The book that started your love of reading.

[bingybongy]

As a child I had no interest in reading, probably due to the utter crap on the school reading lists etc.

On a very rainy family holiday in Wales I found this on a bookshelf

http://www.wilbursmithbooks.com/books/standalone/e...

Eagle in the Sky by Wilbur Smith.

I was probably about 14.

After several abortive attempts to read it something finally clicked, the film screen in my head sprang into life and I read it in one sitting.

Since then I've probably read a book a week (apart from periods where I can't seem to find a book I like ).

Which one started you off?

[Stuart70]

Capt WE Johns, then Willard Price, then Alastair McLean, the Ian Fleming then Hemingway.....

[Silver Smudger]

As far as I can remember, the earliest book that was my own choice, not given to me by school was Roald Dahl's 'Danny the Champion of the World' - I went on to read everything I could find of his, still love them, and now so do my kids.

[silvagod]

This one...I learned to read with it and have read many thousands of books since!

[zb]

The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier

[Steffan]

Stuart70 said:

Capt WE Johns, then Willard Price, then Alastair McLean, the Ian Fleming then Hemingway.....

Good topic OP. An interesting list and I devoured all of these and more besides! But the book that started my love of reading was Swallows ans Amazons by Arthur Ransome. Followed avidly by Swallowdale, Peter Duck, Coot Club, Missee Lee, Great Northern, We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea, Secret Water, Picts and the Martyrs and every one in the series by Ransome. Bought each one with book tokens and present money and still have (or my eldest daughter still has) every one still in the original covers.

Then onto a list not unlike Stuart70 with Angus McVicar and the Red Plant and all of Asimov, Arthur C Clarke and on and on and on. Bit more Catholic in my tastes now but not in my religion! I am currently reading Contested Will by James Shapiro (Shakespeare's authorship disputes) and Under the Greenwood Tree (once again) by Hardy. IMO there is no such thing as a bad book: some are better than others.

To this day I thank Arthur Ransome for giving me (and millions of others) the love of books. Possible debt to Miss Tweed (who taught me to read (poor soul)) as well.

[Laurel Green]

Enid Blyton's Famous Five.

[Roy Lime]

Penthouse.

[Cardiff_Exile]

I was around 14 and my English teacher said he would bring in a book. The next week he brought a copy of Tom Sharpe's 'Vintage Stuff' in for me - I was hooked! So, Mr Simon Rees of Llanishen High, Cardiff (late 80s) I thank you! Now, a book a week is about the norm

[55palfers]

No one book really.

The "William" stories by Richmal Crompton - probably "William the Conqueror" was the first
Robinson Crusoe
Treasure Island
Oliver Twist
There are so many I remember reading as a boy

[Stuart70]

Steffan said:

Stuart70 said:

Capt WE Johns, then Willard Price, then Alastair McLean, the Ian Fleming then Hemingway.....

Good topic OP. An interesting list and I devoured all of these and more besides! But the book that started my love of reading was Swallows ans Amazons by Arthur Ransome. Followed avidly by Swallowdale, Peter Duck, Coot Club, Missee Lee, Great Northern, We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea, Secret Water, Picts and the Martyrs and every one in the series by Ransome. Bought each one with book tokens and present money and still have (or my eldest daughter still has) every one still in the original covers.

Then onto a list not unlike Stuart70 with Angus McVicar and the Red Plant and all of Asimov, Arthur C Clarke and on and on and on. Bit more Catholic in my tastes now but not in my religion! I am currently reading Contested Will by James Shapiro (Shakespeare's authorship disputes) and Under the Greenwood Tree (once again) by Hardy. IMO there is no such thing as a bad book: some are better than others.

To this day I thank Arthur Ransome for giving me (and millions of others) the love of books. Possible debt to Miss Tweed (who taught me to read (poor soul)) as well.

That brings back so much, Steffan - great books; I devoured the Swallows and Amazons series as a kid (although I knew less about the author then!), Clarke and Asimov in my early teens. I went off from Hemingway into Kerouac and Ginsberg (pretentious mid teens) then Updike, DeLillo, Fitzgerald, Irving and Bukowski then latterly into Murakami, with diversions into Le Carre, Pat Barker and William Boyd. I am a long way off thread now and surfing wildly - I have a lot to thank Miss Dickson, the dedicated, sarcastic and inspiring teacher of my 7 year old self.

Apologies for that and thank you for the skid down memory lane...

[Fishtigua]

I loved Stig of the Dump, that was my first early book I chose myself. At Junior School we did Watership Down. Following that it was Tom Sharpe and Sven Hassel.

[Catweazle]

This was bought for me when I was five, I still have it.

[Liokault]

The Hobbit.


Totally captured me when I read it at school. So much so that I stole the school copy. I still have it. Is that bad?

[gregd]

Ladybird Books (Tootle The Taxi anyone?) and Mr Men when I was very small, then onto anything by Roald Dahl. Various books stick in my memory from childhood.. The Silver Sword, Tom's Midnight Garden, The Machine Gunners, Dracula, Danny Champion Of The World to name but a few.

[nyxster]

George Orwell 1984.

A dystopian classic before dystopian became fashionable.

[Seti]

The Adventure series by Willard Price as well as the Three Investigators. Not sure either will have stood the test of time.

Also keen on Asterix and Tintin but doubtful if they really count.

[blueg33]

Swallows and Amazons at age of about 10 (I read every one of the series). Followed by Alastair Maclean Guns of Navarone

[jas xjr]

the three little pigs , probably . this was the first book that i chose and my brother bought for me at around the age of five .
i loved to read and woud often walk to the local library about three miles away

[Elroy Blue]

I grew up reading Warlord and Battle comics but one of the first books I remember gripping me was The Sheperd by Frederick Forsyth. It had some great illustrations too.