What books did you read as a pre-teen or teen that you now can't believe?

[LNC]

I read the entire Kent family chronicles by John Jakes. Remember these? They were uber popular in the 70's after the bicentennial. I read 1/2 the series the summer I was 10 1/2 and the other half when I was 11 1/2.

 

Now that I have a 10yo daughter I can't believe I was reading adult fiction at that age. I would have to look back through them to see what I was exposed to!

 

http://www.johnjakes.com/kentchronicles.htm

[JudoMom]

I wasted my preteen & early teen years on The Babysitter's Club, Sweet Valley Twins, and Sweet Valley High. I believe I read every single book in all of those series.

[Emmy]

I read - and collected - all the Danielle Steele novels when I was a teenager. I also read John Jakes - but I think it was North & South. I also read a ton of inappropriate adult-ish romance novels.....looking back I realize my parents didn't monitor my reading at all lol.

 

 

Oh oh oh - and VC Andrews. I read ALL her books.

[Julie in CA]

I read the entire Kent family chronicles by John Jakes. Remember these? They were uber popular in the 70's after the bicentennial. I read 1/2 the series the summer I was 10 1/2 and the other half when I was 11 1/2.

 

Now that I have a 10yo daughter I can't believe I was reading adult fiction at that age. I would have to look back through them to see what I was exposed to!

 

http://www.johnjakes.com/kentchronicles.htm

Oh yeah...I read those too. What was my mom thinking?! I also remember reading a totally trashy paperback that would probably be considered the lowest, sleaziest of all porn were it visual rather than written. :eek: I think I hid that one.

Then there was also a particular Judy Blume book...yikes!

 

ETA: Also The Thorn Birds.

Edited May 28, 2009 by Julie in CA

[dangermom]

My best friend in junior high was obsessed with VC Andrews novels, and made me read them. Scarred me for life, I tell ya. I don't think I would have read them otherwise, but I was voluntarily reading Piers Anthony, who I now recognize as a filthy old man. Bleh.

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

When I read some of the other women here said they read in 7th grade, I realized that I must have been pretty sheltered. I read hardly any adult fiction til 9th grade, and even then I didn't tell my parents what I was reading if I thought they might disapprove.

 

I remember Coma being popular and the V.C. Andrews books, I couldn't stomach either one. I was also something of a prude, still am, but not as much.

 

I had a list of "classic" literature that an English teacher handed out, and I made it my goal to read through the list. Most of my reading was from that list.

 

Some of the popular Christian books I read were The Cross and the Switchblade, Jonie's Story (?), and Grace Livingstone Hill Books. My mother introduced me to Mary Stewart books, and my father introduced me to Daphne DuMaurier.

[SFP]

I read Grace Livingston Hill, Emilie Loring, Alastair MacLean and Zane Grey in 7th and 8th grade.

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I read Emilie Loring and Alastair MacLean, too! Helen McInnes and Agatha Christie, as well.

[Liza Q]

VC Andrews - wish I could bleach my brain!

 

I don't remember Piers Anthony as being that bad.....no, I guess that even though I don't remember anything specific I remember enough that I have never mentioned him to my kids!

[Impish]

I kinda laugh in a bitter way reading other's responses about how their parents didn't monitor their reading, or they hid it from their parents...my mother bragged about sharing her reading material with me. VC Andrews, Stephen King, whatever was floating around, I read. Literally. Nothing was off limits to me what so ever, and nothing was particularly encouraged either, unless it was assigned from school. Any classics I read were by accident, purely by my stumbling upon them.

[SFP]

The aunts and uncles who passed on their reading materials back then didn't read mysteries--although they'd earlier handed out the Nancy Drewsa and Hardy Boys (nowhere near as good as Trixie Belden, I thought)--but I remember getting Phyllis Whitney from the public library.

