a few of my favorites: literary link-up

I admit it: I'm a book snob. Books were available to me before I went to school. I entered kindergarten knowing how to read. I have memories of being irritated with other students who couldn't read because I assumed everyone could. Whoops.

Host:

Blog // Twitter// Facebook // Bloglovin'

Host: 

Blog // Twitter // Facebook // Bloglovin'

May's co-host:

Blog // Twitter // Facebook // Bloglovin'

Well before I gave in and cracked open a Babysitter's Club story (even now I have an aversion to all things trendy. I refused to read Harry Potter for the longest time just because of its popularity!), I was in love with a concept that was new and emerging at the time: American Girls. There were fewer than a handful of girls at the time.

Yep, back when the covers all looked like this! via

I started with Kirsten because my best friend's name was Kristen. Only two or three of her books were published at the time; I had to excruciatingly wait for each new volume. The torture! One day, in the second grade, I spotted it: the newest volume, in my own school library!

I snatched it off the shelf and rushed to the checkout counter so I could get reading. But oh, no. I couldn't have the book. It was marked with the special sticker that indicated the book was for a reading level of third grade and above. Despite my protests that I could, in fact read the book and had successfully read the others, they weren't having it. I was one livid seven year old.

Over time, I read all the girls and had fun awaiting the newest ones. After seeing a fun post some time ago about What Your American Girl Doll Says About the Rest of Your Life, (by the way, I was the "heck no we aren't spending 80 bucks on a doll for you!") I may or may not have gone back to the library in my 20's to read the girls who got introduced after I got old. Good times.

Of course I had to read my namesake! Even if she does have a flashy modern cover. via

Another favorite also sticks with me to this day: The Chronicles of Narnia. When I was a kid, I would only read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Don't ask me why. I never had an interest in reading the others.  But I loved it! I rarely re-read books, but I made an exception for that one. Being raised in a Christian home, the meaning and symbolism in the story weren't lost on me.

Not pictured are Prince Caspian (film,on loan to a friend), and  ALL the series in one book. Also, oh my, how do I not have the BBC films?!

I finally read the rest of the series in my late teens as well as many accompanying books which I find fascinating. I was thrilled for the films and devastated when they veered of course so horribly after LWW that further productions eventually ceased. I still have hope that one day I will see the series in its entirety on the screen done right. I love the fantasy mixed with the Christian principles and imagery. Children's books or not, I will never stop reading them!

Now it's your turn! Tell me all about your favorite childhood book(s)! Link up with Janna, Amanda, and I below. I can't wait to read and feel even more nostalgia!