Spoiler alert: current me is not the same as childhood me. Shocking, right?
For one, I’m not nearly as innocent as I used to be. It may be hard to believe, but I was a naive little bookwyrm once upon a time. I didn’t even read dark, stabby books. Can you believe it? You can thank my grandmother for that change, since she gave me permission to read The Sea Wolf at a young, tender age, never having read it herself, and I absolutely fell in love with Wolf Larsen and his aggressiveness and crassness. So thanks, Nana, for corrupting me at a young age.
All of that to say that, obviously, while I was changing physically for all those years, my reading habits have changed, too.
More than the obvious, hey, I learned to read thing. Fundamental changes. I’m actually sort of surprised, thinking back now, how different my habits are now than they were growing up.
Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is books I wish I had read as a child. Unfortunately, when I got to thinking about it, I realized that the books I like now I wouldn’t have liked as a child, so … even if I’d had them, they wouldn’t have done me any good!
So instead, I thought I’d talk about exactly why that is and exactly how my reading habits have changed! Honestly, it sounds like more fun to me, instead of me throwing the same old books at you (because rest assured, Nevermoor, Witch Hat Atelier, and Tristan Strong Punches A Hole in the Sky all would have made the list).
Also, I refuse to apologize for the awfully punny (and sometimes just awful) headings. You’ve done it to yourselves by enouraging me. See what happens? You should be ashamed.
Throw the animals out with the bath water.
I used to read so many animal books as a kid, and I just loved them. The surest way to get me to read a book was having some cute animal on the cover. Animorphs, Black Beauty, Stealing Thunder, Redwall—if there were animals in it, I was all over it. Heck, that’s probably why I picked up The Sea Wolf in the first place, because who wouldn’t want a sea wolf?!
I tend not to read a lot of animal protagonist books anymore, because I’m often not fond of what the author does with the perspective.
Are there exceptions? Of course. I also continue to give chances to interesting sounding books or unique animal point of view books. Will I read another dog point of view book, though? Not without some convincing. I guess I grew out of animal books about the same time I started having a house full of real animals. Somehow, cleaning up after animals takes a bit of charm out of them.
No fiction, no thanks.
Nonfiction books were the thing when I was younger. Earth science, philosophy, poetry, and especially dinosaurs (see the next point). I read nonfiction almost as often as I read fiction, and since I always had a book in my hands … that was a lot.
At this point in my life, I only read a handful of nonfiction books a year. More often than not, they just don’t hold my attention.
I’m more likely to read a biography or anecdotal stories or even some funny nonfiction than anything else. I actually have no idea why this is, especially since I still have quite a few of my old nonfiction books that I loved. It might be time to attempt a re-read of a few of them.
Where did all the dinosaurs go?
Dinosaurs were my thing as a child. From the time I was three, I was convinced I was going to be a paleontologist! Most of my books ended up relating to dinosaurs. Heck, most of the things I owned did. I watched Land Before Time on VHS so many times that my mother had to go get a second copy, because I wore out the first one and threw a fit about it not working anymore.
I actually can’t even tell you when the last time was that I read something about dinosaurs. I’m … kind of disappointed in myself?
Now, I watch a lot of paleontology and archaeology things on YouTube, and I can’t get enough of them. And if you put a paleontologist or an archaeologist in a book, that’s a surefire way to get me to pick it up. But something about dinosaurs specifically? Nah. If you’ve read something good, though, drop me a recommendation! I should rectify this one.
There are books that are mostly pictures!
Young me had never heard of manga or graphic novels, and if I had, the idea would’ve blown my mind. You mean there are books that have mostly pictures with little text, and it’s still a full story with characters I fall in love with? Whaaaa?! Sorcery!
I have my husband to thank for introducing me to manga and graphics novels, so … yay, he did something right! Other than marrying me, obviously.
If I recall correctly, my first manga ever read was Fruits Basket (also on hubby’s recommendation), because he thought it would be a safe way to introduce me and something I would like. Little did he know! I’m sure he regrets it now, probably.
