Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. This week’s prompt is Books for My Younger Self (These could be books you wish you had read as a child, books younger you could have really learned something from, books that meshed with your hobbies/interests, books that could have helped you go through events/changes in your life, etc.)
Hello Readers! This week I’ll be celebrating my one year blogiversary! I can’t believe it’s been a year since I started my little blog. I’m working on celebrating with a giveaway, so this week’s Top Ten Tuesday won’t be up to my usual standards because of time. I almost skipped this week, but I haven’t skipped a TTT since I started. I’d at least like to say I made it a whole year. 😉 Plus, I really loved the topic this week.
One thing younger me definitely needed more of was diversity in her reading. I grew up in a small Texas town, pretty sheltered from the rest of the world. All of my selections are books I read as an adult (some with my own children) that I wish I could have read as a child or teen. And while most of these were not even published when I was younger, it’s just me dreaming of the kinds of books I wish I could have read.
(Link to Goodreads synopsis through book title.)
- Harry Potter series by She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named – I’m always a little jealous of those readers who grew up reading Harry Potter. I was late to the series and binge-read them all as an adult.
- From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg – This book was definitely available when I was kid, but for some reason it wasn’t on my radar. I read it with my own kids, and I know younger me would have loved the idea of living in a museum.
- The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis – I read this entire series in a C.S. Lewis college class, but I know younger me would have enjoyed it, too.
- The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins – Teen me would have been obsessed over this series.
- One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia – I read this delightful and educational #ownvoices book for a reading challenge this summer, and I wish it’s a book my younger self could have read.
- The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz – Another unputdownable diverse book I read this past year with my son. I would love to see this one get more attention, and it’s one my younger self could have learned a lot from.
- Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell – This graphic novel is so much fun, and I know teen me would have been determined to find the nearest pumpkin patch!
- With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo – One of my favorite reads this year, teen me would have loved Emoni as much as adult me.
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – This book is set about the time I was a teen in high school, so maybe it’s nostalgia?? But teen me didn’t quite have the experiences Charlie had. 😉
- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson – This is such a gut-wrenching novel. But it’s one I feel like every teen should read.
Did you read any of these as a child or teen? What’s a book you wish your younger self could have read? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
Still need to finish Narnia. They were so good. 🙂
Yes, even as an adult, I enjoyed them so much!
Pumpkinheads was cute. I read most of the Narnia books as a kid. Not all though.
That’s awesome you got to read Narnia as a kid! I’m at least happy I’ve gotten to read some of them with my own kids. <3
Speak! The Hunger Games! And although I’ve yet to read the Perks of Being A Wallflower myself, I agree completely! Loved it!
I hope you enjoy Perks if you decide to pick it up! It’s definitely wrapped in teen angst, but very nostalgic and memorable. 🙂
Great list, and Happy 1st Birthday to your blog! One of these days I need to give Speak a try, it’s a YA classic at this point.
Thank you! Oh, Speak is unforgettable. I hope you get to pick it up someday. <3
I would have totally been on board for With the Fire on High too!
Yes! It’s so good. 🙂
I read many of these as a kid and remember loving them, but I think I’d like to re-read them now as an adult and see whether I still feel the same! I read Perks of Being a Wallflower earlier this year and I think that’s one book I definitely would’ve connected with more when I was younger. Great list, Dedra! And yay for your one-year blogiversary–that’s so exciting! ?
Awww, that’s awesome you got to read so many of these as a child! And, yes, Perks is very angsty-teen. 😉
I can’t believe it’s been a year. Thank you! <3
I was one of the ones that got to read it as a kid, and I do feel very lucky! It’s an experience that a lot of readers can’t understand, no book has been hyped the way those were. I did read Narnia too, I loved The Magician’s Nephew and Voyage Of The Dawn Treader the most.
Yes! I’m at least getting to live vicariously through my kids reading HP and Narnia. 😉
I read Harry Potter as a kid and am definitely glad I did, not that I wouldn’t have enjoyed them as an adult but I think they have a special kind of magic when you’re young (even if She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named is a truly terrible person). I also read The Hunger Games as a teenager, I was 15 I think? And I definitely obsessed! I don’t know if I would have enjoyed Perks more if I’d read it when I was younger, I think the format didn’t really work for me and I’m not sure age is something that really played into it. because I did enjoy the film so clearly liked the story, just not the epistolary format.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2020/09/08/top-ten-tuesday-280/
That’s awesome you were able to read HP as a child! I’m living vicariously through my children reading them. With Perks (and I’m showing my age here) it comes down to nostalgia for me since it’s set when I was in high school. 😉 And I also enjoyed the film adaptation. I thought it was done really well!
I would have loved With the Fire on High as a teen, too.
My post .
Yes, it’s so good!
I would have liked to have read The Hunger Games as a teenager, too.
Yes! Instead I had to live vicariously through my kids. 😉
I read many of these as a kid, including Speak, which was very meaningful to me. It’s one of my favorite books.
Awww, that’s so nice to hear. You may be the first adult I’ve come across who read Speak as a kid. I think it’s such an important book. <3
Great list! I know younger me could have used a lot more diversity in her reading, too.
Yes, I’m just thankful there is so much more diversity in books now. 🙂
I didn’t read Harry Potter during my teenage years and now I’m too afraid to start because I’m afraid it won’t be the same reading experience. Great list!
Aww, I absolutely loved them as an adult. I’ve even read the series twice. I found it very magical, especially since I read them for the first time at Christmas, which I highly recommend. <3
I loved Speak SO MUCH as a teenager! I was about 13 or so when it came out and I just read and re-read it.
Oh yay! You’re the second person to say they actually read it as a teenager. I think it’s such an important book. I know I would have been rereading it, too. <3
I could have all your books on my list. I love them all. My TTT list of books my teen self would have loved
Ha! Glad I’m not alone. 😉
I agree with you, I wish HP had been about when I was growing up!
Yes! I imagine there’s nothing like it. <3
I honestly cannot imagine my teen years without Harry Potter. I remember staying up super late during school week to read “just one more chapter” 😀
Aww, I’m so envious. I know it was something special! <3
I’ve read both the Harry Potter series and Perks of Being a Wallflower when I was a kid/teen. However, I only read the full Percy Jackson series earlier this year, and I WISHED I’ve read it when I was younger. I would fall over heels in love with that story.
I think that’s why I haven’t picked up so many series I missed out on as a kid. Like Percy jackson. I know it won’t be the same. 😉