.
My father read me "The Hobbit" when I was quite small. The one bit of that that I remember was the image of Bard the Bowman stepping out of the night, still drenched from the waters of the Long Lake, to proclaim himself the slayer of the dragon. A few years later a family friend gave me my own hard back copy of "The Hobbit" (for which I still bless her). I treasured that until a certain sister of mine took it (without asking permission) and lent it to a friend of hers (who lost it). I only discovered this months later when I was frantically searching for it and she reluctantly confessed. And yes, I am still angry about that. My parents got me a new copy and reading that introduced me to the differences between the 2nd edition and 3rd edition texts.
My father read me "The Hobbit" when I was quite small. The one bit of that that I remember was the image of Bard the Bowman stepping out of the night, still drenched from the waters of the Long Lake, to proclaim himself the slayer of the dragon. A few years later a family friend gave me my own hard back copy of "The Hobbit" (for which I still bless her). I treasured that until a certain sister of mine took it (without asking permission) and lent it to a friend of hers (who lost it). I only discovered this months later when I was frantically searching for it and she reluctantly confessed. And yes, I am still angry about that. My parents got me a new copy and reading that introduced me to the differences between the 2nd edition and 3rd edition texts.
Posted by: John F. MacMichael at October 11, 2026 09:40 AM (/GVA9)
111
I started reading Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy this past week.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel
Check out her Assassin's Apprentice series. Dark, but very good.
I started reading Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy this past week.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel
Check out her Assassin's Apprentice series. Dark, but very good.
Posted by: BifBewalski - at October 11, 2026 09:41 AM (QVmho)
112
Any fans of the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander?
That's another series I loved when I was a kid. I re-read them as an adult and they hold up quite well.
Lloyd wrote the books for a younger audience but you never feel like he's talking down to children.
John Bellairs was the same way, which is why I loved his books as well.
That's another series I loved when I was a kid. I re-read them as an adult and they hold up quite well.
Lloyd wrote the books for a younger audience but you never feel like he's talking down to children.
John Bellairs was the same way, which is why I loved his books as well.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 11, 2026 09:41 AM (FZ29D)
113
I remember loving Pippi Longstocking.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:41 AM (JrHfD)
114
Perfesser, the first 3 Assassin's Apprentice (Fitz) books are among my favorite fantasy trilogies.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:41 AM (tcsrY)
115
a Western. Roy Rogers and the Ghost of Mystery Rancho
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:39 AM (wzUl9)
I've never read a Roy Rogers book, but I have seen some movies.
I gotta admit, I prefer Hopalong Cassidy.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:39 AM (wzUl9)
I've never read a Roy Rogers book, but I have seen some movies.
I gotta admit, I prefer Hopalong Cassidy.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:41 AM (6ydKt)
116
One thing about those books that stuck in my head and made me the reading moron I am today:
They were easily discoverable.
You could find paperback racks in almost every grocery store and pharmacy, every big department store had a book department, the book clubs advertised in a lot of major magazines, the libraries still had really good selections, library time was part of every week in the grade schools -- you couldn't move without tripping over books. These days, not so much.
They were easily discoverable.
You could find paperback racks in almost every grocery store and pharmacy, every big department store had a book department, the book clubs advertised in a lot of major magazines, the libraries still had really good selections, library time was part of every week in the grade schools -- you couldn't move without tripping over books. These days, not so much.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 09:42 AM (q3u5l)
117
It was Trigger, wasn't it? I never trusted that horse.
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 11, 2026 09:42 AM (78a2H)
118
109 We used to be a thing.
Posted by: Henry and Beezus & Pippi Longstocking at October 11, 2026 09:40 AM
Same.
Posted by: Henry and Beezus & Pippi Longstocking at October 11, 2026 09:40 AM
Same.
Posted by: The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew at October 11, 2026 09:42 AM (H26ja)
119
Skip, how was Adam Carolla last night?
Posted by: San Franpsycho at October 11, 2026 09:42 AM (RIvkX)
120
My week by the numbers.
12x12 wall-to-wall carpets removed: 2.
HF radio contacts made: zero.
YT Watch Later queue depth: down to 1,418.
Hours spent with AI on PCB design: about 8.
Lawn mowing percentage: 60%.
lichess.org tac puzzle score: 2106.
12x12 wall-to-wall carpets removed: 2.
HF radio contacts made: zero.
YT Watch Later queue depth: down to 1,418.
Hours spent with AI on PCB design: about 8.
Lawn mowing percentage: 60%.
lichess.org tac puzzle score: 2106.
Posted by: gp at October 11, 2026 09:42 AM (Jr5Lq)
121
Check out her Assassin's Apprentice series. Dark, but very good.
Posted by: BifBewalski - at October 11, 2026 09:41 AM (QVmho)
----
I just finished Assassin's Apprentice and have started Royal Assassin.
And because I'm a completionist fool, I've also ordered the rest of the books in the Realm of the Elderlings series...
Posted by: BifBewalski - at October 11, 2026 09:41 AM (QVmho)
----
I just finished Assassin's Apprentice and have started Royal Assassin.
And because I'm a completionist fool, I've also ordered the rest of the books in the Realm of the Elderlings series...
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 11, 2026 09:42 AM (FZ29D)
122
Are You My Mother? is by P.D. Eastman, not Dr. Suess. Same guy who did Go, Dogs Go! Gets lumped in with the Doctor because both were published as "I Can Read" books with the Cat in the Hat on the spine.
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 11, 2026 09:38 AM (78a2H)
Well, he was an associate of Geisel.
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 11, 2026 09:38 AM (78a2H)
Well, he was an associate of Geisel.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 09:42 AM (1Ff7Z)
123
. . . Finally, Die like a Dog involves Archie trying to return a raincoat, but instead taking possession of the dog of a murdered man, and Wolfe needing to get to the bottom of who the murderer is.
Nero Wolfe is reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes, a man of uncommon perception, while his assistant Archie, who relates the stories in first person, unlike a staid doctor acts and speaks like a gumshoe of noir films. Very entertaining.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026
***
That novelette is probably Stout's best short work and the best example of his mystery plotting. He was not a plotter like Queen or Carr, but every now and then he came up with a dazzling surprise.
Archie began as a roughneck, in fact he once described himself that way. He'd say things like "He don't know." But over the years, exposed to Wolfe, he grew much more polished -- though he never lost that tough edge when it was needed.
Nero Wolfe is reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes, a man of uncommon perception, while his assistant Archie, who relates the stories in first person, unlike a staid doctor acts and speaks like a gumshoe of noir films. Very entertaining.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026
***
That novelette is probably Stout's best short work and the best example of his mystery plotting. He was not a plotter like Queen or Carr, but every now and then he came up with a dazzling surprise.
Archie began as a roughneck, in fact he once described himself that way. He'd say things like "He don't know." But over the years, exposed to Wolfe, he grew much more polished -- though he never lost that tough edge when it was needed.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:43 AM (wzUl9)
124
Loved A Wrinkle in Time and the Chronicles of Narnia books. Also read classics like James and the Giant Peach, Wizard of Oz - mom got a nice hardback set of these.
Posted by: Lizzy at October 11, 2026 09:43 AM (rOKnE)
125
My parents liked my reading choices but had this silly idea that young children required sleep. How was I supposed to get to sleep without knowing what Long John Silver was going to do next?
Posted by: JTB at October 11, 2026 09:34 AM (yTvNw)
My mom didn't care, as long as we were quiet.
With five children, she desperately needed some quiet time.
Posted by: JTB at October 11, 2026 09:34 AM (yTvNw)
My mom didn't care, as long as we were quiet.
With five children, she desperately needed some quiet time.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 09:43 AM (CjHsb)
126
Lloyd Alexander had a book signing once when I happened to be at that bookstore. I grabbed the book - a kid's picture book - and got it signed.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:44 AM (tcsrY)
127
Agghh, I forgot:
The Book of Knowledge, an encyclopedia.
The daily newspaper comics, plus ...
Grandma's copy of the Peanuts Treasury, which I dug out every time I visited her house. She also saved the Sunday comics from The Kansas City Star for me. It had comics not included in our daily paper.
With willpower, I stop.
The Book of Knowledge, an encyclopedia.
The daily newspaper comics, plus ...
Grandma's copy of the Peanuts Treasury, which I dug out every time I visited her house. She also saved the Sunday comics from The Kansas City Star for me. It had comics not included in our daily paper.
With willpower, I stop.
Posted by: Weak Geek at October 11, 2026 09:44 AM (KsJzp)
128
We didn't have any tree houses in my neighborhood, sadly. But I had my preferred spots to read depending on the season. The house was a big Victorian era home. It still used a coal furnace and had, now unused, gas jets on the walls. In daylight and most of the year I liked to read on the front porch. At night I had a reading nook in the attic: worn out chaise lounge, a table to hold milk or soda, and a reading lamp. In winter I had 'my spot' on the sofa with a table and lamp. It was just across the room from the fireplace. I could read anywhere, of course, but to this day I prefer a reading 'nook' for extended sessions.
Posted by: JTB at October 11, 2026 09:45 AM (yTvNw)
129
53 I recall asking for and receiving a hardbound copy of The Ship by Bjorn Landstrom for my tenth birthday. Beautifully illustrated book covering the development of ships through time. It is still on my bookshelf.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 09:20 AM (0U5gm)
----
I have that one too!
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 09:20 AM (0U5gm)
----
I have that one too!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 11, 2026 09:45 AM (kpS4V)
130
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:39 AM (6ydKt)
Even her descendants who were black objected when she was removed.
Even her descendants who were black objected when she was removed.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:45 AM (JrHfD)
131
>>You could find paperback racks in almost every grocery store and pharmacy. . .
Oh, that reminds me, I read all those stupid Archie comic books, MAD magazine, etc.. Not literature, it was a phase. . .
Oh, that reminds me, I read all those stupid Archie comic books, MAD magazine, etc.. Not literature, it was a phase. . .
Posted by: Lizzy at October 11, 2026 09:46 AM (rOKnE)
132
Realm of the Elderlings
-
The ones with the LiveShips never were to my taste. I was happy to get back to angsty Fitz.
-
The ones with the LiveShips never were to my taste. I was happy to get back to angsty Fitz.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:46 AM (tcsrY)
133
Public library notified me a held book had come in, so I went down there yesterday to pick it up, but they lost it somehow. Michael Lewis' new book about the brief DOGE era. Oh well, I got other stuff to read. I told them if they found it, I'd be sure to read it cover to cover in kind acknowledgement of their effort.
In other book news, I have five boxes of old books left to get rid of, and as I've found with the other ten boxes disposed of, nobody wants books. Not even good ones.
In other book news, I have five boxes of old books left to get rid of, and as I've found with the other ten boxes disposed of, nobody wants books. Not even good ones.
Posted by: gp at October 11, 2026 09:46 AM (Jr5Lq)
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:47 AM (6ydKt)
135
I gotta admit, I prefer Hopalong Cassidy.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:41 AM (6ydKt)
Books, or movies? Book Hopalong definitely ain't Boyd Hopalong.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:41 AM (6ydKt)
Books, or movies? Book Hopalong definitely ain't Boyd Hopalong.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 09:47 AM (1Ff7Z)
136
I don’t remember any particular books from my childhood as sparking my love of reading, maybe because I was never one to reread books. Once I read a book it was on to the next one. I do remember some books from my grandparents houses. Before I started bringing books with me, I was stuck reading what ever was available wherever I was visiting. At my farm grandpa.s house he had the AKC dog book describing all the various breeds and he hanother book, written for younger kids (say 5th & 6th grade) describing the various breeds of horses. At my city grandad.s house he had the Life Illustrated History of WWII, that I poured over dozens of times.