Quitting isn’t just for quitters.
I was firmly in the camp of if you start a book, you finish it. Period. Even if your eyes bleed. Even if you end up so bored that you sink into a coma just for something fun to do. You’ve picked up that book. You’re committed now, darn it!
Last year was the first time I really gave myself permission to start DNFing books that just weren’t working for me, and y’all, it has been amazing.
You know what? My reading rate has also vastly increased, because as it turns out, forcing myself to read something I wasn’t interested in just meant I … didn’t … read. Who would’ve thought? This one was definitely a change for the better.
Stabbing is fun! More stabbing!
Aaaaall the stabbing! It may be hard to believe, but I read a lot of positive, feel-good books when I was young. Weird, right? Again, all until I read The Seal Wolf. Starting to see a pattern here?
Naive little me never imagined I’d fall in love with thieves and scoundrels and murderers, yet here we are. I’m sure my mother’s proud.
(Hint: she is, but not about this, for some reason.)
This may just be a facet of growing older, but I love me some dark, stabby book with shady morals and gray … well, everything. But especially characters. Sure, I still have feel-good books that I read, but by and large, it’s this.
Not all boys have cooties.
Just most of them. It may come as no surprise that I read virtually no romance as a kid. The most romance I read was probably in Animorphs, where Rachel and Tobias were a sometimes-maybe-but-not-always-it’s-complicated thing and Jake and Cassie were so obviously meant to be a thing, which suited me fine, because I saw myself in Cassie and also liked a boy named Jake. (Spoiler alert: I married him, and he hasn’t forgiven me).
This has only changed slightly, because I don’t read outright romance. I like my romance with a side of danger, bad intentions, inadivisability, and at times murder.
Or, at the very least, the threat of murder. Sheesh. It’s not too much to ask, okay? If you’ve never at least plotted how you’d kill your spouse and get away with it, are you even in love?
I spy, with my little eye, something … tropey.
I didn’t know what tropes were when I was young. Even if I had, I probably wouldn’t have cared. I picked up what sounded interesting and went with it, whether I liked it or not. It led to some hits, but even more misses.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become pickier about what I read, which often means finding books with tropes I like and sometimes using that as a deciding factor about whether to pick up a book.
Gosh does this save time, and I get more hits than misses now by far. Tropes like DRAGONS. Duh. Or like enemies to lovers, talking swords, assassins, pirates, and superheroes. I’ve come to recognizing the things I like in books, and I usually will snatch up anything that embodies that in some way, shape, or form.
♫ A whole new wooooorld … ♬
Did you know that not all characters have to be white, cisgender, and heterosexual?! This blew my mind when I realized it. First brown girl I ever read? Cassie from Animorphs. I was, like, seven or eight, guys. I started reading at three. How depressing is that? It never occurred to me that books were written about black or brown people, too (sorry Asians, but you didn’t exist yet in my world view, as I was raised in a reeeeally white town).
I have absolutely loved having the opportunity to read more diverse books and not only feel like I can see characters that look like me, but also learn about other cultures and identities.
I feel a little sad that young me didn’t have the benefit of these experiences, because what a different it makes being able to see the world from other perspectives. Then again, my very white, very non-reader family also just didn’t know any better, and I love that that’s also changing, too, in that I can hand my daughter a book with an Indian protagonist, and she thinks nothing of it because it’s not the first time she’s read about a non-Caucasian. At her age, that would’ve completely blown my mind!
Dinosaurs aren’t the only fossils here.
I confess: I was a book snob when I was younger. I thought that in had to be a Real Reader, you had to read the classics, and if you didn’t read the classics, you didn’t qualify. Sorry, bub, back of the line with you. So … I did. I read a loooot of classics. I’m glad I did, because they’ve taught me so many things, but at the same time … I’m good.
I tend to shy away from classics now, because I’ve realized I don’t have to read them. I’ve got time to slowly make my way through the ones I want to read, but there’s no reason to force it.
