My teen years were filled with many hours of reading. I spent almost all my afternoons at the library — an after-school habit that started in grade school — up until closing time! I was one of the few girls who managed to fill up multiple borrowers’ cards in a school year, and I trawled the shelves on a daily basis that I would know when a new book was added to the collection!
I write about this because this week is Teen Read Week, another initiative by the American Library Association (ALA) that encourages teens to read — “because it’s free, fun, and can be done anywhere!”
Today, I have a guest post up on School Librarian in Action, which has a “Top Ten Books I Read When I Was A Teen” series going this week. Among the books I listed were Harry Potter, The Westing Game, The 21 Balloons, Skin and Other Stories, Tiger Eyes, Walk Two Moons, The Little Prince, Noli Me Tangere, P.S. I Love You, and Love Story. You can read more about my list over at Ms. Zarah’s site.
Meanwhile, you can guess who I am in the top photo (high school friends, zip!).
And here’s something else I unearthed:
That’s thirteen year old me (and Dianne!) hanging out before class in high school. Tucked underneath my elbow is a library book, which, if I’m not mistaken is Danielle Steel’s The Promise, also a big hit among us girls back then.
What books did you read when you were a teen?
Blooey, this is such a sweet post! I bet you get loads of comments by older people like myself traipsing down memory lane.
My teen reads:
Sweet Valley High and other similar American teen series and mini-series (Cheerleaders, Heartbreak Cafe, and the updated Silhouette First Loves called Crosswinds and Keepsakes)
Mercedes Lackey’s Heralds of Valdemar (love!)
Judith Krantz, stolen from my sister
Wuthering Heights, since reread many times
Alice Walker’s The Colour Purple and Possessing the Secret of Joy
Mildred Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry and its sequels
To Kill a Mockingbird, first reading
Roald Dahl’s adult books – My Uncle Oswald, Switch Bitch etc.
Poetry – Auden, Donne, Shakespeare, cummings, Yeats, Byron, Shelley, Rilke
Thanks Iya! The idea is from School Librarian in Action :D
Fab list, I really must get around to reading To Kill a Mockingbird and Wuthering Heights. Was more into Sweet Valley Twins, although I read my older sisters’ Sweet Valley High books. Oh, but I loved the Sweet Valley Sagas!
I read all the Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys books. :)
Am I telling my age? :)
http://silversolara.blogspot.com/
Not really– the books span multiple generations. Was a Nancy Drew fan myself!
I read a lot of books as a teenager, sometimes I’m amazed by how many. I was really into Meg Cabot in my early teens, and when I got older I read a lot of nonfiction about music. Biographies of famous musicians and personal stories by Chuck Klostermann, John Sellers, Rob Sheffield, and Andy Greenwald.
:) I am actually reading more now than when I was a teen — academics got in the way, hee hee. Got to read Meg Cabot when I was graduating from college already, after the Princess Diaries movie came out.