Posted by: Who Knew at October 11, 2026 09:47 AM (xbMkL)
137
My Side of the Mountain. Probably read it a dozen times.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at October 11, 2026 09:47 AM (H26ja)
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:47 AM (tcsrY)
139
I'm doing a thing this year: reading classic spooky books for October. I did the Night in the Lonesome October last year, so probably won't revisit that. I'm sticking with books I've never read before.
I started with The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I read it fairly voraciously, and then the ending, the reveal, is going on a bit too long. I got bored. But then, it was my bedtime reading, so I was falling asleep. I'll finish it, and then next, The Hound of the Baskervilles.
I started with The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I read it fairly voraciously, and then the ending, the reveal, is going on a bit too long. I got bored. But then, it was my bedtime reading, so I was falling asleep. I'll finish it, and then next, The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 09:47 AM (CjHsb)
140
And, because I was weird, I would flip through the family encyclopedia set, looking for any topic that caught my eye. I would also read straight through some themed history or year-in-review supplemental volumes that were included in the set.
Posted by: Castle Guy
My parents bought the World Book encyclopedia when I was young. I read it.
I knew about dengue fever long before it was common knowledge, so I have that going for me.
Posted by: Castle Guy
My parents bought the World Book encyclopedia when I was young. I read it.
I knew about dengue fever long before it was common knowledge, so I have that going for me.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 09:48 AM (0U5gm)
141
130 Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:39 AM (6ydKt)
Even her descendants who were black objected when she was removed.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:45 AM (JrHfD)
I'm sure they did.
Who wouldn't be proud that their ancestor's picture was in multiple places in every grocery store in America?
Even her descendants who were black objected when she was removed.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:45 AM (JrHfD)
I'm sure they did.
Who wouldn't be proud that their ancestor's picture was in multiple places in every grocery store in America?
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:48 AM (6ydKt)
142
Books they told me I wasn't allowed to read but got read anyway
-Rosemary's Baby
-The Exorcist
-Looking for Mr. Goodbar
-Fear of Flying
-Papillon
-Rosemary's Baby
-The Exorcist
-Looking for Mr. Goodbar
-Fear of Flying
-Papillon
Posted by: San Franpsycho at October 11, 2026 09:48 AM (RIvkX)
143
I've never read a Roy Rogers book, but I have seen some movies.
I gotta admit, I prefer Hopalong Cassidy.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026
***
Whitman produced quite a few RR books, some after the kids' TV series began. Some were better than others (though they never wrote down to you). One, Roy Rogers and the Bitter River Bridge, fascinated me as a kid: Roy and Dale (who in the kids' book is handled much like an annoying younger sister) lead a project to build a bridge across a fast-moving river in the Idaho mountains. Reading it as an adult, I was disappointed, but I'm not sure why.
However, the one called The Enchanted Canyon, which I had not liked at age nine, proved to be a delight as a grown up. The atmosphere is palpable; there's enough action. I guess I disliked it because the viewpoint character was a boy of twelve, and Roy is seen through his eyes. At nine I liked stories about adult heroes.
I gotta admit, I prefer Hopalong Cassidy.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026
***
Whitman produced quite a few RR books, some after the kids' TV series began. Some were better than others (though they never wrote down to you). One, Roy Rogers and the Bitter River Bridge, fascinated me as a kid: Roy and Dale (who in the kids' book is handled much like an annoying younger sister) lead a project to build a bridge across a fast-moving river in the Idaho mountains. Reading it as an adult, I was disappointed, but I'm not sure why.
However, the one called The Enchanted Canyon, which I had not liked at age nine, proved to be a delight as a grown up. The atmosphere is palpable; there's enough action. I guess I disliked it because the viewpoint character was a boy of twelve, and Roy is seen through his eyes. At nine I liked stories about adult heroes.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:48 AM (wzUl9)
144
Books, or movies? Book Hopalong definitely ain't Boyd Hopalong.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 09:47 AM (1Ff7Z)
Movies, haven't read his books, either.
When it comes to Westerns, I'm much more interested in the visual.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 09:47 AM (1Ff7Z)
Movies, haven't read his books, either.
When it comes to Westerns, I'm much more interested in the visual.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:49 AM (6ydKt)
145
Whitman even produced a Dale Evans story, where she is dealing with an outbreak of diphtheria in Navajo country, and the Indians are drawn quite well as I recall.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:49 AM (wzUl9)
146
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:48 AM (6ydKt)
I think they were probably proud of the fact that she worked very hard her whole life and entertained people . Why do I have the feeling that it was "progressive" whites who were behind that removal and with Uncle Ben being axed as well?
I think they were probably proud of the fact that she worked very hard her whole life and entertained people . Why do I have the feeling that it was "progressive" whites who were behind that removal and with Uncle Ben being axed as well?
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:51 AM (JrHfD)
147
I loved My Side of the Mountain! Probably kill yourself trying to follow the survival advice in that book, though.
Wrinkle in Time is good, but . . . I encountered it when I was already a larval sci-fi nerd and it just felt a little off. The kind of SF your middle-school English teacher recommends. The kind of SF that uses science jargon without really understanding it, and treats everything as a metaphor because middle-school English teachers can spot the metaphors and feel like they didn't waste four years getting an English degree.
Wrinkle in Time is good, but . . . I encountered it when I was already a larval sci-fi nerd and it just felt a little off. The kind of SF your middle-school English teacher recommends. The kind of SF that uses science jargon without really understanding it, and treats everything as a metaphor because middle-school English teachers can spot the metaphors and feel like they didn't waste four years getting an English degree.
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 11, 2026 09:51 AM (78a2H)
148
>>We didn't have any tree houses in my neighborhood, sadly. But I had my preferred spots to read depending on the season. The house was a big Victorian era home. . .
Grew up in a not so large victorian home, but it included a small study off of the living room that included floor to ceiling built-in bookshelves on every bit of wall space, and a large window with a window seat looking out to the front street. The landscaping hid it well so that people walking by didn't notice you there. It easily held 2 kids fully stretched out, more if you squished. The children's books were stored on the walls at the foot of either side of the seat. It was the BEST place to stretch out and read on a lazy Saturday. Second best spot was on the hammock on the front porch.
Grew up in a not so large victorian home, but it included a small study off of the living room that included floor to ceiling built-in bookshelves on every bit of wall space, and a large window with a window seat looking out to the front street. The landscaping hid it well so that people walking by didn't notice you there. It easily held 2 kids fully stretched out, more if you squished. The children's books were stored on the walls at the foot of either side of the seat. It was the BEST place to stretch out and read on a lazy Saturday. Second best spot was on the hammock on the front porch.
Posted by: Lizzy at October 11, 2026 09:51 AM (rOKnE)
149
@85 --
I have that, but I have yet to get to the stories that are not in the original cillection.
I have that, but I have yet to get to the stories that are not in the original cillection.
Posted by: Weak Geek at October 11, 2026 09:52 AM (KsJzp)
150
Perfessor, I had a superlative teacher as a sprout who read to the class from the Chronicles of Prydain. Loved that series and the adventures of the Assistant Pig-keeper Taran!
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at October 11, 2026 09:52 AM (riU3n)
151
I'm doing a thing this year: reading classic spooky books for October. I did the Night in the Lonesome October last year, so probably won't revisit that. I'm sticking with books I've never read before.
I started with The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I read it fairly voraciously, and then the ending, the reveal, is going on a bit too long. I got bored. But then, it was my bedtime reading, so I was falling asleep. I'll finish it, and then next, The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026
***
My project for Halloween will probably be rereading King's Salem's Lot, and several short stories: M.R. James's "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad," John B.L. Goodwin's "The Cocoon," and Richard Matheson's "Crickets." All three are among the creepiest shorts I've ever encountered.
I started with The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I read it fairly voraciously, and then the ending, the reveal, is going on a bit too long. I got bored. But then, it was my bedtime reading, so I was falling asleep. I'll finish it, and then next, The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026
***
My project for Halloween will probably be rereading King's Salem's Lot, and several short stories: M.R. James's "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad," John B.L. Goodwin's "The Cocoon," and Richard Matheson's "Crickets." All three are among the creepiest shorts I've ever encountered.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 09:52 AM (wzUl9)
152
And The Bear Snores On is my favorite children’s book. I read that to my kid I started reading it as a canticle.
It really is a very good prose poem.
It really is a very good prose poem.
Posted by: Accomack at October 11, 2026 09:52 AM (4c58h)
153
Oh, we had this magnificent Merriam Webster's dictionary with indented tabs and such interesting extras - like a chart of 5 different alphabets - English, Greek, Hebrew, Cyrillic - I forget the other one
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:53 AM (tcsrY)
154
f the fact that she worked very hard her whole life and entertained people . Why do I have the feeling that it was "progressive" whites who were behind that removal and with Uncle Ben being axed as well?
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:51 AM (JrHfD)
They were.
That all happened in 2020 after George Floyd and every corporation in America was kneeling.
So Uncle Ben, Aunt Jemima, and the Indian maiden from Land-O-Lakes were deemed problematic and removed.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:51 AM (JrHfD)
They were.
That all happened in 2020 after George Floyd and every corporation in America was kneeling.
So Uncle Ben, Aunt Jemima, and the Indian maiden from Land-O-Lakes were deemed problematic and removed.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:54 AM (6ydKt)
155
Whenever I go on business trips with my young proteges, I always make a stop at a Half Price or another book store. I even offer to buy them books, just to get them to read more. I got lucky with a couple of them who like to read, but many gen Zs just don't read books.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 09:54 AM (0U5gm)
156
Another nice creepy short story - "Caterpillars," by E. F. Benson.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 09:55 AM (q3u5l)
157
Having older siblings, somewhere along the way I discovered a shelf of Ian Fleming paperbacks about British man named Bond.
James Bond.
Consumed them voraciously.
James Bond.
Consumed them voraciously.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at October 11, 2026 09:55 AM (H26ja)
158
The Little House on the Prairie series.
A Wrinkle in Time
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Nancy Drew books
Those are the first books I can remember reading on my own. I was probably in third grade when I started reading actual books on my own.
As an adult I am pretty much always reading some book although I'm transitioning to audiobooks more.
A Wrinkle in Time
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Nancy Drew books
Those are the first books I can remember reading on my own. I was probably in third grade when I started reading actual books on my own.
As an adult I am pretty much always reading some book although I'm transitioning to audiobooks more.
Posted by: lin-duh at October 11, 2026 09:55 AM (VCgbV)
159
>>In other book news, I have five boxes of old books left to get rid of, and as I've found with the other ten boxes disposed of, nobody wants books. Not even good ones.
You are so wrong!
I volunteer at a used book store and there are a lot of people who LOVE old books. The best is when someone wanders in, pokes around, and discovers a book they've been keeping an eye out for years (they loaned their original copy to a friend, lost it, whatever). Not every book has been digitized, and for many, nothing beats holding a book and turning pages vs. kindle/nook.