It’s another freeing thing. I’ve given myself permissions to read the ones I want and not mess with the ones I’m not interested in. While I think there’s definitely a place for classics, it’s a bit of a relief not to feel like I’m less than for not reading them.
I enjoyed this post.
http://www.rsrue.blogspot.com
I’ve been surprised by my love of graphic novels, too. Which ones do you like? I tend to shy away from the superheroes in favour of other types of stories.
My TTT.
Lydia recently posted…Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: My Silliest Pet Peeve
I love superheroes. xD I can’t help it.
Some of my favorites so far have been Witch Hat Atelier, Fruits Basket, Naruto, and Full Metal Alchemist (which are all manga).
On the graphic novel side, I haven’t actually read too many straight up graphic novels. It tends to mostly be manga for me, but this year, it’s my goal to read more straight-up graphic novels (and not necessarily manga). So if you find any good ones, feel free to recommend them. 😉
What a fun post! I actually read a lot of speculative fiction when I was a kid, and “speculative” wasn’t even a word back then, lol. I also went through a romance phase when I was 14 or 15 maybe? My mom has a subscription to the Harlequin Romance book club, and every month she got four new books in the mail. I can’t remember if she let me read them or I snuck them off her dresser, but I was obsessed! But they were very tame back then😉
Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy recently posted…Wyrd & Wonder: A Fantastical Month of Fantasy
I think I mostly read whatever was around, so that may explain some of it. I was restricted to either whatever my family was reading or whatever they bought me until I was old enough to go to the elementary school library.
That’s so neat that your mother got you into romance novels back then, though. xD Does she know? I feel like around that age, that was me with my grandmother, but she tended to read a lot of anecdotal nonfiction and Reader’s Digest instead lol.
This is really interesting! I’ve actually found that I really haven’t changed that much in terms of what I read now to what I read when I was a kid? I still gravitate towards the same kinds of things, except they tend to be aimed at an older audience now.
Jo recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday #261
Really? That’s also interesting that your tastes have mostly stayed the same!
I love what you say about DNFing and the classics. Once I got to the point where not finishing a book and not forcing myself to read a classic, my reading experiences opened up and I became even more of an AVID reader. I wonder where this guilt comes from? No one told me not finishing a book was a crime. No one, besides teachers, ever forced me to read classics. It’s an odd guilt I carried around for a while. Glad I’m over it! 😉
Yes! That was my exact experience, too! I always thought I “read a lot,” but then I actually started giving myself permission to either DNF or set aside books I wasn’t quite in the mood for yet, and the amount of books I get through in a year skyrocketed. It’s amazing how productive you can be when you do something because it’s FUN. xD
Oh my gosh. I think I am a little in love with you right now.
Quick question… have you read the Mindf*ck series? If not… you HAVE to.
Thanks for sharing
Be Safe!
Angelique @ Why I Can’t Stop Reading recently posted…ITS TUESDAY!
Pshaw, what’s not to love? xD (But shhh don’t ask my husband that. He’s had time to come up with a list.)
I have not! Unfortunately, I don’t read erotica … or actually any romance, really. But thanks for the recommendation. 🙂
Your animal section makes me wonder if you’d like reading a book from Cujo’s perspective, LOL.
Brooke Lorren recently posted…Books Kids Like
Great spin on topic is very great! 12 out of 10 gold coins for your hoard!
Can we just take a moment to thank your Grandmother for influencing you at such a young age to become the stabby, wonderful bookwyvern that we all know and love today? We are truly blessed! 🥰
FUN FACT, I used to see the animal POVs all the time in my school library but I genuinely didn’t read them because I was all “I’m not a cat so I won’t understand it 😔” I remember reading a lot of Roald Dahl as a kid though. The Witches and The BFG were my faves!
