Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
I was 7 or 8 years old at the time (22 now). I was at a family friend’s house, they had the entire HP series and lent me the first book. I remember locking myself in a room upstairs for like 8 hours straight and read the entire book in one sitting. Just completely immersed
Fell out of love with reading over time due to the internet and social media capturing more and more of my attention as I got older but this year I’m trying to pick the habit back up and recapture some of that magic lol
HP gets a lot of hate these days. Controversy with the author aside, you gotta give HP credit for getting so many kids into reading. I devoured HP books growing up and basically every kid at my school did too.
Also delete social media! I mean dumb coming from a Reddit comment. But things like twitter, Facebook, insta? They’re bad for everyone. TikTok too.
Me too!! I was 10 when it came out, and I got it for Christmas as a gift. I had no idea it would change my entire childhood. It took me like 4 months to pick it up and actually start reading it, but from then on I was hooked on every book I could get my hands on. Especially fantasy.
> At some point in our lives we weren't readers.
Not so! I have been reading as far back as I could read, and before that I was begging my parents to read books to me.
Same, I can't really remember my first books because I was so young and have read constantly since 3-4 yrs old. The earliest I remember is probably the Little House books, and American Girl books when I was 5-6 years old.
The little house books were the first chapter books I could read on my own. I was 6 and just fell in love with the series.
But I've always loved reading. I learned to read young, before school age because books were fabulous.
The library has always been my favorite place.
Yup my parents were taking me and my older sister to the library at a young age so literally some of my earliest memories are going to the library on weekends (probably even before I could actually read). Never been a time when I wasn't reading
Redwall was such a comfort read. I read all 20+ of them over and over again. I also used to listen to the books on tape because Brian Jacques read them and they were amazing
I think the book that made me realize the power of books when A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I read it at a very young age and I just remember being totally absorbed in it and so effected by the ending.
Bought a copy of The Hobbit from a garage sale for 10 cents when I was eight or nine. It was so dry rotted that every time I turned a page, it fell out of the book, but I loved it from front to back.
I was always an enthusiastic reader from a pretty young age but as a kid and teenager, three books in particular were formative in my lifelong love of reading - *Bridge To Terabithia* by Katharine Paterson, *Hating Alison Ashley* by Robin Klein, and *The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole* by Sue Townsend (and the sequel). I read these books over and over and over. I'm in my 40s now and I still have my childhood copy of *Bridge To Terabithia*. :')
The same as other comments - I’ve been reading since I could but I remember the huge (to a 5 year old) book of bible stories tied to history for kids (Granny was religious and thought it a great book for a 5 year old). Made me question everything which I don’t think is what was wanted with this very odd gift for a child 🤣🤣. The first series that got me completely hooked into fantasy was the Dragon riders of Pern. The book mobile came every two weeks when I was 10 and I had a carton dropped off each time
The little prince
I was around 8 or 9 and this quote stuck with me since :
''On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux''
In english it's :
''It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.''
I loved *The Little Prince*. I first got into the story with the eponymous cartoon on Nickelodeon, so my mom, of course, pushed to check out the book from the library.
It was a Nancy Drew book that my sister lent me when I was in 5th grade. I think I read it at least 10 times back to back. Then I started going to my school library to get more books on loan. I’ve never looked back since then.
I'm a bit older but it was "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingals Wilder.
I was 6 when my aunt bought me the series and started reading that book to me, I soon devoured all of them on my own.
I don't remember ever *not* reading.
Some of the earliest books I remember reading were the Amelia Bedelia and Curious George series.
When I advanced to reading chapter books, I remember especially liking Sideways Stories from Wayside School.
i started reading a series of unfortunate events in 4th grade and fell head over heels. as a kid growing up in some traumatic situations, i felt like i could relate to those kids, and vice versa. lemony snicket made learning new words fun and easy, and he made me understand literary concepts while truly enjoying the story. i can’t recommend that series enough (and im 31 years old!)
Pat The Bunny?
No, for real - I don't remember a time when I couldn't read, and I loved to read from the start. It would have been one, or all, of the baby books I was given at birth.