You are so wrong!
I volunteer at a used book store and there are a lot of people who LOVE old books. The best is when someone wanders in, pokes around, and discovers a book they've been keeping an eye out for years (they loaned their original copy to a friend, lost it, whatever). Not every book has been digitized, and for many, nothing beats holding a book and turning pages vs. kindle/nook.
Posted by: Lizzy at October 11, 2026 09:55 AM (rOKnE)
160
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:54 AM (6ydKt)
Yep. So many ludicrous things after George Floyd riots.
Yep. So many ludicrous things after George Floyd riots.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:55 AM (JrHfD)
161
The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet
San Diego based horror author Mark Clements featured this as a childhood book title in The Land of Nod. I assumed he’d made it up as a weird book for a weird story. I was very surprised to see it in a bookstore a year or so later.
Of course I bought it. It’s even more weird than Clements’s book.
San Diego based horror author Mark Clements featured this as a childhood book title in The Land of Nod. I assumed he’d made it up as a weird book for a weird story. I was very surprised to see it in a bookstore a year or so later.
Of course I bought it. It’s even more weird than Clements’s book.
Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at October 11, 2026 09:56 AM (XKdAf)
162
One treasured memory of reading as a child centered on "The Hound of the Baskervilles" when in fourth grade. I got it through the school's Scholastic Book program. Probably cost 25 cents. (Keyboards seldom include the 'cents' symbol these days. My old manual typewriters have them.) After an ENDLESS month of waiting it finally arrived. That night was cold and stormy. I set up in my chair with milk and cookies on the table and one lamp in a dark room. I could hear the storm winds and rain. Perfect conditions as I read about Holmes and Watson and the devil's hound. It was the best possible introduction to Sherlock Holmes.
Posted by: JTB at October 11, 2026 09:56 AM (yTvNw)
163
So Uncle Ben, Aunt Jemima, and the Indian maiden from Land-O-Lakes were deemed problematic and removed.
Posted by: SpeakingOf
Yeah, they finally got the last indian exterminated when they threw the Land O' Lakes squaw off of the butter carton.
Posted by: SpeakingOf
Yeah, they finally got the last indian exterminated when they threw the Land O' Lakes squaw off of the butter carton.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 09:56 AM (0U5gm)
164
I did a fifth grade book report on The Exorcist, which raised a few eyebrows, not only for the subject matter, but also for the books I was reading by then.
-
It was similar when I read Beau Geste for a book report.
-
It was similar when I read Beau Geste for a book report.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 11, 2026 09:58 AM (ndZc7)
165
Spooky classics for Halloween - Dracula of course
Also Edgar Allan Poe has a bunch
Also Edgar Allan Poe has a bunch
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at October 11, 2026 09:59 AM (tcsrY)
Posted by: gp at October 11, 2026 09:59 AM (Jr5Lq)
167
Don't mess with me.
Posted by: The Quaker Oats guy at October 11, 2026 09:59 AM (H26ja)
168
Yep. So many ludicrous things after George Floyd riots.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:55 AM (JrHfD)
Some things are returning to normal thanks to Trump, but big-time advertising is going to take longer. It's infested with woke as bad as Hollywood and will take forever for the left to let go of its stranglehold on the industry.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:55 AM (JrHfD)
Some things are returning to normal thanks to Trump, but big-time advertising is going to take longer. It's infested with woke as bad as Hollywood and will take forever for the left to let go of its stranglehold on the industry.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:59 AM (6ydKt)
169
Reading through Sabrina's list of books in the main post, I barely recognized any of them...Until she mentioned "The Pushcart War." That name rings a bell. And I may remember an anecdote from the prologue. Something about the major shipping companies being referred to with names very similar to the great powers of the day (the 30's?). So, some random guy reads a headline about business maneuverings, misinterprets it as real-life geo-political act of war, and then takes it on himself go bomb China.
Yeah, maybe that was from The Pushcart War, maybe some other novel I read...Or maybe I have more of a vivid imagination that I give myself credit for...
Yeah, maybe that was from The Pushcart War, maybe some other novel I read...Or maybe I have more of a vivid imagination that I give myself credit for...
Posted by: Castle Guy at October 11, 2026 10:00 AM (3v7ra)
170
120 My week by the numbers.
12x12 wall-to-wall carpets removed: 2.
HF radio contacts made: zero.
YT Watch Later queue depth: down to 1,418.
Hours spent with AI on PCB design: about 8.
Lawn mowing percentage: 60%.
lichess.org tac puzzle score: 2106.
Posted by: gp at October 11, 2026 09:42 AM (Jr5Lq)
I like this.
I solved all the Wordles this week. Two with all greens, one in only two tries!!!, two in three tries, two in four, and one in six.
12x12 wall-to-wall carpets removed: 2.
HF radio contacts made: zero.
YT Watch Later queue depth: down to 1,418.
Hours spent with AI on PCB design: about 8.
Lawn mowing percentage: 60%.
lichess.org tac puzzle score: 2106.
Posted by: gp at October 11, 2026 09:42 AM (Jr5Lq)
I like this.
I solved all the Wordles this week. Two with all greens, one in only two tries!!!, two in three tries, two in four, and one in six.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 10:00 AM (CjHsb)
171
I remember Are You My Mother?
Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2026 10:00 AM (Ia/+0)
172
My mother was a huge mystery story reader, so I got into them quite young. Especially Sherlock Holmes and the Peter Wimsey series by Dorothy Sayers. As a kid I preferred her short stories to her novels -- especially since she kind of let herself go wild in the short stories whereas the novels were a bit more serious and realistic. In one of the shorts Wimsey fakes his death to infiltrate an international crime gang which could almost be SPECTRE. In another he impersonates a wizard to defeat a mad scientist in the Pyrenees. There's another about hidden treasure and antique manuscripts better than anything by Dan Brown. Even a crossword puzzle mystery! Great stuff.
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 11, 2026 10:01 AM (78a2H)
173
First Holmes? Can't remember what book I read it in, but my first Sherlock story was "The Adventure of the Speckled Band." The Hound of the Baskervilles soon followed. I've enjoyed monster movies ever since I can remember and for somebody with my tastes, those were probably the perfect starter Sherlocks.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 10:01 AM (q3u5l)
174
Spooky classics for Halloween - Dracula of course
Also Edgar Allan Poe has a bunch
Posted by: vmom
Probably early high school, I found a collected works of Poe by one of those printers who put together hardbound books with green covers. I have always liked Poe, he was a master of short horror stories.
Also Edgar Allan Poe has a bunch
Posted by: vmom
Probably early high school, I found a collected works of Poe by one of those printers who put together hardbound books with green covers. I have always liked Poe, he was a master of short horror stories.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 10:01 AM (0U5gm)
175
Captains Courageous was my favorite book as a kid and remains my all time favorite overall.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026 10:02 AM (KC5Lt)
176
I did read "A Wrinkle in Time" series but not until I was in college and loved it!
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 10:02 AM (JrHfD)
177
As a parent I'm unashamed to boast that I pretty much wore out a copy of Goodnight Moon.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at October 11, 2026 10:02 AM (H26ja)
178
12x12 wall-to-wall carpets removed: 2.
HF radio contacts made: zero.
YT Watch Later queue depth: down to 1,418.
Hours spent with AI on PCB design: about 8.
Lawn mowing percentage: 60%.
lichess.org tac puzzle score: 2106.
-
Worst. Limerick. Ever.
HF radio contacts made: zero.
YT Watch Later queue depth: down to 1,418.
Hours spent with AI on PCB design: about 8.
Lawn mowing percentage: 60%.
lichess.org tac puzzle score: 2106.
-
Worst. Limerick. Ever.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 11, 2026 10:03 AM (ndZc7)
179
Yeah, they finally got the last indian exterminated when they threw the Land O' Lakes squaw off of the butter carton.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 09:56 AM (0U5gm)
That one was really silly.
A cute little Indian girl (named 'Mia' actually) in front of a nice landscape selling butter was somehow offensive to Indians.
It's like the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians fiascos.
The Indians weren't even really complaining about it.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 09:56 AM (0U5gm)
That one was really silly.
A cute little Indian girl (named 'Mia' actually) in front of a nice landscape selling butter was somehow offensive to Indians.
It's like the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians fiascos.
The Indians weren't even really complaining about it.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 10:03 AM (6ydKt)
180
As a kid, I had fun with The Mad Scientists' Club books. Not a literary classic, by any stretch, but still lots of fun for boys back when they were allowed to be boys.
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at October 11, 2026 10:04 AM (7HDzS)
181
I just realized that nobody has mentioned Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. What a great book that was for a first grader.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 10:04 AM (0U5gm)
182
Some things are returning to normal thanks to Trump, but big-time advertising is going to take longer. It's infested with woke as bad as Hollywood and will take forever for the left to let go of its stranglehold on the industry.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:59 AM (6ydKt)
When the main character in a Coppertone commercial is black you know things have reached the ludicrous level.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 09:59 AM (6ydKt)
When the main character in a Coppertone commercial is black you know things have reached the ludicrous level.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026 10:04 AM (KC5Lt)
183
We wore out Goodnight Moon, and some of the Sandra Boyntons as well. If pressed, I think I might still be able to recite But Not the Hippopotamus from memory.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 10:05 AM (q3u5l)
184
We got a guy on horseback wearing war paint with a big spear and everything.
Posted by: The Florida State Seminoles at October 11, 2026 10:05 AM (H26ja)
185
>>The Indians weren't even really complaining about it.
That's because Indians are too dumb to understand why it was racist, so we had to take care of it for them.
That's because Indians are too dumb to understand why it was racist, so we had to take care of it for them.
Posted by: AWFLs at October 11, 2026 10:06 AM (J4Dwc)
186
Spooky classics for Halloween
-
Winning couple's costume from the Bee.
https://tinyurl.com/2s43neun
-
Winning couple's costume from the Bee.
https://tinyurl.com/2s43neun
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 11, 2026 10:06 AM (ndZc7)
187
Sgt. Rock... G8 Flying Aces!!!
Posted by: qmark at October 11, 2026 10:06 AM (hzpDl)
188
Oh, the places you'll go!
Posted by: And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street at October 11, 2026 10:07 AM (H26ja)
189
Captains Courageous was my favorite book as a kid and remains my all time favorite overall.
Posted by: polynikes
Loved that book as a lad. Also loved "Kon Tiki" by Thor Heyerdahl, about the hilarious adventures of 6 crazy Scandinavians sailing across the Pacific on a balsa log raft, and
"Endurance," by Alfred Lansing, the tale of Ernst Shackleton's ill-fated yet heroic Antarctic expedition from 1914 to 1916. Oh, and let's not forget "Jonathan Livingston Seagull," by Richard Bach. Love that story.
Posted by: polynikes
Loved that book as a lad. Also loved "Kon Tiki" by Thor Heyerdahl, about the hilarious adventures of 6 crazy Scandinavians sailing across the Pacific on a balsa log raft, and
"Endurance," by Alfred Lansing, the tale of Ernst Shackleton's ill-fated yet heroic Antarctic expedition from 1914 to 1916. Oh, and let's not forget "Jonathan Livingston Seagull," by Richard Bach. Love that story.