Oh mY gOD FRUITS BASKETTSSSSSSS! (I love my precious boi Yuki but… Kyo… a baby! Must protecc all!)HAVE YOU WATCHED THE NEW VERSION?!?!? I really want to watch the second season (apparently it’s out on Netflix and I was all “EXCUSE ME! WHY WASN’T I ALERTED TO THIS LIFE CHANGING INFORMATION??”) but I know I’ll start it and cry as I wait for the next episodes! 😔 I really want to read the manga too though! ONE DAY I WILL BE RICH ENOUGH TO BUY THE WHOLE SERIES (AND ALL SPIN OFFS [I was alerted that there was one!!!!]) AND THEN I’LL BINGE READ IT ALL IN ONE SITTING! HAHAHAHAHA!
Lin @ The Reader of a Thousand Stars recently posted…Books I Wish I Read The Second I Got My Dragon Talons On Them
Also forgot to mention in my screaming about Fruits Baskets rampage, but I’m loving the new layout and rebrand! <3 THE LITTLE DRAGONS ARE SO CUTE SAMMIE! PLEASE CAN I PET ONE AND FEED IT SNACKS??!?
Lin @ The Reader of a Thousand Stars recently posted…Books I Wish I Read The Second I Got My Dragon Talons On Them
THANK YOU. YES, YOU MAY, OF COURSE. Just don’t feed it humans, because gosh, do you know how expensive it is to pay neighbors not to notice when people start disappearing? Sheesh. What happened to common courtesy and not ratting out your neighbors?
I’m glad you like it! *waits for you to look away and throws the coins unceremoniously into my hidden hoard* *whistles innocently*
Hmm…yes…blessed. I’m not sure that’s what my grandmother would have called it when she was raising me. At the time, it was basically like … “You’re driving me crazy kid. Why don’t you go pick a book to read.” “This one has a wolf in the title. Can I read it, Nana?” “Yeah, okay, sure. Quietly.” xD As a parent myself, I understand her struggle LOL.
Welp, pffft, that clearly wasn’t my thought process. Mine was more like … well, I hvae Animorphs, where these kids learn to turn into animals. Heeeey, maybe if I read books from the *point of view* of animals, it’ll help me transform! I also had a period of time where I insisted on “walking” on all fours, and it drove my parents bonkers, bless their hearts.
Hatori was actually always my favorite on Fruits Basket because … ouch, my heart. D: I JUST WANT TO SEE HIM SMILE, OKAY? He deserves that much. Kyo reminds me of a more expressive version of my husband, which makes me giggle.
I HAVE AND YOU SHOULD SEE IT BECAUSE THE NEW STYLE IS GORGEOUS AND AHHHHH. I actually started watching it with my Minion, and she’s enjoying it. BUT IT’S ON NETFLIX NOW?! Must go watch it more. We only saw the first season and then it ended, and that was a bummer. =/
My tastes have changes from when I was young, too, but I can see the seeds of what my reading tastes have grown into based on what I read as a kid. It sounds like your reading tastes too a hard left turn, while mine just kinda grew up and branched out. 😉
I haven’t read it yet, but The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Stephen Brusatte is on my TBR because I’ve been wondering where all the dinosaur NF books in my life have gone, too. I’m not sure when I’ll get to this book, but hopefully soon. I’ve been intending to check the hardback out of my library to see if I want to read it with the illustrations (probably) or if the audiobook will suffice. Of course… libraries are currently closed…
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits recently posted…We never know how high we are by Emily Dickinson
Oh — I forgot to add: I have listened to the Audible Original A Grown-Up Guide to Dinosaurs by Ben Garrod, and it was a lot of fun. Short, more of an overview of current dino studies, but it whet my appetite for more dinosaurs.
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday ~ Books I Wish I Had Read As a Child (2)
Your non fiction comments make me think of my daughter. She’s all about reading about wildlife and the ocean now. I’m wondering if that will hold. Probably not. 🙁
This post is amazing! My tastes have definitely changed but I don’t think as much as yours have. I have always loved love and historical fiction but I love love even more now but my enjoyment of all things stabby and thrilling (minus the ghosts) is definitely. I’ve always been a chicken shit but I’ve become a slightly less chicken-y chicken as I’ve grown older 🤣 I also super loved Land Before Time when I was a kid (omg that movie never failed to make me cry buckets and destroy all my feels)! And I can just hear Ducky (I think?) say that “Yep Yep Yep!” 😂 Oh mans, this makes me want to see if I can find that movie and watch it again!
