*Katharine's Book Club*

There were so many favorite books I had when I was a child that it is difficult to narrow down my very favorite. But, the first one that popped into my mind was The Outsiders. I enjoyed it because it was all about underdogs trying to survive against the popular kids.

As an adult, one of my favorite books would have to be To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Although I also love The Shining by Stephen King (scared the bejesus out of me).

I loved "The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew" when I was a child as an adult my favorite is Taylor Cauldwell "A Prologue To Love" And I have read both many times and Prologue to Love is still my most favorite

My favorite children's book of all time is 'WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS' although I love the POLAR EXPRESS now because I still believe in santa claus and I SWEAR I can still hear the christmas bell!

As a adult, there are so very many....

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
David by Charles Swindoll
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

oooo and we cant forget Lady Chatterly's Lover by DH Lawrence....forget today's 'steamy' titles....read the classics!:D

As a chiled I really loved
Jules Vern (read almost evry book of his !)
Robinson Cruzo
And ofcourse the "Great Sailors"
(Abel Tasman, James Cook, Magelan, Bering, Columbus)

My parents would be often falling asleep, somewhere between Columbus and Magelan, and we very rarely would get to the James Cook...

When I turned 5 I got really HUUUUGE wallmap... (now its just a wallmap, but than it was huge!) Day after birthday, I took it of the wall, and started to crowl on it... sometimes I would sit in australia, and look at the rest of the world from down under, and some times I would sit in Russia looking down on the rest of the map. (talk about instant travelling !!!). And imagine, what the "great sailors" became once I had the map on the floor !!!

I could track everyone of them! I could follow them through the whole world on their journey !!!

Ah I love books!

I have so many childhood favourites that it's hard to name just one! I did love Charlotte's Web though :)

My two fav's as anadult are probably as different as it is possible for two books to be!

Pride and Prejudice is just the perfect novel, wonderful chararcters (who amongst us does not identifywith Lizzie Bennett and oh la la to Mr. D!) a beautifully written and witty story with the perfect ending. Who could ask for more!

The Lord of the Rings - a perfectly realised fantasy world that one can escape into and each reread reveals new things that you missed the time before. I know people can find it heavy going but it is such a heartbreaking story of friendship, hope and perserverance against the odds (not to mention the ultimate battle of good versus evil;)) that it's definitely worth giving a go!

I am also an Anne Rice fan... she is great! (often lol)

Lets see favs...

My Petition For More Space by John Hersey (LOVED that... a riot and yet hmmmm ... ;))

A Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (a nod to reference in another thread but truly one of the best books I ever read and I have read it over and over)

I read both those as an adult. I really loved them.

As a child... I am told I was a Doctor Seuss kid too :D

My favorite childs' book: The Dr. Seuss Dictionary. I giggled hysterically with my best pal over the word combinations on the inside cover.

As a teenager, I liked Diana by R.F. Delderfield. As an adult, A Question Of Power, by Bessie Head, and also, Novel With Cocaine, by M. Ageyev. If none of you have read the last two, don't be shocked. Bessie Head was a South African mixed race novelist who died of pneumonia in 1948, and not much is known about M. Ageyev. His (?) novel was published in Russia in 1917, and then rediscovered in the late 50's in a Parisian bookstore. Great writing in them both.

As a kid, there was this book we had called, "Awful Marshall". I cant find it anywhere now, Im sure its out of print but my brother and I always requested that one. I also loved "The Monster at the end of this book" starring that loveable furry old Grover.
I got that book for my son when he was very young, and he loved it as well. I think they even did a sequel with Elmo included later.

As an adult I'd have to say mysteries by Elizabeth Peters, especially the Emelia Peabody Emerson series were wonderful....and more recently I have discovered "Culinary" mysteries by Diane Mott Davidson in which the main character is a proffessional caterer called Goldy Schultz.
I read all 12 books twice thru, first attracted because Goldy was divorced from an abusive ex husband and had a son just my age, and loved to cook....but once I started I became addicted for lots of other reasons.

New Favorite book, The Long Count by Frank Megna. I love this book and am currently reading it a second time.
http://www.noirnovels.com/review.php?review=44


:D

When I was little, I used to love "Curious George" and the man with the yellow hat. There was one book where he inhaled ether at the doctors office and passed out and I thought that was pretty damn funny. I also like Richard Scarry and remember my grandmother reading those books to me. As I got a little older, I liked the "Little House on the Prairie" books and caught alot of hell from my friends for that one!
Two books I remember hitting me hard when I was in Jr.High were "Ol' Yeller" and "Bless the Beasts and the Children". The final scene in Ol' Yeller when he has to shoot the dog because he got rabies after saving his little brother I still think of to this day. I really related to that main character because he was about my age when I read it.
Ive been trying to get to the books i should have read in high school but didnt - partying was way more important. I recently just read "The Color Purple" and was blown away by it, especially the main character, Celie. Also, I read "On the Beach" not to far back and talk about a heavy book - I had to sit for a few hours after that one and absorb it all. I STILL have dreams about it.
At the moment I am reading "Enders Game", a sci-fi story which is a genre I havent had much experience with but I had to see for myself after a recomendation *waves*. This book is addictive.

I have many childhood favs, but my kids enjoy books by Shel Silverstein "Where the Sidewalk Ends", "Falling Up", "A Light in the Attic". We like to pick numbers, go to that page, and read that page. Also wonderful books for kids and adults alike are the "Captain Underpants" books by Dav Pilkey. They are a riot! We laugh so hard reading them.

I am now reading "Blue-Eyed Child of Fortune: The Civil War Letters of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw" Wow.. very fascinating, as he was a wonderful writer. I'm a history teacher, what can I say? (For those of you that remember the movie "Glory", Shaw was the 26 year old Colonel played by Matthew Broderick)

Whoa Genevieve, we used to do the same ting with his books - pick a number and go to that page.

My favorite childhood book was"Tales of a 4th grade nothing". I loved that book. My #2 book was "Ender's Game" - very good book.

As an adult, my tastes are all across the board but "Neuromancer" by William Gibson and "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson stick out as being two of my favorties. Oddly enough, they're from the same genre.

Rob in Lynchburg (oops now in Missour-ah)

the books you mentioned were my daughters favorites.

As a child my mother read to me from The World of Pooh.

I read to my daughter from Ann of Green Gables and The Secret Garden. Wonderful books.

Moving this thread to the books section, enjoy! :)