Posted by: Sharkman at October 11, 2026 10:07 AM (/RHNq)
190
Celtics were natives.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026 10:07 AM (KC5Lt)
191
Seasonally appropriate: I wish I could get my hands on some vintage Dorrie (the little witch) books by Patricia Coombs.
*actually, they are out there, but they're pricey.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 09:13 AM
That's a definite blast from the past.
*actually, they are out there, but they're pricey.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 09:13 AM
That's a definite blast from the past.
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at October 11, 2026 10:07 AM (7HDzS)
192
>>The Indians weren't even really complaining about it.
That's because Indians are too dumb to understand why it was racist, so we had to take care of it for them.
Posted by: AWFLs
Should've put a Commander on the box instead.
That's because Indians are too dumb to understand why it was racist, so we had to take care of it for them.
Posted by: AWFLs
Should've put a Commander on the box instead.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 11, 2026 10:08 AM (ndZc7)
193
As a parent I'm unashamed to boast that I pretty much wore out a copy of Goodnight Moon.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty
I read that to my kids hundreds of times. We also read The Runaway Bunny, which became a favorite because I would add little things to the story, and put in sound effects, and use different voices for the various characters.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty
I read that to my kids hundreds of times. We also read The Runaway Bunny, which became a favorite because I would add little things to the story, and put in sound effects, and use different voices for the various characters.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 11, 2026 10:08 AM (0U5gm)
194
Trouble with the ad industry is that there's still no really good way to measure the effectiveness of ads. So instead the incentive for individuals in the business is to win awards -- and awards tend to go to "controversial" or "edgy" ads that reinforce the obsessions and delusions of gay graphic designers living in Brooklyn. Using Dylan Mulvaney to sell beer was a really stupid idea, but I bet whoever came up with that campaign is still basking in the admiration of his colleagues.
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 11, 2026 10:08 AM (78a2H)
195
When the main character in a Coppertone commercial is black you know things have reached the ludicrous level.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026 10:04 AM (KC5Lt)
Don't be a paleface. Use Coppetone.
https://youtu.be/GwKvoOmO0mk
The start of Jodie Foster's career.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026 10:04 AM (KC5Lt)
Don't be a paleface. Use Coppetone.
https://youtu.be/GwKvoOmO0mk
The start of Jodie Foster's career.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 10:09 AM (6ydKt)
196
By eighth grade I was reading my dad's books so Stephen King, before he went crazy. Salems Lot left an impression. I remember staying up all night reading because I was afraid to stop. He also read a bunch of crime books, thrillers, espionage, etc.
Posted by: lin-duh at October 11, 2026 10:09 AM (VCgbV)
197
I set up in my chair with milk and cookies on the table and one lamp in a dark room. I could hear the storm winds and rain. Perfect conditions as I read about Holmes and Watson and the devil's hound. It was the best possible introduction to Sherlock Holmes.
Posted by: JTB at October 11, 2026 09:56 AM (yTvNw)
Ooooh, how delightful!
Posted by: JTB at October 11, 2026 09:56 AM (yTvNw)
Ooooh, how delightful!
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 10:09 AM (CjHsb)
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 10:10 AM (JrHfD)
199
Hound of the Baskervilles is the source for the "Watson is an idiot" trope -- because Holmes uses him as a stalking horse so Watson pokes around and makes his own deductions, and then Holmes reveals himself and explains why all those deductions are wrong.
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 11, 2026 10:11 AM (78a2H)
200
The Roy Rogers Whitman novels did away with that singing stuff. Probably not to the taste of eight-to-eleven year old boys, I'd guess.
Whitman also produced a slew of stories based on TV Westerns of the late Fifties-early Sixties: Rin Tin Tin, Bat Masterson, Gunsmoke, Have Gun -- Will Travel, The Restless Gun, several Gene Autrys, and probably others I can't recall now. The ones I've reread as an adult are pretty good; the authors never talked down to their audience.
Whitman also produced a slew of stories based on TV Westerns of the late Fifties-early Sixties: Rin Tin Tin, Bat Masterson, Gunsmoke, Have Gun -- Will Travel, The Restless Gun, several Gene Autrys, and probably others I can't recall now. The ones I've reread as an adult are pretty good; the authors never talked down to their audience.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:11 AM (wzUl9)
201
194 Trouble with the ad industry is that there's still no really good way to measure the effectiveness of ads. So instead the incentive for individuals in the business is to win awards -- and awards tend to go to "controversial" or "edgy" ads that reinforce the obsessions and delusions of gay graphic designers living in Brooklyn. Using Dylan Mulvaney to sell beer was a really stupid idea, but I bet whoever came up with that campaign is still basking in the admiration of his colleagues.
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 11, 2026 10:08 AM (78a2H)
Exactly, it's a bunch of self-inserts, and mandatory diversity.
If you want awards the casting director better do it right.
Just like Hollywood.
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 11, 2026 10:08 AM (78a2H)
Exactly, it's a bunch of self-inserts, and mandatory diversity.
If you want awards the casting director better do it right.
Just like Hollywood.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 10:11 AM (6ydKt)
202
I think they were probably proud of the fact that she worked very hard her whole life and entertained people . Why do I have the feeling that it was "progressive" whites who were behind that removal and with Uncle Ben being axed as well?
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:51 AM (JrHfD)
Because, how would the successful Brown person know they've been repressed without our helpful guiding of them?
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 09:51 AM (JrHfD)
Because, how would the successful Brown person know they've been repressed without our helpful guiding of them?
Posted by: Leftists at October 11, 2026 10:12 AM (1Ff7Z)
203
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 10:09 AM (6ydKt)
My post may have not been clear and is not snark. There is a Coppertone commercial where the main character is a black girl.
My post may have not been clear and is not snark. There is a Coppertone commercial where the main character is a black girl.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026 10:12 AM (KC5Lt)
204
lin-duh, Salem's Lot was so terrifying. I still think about it. It's been, like, 50 years since I read it.
Is that possible?!
*checks publication date, then calendar
Is that possible?!
*checks publication date, then calendar
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 10:12 AM (CjHsb)
205
Out of morbid curiosity I checked out the Hugo winner for best novel, "The Everlasting" by Alix Harrow. Wonder of wonders, I enjoyed it. It's an odd one to describe. it's a fantasy story set in a country that's like an alternate Albion with its own mythic foundational hero, the knight Una Everlasting, who drew a magical sword from the heart of a yew tree and grew to become her country's champion. Her quest was to slay the last dragon, find the Grail, and save a dying queen, thus founding the nation.
The story begins in the Dominion's present day, which feels like post World War I, and wounded soldier Owen Mallory returns home to his scholarly pursuit, the life of Una Everlasting. He is given a long-lost manuscript to translate, but through blood magic he is thrust back in time to meet the real Una and guide the story so that the ramifications of her actions are bent to the establishment of the modern day Dominion empire. Owen realizes he has been sent back multiple times to manipulate the timeline. Owen and Una attempt to break free of the loop and get some agency for themselves.
The story begins in the Dominion's present day, which feels like post World War I, and wounded soldier Owen Mallory returns home to his scholarly pursuit, the life of Una Everlasting. He is given a long-lost manuscript to translate, but through blood magic he is thrust back in time to meet the real Una and guide the story so that the ramifications of her actions are bent to the establishment of the modern day Dominion empire. Owen realizes he has been sent back multiple times to manipulate the timeline. Owen and Una attempt to break free of the loop and get some agency for themselves.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 11, 2026 10:13 AM (kpS4V)
206
up to Chapter 11 in A Night in the Lonesome October.
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at October 11, 2026 10:13 AM (VyBeY)
207
Elder offspring has informed us that as a kid she would sneak a Stephen King off the shelf and read it well past bedtime. Salem's Lot and The Shining. Probably some others that she didn't need to read at her age. Kids. Whaddya gonna do?
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 10:13 AM (q3u5l)
208
My mom taught me to read around age 3. Back then mostly I read encyclopedias, but I remember reading some storybooks: a squirrel family; an eskimo kid who got dragged deep after harpooning a whale; three kids who got lost on the subway; a Komodo dragon expedition; and the Beebe-Barton bathysphere.
Posted by: gp at October 11, 2026 10:13 AM (Jr5Lq)
209
When the main character in a Coppertone commercial is black you know things have reached the ludicrous level.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026
***
In high school I was told by a black classmate that black people can sunburn too. Not as easily as whites, but they do, he said.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026
***
In high school I was told by a black classmate that black people can sunburn too. Not as easily as whites, but they do, he said.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:13 AM (wzUl9)
210
My post may have not been clear and is not snark. There is a Coppertone commercial where the main character is a black girl.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026 10:12 AM (KC5Lt)
Oh, I believe you.
I just wanted to take us back to a simpler time when it was mainly redheaded Irish girls that needed tanning lotion.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026 10:12 AM (KC5Lt)
Oh, I believe you.
I just wanted to take us back to a simpler time when it was mainly redheaded Irish girls that needed tanning lotion.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 11, 2026 10:13 AM (6ydKt)
211
up to Chapter 11 in A Night in the Lonesome October.
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at October 11, 2026 10:13 AM (VyBeY)
Did it bankrupt your feelings?
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at October 11, 2026 10:13 AM (VyBeY)
Did it bankrupt your feelings?
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026 10:14 AM (KC5Lt)
212
>> By eighth grade I was reading my dad's books so Stephen King, before he went crazy. Salems Lot left an impression. I remember staying up all night reading because I was afraid to stop. He also read a bunch of crime books, thrillers, espionage, etc.
Heh, I read all the Stephen King books in high school - The Stand, The Shining, Cujo, etc.. His books of short stories were good, too, including Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.
Heh, I read all the Stephen King books in high school - The Stand, The Shining, Cujo, etc.. His books of short stories were good, too, including Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.
Posted by: Lizzy at October 11, 2026 10:14 AM (rOKnE)
213
@181 --
I remember that!
As a farm kid, I loved the drawings of cityscapes.
Hey, have you heard of Big Brutus? Monster coal digger near Weir, Kan. Abandoned at the site because it was too big to move. Now preserved as a tourist attraction.
I remember that!
As a farm kid, I loved the drawings of cityscapes.
Hey, have you heard of Big Brutus? Monster coal digger near Weir, Kan. Abandoned at the site because it was too big to move. Now preserved as a tourist attraction.
Posted by: Weak Geek at October 11, 2026 10:15 AM (KsJzp)
214
lin-duh, Salem's Lot was so terrifying. I still think about it. It's been, like, 50 years since I read it.
Is that possible?!
*checks publication date, then calendar
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026
***
Yes, I read it first in 1976. And that was a paperback edition, so the hardcover must have been even earlier.
Is that possible?!
*checks publication date, then calendar
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026
***
Yes, I read it first in 1976. And that was a paperback edition, so the hardcover must have been even earlier.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:15 AM (wzUl9)
215
In high school I was told by a black classmate that black people can sunburn too. Not as easily as whites, but they do, he said.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:13 AM (wzUl9)
This is true but black people probably make up .01 % of the customer base.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:13 AM (wzUl9)
This is true but black people probably make up .01 % of the customer base.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026 10:16 AM (KC5Lt)
216
lin-duh, Salem's Lot was so terrifying. I still think about it. It's been, like, 50 years since I read it.
Is that possible?!
