LibraryLover Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 (edited) Well...Helter Skelter was my parents :lol: lol My mother once asked me not to read Love Story at the orthodondist office. Edited September 28, 2009 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 My reading was never, ever censored (and I had extremely over-protective parents). I never read a lot of "trash" though. I discovered Wuthering Heights in the 6th grade and decided classic literature was the way to go. Sorry, I'm lumping Wuthering Heights in with the trashy books. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in the Country Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Sorry, I'm lumping Wuthering Heights in with the trashy books. :lol: Eh, fair enough :lol:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 In high school I read the "Clan of the Cave Bear" series. I went back and read it as an adult:001_huh: It's like caveman p*rn!! Eep! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Sorry, I'm lumping Wuthering Heights in with the trashy books. :lol: Ha. I read The Handmaid's Tale in high school. It was before Atwood blipped across my teacher's radar screen, and I had a paperback version that really emphasized the lurid fertility ritual, so I had to get a note from my mother allowing me to read it. Apparently my teacher thought it was a really trashy romance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 In high school I read the "Clan of the Cave Bear" series. I went back and read it as an adult:001_huh: It's like caveman p*rn!! Eep! Totally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 (edited) lol Edited September 28, 2009 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 From this thread I gather that NO ONE's mother picked up any of her books to read, eh? My mother never did. But my dad picked up one of the Tom Robbins books I was reading for 11th grade English book report. Let's just say he was... livid. Good thing he never noticed any of the other books I read. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyFourSons Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 VC Andrews, I read the whole Flowers in the Attic series one summer when I was 11. Yuck! While I was reading them I couldn't put them down, and then once I finished the last one I felt kind of dirty. I also read way too many Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine books, they were very popular in my day. My parents, especially my father, were anti-censorship, and so almost anything we wanted to read or see was fine. I saw way too many inappropriate movies and tv shows growing. As a result I am very particular about what my own kids watch and read, I think because I wish someone had been a better filter for me. Kids grow up too fast as it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrrh Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Are you there, God, it's me Margaret by Judy Blume. Many times over when I was 9-12. Ugh. :ack2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 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. Me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 I didn't get to read all the posts (there are a ton of them) but I have to ask: What is this horrible, sinful Judy Blume book everyone keeps referring to and what is so bad about it? I must have missed that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funschooler5 Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 I didn't get to read all the posts (there are a ton of them) but I have to ask: What is this horrible, sinful Judy Blume book everyone keeps referring to and what is so bad about it? I must have missed that one. :lurk5: I only have good memories of reading Judy Blume books. And I'm pretty sure I read them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coleroo Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 I really didn't read too much outside of school assignments when I was younger than 11. After that, I'm guilty of reading every single one of the Sweet Valley, Babysitters Club, & R.L. Stine books too. :) A few harlequin paperbacks passed my way also (those stayed WELL hidden because the covers are dead giveaways). My mom wasn't a reader, so she knew next to nothing about books. My dad only knew the classics. They never cared what I was reading outside of a cursory "What are you reading?" question (which I knew they didn't care to hear the answer to anyway). I do remember when I first started reading 17 magazine when I had just turned 13, mom got mad and said "But you're NOT 17!". I would still read it though. My little 10 year old cousin is currently reading Twilight. I about jumped out of my skin when I found that out!!! NO way would I let my 10 year old read that as the themes are much too mature, IMHO. I was still into barbies at that age! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 :lurk5: I only have good memories of reading Judy Blume books. And I'm pretty sure I read them all. From what I remember, there are at least two that people get most excited about: one deals with teen sex (Forever), and the other deals with masturbation (Deenie). There are others that include something about wet dreams (Then Again, Maybe I Won't) and menstruation (Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret). Here's what Judy Blume has to say about "Forever" (I've never read it myself) : "This book was first published in 1975. My daughter Randy asked for a story about two nice kids who have sex without either of them having to die." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 I read all the romance novels at my local school library :leaving: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrg Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 EVERY WW2 book in our public library, including The Naked and the Dead, between 5th and 7th grade! I read about Japanese internment, concentration camps, military strategy, the Pacific front, everything. I literally ran out of books in our rather large city library. I don't know what my parents were thinking. My mom was handicapped and sent me to the library on my bicycle with her list, so she knew what I was bringing home. I also read every college catalogue and the private school guide, dreaming of a better life. I also read out loud to my brother every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrg Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 remember reading The Godfather when I was 11 and staying at my aunt's house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 The Doors of Perception-Aldous Huxley Franny and Zooey-JD Salinger The Catcher in the Rye-JD Salinger Man's Search for Meaning-Viktor Frankl Playing for Time-Fania Fenelon Forever Amber-Kathleen Winsor All Stephen King I could possibly check out from the library without mom finding out as she did not want her 14 year old camping out in her room thus he did everyting possible to dissuade without forbidding his books. Frankly, I find most of the books I read at that age to have lacked any overtly salacious material but rather too serious for a young person to read without guidance. I simply went into my parents smallish library room and selected that which looked promising. I actually took a stand against censorship in the 9th grade at my catholic school. The principal was a small minded twit who confiscated my mother's copy of Franny and Zooey . I resisted , called her a fascist and was abruptly asked to leave. The folks were not pleased but glad to have evidence they had not raised a milquetoast. Judy Blume was 6th grade stuff and frankly Are You There God It's Me Margaret is one of my favorite novels for tweens. I have not read her other books so I have no idea whether they are twaddle or not. Dd is very self policing regarding her reading so I do not worry about it much and certainly would opt for well written books with a bit of material that is advanced over the puerile crud that seems to dominate the Young Adult market. Twilight and its progeny are really incredibly poorly written so I had her read Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire instead as the writing is superior and not at a 3rd grade reading level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meet me in paris Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 My best friend in junior high was obsessed with VC Andrews novels, and made me read them. Scarred me for life, I tell ya. . :iagree: 6th grade - Flowers in the Attic - scarred me for life, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaik76 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 I can't believe that my high school required us to read Orwell. Especially 1984. I will have my kids read it when they get older and I pray that no more of what it tells of is true by that time. I read this in elementary school! I thought it was great! I'm definitely hoping my kids read it by high school if not before. Why not 1984? That was one book that I read repeatedly in Junior High. Maybe a dozen times, or more. I practically had the thing memorized. I'm not sure why exactly it captured my imagination, but it did. Bill It captured my imagination, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Me, too GRIN. They didn't hurt me any. I suspect they sped up my reading and taught me how to read for content, not details. I can't read Emilie Loring now. A woman I babysat for gave me Thornbirds, saying it was the best book ever. Yuk yuk yuk! It was horrid. It probably has some redeeming qualities but they went right over my head. Unfortunately at about 16 I was too old for the rest of it to go over my head. It was weeks before I felt normal and clean again. I tried one other thick book recommended by another employer, had the same thing happen, and decided that anything that said saga on the back wasn't for me. Now I can sort of see why someone might find them escape, but I still don't like reading them. I read lots of things that I wouldn't give to a teenager to read, but most of it went over my head when I was younger and then when I was older, I had learned to skip bits or abandon the book, so I did ok even reading some rather adult things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Yuk. That was the name of the other one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smrtmama Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 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 My mother let me read Lady Chatterly's Lover in middle school. I asked her about it when I was an adult and she was all, "Oh, I totally wasn't thinking about the sex being graphic. I just love DH Lawrence and knew you would, too!" I do, in fact, love DH Lawrence now (not because of the sex bits). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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