I got tagged by Mousie, so as promised this is my response.
Four Childhood Books
Children of Greene Knowe by Lucy M Boston. I loved the descriptions of the magical, yet realistic manor house. To this day I still have a thing about peacock cries. There were 6 in the series, I think I've probably read 4 of them.
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss. I love Dr Seuss, the humour, the word play and the zany illustrations. This was one of the books that my mum and I used to read together and if I'd borrow it from the school library, if I thought she needed perking up. I'm also rather fond of his Dr Seuss' ABC.
My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara. I was horse mad while I was growing up, but was never allowed to take up riding, so I compensated with reading lots of horsey books. This was my favourite series. I could really understand the familial tension and I loved the fact that the horses were always horses, not cutesy Disney animals or like Black Beauty.
Famous Five by Enid Blyton. I know it's not terribly correct, to like Enid Blyton, but she told marvelous stories about the 5 friends and the adventures they had. For someone without close friends living in the tropics, this was all very exotic.
Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene. Though I also loved the Hardy Boys and Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Detectives. I do like a good mystery and they were brilliant romps.
Damn. I can't count!
Four Authors I'll read Again and Again.
David Gemmell. Bring on the Hero fiction. Tales of brawny, moody men, powerful women, sword fights, good agains evil, sorcery, love and loss. The world has lost one of it's finest fantasy writers.
Gerald Durrell. He combined travel writing with conservation, writing about people and the animals he collected with compassion and humour. I never got to go to his zoo in Jersey while he was alive, I will go. One day.
Minette Walters. Writes amazing thrillers. Has written a couple duds, but her duds are still head and shoulders above most.
Isabel Allende. An amazing talent for magical realism, damn good stories, amazing characters.
Four Authors I'll Never Read Again.
Dan Brown. Writes eye-wateringly bad prose, his books have one plot and that he nicks...sorry researches from other people.
Mo Hayden. Gratuitous violence against women. Unspeakably awful.
Kate Mosse. You read right and it's not the model. I was given Labyrinth by a friend and asked not to return it. A couple of months later, another friend gave me her copy under the same terms, she drove off with me running after her waving the book. I've never got further than page 2.
John Fowles. Pompous ass.
The First Four on My to-be Read List.
Troy: fall of Kings - David Gemmell.
The Mission Song - the new John Le Carre novel.
Castle of Crossed Destinies - Italo Calvino.
The New York Trilogy - Paul Auster.
Four Books I'd Take to a Desert Island.
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee.
My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell.
The Constant Gardner - John Le Carre.
The Devil's Feather - Minette Walters.
To share the love, I'll tag: ing, Hottie, Gertie and Britswitch.
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One of the good things about being ancient - I read all the Famous Five and Secret Seven before we'd heard about political correctness.
ReplyDeleteI tried that Mo Hayden as well and totally agree.
I loved the famous five ..lol
ReplyDeleteBut ill go by your choice and try some of those good books youve noted.
We will have to have our shopping trip soon roses and drop by the book store too..
xxx
Of course, some of us grew up on W E Johns, Richmal Crompton, G A Henty, Arthur Ransome etc etc, but yes Enid Blyton too...
ReplyDeleteBetween ourselves, I used to rather cockily assume I was a bit unusual, in that my grandmother started me on a lifetime love of Dickens at the age of eight, (And no it wasn''t in the least Christmassy either - it was the Pickwick Papers)...However, my other half (who is frighteningly and truly offensively bright) says that although she can't remember starting Dickens, it was earlier than that and I must've been a bit of a slow starter...
Cow!
Kaz ~ I loved the freedom Enid Blyton's kids had. Can you imagine two girls being allowed to camp out with a couple of lads and a dog in a cave unsupervised?
ReplyDeleteB*E*G ~ The book which I haven't put up there, which I think you'd really like is Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zaphon. A cracking read and not heavy going.
That's a date honey!
cogidubnus ~ you snuck in there while I was writing my reply.
ReplyDeleteI've tried to, but failed miserably in liking Dickens. I know both you and Gertie will start pelting me with stones, bricks and any other missiles that come to hand...but I'm really not a fan.
Far better taste than my own Roses but I loved Enid Blyton too. & they weren't PC when I read them either although I have heard they have since been hauled over & picked apart to make sure they are completely & urtterly PC.
ReplyDeleteCould never get on with Dickens or anything like that, strange.
G*N*D ~ one of the things that I didn't admit, was my trashy reading. I also have bookshelves filled with Nora Roberts, Kay Hooper, Tami Hoag, Dean Koontz and Stephen King. They are my comfort reading. When I need a bit of escapism, I curl up on my sofa and read trash. They are cheaper than a packet of fag, won't ruin a diet and won't get me pregnant; so all of the fun and none of the responsibility.
ReplyDelete