Question of the Week
Question of the Week #5: Which was "the one?"
Welcome to the Question of the Week for November 10! Last week we had a literary election (winner to be announced soon), and this week we're turning inward for answers.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said "Every reader has his first book; I mean to say, one book among all others which in early youth first fascinates his imagination, and at once excites and satisfies the desires of his mind." For Longfellow, that book was Geoffrey Crayon's Sketch-Book by Washington Irving (read it on DailyLit to see what so excited Longfellow).
What was yours?
Replies (14)
Posted by
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I was obsessed with Sherlock Holmes when I was in third grade or so - I had this huge book with every Sherlock Holmes story in it and I read it through a few times in elementary school.
I loved books and read a lot before then, but that's the one that sticks out most in my mind...Nov 10, 2008 4:29 pm
by emilyyoung -
Anne of Green Gables- the characters. I wanted to be Anne (so I could then marry Gilbert!)- who else wouldn't want to be an intelligent, spunky, and brave girl?
But the book that came to mind first was To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus's line "that you should never lie to children" still rings as clear in my head as when I first read that line.Nov 10, 2008 6:10 pm
by tristiseye -
Alice in Wonderland. I must have read it three times before moving on to the sequel, Through the Looking Glass which I also read several times. I imagined I was Alice, and made my own alternatives to her choices. I still love that book.
Nov 11, 2008 2:14 pm
by yarnsome -
I remember several books from when I was a kid. I remember being terribly, terribly determined to march all the way through Born Free at age 7 (which I did!), and being horrified and fascinated by Anne Frank, but I think it was Jules Verne's 20000 Leagues Under the Sea that really cemented my love of books.
Nov 11, 2008 2:32 pm
by Khali -
I remember reading Lassie Come Home at a young age and loved it; however, the book that really got me reading was Crime and Punishment. I read it in the 11th grade as a class assignment. It was such an intriguing book--it started me on the path of being a mystery reader. Elizabeth George's Lynley Mysteries are my favorite.
Nov 11, 2008 3:39 pm
by jayne1384 -
I have forgotten the authors name, but the first book that really touched me was called "What Color is Love". I read it when I was 8. It was a book that tried to explain how some people couldn't get along with others because of the color of their skin. The first boy who had a crush on me was black, and my 1st grade teacher gave it to me because I was struggling with the issue of race.
Nov 11, 2008 4:42 pm
by LittleOne1964 -
Hi. I am new here and I love this question. The book that fascinated my imagination the most was James Michener's The Drifters. Awesome. It had my mind going places and seeing things, at that time, unimaginable. I would recommend this book to everyone and only to mature kids/teens. I was mature. LOL.
Nov 11, 2008 10:15 pm
by asavault -
@emilyyoung: The real question is whether or not Sherlock Holmes inspired an obsession with deerstalker hats!
@tristiseye: "You should never lie to children" is a powerful line indeed. I wondered how many books here might include an adolescent character--it seems to me that the combination of a young character and more adult themes make for books that, at the right period in our lives, can make a powerful impression upon us.
@Khali: Born Free at age 7! Very impressive. I too was fascinated by Anne Frank; her diary is probably one of the most common ways kids begin to learn about the history Holocaust. I imagine (and hope) it's one that sticks with a lot of people.
@LittleOne1964: Powerful stuff.
Others?
by MaggieH (admin) -
A book that really inspired me was a young adult book called Catherine Called Birdy. It's the fictional diary of a young noble girl living in a manor house in England in the middle ages. Catherine was smart and independent, and the story of her disappointments, learning experiences, and eventual triumph was one I read over and over again. Also, Catherine's family in the book is a kind of royalty, and I was still young enough to see "princess" as a viable career option, so that likely had something to do with my love of the book. But, it was mostly because Catherine was the smart, resourceful, thoughtful person I imagined myself to be and hope that I am now. In fact, I still have my worn but well-loved copy of the book
by MaggieH (admin) -
The Hobbit. Certainly not the first book I read but the first book I read I could put down. I ran down a flashlight battery reading it under the covers at night :-).
Nov 15, 2008 3:51 pm
by joelsanda -
When I was in the first grade, I read The Secret Garden. I was so entranced by a place that was all your own to love and care for that I kept reading to find that each book is quite like that; your own place where nothing can touch you and imagination is like a paintbrush that creates a world uniquey yours in every way.
by JAlover -
"The" book for me, that first one that set my imagination afire, was The Just-So Stories by Rudyard Kipling, in particular "The Elephant's Child" and "How the Alphabet was Made". Each story was like a visit to a different world, a different time, with unique and memorable characters. I wanted to write a story, too. Since then I've read it to my daughter and to many other children.
Nov 17, 2008 2:08 pm
by Rhubarb -
Thanks to everyone for their thoughtful answers! What a surprising and illuminating collection of books.
@joelsanda: I can certainly understand why you wore down those flashlight batteries. The Hobbit is such a whimsical yet adventurous story. I wondered if you were looking forward to, or dreading, the movie version?
@Rhubarb: Love the continuity of reading stories we loved as children to kids today. (Just-So Stories are on DailyLit, too, so if you ever feel like a trip down memory lane...)
I'll write some thoughts about this week's responses on the blog--check it out tomorrow. In the meantime, head over to answer this week's Question of the Week:
http://dailylit.com/forums/other/etc/2008/11/17/weekly-question-111708-where-would-you-go
by MaggieH (admin) -
All of the responses were so fascinating this week that I philosophized about our choices for "the one" on the DailyLit blog--check it out here (and then head over to check out *this* week's question):
http://blog.dailylit.com/2008/11/18/making-sense-of-the-ones-from-last-weeks-question-of-the-week/
by MaggieH (admin)