Dini @ dinipandareads recently posted…#TopTenTuesday: Books I want to re-read as an adult!
Bwahaha, I love that you’ve never been able to do ghost stories. One day, maybe. xD I couldn’t do them when I was really little, but as I got older, I now enjoy scaring the bejesus out of myself … *sometimes*. It’s definitely not an everyday thing. You for sure should! I’ve watched it semi-recently, because I watched it several years ago with my daughter, who loved the series for a while (nowhere near as long as I did haha).
I also just recently started DNFing. It is a game changer. But I still feel guilty sometimes. I’m working on it! I really enjoyed reading this! I have a three 1/2 year old niece that is OBSESSED with dinosaurs. She has been for almost a year. Reading about your love of them made me think of her. 🙂
Dedra @ A Book Wanderer recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Wish I’d Read As A Child
What a fun post! I was obsessed with Animorphs as a kid too, and I read everyone I could find 🙂
Thanks! Man, Animorphs was the best. Did you hear they’re releasing a graphic novel series this year?! The first one is coming out at the end of this year.
[…] Sammie @TheBookwyrmsDen […]
I feel this list. Though I used to read more historical and second world war kind of books. I am now completely turned to a fantasy fan
Annemieke recently posted…23 Interesting Books Released in March, April, May and June| #toptentuesday 235
That’s so interesting. I actually read more WWII than I used to, so I’m … well, I can’t say the opposite. The best of both worlds? xD
What a wonderful post. I do still love my animal books but definitely need stabby books in my life as well. My mom got me an adult library card in the 6th grade and I was a King fan back then. My grandmother would have probably had a fit if she knew what I was reading. It’s great that your’s helped corrupt you.
I’m still waiting for a rather profound author to give us a stabby animal book. Because animals can be stabby, too. But I don’t just want a stabby villain animal. That’s been done.
To be fair, I’m pretty sure she didn’t do it intentionally. xD
I really like how you tweaked the TTT topic, and I really like your list! I totally agree with your point about giving yourself permission to DNF books that aren’t working for you. The day I found Daniel Pennac’s “Reader’s Bill of Rights” is the day reading became even MORE FUN for me :
1. The right to not read
2. The right to skip pages
3. The right to not finish
4. The right to reread
5. The right to read anything
6. The right to escapism
7. The right to read anywhere
8. The right to browse
9. The right to read out loud
10. The right to not defend your tastes
Lectrice Vorace recently posted…Books I Wish I Had Read As a Child
Thank you! Oh man, I’d never heard of that, but I think I need a sign of that to hang over my desk. Such important reminders! I love it.
I have a very similar type of post in my May line up (due to a TBR topic back from March), so I had to do a double take upon seeing this. haha. I absolutely enjoyed reading this! (I also loved the abundance of Animorph mentions). It’s always so interesting to think about how our tastes in books change over time. I can definitely relate with the animal protagonist one, having especially loved Seekers during middle school, but it’s not really something I see with anything past younger middle grade novels, nor something I find myself going to despite my love for animals. I also really relate with the slight changes in romance as I got older (still don’t like it, but I can deal with it now) and going from picking up anything to relying a little more on tropes now. I also started reading manga because of Fruits Basket (though it was due to wanting the full story after watching the 2003 anime and not from recommendation because I will forever be in love with Kyo). I absolutely love reading manga now, and have recently started eyeing graphic novels as well.
Holliehocks recently posted…TTT: Books I Wish I Had Read As a Child
Ha, great minds think alike! Animorphs deserves aaaaall the mentions haha. You know, I’ve realized that most of the adult animal protagonist books I can think of are feel-good books, mostly from the POV of a dog. I want some comedy animal POV books or something, now that I think of it. Comedic fantasy? From a dragon’s POV? Someone make this happen!
