When I started working on this post, Cossette asked me, “How did you get into reading?” and when I think about it, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t reading. Literature was such a huge part of my childhood that in my mind, the two are intertwined. As a kid, I would constantly beg my mom to take me to the library or a bookstore whenever we had the time, and once she got me in there I never wanted to leave.
Once I find something that I really and truly love, I pretty much devote myself to it, and the first thing I ever really devoted my time to was reading. I think it’s partially to do with my thirst for knowledge, and from 7-year-old me wanting to be like Rory Gilmore, who always had a book in her hands.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the books I read as a kid and how those stories have influenced the person I’ve become. We all know how much I love a good mystery, and that for sure comes from reading Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. I love reading about strong female characters, which totally stems from books like The Babysitters Club and American Girl where the girls in those stories were always standing up for what was right and encouraging others to do the same. The Chronicles of Narnia instilled in me this love of magical worlds and this need to always find the good in the world like Lucy Pevensie. These books, and so many more, influenced the things I grew to like and dislike, and most importantly they shaped how I viewed the world and the kind of person I wanted to become. That’s why I believe that it’s so important for children to read and have resources that make literature easily accessible to them. Reading completely changed my life, and I want others to have that same opportunity.
Recently, I’ve become re-obsessed with Nancy Drew (thanks to the CW TV series that honestly is so good) and have been wanting to revisit this beloved series of mine, which got me thinking. What if I reread my favorite books from my childhood, and then wrote blog posts about the experience? What did I remember from when I read the series as a kid? What still holds up and what doesn’t? Do I still love these books as an adult? I think it could be a really fun thing to explore. Plus, I’m hoping that it’ll help me make a list of books that I want to introduce my niece and nephew to when they’re older.
I don’t have a specific timeline in mind yet, but I do know that I want to start soon. I’ll be rereading old favorites (some mentioned above and some that haven’t been mentioned) and then I’ll be posting a little wrap-up once I’ve finished that book or series. I also thought that this would also be a fun way for everyone to get to know me a little bit better!
I’m super excited to start on this project, and I hope that you are too! If you’ve got some childhood favorites of yours that you think I should check out (just not Harry Potter please) drop them in the comments!
This sounds like such a fun series! There are a few childhood favorites I still go back and reread and love, but now I’m curious about the ones I haven’t touched since childhood (like the BSC) 🤔
Exactly! There are some that I read as a kid that I reread a lot, like Little Women, but others I haven’t read in so long and I’m really excited to see what I think of them as an adult.
This sounds like a great idea. The only books that I have ever really reread from my childhood are the Narnia books. The only other ones I really remember reading were everything by Enid Blyton. But growing up in the sixties, there were a lot less childrens books out there.
this sounds like such a fun series!! i too was a huge nancy drew fan and the show has only made me want to reread them even more ahhhhh!! can’t wait to see what you think of these!
nancy drew, my beloved!