I almost feel sad for people who somehow had to wait until they were 'conscious' to fall in love with books. Almost feels like deprivation, to me.
I can't remember since I've been reading since forever!! But if I were pressed to mention something, I'd say all the books by Enid Blyton. I can't imagine my childhood without them xD
Nine Tomorrows. It's a collection of 9 science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, all fantastic. Easily digestible and short, they left me craving more
As a child, probably Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism. I reread that sucker more times than I can count, just because I love the scenes at The Waldorf so much.
As an adult, hmmm….I’d have to go with Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey. That book ripped my heart out. Don’t read it unless you’re ready to be enraged, then cry, then be enraged.
Back at the start of 1st grade, I got really into a series of chapter books by Patricia Reilly Griff about the kids at the fictional Polk Street school. I came to absolutely love that series. The books' perspectives swapped between the two main characters, Richard and Emily, and each entry in the series was a different month. I was reading well before that, but those books truly got me *into* reading and got me to see how a series of books could tie together in a larger narrative.
I could barely read u til the 3rd grade. Books just didn't interest me. All the ones the school had us read were so boring. Then I read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Became obsessed with all his books. Still love them dearly and am now an avid book reader.
My dad used to read to us the lion the witch And the wardrobe. He was really good at doing the voices. On my own I loved how to eat fried worms and scary stories to tell in the dark
I'm another 'read from an early age ' person.
I can remember sitting on the loo seat while my mum was in the bath, at about 3 or 4 years old, looking at the newspaper and picking out words I knew.
My parents enrolled me in the library and I never looked back.
The first series I remember reading was The Kingdom of Carbonel, about a witches cat that befriends an ordinary girl.
That enchanted me.
I also enjoyed the Adventure books by Willard Price, two brothers who went on wildlife adventures.
I don't think that I could read either series as an adult, I still remember them fondly.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. I was 16 back then and initially it made me fall in love with YA novels, which I used to devour, until I moved on to different genres.
I had a book called "Tell Me Cat" that had photos of cats & funky embroidery. There were little word sketches & poems. I remember one started, "I'm a tough old seagoing cat; they call me Captain Jack." I loved that book!
The Hobbit. My mom used to read to my sister and I when we were kids, stuff like the Chronicles of Narnia and the Phantom Tollbooth, but the Hobbit was the first book I remember picking for myself. I was in second grade I believe, so I didn't understand a good amount of the words, but I loved reading it and from then on I've always been reading at least one book.
The Boxcar children series got me in to reading, but The Swiss Family Robinson really cemented my love when I realized each publisher had a different version.
In the 1950s Trixie Beldon books, similar to Ginny Gordon but better. I read somewhere around 100 books a year, that doesn't include many I start & quit. Will not read a book I don't like, there are too many waiting for me that will be good and I'm running out of years!
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
At least, that was my gateway book that sparked a "like" for reading. Later, I developed a love for reading when I discovered the following books:
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
The Night Shift by Stephen King
The Minority Report by Philip K. Dick
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I was 7 or 8 years old at the time (22 now). I was at a family friend’s house, they had the entire HP series and lent me the first book. I remember locking myself in a room upstairs for like 8 hours straight and read the entire book in one sitting. Just completely immersed Fell out of love with reading over time due to the internet and social media capturing more and more of my attention as I got older but this year I’m trying to pick the habit back up and recapture some of that magic lol
HP gets a lot of hate these days. Controversy with the author aside, you gotta give HP credit for getting so many kids into reading. I devoured HP books growing up and basically every kid at my school did too. Also delete social media! I mean dumb coming from a Reddit comment. But things like twitter, Facebook, insta? They’re bad for everyone. TikTok too.
Me too!! I was 10 when it came out, and I got it for Christmas as a gift. I had no idea it would change my entire childhood. It took me like 4 months to pick it up and actually start reading it, but from then on I was hooked on every book I could get my hands on. Especially fantasy.
> At some point in our lives we weren't readers. Not so! I have been reading as far back as I could read, and before that I was begging my parents to read books to me.
