#BookLoversDay! What was the first book that got you hooked on reading?

viksorion

I started reading english much later after entering medical college. With dual intention, one they lasted longer and I wanted to improve my english.... Otherwise I have been fed on AmarChitraKatha, Chandamama and Champak along with Marathi and Hindi classics.

viksorion

Though I remember my first full length english novel was The Second Lady by Irving Wallace someones copy at the hostel .....and then loads of Sidney Sheldon and Jeffrey Archer and Erich Segal for Doctors. Then came Ken Follett, John Grisham, Forsyth, Robin Cook, Crichton.....
So actually I have never read the classics of english literature and also not the Blyton series... Now catching up on them with my son

cynic

Mousetrap 10-8-2018 09:27 PM
Wow... Encyclopedias!! That's quite some start  As a kid, I skipped even the Uncle Anu science se ...

They were fun to read with tons of illustrations targeted at pre-school and elementary school kids. I preferred them to the Tell Me Whys, any day. Quite a rare find now since Britannica stopped publishing it in mid 80s.

DD is our good old Doordarshan . They aired the show in 80s I think, the books were definitely better.

viksorion

cynic 10-8-2018 11:14 PM
They were fun to read with tons of illustrations targeted at pre-school and elementary school kids. ...

I have a complete collection of loads of encyclopedias with me in soft copy. But they are huge in size so can't upload them. Add to it my impatience with waiting....

Mousetrap

cynic 10-8-2018 11:44 PM
They were fun to read with tons of illustrations targeted at pre-school and elementary school kids. ...

Oh yes... I remember they were beautiful. And the Child Craft series too. I didnt know Famous Five came on Doordarshan though I have fond memories of watching lots of other things on DD 1 and DD 2. Nostalgia!

Mousetrap

viksorion 10-8-2018 11:22 PM
Though I remember my first full length english novel was The Second Lady by Irving Wallace someones  ...

These were the authors I read too after weaning off Enid Blyton. I was quite crazy about Robin Cook books at one point. Today, the sheer number of authors and books available is dizzying.

nike1234

My school library used to have perry mason , sherlock holmes etc. But my parents were strictly against me reading anything other than comics and enid blyton books.Once i was old enough to issue perry mason from school , i used to hide them between my school books and read.My dear parents used to think that i am busy studying.But they caught me after a week.What surprised me was that instead of screaming at me they allowed me to read all genre of books as long as i tell them the name of the book issued.

Mousetrap

@nike1234
That's very interesting... While there were no restrictions from my family, the library owner (a friend of my school principal) was very particular about what kids should read. So, when I wanted  to pick up Sidney Sheldon and Danielle Steel, he refused and said he'd tell my principal too. I remember being really scared for a week or so, worrying about the consequences. It seems so silly now!

nike1234

Mousetrap 11-8-2018 11:05 AM
@nike1234
That's very interesting... While there were no restrictions from my family, the library ow ...

yes ,in hindsight these things look so silly , a part of nostalgia now. At that age anything that used to happen in everyday life used to be treated as death or life situation.

AVIRAL01

i really dont remember but it was Amar chitra katha, tintin and chanda mama and later on presence of magazines at home actually made me appericiate the written words and my love for reading is becouse of my parents who have always encouraged us to read widely.