Friday OT - Where The Red Fern Grows

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cyrevkah

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Apr 12, 2008
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I almost forgot in junior high I read the start of the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. They are a good read if you like light-hearted fantasy and puns.

I'm shocked to learn that Anthony has kept writing them and there are over 40 books in the series now.

Also light hearted jokes that may or may not go over a kids head. I've almost forgotten these. They were awesome.
 
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cyrevkah

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As no one else has mentioned it. I am a Discworld fan... when I was younger I got hooked because of the funny footnotes. There were times I would only scan the book to read the funny footnotes.
 

bosco

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Dec 21, 2008
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I remember reading the CRAP out of Shel Silverstein books when I was four through seven. That photo on the back of each of his big, dirty foot may have instigated my horror of human feet, IDK.
I remember reading his poems and enjoying them when I was young. Reading them now is slightly terrifying.
 
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Cyclones_R_GR8

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The Happy Hollisters!! My aunt gave me her old books when I was in first or second grade. And I loved them. I’ve even looked for copies now since I liked them so much.
They've been out of print for a long time. You can find them on Ebay some times.
 

Bipolarcy

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When I was in grade school, anything that had "lost" or "mystery" or "secret" in the title, I devoured like candy. These include the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries.

When I reached about 5th, 6th grades, I started reading classical literature. I even tackled War and Peace.

My mother bought a set of Readers Digest condensed books where you look at one side and there's one book, then flip it over and on the back there's another book cover. Some of the titles Were Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, The Prince and the Pauper, Little Women, Little Men, which was a sequel or companion piece to Little Women. There were about a dozen in the series and I read every one of them.

And when a great uncle died, he didn't have any relatives except us, so we inherited his VERY large collection of hardcover books. He loved the westerns, like Zane Gray and such, but there were other books as well. There must have been 3-400 hardcover books in the collection and I read every one of those too. I didn't get out much because I always had my nose in a book. I think the Readers digest books stoked my love of classic literature, because I read just about every one I could get my hands on.

Also, when I was 12, I spent a summer down in Missouri with another uncle and aunt, who were childless. They left me at home quite a lot because she had a job and he was a farmer, but he rarely took me anywhere with him, I suspect because he was off drinking and gallivanting. She had a very large collection of Agatha Christie books in paperback, so I spent all summer reading those when I wasn't fishing in one of their 7 ponds on the farm.
 
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bosco

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Did anyone read the Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper? One of the best stories I read as a kid but seemed to be forgotten over time.
 

oldman

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Encyclopedia Brown books
Any Heinlein book I could get my hands on.
Anything by Jim Kjelgaard
Tom Sawyer
and our several different sets of encyclopedias
 
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MeanDean

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Boxcar Children/Family I can't remember what the actual title was. Some are saying there was a series. I only ever knew about one book.

Have Spacesuit Will Travel was a Heinlein book for adolescents. I read that several times. It also allowed me to branch out into other Heinlein books as I got older.

The Dog In My Life - One of those Scholastic Book things for like 35 cents.

Mr. Popper's Penguins.

There were several books I believe by William Campbell Gault - based on teens who were into cars and jalopies/restoration/hop-up that were set in Ankeny Iowa. I don't specifically remember any titles. I am surprised no one else has mentioned them.

Bonnie And Clyde - Their story as told by Bonnie's Mother and Clyde's Sister.
 
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NWICY

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Boxcar Children/Family I can't remember what the actual title was. Some are saying there was a series. I only ever knew about one book.

Have Spacesuit Will Travel was a Heinlein book for adolescents. I read that several times. It also allowed me to branch out into other Heinlein books as I got older.

The Dog In My Life - One of those Scholastic Book things for like 35 cents.

Mr. Popper's Penguins.

There were several books I believe by William Campbell Gault - based on teens who were into cars and jalopies/restoration/hop-up that were set in Ankeny Iowa. I don't specifically remember any titles. I am surprised no one else has mentioned them.

Bonnie And Clyde - Their story as told by Bonnie's Mother and Clyde's Sister.

This is the exact book that I DM'ed @Angie about to start this thread.
 
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madguy30

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Saw many mentioned. These came to mind, with artwork from when I read them.

9780679804994.jpg

563899.jpg
 
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NWICY

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Late to the party but sometimes life goes that way.

Mr. Popper's Penguins as mentioned by Mean Dean, made me want to go visit the poles (hasn't happened yet).

Hardy boys, Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, encyclopedias were all my young jam. Jr. High I really read any WWI or WW2 book I could find All quiet on the Western Front started off that kick for me.

Still enjoy reading today usually sci-fi,mystery, or Tom Clancy type books.

One of the funnest reads I had was getting to read the Harry Potter series with my oldest niece. I read the first one after she told me about it then I would buy us both a copy as soon as they came out. Then we would race read to the end. After the final book we went out for supper so we could talk about the last book and the whole series. Getting to read them with her was probably the most fun I've had reading.
 

JMA1125

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I read constantly as a kid and can’t even begin to name all the great books I read. What stands out is all the Wizard of Oz books. It’s a series of 14 books and I’ve probably read each at least 30 times.
 

VeloClone

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I forgot to mention Runaway Ralph, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, etc. I read them in that order, too. When I started reading Runaway Ralph I had no idea it was the second book.

"Great, green gobs of greasy grimy gopher guts,
Simulated monkey feet,
Chopped up baby parakeet."
 

Cyclonepride

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One of my kids got Eragon for Christmas or something, and I set to read this book which was so popular.

It was one of the worst written things I ever read. It could have been written by an Excel macro, it was so trite, cliched, and hackneyed. Got about 3/4ths thru and just tossed it. Complete drek.

Sorry, couldn't hold it in.

You should try Brandon Sanderson's books. I've read three of his series so far, and each of them was innovative and interesting. Best fantasy author I've found since Tolkien.
 

CloniesForLife

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You should try Brandon Sanderson's books. I've read three of his series so far, and each of them was innovative and interesting. Best fantasy author I've found since Tolkien.
Any suggestions on where to start?
 

Cyclonepride

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CloniesForLife

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