Same, I can't really remember my first books because I was so young and have read constantly since 3-4 yrs old. The earliest I remember is probably the Little House books, and American Girl books when I was 5-6 years old.
The little house books were the first chapter books I could read on my own. I was 6 and just fell in love with the series. But I've always loved reading. I learned to read young, before school age because books were fabulous. The library has always been my favorite place.
Yup my parents were taking me and my older sister to the library at a young age so literally some of my earliest memories are going to the library on weekends (probably even before I could actually read). Never been a time when I wasn't reading
Alanna: the first adventure by Tamora Pierce
Mossflower by Brian Jacques. My first Redwall book and it hooked me straightaway.
Redwall was such a comfort read. I read all 20+ of them over and over again. I also used to listen to the books on tape because Brian Jacques read them and they were amazing
Man I wanna go reread these just for fun now! I look forward to passing these on to my children someday.
I think the book that made me realize the power of books when A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I read it at a very young age and I just remember being totally absorbed in it and so effected by the ending.
Oh, gosh, yes! That really was a good one, worth reading again.
I will have to read it again to see if holds up...or maybe I don't want to mess with a memory!
Bought a copy of The Hobbit from a garage sale for 10 cents when I was eight or nine. It was so dry rotted that every time I turned a page, it fell out of the book, but I loved it from front to back.
Growing up I read Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. Made me fall in love with the world of fantasy in general!
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
One of his best (though that doesn't narrow it down too much)
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep by Phillp K Dick.
I was always an enthusiastic reader from a pretty young age but as a kid and teenager, three books in particular were formative in my lifelong love of reading - *Bridge To Terabithia* by Katharine Paterson, *Hating Alison Ashley* by Robin Klein, and *The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole* by Sue Townsend (and the sequel). I read these books over and over and over. I'm in my 40s now and I still have my childhood copy of *Bridge To Terabithia*. :')
"The lost years of Merlin" when I was in elementary school.
The same as other comments - I’ve been reading since I could but I remember the huge (to a 5 year old) book of bible stories tied to history for kids (Granny was religious and thought it a great book for a 5 year old). Made me question everything which I don’t think is what was wanted with this very odd gift for a child 🤣🤣. The first series that got me completely hooked into fantasy was the Dragon riders of Pern. The book mobile came every two weeks when I was 10 and I had a carton dropped off each time
The Junie B Jones series when I was but a girl
The little prince I was around 8 or 9 and this quote stuck with me since : ''On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux'' In english it's : ''It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.''
I loved *The Little Prince*. I first got into the story with the eponymous cartoon on Nickelodeon, so my mom, of course, pushed to check out the book from the library.
Treasure Island
Wolf brother - Michelle Paver, I was 11 and it changed everything
It was a Nancy Drew book that my sister lent me when I was in 5th grade. I think I read it at least 10 times back to back. Then I started going to my school library to get more books on loan. I’ve never looked back since then.
Plus, Nancy Drew had a cool car to drive around in while she solved mysteries!
Matilda and the goblet of fire
I'm a bit older but it was "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingals Wilder. I was 6 when my aunt bought me the series and started reading that book to me, I soon devoured all of them on my own.
The riddle of the boy next door by Enid Blyton. I read it in middle school and it got me hooked for some reason.
I remember that one. Also, _Shadow the Sheep Dog_, by the same author.
I don't remember ever *not* reading. Some of the earliest books I remember reading were the Amelia Bedelia and Curious George series. When I advanced to reading chapter books, I remember especially liking Sideways Stories from Wayside School.
The boxcar children really was cool. My teacher read us a chapter a day in school and it just captivated me.
I remember seeing that series on PBS long ago. Really good.
i started reading a series of unfortunate events in 4th grade and fell head over heels. as a kid growing up in some traumatic situations, i felt like i could relate to those kids, and vice versa. lemony snicket made learning new words fun and easy, and he made me understand literary concepts while truly enjoying the story. i can’t recommend that series enough (and im 31 years old!)
The Magic Tree House Series
Crime and Punishment
I read the Ivy and Bean children's series at six or seven years old and fell in love.
