- I had a really hard time learning to read. I didn’t learn at all until I was nine/ten … but then by eleven it was pretty much all I wanted to be doing.
- Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine, totally changed my life. My mom was reading it out loud to me and my sister, but then Sarah didn’t want to keep reading it. I feel like, in part, I started learning to read so I could finish it on my own. Ella of Frell is still a big favorite of mine.
- The first “novel” I wrote was in tenth grade. It was a modernized version of the Tudor Court. I was obsessed with Elizabeth I and the wives of Henry VIII.
- I read Gone With the Wind over spring break in the sixth grade.
- In high school, I read all the Jane Austen novels and War and Peace along with every single Judith Krantz novel.
- I am not precious with my books. I break spines, dog ear pages, underline quotes, and have dropped many, many books in the bathtub.
- Last year, I read fewer than ten books written for adults. I’m trying to up that number this year.
- In college, I wrote lots of bad short stories about boring “adult” things like being dissatisfied with a job at a law firm or feeling like an old maid at twenty-six. My writing got a lot better – and a lot more fun – when I started writing about teenagers.
- I will always love Twilight, because (1) my sixth grade students loved it & (2) Edward.
- I’m pretty sure my favorite book is The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss.
Thanks to The Broke and the Bookish for hosting this weekly book meme!
Alison Doherty 
Great list! I treat my books the same way – they seem to have more character that way. And I also loved The History of Love. 🙂
Yay! I love meeting other History of Love fans. Such an amazing book! I never get tired of rereading it.
If you love history, you’d love the Outlander series (published in the UK as Cross stitch). Have you read it? it’s now a series (2 seasons) but the books are great too. Really thick books. I read the first 4 or 5 in my early 20s and I think the final book (#8) has just been released.
And I also love Twilight, although most adults groan when I admit it, though I am proud. Edwards Rocks! I got the idea for my first book, The Muse, from Twilight. 🙂
I tried reading Outlander in college and didn’t get into it. Although it’s so popular now I might give it another try!
Yes, try it again, you’ll love it if you give it another try now you’re older. 🙂
I too have dropped MANY books in the bathtub!
Ever since I dropped my phone in the bathtub, the books I drop don’t make me as upset anymore.
I love Ella Enchanted too. Its one of my favorite books! Gone With the Wind in 6th grade-that’s something. I’ve tried that book so many times but I just can’t do it lol
Here’s my TTT
Yay for Ella! I think I had a crazy determination to prove I was a good reader b/c it took me so long to read at all. I have no idea if I enjoyed Gone With the Wind or not. I definitely wouldn’t undertake it now. If a book is over 300 pages I start to get nervous.
Hahaha. I tried, really, but I don’t like the movie so that’s not much motivation for the book.
The movie is so so so different and so much worse from the book. But I get it. If the negative association is already there…
Maybe one day….
I took a long time to read too, and ended up loving it not long after. My first adult novel was Kane and Able by Jeffery Archer, I read it in 6th grade and I couldn’t put it down.
I’ve never read that one. Mine was LOTR in the 5th grade. This kid in school was reading it and the teachers were praising him bc it was “advanced”, so I wanted to read it too lol. It started my love affair with fantasy novels.
I LOVE Jeffrey Archer and have rarely met people who’ve heard of him. Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less was a favorite. Now I want to reread or try Kane and Able again!
I actually haven’t read ‘Not a penny more, not a penny less’, but I’m going to now, thanks. 🙂
‘As the crow flies’ was great. I also read the sequel to ‘Kane and Able’ which is ‘The Prodigal Daughter’ when I was 12, but I didn’t make it all the way through, because it was a bit beyond me.
Are you in the US? Coz everyone I know in Australia have heard of him.
Ella Enchanted is awesome, but I love The Two Princesses of Bamarre even more!
My TTT: https://bookclubbabe.net/2016/07/12/top-ten-tuesday-book-related-facts-about-me/
I love both of those books so much!
Fun list!
Oh I want to read Ella Enchanted! It’s on my list but I just haven’t gotten to it yet. I’m kind of rough on my books too and while it’s been awhile I’ve had more than my share end up in the bathtub too!
I’m glad I’m not the only one dropping books in the tub!
I also had a really hard time learning to read. My parents and the school put me in all sorts of different special reading classes. I guess something eventually worked.
Yeah, I went to tutoring and a specialist too. Eventually it clicked. Part of me thinks reading can be very developmental, instead of just learned behavior. It’s definitely an interesting experience to go through.