The books of our youth

[Sandinista]

Following from Steve's comments on the albums thread, what were the top 3 books from your formative years (not counting Penthouse et al.)? Any have a big impact that when later reread you thought what was the fuss about?

For me, my 3 were
Lord of the Rings - Tolkein
Homage to Catalonia - George Orwell
My Life - Leon Trotsky

The only one I have not been able to reread is LOTR, found it totally boring. when I was a teenager I thought it the best thing since sliced bread.

Ian

[FierceKitty]

I think this thread is a repetition of a similar one about a year ago.

[Sandinista]

Unlike you I do not have an encyclopaedic knowledge of all posts, perhaps I should stay in more...

[goat major]

After this thread is done we can do Forum posts of our youth

Ok.....

Boring choice but LOTR too.
One day in the life of Ivan Denosovitch
1984

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Lord of The Rings Can we take that hear read unless otherwise stated?
So leaving that out...

The Dark is Rising series

Swallows and Amazons

Anything by Douglas Reaman

[Leon]

Just to be different, it was the first DragonLance trilogy for me, bought from a 2nd hand book shop while on holiday in Scarborough.  I'd heard of LOTR, but it had always sounded like Dickens-does-fantasy if that makes sense?  In a long-winded, hard to wade through kind of way?  It wasn't until I saw the films that that first impression changed.

[Steve J]

The ones I can remember clearly are:

Lord of the Rings (recommended to my Mum by Cambridge University students in the mid '70s)

Conan the Barbarian series by Robert E Howard

Enid Blytons Famous Five series (These books really got me into reading as a child plus I loved the illustrations, such wonderful pen-and-ink line work . I can still remember sitting on my Mums knee having these read to me.)

Trips to the library (including mobile ones) were frequent, but these book titles have faded from memory .

[mollinary]

Enid Blyton Famous Five;
W E Johns Biggles Series;
Don Featherstone's Wargames.

Mollinary

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Two out of those last three I was not expecting Mollinary!

[Gran76]

Not really books but mine are:
1. Commando monthly comic books (still got a load I keep rereading)
2. Battle weekly comic (still got some of these as well)
3. Tiger comic
The Faraway tree books by Enid Blyton that I've recently read to my little daughter at bedtime.
All of the Narnia books
The Bible (read it once when I was a kid, apparently some great battles in Joshua.I don't remember them though!)
Oopps that's more than 3 sorry!

[Nosher]

I am one of those boys that struggled with reading - probably because most of the books in the school library were girls books or worse still books on school subjects. I much preferred to be outside kicking a ball about or riding my bike.

That said I was, and still am an avid reader of reference materials as long as the material relates to military history.

My youth reading was mags like Warlord, Eagle and Victor.

My reading now is pretty much the same. When I do pick up fiction it usually has a military or sporting theme.

[mollinary]

Mad Lemmey,

It all depends on what you mean by "yoof"!  The first list takes me up to about age 11.  This one takes me to about 15:

Battle of Bosworth Field. A.L.Rowse
The Franco-Prussian War.  Michael Howard
The Fleet That had to Die. Richard Hough

The last two still on my bookshelves. Only the third of the first list still makes that criterion.

Mollinary

[Chad]

Michael Moorcock

Elric
Hawkmoon

[Sandinista]

Did not discover Moorcock until my late 20's, he is now one of my favourites. I am currently reading the Colonel Pyat series of books.

[petercooman]

For me:

LOTR and the hobbit
longest day by Cornelius Ryan
Bridge to far by cornelius ryan
The eagle has landed by Jack Higgins