1 post tagged “childhood books”

What books did you love as a child? 
Submitted by hearts. 

    My paternal grandfather lived with us when I was small, and read to me tirelessly. I'm certain I got my love of reading from him.  
    After the late grade-school years I had several favorites. First, the Rick Brant Science Mysteries, by John Blaine. I got about 15 of them before they went out of print and disappeared. 50 years later, I still read some of them from time to time.
    Second, without a doubt, "Maneaters of the Kumeon," by Jim Corbett (no, not the boxer) --. stories of Corbett's experiences hunting maneating tigers in India. Nothing less than thrilling. I wore out the paperback and finally acquired a used hard cover. Again, I read it frequently even today. The story about Robin, Corbett's dog, was the first thing I ever read that made me cry.
    Third, a three-books-in-a-volume of science fiction. It included "The World of Null-A," "The Voyage of the Space Beagle," and "Slan." I think they're all by A.E. Van Vogt. Still very readable after 50 years.
    Fourth, the Sherlock Holmes canon, by Arthur Conan Doyle. These are timeless, priceless stories. One line from "The Hound of the Baskervilles" still gives me chills: "Holmes, they were the tracks of a gigantic hound!"
    Fifth, the "Hornblower" series by C.S. Forester. This series of 12 volumes is probably why I joined the Navy. Several have been made into movies, one with Gregory Peck, and several starring Ioan Griffud as the young Hornblower. Great action/adventure on the high seas! "He stood up in the cabin and hit his head a thundering crash on the beams overhead. Reeling out into the sunlight, Hornblower was surprised to learn that the kettle-mending noise he had heard was the sound of cutlasses clashing." Wonderful stuff!
    Others that I read by the time I was 10 include Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey," and "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville. And the Bible. I try to read the first tthree once every 10 years or so, and I read through the Bible annually, reading a different version every year.