My sister made me do it.

My sister, Cathy, thought I would like filling out this meme. Originally, it came from Kate's Book Blog. Here goes:

1. How old were you when you learned to read and who taught you? My mom taught me to read. I must have been about 4. I know that I already knew how to read when I got to Kindergarten.

2. Did you own any books as a child? If so, what’s the first one that you remember owning? If not, do you recall any of the first titles that you borrowed from the library? I don't think we had a huge amount of books--I had a small bookshelf in my bedroom but there weren't a lot of books on it. We went to the library often so we must not have bought a lot of books. We had a Dick and Jane reader that I used when learning to read. Also a Children's Dictionary (which I still have) that I would try to read cover to cover but I don't remember ever finishing it.

3. What’s the first book that you bought with your own money? I loved those little Weekly Reader magazines that I got at school. I know I bought books from those but I don't remember any particular titles.

4. Were you a re-reader as a child? If so, which book did you re-read most often? NO. I have never liked re-reading. I only watch movies once also. There are not very many books that I have re-read: The Hobbit (4 times!), Bedknobs & Broomsticks, all of the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books are some.


5. What’s the first adult book that captured your interest and how old were you when you read it? To be honest, I never read any adult books until I was well into my 20s. I checked out books from the teenager section of the library. I had tried a few times to get adult books but couldn't find anything that captured my attention. Then my mom introduced me to Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael books. From there I went on to Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody books(right next to Ellis Peters on the library shelf) and that was all she wrote, so to speak. My current favorite authors are Jasper Fforde and Alexander McCall Smith.

6. Are there children’s books that you passed by as a child that you have learned to love as an adult? Which ones? I could never get into any books by Marguerite Henry. They were just boring to me. I have read several as an adult and enjoyed them all. Justin Morgan had a Horse is my favorite. Also, I tried and tried to read the Lord of the Rings series but could never get past the first few pages. I read them a few years ago (before I saw the movies) and loved them.