*checks publication date, then calendar
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs
----
It's very possible! I have another birthday next weekend that tells me so, lol!😂
Is that possible?!
*checks publication date, then calendar
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs
----
It's very possible! I have another birthday next weekend that tells me so, lol!😂
Posted by: lin-duh at October 11, 2026 10:16 AM (VCgbV)
217
I remember my first important book so clearly. The summer between kindergarten and first grade, when there were assigned tables of books at the library for summer reading, labeled 1, 2, 3, etc.
I thought, 1 year olds could read? I hadn't realized I was that retarded.
So I headed reluctantly for the 4, 5, 6 table and picked ... Miss Hickory. A story about a nut. How intimidating could it be?
It wasn't just that I loved it, I remember clearly thinking, So that's what I've been doing!
Making up stories before I even knew what they were or how to write them down.
And I've been doing it ever since.
I thought, 1 year olds could read? I hadn't realized I was that retarded.
So I headed reluctantly for the 4, 5, 6 table and picked ... Miss Hickory. A story about a nut. How intimidating could it be?
It wasn't just that I loved it, I remember clearly thinking, So that's what I've been doing!
Making up stories before I even knew what they were or how to write them down.
And I've been doing it ever since.
Posted by: Wenda at October 11, 2026 10:16 AM (bGLcx)
218
Good morning!
Let's smile & be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.
Let's smile & be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 11, 2026 10:17 AM (u82oZ)
219
I looked up Little Black Sambo.
The Story of Little Black Sambo is a children's book written and illustrated by Scottish author Helen Bannerman and published by Grant Richards in October 1899.
. . . .
Contemporary critics observed that Bannerman presented one of the first black heroes in children's literature and regarded the book as positively portraying black characters in both the text and pictures, especially in comparison to books of that era that depicted black people as simple and uncivilised.
-
Conclusion: you can never be woke enough.
The Story of Little Black Sambo is a children's book written and illustrated by Scottish author Helen Bannerman and published by Grant Richards in October 1899.
. . . .
Contemporary critics observed that Bannerman presented one of the first black heroes in children's literature and regarded the book as positively portraying black characters in both the text and pictures, especially in comparison to books of that era that depicted black people as simple and uncivilised.
-
Conclusion: you can never be woke enough.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 11, 2026 10:17 AM (ndZc7)
220
My favorites are the classic C. S. Lewis Narnia books. I also loved Heinlein's Juveniles, especially 'Have Spacesuit, Will Travel'. Andre Norton also wrote juveniles and I enjoyed those quite a bit, like 'Steel Magic'.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at October 11, 2026 10:17 AM (s1VwS)
221
Heh, I read all the Stephen King books in high school - The Stand, The Shining, Cujo, etc.. His books of short stories were good, too, including Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.
Posted by: Lizzy at October 11, 2026
***
"Shawshank" has been described (not by King) as "the greatest prison break story since The Count of Monte Cristo." All four novelettes in that Different Seasons collection are wonders -- probably King's best work as a writer.
Heh, I read all the Stephen King books in high school - The Stand, The Shining, Cujo, etc.. His books of short stories were good, too, including Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.
Posted by: Lizzy at October 11, 2026
***
"Shawshank" has been described (not by King) as "the greatest prison break story since The Count of Monte Cristo." All four novelettes in that Different Seasons collection are wonders -- probably King's best work as a writer.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:18 AM (wzUl9)
222
I got fascinated early by an adult book my mother had. Probably seven or so, one volume, very small print, called An Encyclopedia of World History, 1940 & 1948 (probably due to that war thing), edited by Wm. L. Langer. I still keep it on my reference shelf. Chronological, two columns per page, small print, half inch to half page per subject, I took it off.to college with me. Had everything i needed to know about history in it for a quick response.
Late, I acquired the two volume Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia to complete my knowlege.
Late, I acquired the two volume Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia to complete my knowlege.
Posted by: From about That Time at October 11, 2026 10:18 AM (sl73Y)
223
It's very possible! I have another birthday next weekend that tells me so, lol!😂
Posted by: lin-duh at October 11, 2026 10:16 AM
You have TxMoMe weekend birfday?! Luxury!
Posted by: lin-duh at October 11, 2026 10:16 AM
You have TxMoMe weekend birfday?! Luxury!
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at October 11, 2026 10:18 AM (7HDzS)
224
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 11, 2026 10:17 AM (ndZc7)
He saved the village by turning the tiger into butter IIRC.
He saved the village by turning the tiger into butter IIRC.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026 10:18 AM (KC5Lt)
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at October 11, 2026 10:19 AM (7HDzS)
226
All this talk of butter and syrup mascots makes me realize I need to make pancakes.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 11, 2026 10:19 AM (kpS4V)
227
I think they were probably proud of the fact that she worked very hard her whole life and entertained people .
-
So she was acting white.
-
So she was acting white.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 11, 2026 10:21 AM (ndZc7)
228
112 Any fans of the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander?
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 11, 2026 09:41 AM (FZ29D)
Somehow, I missed those when I was a kid. As a late teen I tried to read "The Black Cauldron," but bailed on it pretty quickly because it was the second book in the series, and it didn't even try to bring the reader up to speed on what was going on. It just jumped into things, like it just the next chapter of one long series. (That was when I was in a phase where I was trying to re-discover barely-remembered things of my youth. Specifically, the sources for "The Black Cauldron" and Secret of NIMH" animated movies.)
Finally read them as an adult when I could get the set on an e-reader. Light reading, but enjoyable enough. I think my favorite book was the fourth. I liked the way the protagonist spent the whole book getting dis-spirited, but still fought on. It felt like a unique take/subversion of the standard tropes... Also, the Gurgi was kind of a ranger in the novels. I always meant to draw him holding a bow and looking kind of cool...but never got around to it.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 11, 2026 09:41 AM (FZ29D)
Somehow, I missed those when I was a kid. As a late teen I tried to read "The Black Cauldron," but bailed on it pretty quickly because it was the second book in the series, and it didn't even try to bring the reader up to speed on what was going on. It just jumped into things, like it just the next chapter of one long series. (That was when I was in a phase where I was trying to re-discover barely-remembered things of my youth. Specifically, the sources for "The Black Cauldron" and Secret of NIMH" animated movies.)
Finally read them as an adult when I could get the set on an e-reader. Light reading, but enjoyable enough. I think my favorite book was the fourth. I liked the way the protagonist spent the whole book getting dis-spirited, but still fought on. It felt like a unique take/subversion of the standard tropes... Also, the Gurgi was kind of a ranger in the novels. I always meant to draw him holding a bow and looking kind of cool...but never got around to it.
Posted by: Castle Guy at October 11, 2026 10:22 AM (3v7ra)
229
Top illustration reminds me of the 'adult' painting Springtime by Pierre Auguste Cot.
In my top ten of favorite paintings.
In my top ten of favorite paintings.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026 10:22 AM (KC5Lt)
230
TxMoMe Is almost always close, if not on, Teresa in FW and My birthday.
Posted by: lin-duh at October 11, 2026 10:23 AM (VCgbV)
231
My parents enjoyed taking road trips and mom would offer to buy us things to read. I always asked for either Peanuts books or MAD Magazine.
Posted by: 13times at October 11, 2026 10:24 AM (fnZRl)
232
Books for me at a pre teen were a series of school editions of historical American figures. From 3rd grade on. Don't know the series.
The Oz books, Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs were all a big draw, and I had a complete set of Tom Swift Jr. books by Victor Appleton II. They excited my imagination.
The Oz books, Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs were all a big draw, and I had a complete set of Tom Swift Jr. books by Victor Appleton II. They excited my imagination.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 11, 2026 10:25 AM (u82oZ)
233
TxMoMe Is almost always close, if not on, Teresa in FW and My birthday.
Posted by: lin-duh at October 11, 2026 10:23 AM
And you get deep fried bacon, personally served by a Bacon Wench. How great is that?
Posted by: lin-duh at October 11, 2026 10:23 AM
And you get deep fried bacon, personally served by a Bacon Wench. How great is that?
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at October 11, 2026 10:26 AM (7HDzS)
234
The tremendous range of paperbacks once upon a time . . . At thirteen I stumbled across Louis A. Safian's 1001 Insults for All Occasions, and it started my lifelong love of the smart remark -- and taught me how to create my own now and then.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:26 AM (wzUl9)
235
139 I'm doing a thing this year: reading classic spooky books for October.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 09:47 AM (CjHsb)
And that sentences sparked another memory of my youth: Bunnicula. Not exactly high literature, but fun for a youth.
It finally got an animated adaptation a few years ago. But it was too modern-animation-style for me to survive even a few minutes of it...
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 09:47 AM (CjHsb)
And that sentences sparked another memory of my youth: Bunnicula. Not exactly high literature, but fun for a youth.
It finally got an animated adaptation a few years ago. But it was too modern-animation-style for me to survive even a few minutes of it...
Posted by: Castle Guy at October 11, 2026 10:27 AM (3v7ra)
236
a TxMoMe "
Stupid fat fingers.
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at October 11, 2026 10:19 AM (7HDz
If posting from a phone or tablet articles are an option.
Stupid fat fingers.
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at October 11, 2026 10:19 AM (7HDz
If posting from a phone or tablet articles are an option.
Posted by: From about That Time at October 11, 2026 10:27 AM (sl73Y)
237
He saved the village by turning the tiger into butter IIRC.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026
***
Thus realizing his magical powers, and starting him on his career as an itinerant wizard traveling through India. . . .
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026
***
Thus realizing his magical powers, and starting him on his career as an itinerant wizard traveling through India. . . .
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:28 AM (wzUl9)
238
Wolfus,
Agree on Different Seasons, which is a high point in early King.
Eventually, some academic (hope it's one who can write readable prose) will do a long study charting King's career as a writer and examining all the ways politics hurt his work. It's easy now to dismiss him because the way he let his politics into his novels, but his work before that point was dynamite. A long period of home run after home run. And his non-fiction books On Writing and Danse Macabre aren't too dusty either.
Agree on Different Seasons, which is a high point in early King.
Eventually, some academic (hope it's one who can write readable prose) will do a long study charting King's career as a writer and examining all the ways politics hurt his work. It's easy now to dismiss him because the way he let his politics into his novels, but his work before that point was dynamite. A long period of home run after home run. And his non-fiction books On Writing and Danse Macabre aren't too dusty either.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 10:29 AM (q3u5l)
239
The Tom Swift books were listed in the back of the Whitman Young Readers Westerns, but I never got into them.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:30 AM (wzUl9)
240
King's problem is he doesn't always write the best endings. Though sometimes he gets them perfect.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026 10:30 AM (KC5Lt)
241
If posting from a phone or tablet articles are an option.
Posted by: From about That Time at October 11, 2026 10:27 AM
*whew*
Posting from my phone in San Antonio, where I'm playing tourist on the way up to the TxMoMe.
Posted by: From about That Time at October 11, 2026 10:27 AM
*whew*
Posting from my phone in San Antonio, where I'm playing tourist on the way up to the TxMoMe.
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at October 11, 2026 10:31 AM (7HDzS)
242
"Shawshank" has been described (not by King) as "the greatest prison break story since The Count of Monte Cristo." All four novelettes in that Different Seasons collection are wonders -- probably King's best work as a writer.
