For some reason today I found myself reminiscing about the books I read as a kid. And I am not talking about Books like Jelita and Mulenga, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, or even Cinderella. I am talking about books that I picked up from the library out of my own volition ā not because school or my mother wanted me to read them.
I am looking back at how innocent I looked at things then. Back then it was always about the good and the bad guys from the book or if there was a happy ending. It was such great fun seeing a plot unfold right in front of your eyesā¦or should I say through the imagination? It didn’t matter then the complexities of characters, the plot devices employed by authors or how an authorās life might have impacted his/her written works. I didn’t know what symbolism meant or such things as style, diction, themes, motifs, and point of view yet somehow the stories still managed to make a lot of sense!
But now, reading has become a little more complicated because of so many things I have come to be aware of. At some point in high school during a āLiteratureā class, I remember thinkingā¦I think from now on am going to hate reading novels. Why was the teacher trying to make everything so complicated? Fortunately, that was never the case. As it turned out, I became even more absorbed in reading books it was insane!
Before my mind became corrupted by the hideous plots from most Mills and Boon stories, I think I read quite a number of impressive books that are somehow still embedded in my schema. Hereās me looking back to those old beautiful days when literature was simplyā¦.whatās that word againā¦? Anyway, I have decided to revisit all the novels I read as a childā¦simply because I am curious and I think it would be fun! Hereās a list of the most notable ones whose titles are still stuck in my head:
Anne of Green Gables ā by Lucy Maud MontgomeryĀ
Dear Lord! This was my very first novel and I will never forget this title. I had picked this particular one because of the name, obviously! However, one look at the synopsis and I was completely taken in! I was drawn in by how so similar and yet how not so similar the character Anne Shirley was from me. Unlike her, I was not talkative as a kid yet I found myself celebrating every time that kid opened her mouth and spoke her mind. I was strangely inspired without knowing exactly why. Ā I canāt remember much of the details of the story but there are scenes that are still play out in my head…images of a little red-haired girl overcoming lifeās challenges in her young life until she gets her happy ending. Suddenly, I am curious about Anneās character, how did she manage to set her two worlds apart ā one her imagination and the other her reality. I want to revisit every scene and look at it with these very eyesā¦after so many years.
Little House on the Prairie ā by Laura Ingalls Wilder Ā
Although this one came from the Little House Series, I only got to read this particular one. I canāt remember what attracted me to it but back then if it was not about a namesake, it was mostly about the picture on the front cover if the synopsis was not as captivating as I expected. I remember having a little trouble with this book because there was so much history involved. Looking back, I think I enjoyed reading dialogues the most and not additional information from authors that sought to give more meat to the plot. I only got to the end of the book because I was never one to give up half-way through. I wanted to see events unfold all through the end! But since I will be reading it again, I look forward to gaining an in-depth understanding and possibly delve a little more into the mind of Wilder.
Oliver Twist ā by Charles Dickens
Now hereās a reason I fell in love with Charles Dickens! I remember for the first time back then wanting to know more about an author because I was impressed by the things that went on in his head. I was totally hooked! Oh, I remember hating Fagin and how scared I would be every time Oliver was caught up in one of his criminal activities. I had never despised a character like this before. Even Cinderellaās evil step-mother and sisters had nothing on this nefarious nitwit and growing up, those three (Cinderella) were the epitome of evil itself in my very young mind. I think it was after reading this book that I slowly began to appreciate literature in a deeper sense. After this one, I went straight ahead to read Great Expectations. And I donāt know why I am smiling right now. I am sooo looking forward to reading this again!
Sherlock Holmes ā by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I honestly think that this collection of Doyleās works really robbed me of my childhood! Seriously! I found his stories intriguing, captivating, and extremely funny. Once I started, there was no stopping me. I hated being anywhere else but in the bedroom reading my life away. If before I had been anti-social, after this book I became a āhigh-functioning sociopathā¦ā but without the violent aspect of the definition of course! I started reading this collection of stories in my search for effective ways of dealing with a father who had psychopathic tendencies. Of course I didnāt know much about Google thenā¦and we thank God for that! Here is where I fell in love for the first time with a character ā Sherlock Holmes. To this day, these stories still hold the same place in my heart and because I have read them over and over again over the yearsā¦it wouldnāt hurt to read them again, right?
Things Fall Apart ā Chinua Achebe
ā¦my very first African authored novel. Oooh, such a good read and very informative too! I started reading this one because I had heard my older siblings talk a lot about it. I hated not being in the āknowā when others were talking about literary works. I was very young then but my curiosity was bigger than both my older brothers put together. I wanted to find out what all the fuss was about this Okonkwo. I read this book with as much innocence as can be expected. I loved and hated Okonkwo at the same time. There were some aspects of him that hit close to home and for the first time I started to understand a bit about the role of tradition in societies outside Zambia. At that time I didnāt care much about the themes Achebe was trying to drive home. It was only after studying the book in high school as well as at varsity as a literature text that I got to really appreciate exactly what was trying to communicate through his works. After this one, I went straight to reading his other novel ā No Longer at Ease, another great read I still hold dear!
Right now I am wondering, to what extend did my choice in novels I read as a kid influence my character or personality? Would I want my kids to read these books too? I have a strong feeling I already know the answers to these questions! Do you remember the books you read as a kid? How did they influence your childhood or rather, your life in general? Would you read them again to read them to your kids?