[Jen in PA]

I remember carrying around James Clavell's Shogun in my purse in junior high. I don't even carry a purse big enough to do that now! I read lots of sci fi (Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov) around then, too. By high school I started transitioning to reading mostly mysteries, then mostly nonfiction, which is still pretty much where I am today.

[joannqn]

Uh...I was reading nothing but adult fiction and school assigned books by the time I was 11. I read a lot of Stephen King, Robin Cook, and my dad's sci-fi. My mom continued a Harlequin book club she never read because I read them; I read well over a hundred of them. In high school, I read my dad's Penthouse Letters when he was done with them.

 

Needless to say, my kids will NOT be following in my footsteps.

[HeatherLynn]

I kinda laugh in a bitter way reading other's responses about how their parents didn't monitor their reading, or they hid it from their parents...my mother bragged about sharing her reading material with me. VC Andrews, Stephen King, whatever was floating around, I read. Literally. Nothing was off limits to me what so ever, and nothing was particularly encouraged either, unless it was assigned from school. Any classics I read were by accident, purely by my stumbling upon them.

 

Same thing here. My mother's friends passed their books on to me. I read a book a day (sometimes two days) from about 5th grade on. I took a reading break from ages 19-25ish (hmm, I had three under 3 at that time) but now read a book or two a week.

 

Anyhow, I also read the calssics for my AP classes in school, but not because I wanted to read them. For me is trashy romance novels all the way.

[HeatherLynn]

I remember carrying around James Clavell's Shogun in my purse in junior high. I don't even carry a purse big enough to do that now! I read lots of sci fi (Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov) around then, too. By high school I started transitioning to reading mostly mysteries, then mostly nonfiction, which is still pretty much where I am today.

 

I read that one too, but I was REALLY young. Elementary. I loved the movie so I got the book.

[LunaLee]

Yeah, I could read anything I could get my hands on. Not really a good thing. In 6th grade I was reading Thorn Birds, Victoria Holt, V.C. Andrews, Danielle Steel... There really was no monitoring going on in our house. Of course, my dad also used to make me watch Hamburger Hill, Hanoi Hilton, Terminator, Aliens...Shoot, I think my dad was just happy I was reading. :)

[momofkhm]

Oh oh oh - and VC Andrews. I read ALL her books.

 

Yep. Someone at summer camp tuned me onto these books. Now I can't believe I ever read that stuff. What was my mother thinking???

[Melissa B]

I spent all of my money on books as a kid. I had the whole collections of:

 

V.C. Andrews

Stephen King

Dean Koontz

Cynthia Voigt (sp?)

Raymond Feist (sp?)

 

by high school my taste had improved a bit to at least include

 

the Bronte sisters

Edith Wharton

 

 

I remember being very disappointed in Peyton Place after all of the trouble I took to obtain it. :001_huh:

 

What were my parents thinking???

 

When asked this year which Stephen King would be most appropriate for my youngest sister, age 11, who has asked to read them, I gave an emphatic NONE (EVER!) :D

[wendow1]

I spent all my time feeding my brain garbage like VC Andrews, Sweet Valley High Twins, Stephen King & Danielle Steel. My mom never asked what I was reading. I was in AP reading so I did read quite a few classics but I was used to easy reading so they were difficult & boring for me. Such a waste!

[Tabrett]

From 7th grade up (untill I quit reading romance) Jude Deveraux.:blushing:

[Tap]

My parents pretty much allowed anything. I grew up on horror novels by Steven King and John Saul. I loved horror movies and the like. I think it is similar to the current vampire craze due to the Twilight series popularity.

[angela in ohio]

I'm really sad when I think of the hours upon hours I spend reading Sweet Valley High and Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books. I also read a LOT of science fiction. We rode our bikes to the library (very small town,) and I would read for hours there. It beaks my heart to think that someone could have just pointed out that there were better choices, and I could have read classics. I remember reading romance novels like crazy (including Lace and way too many Harlequins.)

[SLH in ND]

Then there was also a particular Judy Blume book...yikes!

