Sharing Memories: Week 8

I haven't participated yet in the Sharing Memories series, but this week's prompt spoke to me. As you could probably tell from some of my earlier posts, I'm a bibliophile. So when I saw this week's prompt was about books, I had to jump in.

This week's prompt is what kind of books did you read as a kid.

I've always been an avid reader, even as a child. My mom read a lot and passed it on to me. I've continued the tradition by instilling a love of books in my daughter. Even though she's only five, she has quite a collection of books-some early readers that she can read on her own and others that my husband or I read to her.

I attended a small combination elementary and middle school as a child with one librarian covering the entire school. We were limited to choosing only books deemed appropriate for our age range and only able to check out two per week. As someone who could easily go through a book a day (still can if I have the free time), this frustrated me.

Thankfully, the librarian was an amazing woman who realized this. She raised both limits for me, allowing me access to all the books in the library and letting me take out more than two books per week. She also recommended books that I might not have chosen on my own, opening my eyes to a wide variety of books. She must have alerted the high school librarian of my love for reading because I had an increased check out limit when I got there as well.

I will read about anything I can get my hands on, but my favorite has always been mysteries. There's nothing like curling up with a good mystery, gleaning all the clues from the pages and trying to solve it before the answer is revealed at the end of the book.

Being a mystery lover, it's no surprise that it's that genre of books that stands out most clearly in my mind when I think of childhood reading.

Nancy Drew

I loved Nancy Drew and have read most of them. What wasn't to love about a girl that defied stereotypes, had all kind of adventures, drove around in a convertible and had great friends like Bess and George? I didn't just like the series; I wanted to be Nancy.

I still have a few that have followed me to adulthood. They're a little advanced for my daughter, but I hope one day she'll love the series as much as I did as a child.

Hardy Boys

The Hardy Boys series was another frequently read one in my childhood. I loved reading about their adventures. They did a lot and had fun. I'm sure I'm not the only girl that had a crush on the boys either.

As with the Nancy Drew books, I still have a few that I've put up for my daughter.

The Three Investigators

While it took me a bit to remember the title, I distinctly remembered the series. Three boys running a detective agency out of an old trailer buried in a junkyard just fascinated me. The fact that they were younger than Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys was neat too. Nothing like chasing down clues and suspects on a bicycle.

The Boxcar Children
I adored the Boxcar Children series. Unfortunately, neither the school library or local public library had many of the series so I didn't get to read the entire series. They still stand out in my memory though. Once my daughter is a little older, I'll probably try to see if I can get the books for her to read.

Little House on the Prairie

While not a mystery, the Little House series was a childhood favorite. My parents bought me the boxed set for Christmas when I was seven and they have been well-read over the years. I still have them (are you noticing a theme?) and will give them to my daughter when she's older.