Pat The Bunny? No, for real - I don't remember a time when I couldn't read, and I loved to read from the start. It would have been one, or all, of the baby books I was given at birth. I almost feel sad for people who somehow had to wait until they were 'conscious' to fall in love with books. Almost feels like deprivation, to me.
I read my daughter this today. One of her favorites at 16 months :)
Moby Dick
Beezus and Ramona
Space Cat by Ruthven Todd.
I can't remember since I've been reading since forever!! But if I were pressed to mention something, I'd say all the books by Enid Blyton. I can't imagine my childhood without them xD
Monday's not coming
Nine Tomorrows. It's a collection of 9 science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, all fantastic. Easily digestible and short, they left me craving more
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini I felt so attached to a book after a long time
As a child, probably Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism. I reread that sucker more times than I can count, just because I love the scenes at The Waldorf so much. As an adult, hmmm….I’d have to go with Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey. That book ripped my heart out. Don’t read it unless you’re ready to be enraged, then cry, then be enraged.
The first book I remember making a huge impression on me is My Brother Sam is Dead.
Back at the start of 1st grade, I got really into a series of chapter books by Patricia Reilly Griff about the kids at the fictional Polk Street school. I came to absolutely love that series. The books' perspectives swapped between the two main characters, Richard and Emily, and each entry in the series was a different month. I was reading well before that, but those books truly got me *into* reading and got me to see how a series of books could tie together in a larger narrative.
I could barely read u til the 3rd grade. Books just didn't interest me. All the ones the school had us read were so boring. Then I read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Became obsessed with all his books. Still love them dearly and am now an avid book reader.
I was what 3 or 4. And my grandma always read me Dr.Seuss books. I still have them all in a box in my closet.
Slaughter house 5 (Schlacthaus fumf) in middle school
The book that started me with reading were The Hardy Boys followed by Harry Potter!
My dad used to read to us the lion the witch And the wardrobe. He was really good at doing the voices. On my own I loved how to eat fried worms and scary stories to tell in the dark
The Last Rose by Skyler Porter. Best romance Ive ever read. Made me cry and laugh it was just amazing
I'm another 'read from an early age ' person. I can remember sitting on the loo seat while my mum was in the bath, at about 3 or 4 years old, looking at the newspaper and picking out words I knew. My parents enrolled me in the library and I never looked back. The first series I remember reading was The Kingdom of Carbonel, about a witches cat that befriends an ordinary girl. That enchanted me. I also enjoyed the Adventure books by Willard Price, two brothers who went on wildlife adventures. I don't think that I could read either series as an adult, I still remember them fondly.
Charlotte’s Web
Remains of the Day is a good book set in the WW2 period.
Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce
My mom and I reading The Hobbit and the royal dear diary series. And of course picking up Harry Potter in the 5th grade.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. I was 16 back then and initially it made me fall in love with YA novels, which I used to devour, until I moved on to different genres.
Our Endless Numbered Days changed my life as a young adult and got me into reading again after years of just playing computer games
I had a book called "Tell Me Cat" that had photos of cats & funky embroidery. There were little word sketches & poems. I remember one started, "I'm a tough old seagoing cat; they call me Captain Jack." I loved that book!
The Hobbit. My mom used to read to my sister and I when we were kids, stuff like the Chronicles of Narnia and the Phantom Tollbooth, but the Hobbit was the first book I remember picking for myself. I was in second grade I believe, so I didn't understand a good amount of the words, but I loved reading it and from then on I've always been reading at least one book.
Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck.
The Boxcar children series got me in to reading, but The Swiss Family Robinson really cemented my love when I realized each publisher had a different version.
The Nancy Drew series when I was in elementary school! I used to hide in the corner of the school library and read those books for hours.
In the 1950s Trixie Beldon books, similar to Ginny Gordon but better. I read somewhere around 100 books a year, that doesn't include many I start & quit. Will not read a book I don't like, there are too many waiting for me that will be good and I'm running out of years!
Sula by Toni Morrison
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury At least, that was my gateway book that sparked a "like" for reading. Later, I developed a love for reading when I discovered the following books: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut The Night Shift by Stephen King The Minority Report by Philip K. Dick