 

I, too, read that particular Judy Blume book you mentioned....yikes is right! I won't let my oldest dd read it.

 

eta: I also remember sneaking into my Grandmother's True Story magazines. Why on earth one of the most devout Christians I knew would be reading that trash is beyond me! I really have become prudish, it's hard for me to go there, it's my Grandma, for Pete's sake! Needless to say, I got a little to much education for the age I was.

Sheri :)

Edited May 28, 2009 by SLH in ND
remembered something

[MelanieM]

I also remember reading all the Sweet Valley High books when I was so very young! I can't imagine my daughter reading those at the same age (in a couple of years).

 

As a pre-teen/young teen I was reading V.C. Andrews, Danielle Steele, Stephen King, John Saul, Dean Koontz, etc. And I remember reading The Exorcist at around 14! Ack!!! I can't believe some of the things I was reading. As someone else said, sometimes I'd like to bleach my brain! LOL! Mostly because some of this imagery still haunts me, and there's no way I'd subject myself to it now.

 

I'm very happy knowing that our book shelves are now fully stocked with lots of fabulous reading materials that my kids will get to experience at appropriate times in their lives. Even the fluff they get (and I do love young adult fiction, even the fluffy stuff) will be far beyond what I was reading. ;)

[OnTheBrink]

Gosh, I read anything I wanted. My parents never bothered to check or care.

 

VC Andrews

Stephen King

Lois Duncan (jr high)

LaVyrle Spencer

 

I read every book on black magic and witchcraft I could find. I literally checked out all the books our local library had on their shelves on the subject.

[elegantlion]

I read VC Andrews, I think I did some of those John Jakes novels as well. Some horror, but not Stephan King. I still have a few of those stories stuck in my head.

 

Oh, and I think I read everything on UFOs out there. I grabbed those from my dad, who probably still has them in his basement.

 

I also remember me and two friends who would go to the mall and sit in the back of the bookstore (this was before comfy chairs and coffee shops) and read some teen s*x manual. Seriously there was a LOT of info in that book. Things my mother never told me. :001_huh:

[Heather in Neverland]

Every novel by Jackie Collins and "Forever" by Judy Blume as well as scads of bodice-rippers. I wish my mom would not have let me read that filth.

[Jenny in Atl]

Wow, I guess I was a snob from the get-go. I tended to read the classics or stuff to challenge my suburban experience like Kerouac and Kafka. I was such a dweeb.

 

It wasn't until I worked at B.Dalton in college that I read my first trashy novel. We would strip the covers off to send back to the publishers, and then toss the actual bks. It was common practice for employees to keep whatever they liked from the "strips" list. I think I read a L. Spencer one. It was ok, so I read all her others, but I grew tired of that genre fairly quickly.

 

I guess it all depends on what you are raised around?

[VanessaS]

Stephen King, The Clan of the Cave Bear (the whole series), cheesy romance novels, the ubiquitous Judy Blume novel, and a disproportionate amount of Sweet Valley High, Nancy Drew, and the Babysitters club. I was sneaking the adult books and bought the preteen fluff with my allowance.

My parents made a bit of effort to steer me to interesting novels and biographies and it left a lasting impact. Those are the only books that I can recall now and I prefer to read them. No more brain junk-food. But I still have nightmares about "The Stand" and "Interview with a Vampire". Ugh.

[MIch elle]

I read the entire Kent family chronicles by John Jakes. Remember these?

http://www.johnjakes.com/kentchronicles.htm

 

I belonged to Doubleday Book Club in high school and LOVED them! My mother told me I was wasting my money on BOOKS!

[Cindy in the NH Woods]

I remember long happy Saturdays digging in bags and boxes in our basement looking for my parents' contraband books......

 

:001_huh:

[Dirtroad]

My best friend in junior high was obsessed with VC Andrews novels, and made me read them. Scarred me for life, I tell ya. I don't think I would have read them otherwise, but I was voluntarily reading Piers Anthony, who I now recognize as a filthy old man. Bleh.

