This lovely meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
This post is going to make me incredibly nostalgic, isn't it? Better go get some tissues and cake, I suppose. I've been reading since I was around 5 or so and I still have the journal I have from when I was 7 or 8, recording all the books I'd read and there's quite a few I absolutely loved! Here they are!
1. The Babysitters Club - Ann M. Martin
THESE WERE MY LIFE. I've always loved reading about books with little children and babysitting as I've always wanted a little brother or sister, so these books were perfect for me! I want to complete the collection (I think there's over 100 books in it!) to read again.
2. The Secret Seven by Enid Blyton
Enid freaking Blyton was my hero. I loved all her books. These were the first mystery books I read - I wanted to become a detective after reading them!
3. St. Clares by Enid Blyton
My gran still bought me this set and I completely devoured them. I've reread them since but I'd quite like to reread them again!
4. Hawkeye Collins and Amy Adams by M. Masters
DUDE. I would get so excited reading these books! They had all these little mysteries in them that you had to solve alongside the characters and it was SO FREAKING FANTASTIC.
5. Sammy Keyes by Wendelin van Draanen
I think I first read this book when I was around seven or eight years old? After I read it I wanted to solve mysteries and wear converses and ride skateboards. I wear converses, but I don't ride skateboards because they move and I am a klutz.
6. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snickets
Ahh, I'll never forget this series. We used to live next door to an artist and she loaned me the first book in this series. I was around 5 years old at the time and I LOVED it! I still haven't read them all but I've read most of them and I'm waiting until I've completed my collection before reading them all over again!
7. Mary-Kate and Ashley by various authors
I would collect ALL these books and read 3 a day or whatever. They were so much fun to read and I absolutely loved them! I sadly gave all of them away a couple of months back (I had around 40 of them) and it was like giving away a fragment of my childhood. I kind of regret it now.
8. The Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston
I remember they had this book in my school library and I fell in love with this book, I think it was the first book that had me completely mesmerized and haunted me, in a way.
9. Tales of the Frog Princess by E.D. Baker
I think I first discovered these on Ebay! It looked interesting so I asked my dad to buy it for me (I must've been around 9 or so) and I would devour it and then ask my dad to order the next one! I would then receive it from the postman's daily rounds either before school (where I would then proceed to take it with me to school and begin reading it there) or after where I would squeal with excitement and promptly start it. I've read the first 3 and I've been wanting to complete the series for the last 7 years so that I can marathon them. It hasn't happened yet BUT IT WILL.
10. Matilda by Roald Dahl
This book and I have a special relationship. It was the book that I found myself in and it resonated deeply within my core. Matilda loved reading, she loved books, they were her life, and little 8 year old me could relate to this wholly and completely, I still can. I was like her in the sense that I would cart home so many books, almost more than I could carry and I would read and read and take the next book from the pile next to my chair! I've read this book 3 times yet I still don't have my own copy and I need it in my life. I never reread books but this book is one that I will reread forever.
Ah, this post has now brought on a strong wave of nostalgia. SUCH WONDERFUL MEMORIES I CAN'T EVEN.
*Edit - I just had to include this book as well!
11. The Wishing Chair by Enid Blyton
I can't believe I actually forgot to include this! This book and its sequel were amazing and I think I reread them when I was smaller as Enid Blyton didn't write a whole series of them! These were books that made me honestly feel as if I were living inside the book, as if I were experiencing those adventures. A part of me wished so very badly that I could have my own wishing chair and go on all sorts of adventures! THESE BOOKS ARE SO AMAZING READ THEM.