***
Though I have this near-boundless admiration for his time-travel novel 11/22/63.
***
Though I have this near-boundless admiration for his time-travel novel 11/22/63.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:31 AM (wzUl9)
243
Oddly, perhaps, I didn't read any of the classic childrens books like Wind in the Willows, Peter Pan, Winnie-The -Pooh or Beatrix Potter. I didn't realize the movie The Wizard of Oz was based on books. I thought it had been made as a vehicle for Judy Garland.
I'm making up for that now. The delight I find in Wind in the Willows and similar is so more layered than they would have been as a kid. In addition to enjoying the expressive, exuberant writing and sometimes subtle allusions to adult matters, there is an undercurrent of childhood innocence that I haven't felt in many, many decades.
There is pleasure in discovering new to me kids books like the Green Knowe stories by Lucy Boston and more recent books like the Brambly Hedge series. Feeling that childlike delight at my age is a real treasure.
I'm making up for that now. The delight I find in Wind in the Willows and similar is so more layered than they would have been as a kid. In addition to enjoying the expressive, exuberant writing and sometimes subtle allusions to adult matters, there is an undercurrent of childhood innocence that I haven't felt in many, many decades.
There is pleasure in discovering new to me kids books like the Green Knowe stories by Lucy Boston and more recent books like the Brambly Hedge series. Feeling that childlike delight at my age is a real treasure.
Posted by: JTB at October 11, 2026 10:32 AM (yTvNw)
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 11, 2026 10:33 AM (ndZc7)
245
King by far has the most movie adaptations of his books than any author.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026 10:33 AM (KC5Lt)
246
re Little Black Sambo.
You may not find it in your local bookshop these days, but copies can still be had for reasonable prices on ABEBooks and it's available to view as a PDF on the Internet Archive.
So they haven't killed it completely.
You may not find it in your local bookshop these days, but copies can still be had for reasonable prices on ABEBooks and it's available to view as a PDF on the Internet Archive.
So they haven't killed it completely.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 10:35 AM (q3u5l)
247
105 Novel wise, I remember The Boxcar Children, Encyclopedia Brown, The Three Investigators..
Posted by: Castle Guy at October 11, 2026 09:39 AM (3v7ra)
I don’t think I’ve ever commented on a book thread because I was a math nerd who wasn’t/still isn’t into reading as a pastime (exception for Ann Rule’s true crime). But when I saw the topic, the first thing I thought of was The Boxcar Children from my third grade class. The other one that I loved was From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which made me want to live in a museum. Beezus and Romana get an honorable mention.
105 Novel wise, I remember The Boxcar Children, Encyclopedia Brown, The Three Investigators..
Posted by: Castle Guy at October 11, 2026 09:39 AM (3v7ra)
I don’t think I’ve ever commented on a book thread because I was a math nerd who wasn’t/still isn’t into reading as a pastime (exception for Ann Rule’s true crime). But when I saw the topic, the first thing I thought of was The Boxcar Children from my third grade class. The other one that I loved was From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which made me want to live in a museum. Beezus and Romana get an honorable mention.
Posted by: TxAnn at October 11, 2026 10:36 AM (itAg7)
248
Thanks for the Book Thread, Sabrina Chase!
What a lovely picture up top. That is childhood perfection captured in fine art.
What a lovely picture up top. That is childhood perfection captured in fine art.
Posted by: Legally Sufficient at October 11, 2026 10:36 AM (D/6p1)
249
Another vote for The Phantom Tollbooth. ‘‘Twas disappointed my child did not love it nas I did, but he had his own favorites.
Posted by: NCDave at October 11, 2026 10:37 AM (Fez1U)
250
King's final Dark Tower book was probably the last time I bought or read one of his books. So over 20 years ago.
Posted by: lin-duh at October 11, 2026 10:39 AM (VCgbV)
251
React19 and the Brownstone Institute filed CDC FOIA requests regarding its Covid19 vaccine study and questionnaire.
"The CDC's V-safe was built to hear from people after vaccination, and these participants used it for that purpose. In their own words, 3,329 people reported serious harm, suicidal thoughts, near-death events, or the death of someone they loved. Many kept writing for weeks or months. Their entries describe promised callbacks that never came, pleas for help with no reply [...]
The result is Cries for Help, a 1000 page public domain book.
https://archive.org/details/cries-for-help-by-react19
"The CDC's V-safe was built to hear from people after vaccination, and these participants used it for that purpose. In their own words, 3,329 people reported serious harm, suicidal thoughts, near-death events, or the death of someone they loved. Many kept writing for weeks or months. Their entries describe promised callbacks that never came, pleas for help with no reply [...]
The result is Cries for Help, a 1000 page public domain book.
https://archive.org/details/cries-for-help-by-react19
Posted by: 13times at October 11, 2026 10:39 AM (fnZRl)
252
And you get deep fried bacon, personally served by a Bacon Wench. How great is that?
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at October 11, 2026 10:26 AM
There may, or may not be the introduction of some Conecuh sausage into the mix.
But you didn't hear it from me.
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at October 11, 2026 10:26 AM
There may, or may not be the introduction of some Conecuh sausage into the mix.
But you didn't hear it from me.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at October 11, 2026 10:40 AM (H26ja)
253
The library's Any Book Club meeting this week is focusing naturally on horror. Rather than discuss a King novel I'm sure the attendees have all read, I took out Zone One, a pandemic/zombie story by one Colson Whitehead. Apparently a pandemic that turned people into ravening flesh eaters has destroyed most of civilization, and the lead character is part of a sweeping team that is scouring Manhattan for still-dangerous infected.
I'm struggling with it. It's not written in present tense, at least. But the writing is so "I'm being literary here" that it seems to be getting in the way of telling his story. In the middle of his hero being attacked by two of the zombies, the writer goes off into a flashback into the hero's childhood. What???
I'm struggling with it. It's not written in present tense, at least. But the writing is so "I'm being literary here" that it seems to be getting in the way of telling his story. In the middle of his hero being attacked by two of the zombies, the writer goes off into a flashback into the hero's childhood. What???
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:40 AM (wzUl9)
254
It seems a bit strange to me that everyone can recall all the books or series they read in childhood. I know a few titles, but don't remember much at all of what I read. And I did read a lot. Maybe I spent more time reading encyclopedias and non-fiction books than literature even though I did my share.
Maybe I just read so many and so quickly that everything I read was a blur and not retained. Was it even worth it, then?
Maybe I just read so many and so quickly that everything I read was a blur and not retained. Was it even worth it, then?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 10:41 AM (1Ff7Z)
255
Wolfus,
King's 11/22/63 is a nice one. Maybe the best of his later books. And I think he had a terrific ending there.
King's 11/22/63 is a nice one. Maybe the best of his later books. And I think he had a terrific ending there.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 10:42 AM (q3u5l)
256
The Golden Books encyclopedias, and later the ones intended for high school students, were always favorites of mine. I know I read the GB ones cover to cover as each came out at the grocery store, and the HS versions served me for research for HS papers until I got to college.
Another company, or perhaps the same one, had a series with a section of the Funk & Wagnalls dictionary (yes, Laugh-In fans, it really existed) sandwiched between two different information portions. One was about breeds of horses; another about dogs; one about cats; one about the planets of our solar system, etc. Each breed or planet or other subject was illustrated. It was the first time I'd ever heard of Maine Coon cats.
Another company, or perhaps the same one, had a series with a section of the Funk & Wagnalls dictionary (yes, Laugh-In fans, it really existed) sandwiched between two different information portions. One was about breeds of horses; another about dogs; one about cats; one about the planets of our solar system, etc. Each breed or planet or other subject was illustrated. It was the first time I'd ever heard of Maine Coon cats.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:46 AM (wzUl9)
Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at October 11, 2026 10:47 AM (n+8d3)
258
"Maybe I just read so many and so quickly that everything I read was a blur and not retained. Was it even worth it, then?"
Yes, it was.
For a lot of what I read, I'm in the same boat -- I tend to remember authors and titles and whether I enjoyed the story, but a lot of the content blurs for me. So I know what I might want to revisit later. And something's retained, even if you can't pass a quiz on it later. I couldn't give you any details on East of Eden, for instance, but I do know there's gold there.
None of it's wasted time.
Yes, it was.
For a lot of what I read, I'm in the same boat -- I tend to remember authors and titles and whether I enjoyed the story, but a lot of the content blurs for me. So I know what I might want to revisit later. And something's retained, even if you can't pass a quiz on it later. I couldn't give you any details on East of Eden, for instance, but I do know there's gold there.
None of it's wasted time.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 10:48 AM (q3u5l)
259
King's 11/22/63 is a nice one. Maybe the best of his later books. And I think he had a terrific ending there.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026
***
And a well-done love story, and a portrait of late Fifties-early Sixties America (good and bad). Plus his vision of the alternate 2011 that his hero returns to is satisfyingly dystopian.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026
***
And a well-done love story, and a portrait of late Fifties-early Sixties America (good and bad). Plus his vision of the alternate 2011 that his hero returns to is satisfyingly dystopian.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:48 AM (wzUl9)
260
I took out Zone One, a pandemic/zombie story by one Colson Whitehead. Apparently a pandemic that turned people into ravening flesh eaters has destroyed most of civilization, and the lead character is part of a sweeping team that is scouring Manhattan for still-dangerous infected.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:40 AM (wzUl9)
I read that, I remember enjoying it well enough. Colson Whitehead has a very big vocabulary, I'll give him that.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:40 AM (wzUl9)
I read that, I remember enjoying it well enough. Colson Whitehead has a very big vocabulary, I'll give him that.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 10:50 AM (CjHsb)
261
I loved a book as a kid but don't remember the title. It was about a boy who happened to be present when a circus guy was frustrated with an elephant and said he'd sell him for $5. So the kid bought the elephant and they went around having boy /elephant adventures.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 11, 2026 10:50 AM (ndZc7)
262
Quick! Someone call John Fogerty. It's raining and the sun is out at my place.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 10:51 AM (1Ff7Z)
263
King by far has the most movie adaptations of his books than any author.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026
***
The best ones have been where the filmmakers haven't jettisoned the human material that made the novels so memorable, haven't just focused on the horror or SF elements. The Green Mile, the three adapted from Different Seasons, and a few others have been wonderful films.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026
***
The best ones have been where the filmmakers haven't jettisoned the human material that made the novels so memorable, haven't just focused on the horror or SF elements. The Green Mile, the three adapted from Different Seasons, and a few others have been wonderful films.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:52 AM (wzUl9)
264
162 ... "I set up in my chair with milk and cookies on the table and one lamp in a dark room. I could hear the storm winds and rain. Perfect conditions as I read about Holmes and Watson and the devil's hound. It was the best possible introduction to Sherlock Holmes."
A few years ago I was reading a book by Michael Dirda, the Washington Post book reviewer. Turns out his own first experience with Hound of the Baskervilles was almost identical and about the same time, right down to the milk and snacks.
(Dirda was laid off earlier this year after 44 years when the Post eliminated its Book World section. They got rid of the only part of the paper that still had any value. What a fitting epitaph for that POS rag.)
A few years ago I was reading a book by Michael Dirda, the Washington Post book reviewer. Turns out his own first experience with Hound of the Baskervilles was almost identical and about the same time, right down to the milk and snacks.