 

I read very few actual books in school. But I did read that VC ANDREWS stuff. I just feel dirty thinking about it now. How could I parents not know!!! It was awful, wicked stuff!

 

I also read those sleazy Harlequin Romances at times & a couple Danielle Steel books. Just what every 8th grader needs... books on sex, women marrying multiple men for multiple gains, and other great (sarcasm) moral lessons.

 

Yuk Yuk!

[Julie in CA]

Wow, I guess I was a snob from the get-go. I tended to read the classics or stuff to challenge my suburban experience like Kerouac and Kafka. I was such a dweeb.

 

Oh, I dunno...I read the good stuff too, I just read a lot and had time to fit some trash in alongside my classics! :D

[clementine]

Did anyone else read books from the Sweet Dreams series http://sweetdreamsseries.com/ Just going to the website was a flashback!!

 

My mom didn't teach much about 'growing up', so I guess her letting me read these made her feel like I was learning about it somewhere. :001_huh:

 

I also read VC Andrews, John Saul, and Stephen King....my dds won't be reading that stuff until I no longer have control over their reading material. :tongue_smilie:

[dangermom]

LOL, I read those too. I liked them back then. Probably now I would think they were dumb.

They're not just dumb, they're painfully bad. A few months ago I read a hysterical blog post by someone who read "Flowers in the Attic" and posted quotations and reactions. I about died laughing, but wow, the purple prose was terrible.

[JenniferB]

VC Andrews here too. My step sister and I read them together and discussed them. I also snagged Sidney Sheldon books off my mom's night stand and read those too. Also some vampire books, but I don't remember the name of the author, I think it was a woman, and I think they made a movie out of the first one?? I can't remember that too well.

 

I hadn't read a classic until I got to college. I don't think I knew what a classic WAS! LOL! OR Cry out loud!

[skaterbabs]

Oh, I dunno...I read the good stuff too, I just read a lot and had time to fit some trash in alongside my classics! :D

 

 

Me too. I read Gone With The Wind at nine. It was my birthday present that year, my dad has never been the scholarly type and was totally freaked out by my reading the encyclopedias. He went out and bought the biggest book he could find because I'd literally read EVERY book in the house - twice. He was hoping it would last the summer (I have a mid-June birthday) because our family didn't "do" library trips and I would drive EVERYONE around me nuts if I didn't have enough to read.

 

My senior year in high school we read "Jane Eyre". My AP English teacher asked me before we started how many times I'd (already) read it, and when I told him "four", I was put under strict orders to not "spoil" it for those who hadn't yet done so, and to NOT answer the plot questions asked in class. :tongue_smilie:

[LaxMom]

I pretty much graduated from Harriet the Spy to Stephen King... I honestly don't think there was very much age-appropriate material for adolescent readers back then, and Salem's Lot was in my dad's bookcase. Also in the bookcase was Homer, Salinger, Steinbeck... I read those, too.

 

In my mother's bookcase was the-Blume-novel-that-shall-not-be-named (though I must say we still, 25 years later, joke about the dog's "sticks and wees", and whether the chicken was properly browned), V.C. Andrews, Danielle Steele, etc. I read those, too.

 

I discovered last year that my grandmother (a devout Catholic) was a HUGE fan of trashy novels. Except, she used to check them out of the library and mark out any words she found objectionable with black Sharpie. I wonder if they ever caught on to her... :001_rolleyes:

[Word Nerd]

I loved VC Andrews. :confused::tongue_smilie:

 

I would also sneak my mom's Johanna Lindsey and other romances off the shelves when she wasn't looking. I don't think she knows to this day that I read them. I also read THAT Judy Blume book (actually, there are two I know of that were really questionable, so I'm not positive which one you're referring to here), and about a year later my mom found out about the book's existence and forbid me from reading it. I just looked at her blankly.