Oh my gosh, I love that! Hatori was always my favorite. :3 But I do love Kyo, too. He reminds me a little too much of my husband, though. xD
Ah, Hatori. I’m wondering if him being the one cursed with the dragon has anything to do with him being your favorite…haha, he was definitely a good one though! Ahh now I want to consume myself in Fruits Basket once again.
Okay also now I really want an adult or young adult mythical creature POV book.
… you know, I had actually never thought of that? Because a sea horse isn’t *really* a dragon, is it? But I guess that could definitely be a possibility. xD Also, I just identify with his character. I feel like my friends in high school were very much like Shigure and Ayame and I had to be the voice of reason in between them haha.
Even though maybe not all the points but still, I kinda feel this list. For me it was not dinosaurs, it was wolves. I used to love wolves and needed to know and read everything there was about them. But you know, dinosaurs are understandable. They are basically dragons, aren’t they? 😉
I didn’t know those Animorph books you were talking about. I still love books with shapeshifters so much. But jeeeez, those covers are nightmare inducing! Who put that on a children’s book and thought, yes, perfect?
tirilu recently posted…Review “Rumblestar”
Oh, I for sure went through a wolf phase, too! I’m not sure I ever got out of that phase, honestly. xD I’ll still pick up a book if there’s an interesting sounding wolf in it (looking at you, Wolf of Cape Fen haha).
LOL. I never even noticed that when I was a kid, honestly. xD But so many people have mentioned how disturbing it is. I guess that just wasn’t the most disturbing thing about my childhood? LOL.
I love this post, Sammie!
I was very lucky that my parents were entirely lenient w my reads (maybe too lenient now that I think about it ahah), so I have great memories of reading abt monsters and bloody intentions (good times?).
Definitely agree with on animal books. Even animal movies now have lost their sparkle to me. Something about realizing their perspectives were entirely humanized? And now that feels weird. Ofc, with a few exceptions, like you said.
And I rue the day we have left behind dinosaurs….
That sounds like the best times. xD On one hand, I feel sad for all the books I missed out on as a kid because I had limited access to books. On the other … I’m not sure I could’ve handled being introduced to the local library and having all that freedom. xD
I completely forgot to mention animal books! I planned to mention in the intro to my post that the quickest way to get me to read anything (not that I wasn’t reading anyway) was to have animals in the story. I remember getting so upset by a book once because the boy already had a dog, and he wanted to adopt a three-legged dog that he found, but his parents said he could only keep one so he had to choose between them! I also used to read a ton of non-fiction, and now I find the majority of it so boring.
See, I LOVE stories *with* animals still. I just want animal sidekicks more than anything.
That’s so cute. And also, those parents suck. Pffft. I don’t blame you for being upset.
I was also SUPER into dinosaurs as a kid. I…also couldn’t tell you the last time I read something (other than an article) about dinos. Maybe some of the Dinatopia books back in early high school? Great post!
I’m pretty sure college was the last time. No, wait. Scratch that. Yeah, probably high school. I took anthropology in college, but that’s a little different. xD
I loved the Animorphs books when I was younger too. And anything dinosaurs as well.
You know, that’s exactly how my romance as well.
Lauren @ Always Me
It seems like a lot of people liked dinosaurs when they were younger. Wonder what happened to make so many of us stop!
The Quintaglio Ascension trilogy by Robert J. Sawyer is a fantastic science fiction series about dinosaur people. The first book, Far-Seer also happens to be my favourite novel. I hope that fills the dinosaur void 🙂
I didn’t even realize dinosaur people was a thing, but oh my gosh, yes! This sounds interesting. Just added it to my TBR. 🙂 Thanks!
Oooh, I can relate to a LOT of this. Not the dinos though; I’ve always been a fiction girl. But animal books were definitely a much bigger part of my childhood reading. I also re-read all the time as a kid, and now I only re-read if I’m preparing for a new sequel in a series I love.
I’m the same way about re-reading, too! I think my ability to get my hands on new books was much more limited as a child, too, so if I wanted to read, sometimes that meant re-reading. I don’t have the same limitations anymore.