(Dirda was laid off earlier this year after 44 years when the Post eliminated its Book World section. They got rid of the only part of the paper that still had any value. What a fitting epitaph for that POS rag.)
Posted by: JTB at October 11, 2026 10:52 AM (yTvNw)
265
Quick! Someone call John Fogerty. It's raining and the sun is out at my place.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026
***
Happy creatures dancing on the lawn?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026
***
Happy creatures dancing on the lawn?
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:53 AM (wzUl9)
266
I loved a book as a kid but don't remember the title. It was about a boy who happened to be present when a circus guy was frustrated with an elephant and said he'd sell him for $5. So the kid bought the elephant and they went around having boy /elephant adventures.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 11, 2026 10:50 AM (ndZc7)
Was the title-
"Twenty-Five Years Of Shoveling Out My Backyard Every Damn Day"
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 11, 2026 10:50 AM (ndZc7)
Was the title-
"Twenty-Five Years Of Shoveling Out My Backyard Every Damn Day"
Posted by: naturalfake at October 11, 2026 10:53 AM (YSUhf)
267
I am reading "At the Back of the North Wind" by George MacDonald. First published in 1871. So far, it is a good story.
Posted by: Glenn at October 11, 2026 10:54 AM (H88Wh)
268
Posted by: naturalfake at October 11, 2026 10:53 AM (YSUhf)
Sounds like the origination story of the term White Elephant.
Sounds like the origination story of the term White Elephant.
Posted by: polynikes at October 11, 2026 10:54 AM (KC5Lt)
269
Happy creatures dancing on the lawn?
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:53 AM (wzUl9)
Who'll stop the rain.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:53 AM (wzUl9)
Who'll stop the rain.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 10:54 AM (1Ff7Z)
270
and finding drawings of pee-pees and wee-wees on the Cat in the Hat and the Five Chinese Brothers? Doesn't he deserve better?"
Posted by: Lieutenant Bookman, Library Cop
My Mom absolutely loathed The Five Chinese Brothers. But we all loved it. I gave each of my grands a copy. Their mothers also hate it.
The legacy continues!!
Posted by: Lieutenant Bookman, Library Cop
My Mom absolutely loathed The Five Chinese Brothers. But we all loved it. I gave each of my grands a copy. Their mothers also hate it.
The legacy continues!!
Posted by: Tonypete at October 11, 2026 10:56 AM (N5iuz)
271
Golden Book Encyclopedia w2as another influential book series as a yut.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 11, 2026 10:56 AM (u82oZ)
272
Happy creatures dancing on the lawn?
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026
*
Who'll stop the rain.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026
***
A masked and gowned neurosurgeon to an intern in the operating room:
"Have you never seen the brain . . .?"
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026
*
Who'll stop the rain.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026
***
A masked and gowned neurosurgeon to an intern in the operating room:
"Have you never seen the brain . . .?"
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:57 AM (wzUl9)
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:57 AM (wzUl9)
274
My Mom absolutely loathed The Five Chinese Brothers. But we all loved it. I gave each of my grands a copy. Their mothers also hate it.
The legacy continues!!
Posted by: Tonypete at October 11, 2026 10:56 AM (N5iuz)
That the one with the brother whose legs could keep getting longer when he was dumped in the ocean to drown? Read that.
The legacy continues!!
Posted by: Tonypete at October 11, 2026 10:56 AM (N5iuz)
That the one with the brother whose legs could keep getting longer when he was dumped in the ocean to drown? Read that.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 10:58 AM (1Ff7Z)
275
The Dr. Seuss books came along a little too late for me, but my mother bought them for my younger brother. We both liked them a lot.
My mother, she said, taught me to read using simple Dell comic books, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, etc. We began with her saying the hard words and me doing the simple ones. Pretty soon I could handle the hard words all by myself.
(Good thing, too, as I was set to start college that fall. . . .)
My mother, she said, taught me to read using simple Dell comic books, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, etc. We began with her saying the hard words and me doing the simple ones. Pretty soon I could handle the hard words all by myself.
(Good thing, too, as I was set to start college that fall. . . .)
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 10:59 AM (wzUl9)
276
Probably can't remember much of early childhood books, but then most had not much plot to remember. ( talking about reading learning)
Isn't Are You My Mother?
Was a bird looking what was his mother?
Isn't Are You My Mother?
Was a bird looking what was his mother?
Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2026 11:00 AM (Ia/+0)
277
None of it's wasted time.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 10:48 AM (q3u5l)
The thing is, I've reached the age where I don't have much time to go back and read stuff from decades ago. I'm mostly reading stuff to help in writing, not for enjoyment as such. Plus having to do all the stuff around the house while the wife works....
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 10:48 AM (q3u5l)
The thing is, I've reached the age where I don't have much time to go back and read stuff from decades ago. I'm mostly reading stuff to help in writing, not for enjoyment as such. Plus having to do all the stuff around the house while the wife works....
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 11:01 AM (1Ff7Z)
278
"Twenty-Five Years Of Shoveling Out My Backyard Every Damn Day"
Posted by: naturalfake at October 11, 2026 10:53 AM (YSUhf)
*snort
I'm reminded of Homer Price and his donut-making disaster.
Posted by: naturalfake at October 11, 2026 10:53 AM (YSUhf)
*snort
I'm reminded of Homer Price and his donut-making disaster.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 11:02 AM (CjHsb)
279
And though much later, I think 8th to 9th grade read Hell in a Very Small Place on battle of Bien Dien Phu did get that book a few years ago and remembered much of what was in it.
Posted by: Skip at October 11, 2026 11:02 AM (Ia/+0)
280
Miss Linda still takes out cute kids' books about animals for the various holidays from the library, just for fun. I asked her if the librarian has ever inquired as to the ages of her children. I told her, "Say 'They're named Stirling and Dagny, they're four years old, and they like to kill mice and insects.' "
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 11:02 AM (wzUl9)
281
I have read as a kid "The Princess and the Goblin" and "The Princess and Curdie " which my mother liked as a child and which I greatly enjoyed. I will have to look for George Macdonald's sermons if they're still in print .
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 11:04 AM (JrHfD)
282
I'm reminded of Homer Price and his donut-making disaster.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 11:02 AM (CjHsb)
See, these little nuggets bring things to my mind that I might - might, have read. Is it a story of a donut machine that won't stop making donuts?
How about a boy that builds his own robots and he and the robot have to escape someone in a rowboat? Is that something that rings a bell?
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 11:02 AM (CjHsb)
See, these little nuggets bring things to my mind that I might - might, have read. Is it a story of a donut machine that won't stop making donuts?
How about a boy that builds his own robots and he and the robot have to escape someone in a rowboat? Is that something that rings a bell?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 11:05 AM (1Ff7Z)
283
The "Recreational Reading" class I took in eighth grade was a big boost to my knowledge and love of Greek mythology. First we learned the names of the Greek gods and goddesses, and what they were responsible for. (As far as any Greek deities were "responsible" about anything.) Then our teacher read to us from a young people's edition of The Iliad and then The Odyssey. One of the few classes in all my school years I looked forward to.
(There is no truth to the rumor that it was because it was the last class of the day, and because a girl who looked like a teen Claudia Cardinale sat next to me.)
(There is no truth to the rumor that it was because it was the last class of the day, and because a girl who looked like a teen Claudia Cardinale sat next to me.)
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 11:07 AM (wzUl9)
284
OrangeEnt,
Know the feeling. I've kinda reached that stage myself. Retired, but there's still more to keep up with than I'd have thought, and there's SO much to read/reread that I'll never catch up; even if I never buy another book there's enough on my shelves/Kindle right now to keep me busy until I'm planted and well into the afterlife.
Know the feeling. I've kinda reached that stage myself. Retired, but there's still more to keep up with than I'd have thought, and there's SO much to read/reread that I'll never catch up; even if I never buy another book there's enough on my shelves/Kindle right now to keep me busy until I'm planted and well into the afterlife.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 11:07 AM (q3u5l)
285
Dank and drizzly here. Perfect for reading and puttering about.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 11, 2026 11:07 AM (kpS4V)
286
Dank and drizzly here. Perfect for reading and puttering about.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 11, 2026
***
Less hot and a little drier here. Perhaps this afternoon about 4:30, once the sun is off the front step, I'll go out with some ice water and read there.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 11, 2026
***
Less hot and a little drier here. Perhaps this afternoon about 4:30, once the sun is off the front step, I'll go out with some ice water and read there.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 11:09 AM (wzUl9)
287
261 I loved a book as a kid but don't remember the title. It was about a boy who happened to be present when a circus guy was frustrated with an elephant and said he'd sell him for $5. So the kid bought the elephant and they went around having boy /elephant adventures.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks
The Elephant Thief?
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks
The Elephant Thief?
Posted by: L - No nic... at October 11, 2026 11:09 AM (NFX2v)
288
See, these little nuggets bring things to my mind that I might - might, have read. Is it a story of a donut machine that won't stop making donuts?
How about a boy that builds his own robots and he and the robot have to escape someone in a rowboat? Is that something that rings a bell?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 11:05 AM (1Ff7Z)
Yes, regarding the donuts. For nostalgia's sake, I think I'll download that from Libby for tonight's bedtime reading.
I don't know about the boy with the robot.
How about a boy that builds his own robots and he and the robot have to escape someone in a rowboat? Is that something that rings a bell?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 11:05 AM (1Ff7Z)
Yes, regarding the donuts. For nostalgia's sake, I think I'll download that from Libby for tonight's bedtime reading.
I don't know about the boy with the robot.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 11:10 AM (CjHsb)
289
Welp. I guess the dog food isn't going to make itself. Later, horde, have a wonderful day!
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 11:12 AM (CjHsb)
290
My husband was not a fan of fiction. He read extensively, but always technical manuals, coding books, history. No fiction.
EXCEPT: two books he loved from childhood (which I had never read until he raved about them to me. I was a Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland kid), which he urged on our kids, were Secret Garden, and Wrinkle in Time. Absolutely loved them, and into adulthood.
EXCEPT: two books he loved from childhood (which I had never read until he raved about them to me. I was a Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland kid), which he urged on our kids, were Secret Garden, and Wrinkle in Time. Absolutely loved them, and into adulthood.
Posted by: barbarausa at October 11, 2026 11:12 AM (enw9G)
291
I'll never catch up; even if I never buy another book there's enough on my shelves/Kindle right now to keep me busy until I'm planted and well into the afterlife.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 11:07 AM (q3u5l)
Haha! Yes. I bought books last time in St. George and I've only read one. Had Kid Prima get me another couple that Wolfus suggested, but I don't know when I'll get around to reading the first ones. Bought a few over the years still sitting unread.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 11:07 AM (q3u5l)
Haha! Yes. I bought books last time in St. George and I've only read one. Had Kid Prima get me another couple that Wolfus suggested, but I don't know when I'll get around to reading the first ones. Bought a few over the years still sitting unread.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 11:13 AM (1Ff7Z)
292
Yes, regarding the donuts. For nostalgia's sake, I think I'll download that from Libby for tonight's bedtime reading.
I don't know about the boy with the robot.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 11:10 AM (CjHsb)
Ah, I know you're gone, but I seem to remember a black a white film shown in school about that story. Not sure if it ever happened, but I don't remember reading that story, just watching a film.