Edited May 29, 2009 by WordGirl

[Hedgehogs4]

oh my...someone mentioned that judy blume novel. i think the title was "forever" because it remains forever in your brain.

[LibraryLover]

Belva Plain.

[WTMCassandra]

I just went to the library and checked out whatever fiction I thought would be interesting. I'm sad now that my mother did not make any attempt to direct my reading or ensure I was including classics (although to be fair I chomped through STACKS and STACKS of books and she gave up on keeping up with me early on). I'm sad also that I didn't think any other section other than the fiction section was in the library ; ). I LOVE Jessie Wise's plan of having the child check out biography, science, history, etc., as well as fiction!

[Ravin]

I mostly read science fiction and fantasy. It certainly exposed me to different worldviews than that of my family of origin. I read the Pern books at 12. I also read Clan of the Cave Bear when I was, oh, 13? At 10 it was mostly Asimov type stuff, lots of classic sci fi short stories.

 

I'm glad my parents never censored my reading. I may monitor and discuss what DD reads more than they did with me, but I doubt there will be banned books for her. Ever.

[Garga]

I found a Gor novel by John Norman. He wrote a whole series of sci-fi/fantasy books about Earth women abducted and taken to another planet (Gor), to be used as s*x slaves. Egads!!!!

 

I hid the books from my mother behind the other books on the shelf. I've never told anyone in real life that I read them. Makes me blush to admit I read it. I was sooo naive and sooo fascinated with the book.

[Jenny in Atl]

I found a Gor novel by John Norman. He wrote a whole series of sci-fi/fantasy books about Earth women abducted and taken to another planet (Gor), to be used as s*x slaves. Egads!!!!

 

I hid the books from my mother behind the other books on the shelf. I've never told anyone in real life that I read them. Makes me blush to admit I read it. I was sooo naive and sooo fascinated with the book.

 

This reminds me of an awful sci/fi bk dh had me read when we were first dating (25 years ago :001_huh:). John Varley was the author, can't remember the title. I was never a big sci/fi reader, and it was just awful... Ah the things we put up with in the name of love. :lol:

[mellifera]

I found a Gor novel by John Norman. He wrote a whole series of sci-fi/fantasy books about Earth women abducted and taken to another planet (Gor), to be used as s*x slaves. Egads!!!!

 

 

I'd forgotten all about the Gor books until you mentioned them. Dd#1 and I are very similar in that we are driven to read - Books, magazines, newspaper, cereal boxes, whatever. My mom made sure that I read quality books at least some of the time, but there was no way she could keep up with me. Now I can't keep up with Dd. Funny that.;)

[Rosie_0801]

My mother wouldn't allow anything too over the top whether 'romance' or horror type stuff, so I was shocked as a teen when she let me read a novel she'd just finished featuring female circumcision. I remember demanding to know why she'd let me read it, and asking if I could throw the half finished book in the recycling. Which I did. When I was younger she kept the books she didn't want me reading high on the bookshelf and told me I was allowed to read it when I was tall enough to reach without climbing on anything.

 

Rosie

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Stephen King

Ugh!

[mom31257]

Another VC Andrews reader here...but my favorite book in high school was Rebecca by Daphne D' Maurier.

[Sandwich in Wi]

VC Andrews --still have nightmares and I read most of them more than once.

 

John Jakes--I loved historical fiction. North and South and all the American history series.

 

Agatha Christie

 

I read Fire Starter by Stephen King and was so haunted by it, I never read another (but I love the prison movie--isn't that story by Stephen King?)

 

Every Robert Ludlum book ever written

 

Lawrence Sanders Deadly Sin series (still haunted by the ice pick guy)

 

Sherlock Holmes

 

the Judy Blume books

 

Chaim Potok

 

Aztec

 

The Thorn Birds

 

The Agony and the Ecstasy

 

When I think now how so much of that stuff was p*rn. Blech.