I don't know about the boy with the robot.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 11, 2026 11:10 AM (CjHsb)
Ah, I know you're gone, but I seem to remember a black a white film shown in school about that story. Not sure if it ever happened, but I don't remember reading that story, just watching a film.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 11:17 AM (1Ff7Z)
293
A sweet thing Mom and Dad did for us kids is read to us at bedtime, even after we could read for ourselves. I have very fond memories.
I recall The Boxcar Children and some story about a gypsy girl who lived in a gypsy wagon. I don't know why stories of orphans resonate with we kids who weren't. But it was fun to hear about their resourcefulness in those situations.
The Secret Garden brought to mind the story of Heidi, which I didn't realize had a spiritual element. I think I must have just seen a movie, where they tend to strip stuff like that out.
I recall The Boxcar Children and some story about a gypsy girl who lived in a gypsy wagon. I don't know why stories of orphans resonate with we kids who weren't. But it was fun to hear about their resourcefulness in those situations.
The Secret Garden brought to mind the story of Heidi, which I didn't realize had a spiritual element. I think I must have just seen a movie, where they tend to strip stuff like that out.
Posted by: Emmie, celebrating 250 years of God's grace at October 11, 2026 11:17 AM (OlzlW)
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 11, 2026 11:17 AM (eRlcH)
295
I'm really late, very lazy morning, so here's my contribution and then I'll go back and read what you all have said.
I started the new James Islington Sci Fi novel Scion yesterday afternoon and next thing I knew I was half way through the book. It is really different than his previous work. First, it is under 300 pages. There are only two main characters but they are so interesting. He uses the interaction between the two to show you the world he is building. I expect to finish it this rainy afternoon.
I started the new James Islington Sci Fi novel Scion yesterday afternoon and next thing I knew I was half way through the book. It is really different than his previous work. First, it is under 300 pages. There are only two main characters but they are so interesting. He uses the interaction between the two to show you the world he is building. I expect to finish it this rainy afternoon.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 11, 2026 11:18 AM (kJmSS)
296
Back from my White Christofascist Nationalist meeting. The plots and plans we devised. Heh, heh.
Back from my White Christofascist Nationalist meeting. The plots and plans we devised. Heh, heh.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 11, 2026 11:20 AM (eRlcH)
297
Mrs. Wrecks gave me an apparently very popular book, although I'd never heard of it, for my birthday, Navola by Paolo Bacigalumpi. I read the first three chapters yesterday, all exposition. The protagonist is the grandson of a rags-to-riches merchant whose success, at least in part, is attributed to his possession of a dragon's eye. The story is set in a fantasy world similar to ancient, or possibly Renaissance, Rome.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 11, 2026 11:21 AM (ndZc7)
298
Kids should be reading Banned Books!!
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 11, 2026 11:17 AM (eRlcH)
There are quite a few Beatles books... oh.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 11, 2026 11:17 AM (eRlcH)
There are quite a few Beatles books... oh.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 11:21 AM (1Ff7Z)
299
I know I read the Alice stories when I was small, but my knowledge of them is more from the references to them in later fiction. "Curiouser and curiouser," "Why is a raven like a writing desk?", the Mad Tea Party, the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat, and more.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 11:21 AM (wzUl9)
300
Thanks, Sabrina, for the book thread and helping to relive some very nice memories of being read to and reading as a child.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 11, 2026 11:22 AM (JrHfD)
301
Did I grow up surrounded by books? No, not really. Didn't really know about bookstores until I was in high school. My mother ordered books and we were read to, either by her or my father. It may have been a book club. The one I remember first was Harry the Dirty Dog. I also remember and loved Katy and the Big Snow (much beloved in snowy Upstate NY!), and Alexander and the Magic Mouse. I never really read Dr. Seuss, not sure why. Sometimes my grandmother, an elementary school principal, would visit and bring a cardboard box full of leftovers from the Scholastic book fairs at her school, and that was like Christmas for me. And my grandmother passed along little books of children's poetry, and read poetry to us. I read to my two girls as much as I could, especially those poetry books, and used to wonder if the only reason I had kids was as an excuse to buy children's books. Am I the only one who sees children's bookstores and think how very lucky children are now?
Posted by: Nancy@7000ft at October 11, 2026 11:22 AM (4qIhJ)
302
I know I read the Alice stories when I was small
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 11:21 AM (wzUl9)
Hoo boy! Do I have stories about Alice series!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 11:21 AM (wzUl9)
Hoo boy! Do I have stories about Alice series!
Posted by: Harcourt! Harcourt Fenton Mudd at October 11, 2026 11:23 AM (1Ff7Z)
303
My Mom is of German heritage so we had a compilation of Hans Christian Andersen’s story hanging around auf Deutsch.
She'd routinely read to us. It was when I first understood the meaning of The Little Match Girl when I started to develop my distain for humanity.
I couldn't believe it when I figured out the kid died!!
She'd routinely read to us. It was when I first understood the meaning of The Little Match Girl when I started to develop my distain for humanity.
I couldn't believe it when I figured out the kid died!!
Posted by: Tonypete at October 11, 2026 11:24 AM (N5iuz)
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 11:25 AM (q3u5l)
305
267 ... " I am reading "At the Back of the North Wind" by George MacDonald. First published in 1871. So far, it is a good story."
Glenn,
Glad you discovered it. MacDonald's children's books are a delight for kids and, as I'm learning, even more so for adults. I assume MacDonald was an influence on Madeleine L'Engle and her Wrinkle of Time books. Just ordered a Seawolf Press edition of North Wind with the original illustrations.
Glenn,
Glad you discovered it. MacDonald's children's books are a delight for kids and, as I'm learning, even more so for adults. I assume MacDonald was an influence on Madeleine L'Engle and her Wrinkle of Time books. Just ordered a Seawolf Press edition of North Wind with the original illustrations.
Posted by: JTB at October 11, 2026 11:25 AM (yTvNw)
306
I couldn't believe it when I figured out the kid died!!
Posted by: Tonypete at October 11, 2026 11:24 AM (N5iuz)
The Velveteen Rabbit was tossed into a fire!
Posted by: Tonypete at October 11, 2026 11:24 AM (N5iuz)
The Velveteen Rabbit was tossed into a fire!
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 11:26 AM (1Ff7Z)
307
He got out, though.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 11:27 AM (1Ff7Z)
308
Mrs Some Guy tells me the unexpected chores aren't mine. So...
It certainly feels good to be back again.
It certainly feels good to be back again.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 11:27 AM (q3u5l)
309
It certainly feels good to be back again.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 11:27 AM (q3u5l)
She'll find others for you.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 11:27 AM (q3u5l)
She'll find others for you.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 11, 2026 11:28 AM (1Ff7Z)
310
Sabrina,
Thanks for the thread and, especially, this topic. Such a pleasant and thoughtful excursion through our journey and joy of reading,
Thanks for the thread and, especially, this topic. Such a pleasant and thoughtful excursion through our journey and joy of reading,
Posted by: JTB at October 11, 2026 11:29 AM (yTvNw)
311
The Elephant Thief?
Posted by: L - No nic...
Sounds similar but this book was published in 2017 and I read mine circa 1965.
Posted by: L - No nic...
Sounds similar but this book was published in 2017 and I read mine circa 1965.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 11, 2026 11:31 AM (ndZc7)
312
Book clubs? Mom subscribed to the Reader's Digest Condensed Books when I was in junior high, and I got to read a lot of things I might not otherwise have been exposed to. Jaws, for instance, one of Harry Kemelman's mystery novels about Rabbi David Small, Airport, and Jack Finney's Time and Again.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 11:32 AM (wzUl9)
313
One thing I do miss about those early reading years:
Back in those summers from when I was 12-17 and even into college -- I could do a paperback in a day, and depending on chores, studies, etc. maybe 2 a day. I was devouring the things. I can't read with anywhere near that speed now. It would really help in catching up with my Amazing Colossal To-Be-Read Pile, but it just isn't to be.
Back in those summers from when I was 12-17 and even into college -- I could do a paperback in a day, and depending on chores, studies, etc. maybe 2 a day. I was devouring the things. I can't read with anywhere near that speed now. It would really help in catching up with my Amazing Colossal To-Be-Read Pile, but it just isn't to be.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 11:32 AM (q3u5l)
314
There are some good books mentioned here on the Book Thread I did not previously encounter! Well, like they say it is never too late to have a happy childhood and I think it is time for another one 
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at October 11, 2026 11:34 AM (riU3n)
315
My parents had a strict limit of three books from any Scholastic Book Order that I brought home from school.
Posted by: Cow Demon at October 11, 2026 11:34 AM (ekZzx)
316
Mom subscribed to the Reader's Digest Condensed Books when I was in junior high, and I got to read a lot of things I might not otherwise have been exposed to.
__________
Fate is the Hunter, by Ernest K. Gann
Hotel, by Arthur Hailey
Intern, by "Dr. X" (Alan Nourse)
Mom subscribed to the Reader's Digest Condensed Books when I was in junior high, and I got to read a lot of things I might not otherwise have been exposed to.
__________
Fate is the Hunter, by Ernest K. Gann
Hotel, by Arthur Hailey
Intern, by "Dr. X" (Alan Nourse)
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 11, 2026 11:34 AM (eRlcH)
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 11, 2026 11:36 AM (eRlcH)
318
I don't remember reading any of the books popular for kids today. I know I read Cherry Ames, Nurse and the Nancy Drew books and everything and anything about horses. My father, who never finished HS, read comic books so I read Sgt Rock.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 11, 2026 11:36 AM (kJmSS)
319
Thanks for the comment JTB. I have tried adult fantasy novels (Zelazny) and I think I prefer this so far. I just couldn't get into the endless worlds with flying boulders etc. (Amber series).
I will look for Macdonald's books.
I will look for Macdonald's books.
Posted by: Glenn at October 11, 2026 11:38 AM (H88Wh)
320
One of the relatives had a bunch of Reader's Digest condensed books and I read some of those when visiting. Didn't run across Jack Finney, but I recall Glendon Swarthout's Bless the Beasts & Children -- if memory serves most of the flashback sequences were omitted, and I think you needed those to get the why of the story.
Re: Finney. Liked Time and Again, but except for Body Snatchers, for me Finney always seemed stronger at short lengths. Check out the stories in his collection About Time. Great stuff, particularly "I'm Scared," "The Third Level," and "Where the Cluetts Are."
Re: Finney. Liked Time and Again, but except for Body Snatchers, for me Finney always seemed stronger at short lengths. Check out the stories in his collection About Time. Great stuff, particularly "I'm Scared," "The Third Level," and "Where the Cluetts Are."
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 11, 2026 11:38 AM (q3u5l)
321
Oh, and Bless the Beasts and Children by Glendon Swarthout, was in the RD Condensed Books series too. Looking at the list on Wiki, I see lots of forgotten novels and authors, but also quite a few famous works that are still read and have become movies. So their editors had a wide range of interests.
They rarely printed SF until much later in the Sixties, with the exception of Arthur C. Clarke's disaster story set on the Moon, A Fall of Moondust in 1961.
They rarely printed SF until much later in the Sixties, with the exception of Arthur C. Clarke's disaster story set on the Moon, A Fall of Moondust in 1961.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 11, 2026 11:39 AM (wzUl9)
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