1.
Goosebumps by R.L. Stine
Goosebumps. I was born in 89 so the 90s were my childhood. I went to scholastic book fairs and got what I could. The Goosebumps covers called to young horror fan me. I still have so many of them that I haven't read but I read what I got my hands on back then (and now have all of the original 62 titles though not all in the original covers) and i'm sure re-read them. I also enjoyed watching the show. I struggled with reading comprehension in school but that didn't stop me from enjoying Goosebumps.
2.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
I had to read this for 7th grade in school. I loved it so much! I believe it made me cry and I felt so much for the characters. I know we watched the movie too but I can't remember it now. I re-read it a few years ago and adult me loved it just like 12 year old me! I need to re-watch the movie at some point. And read it again. Because I can.
3.
Bitten by R.L. Stine
This is actually "Dangerous Girls" 1 & 2 combined. I think this book helped show me how much I love vampires. I remember loving it so much as a young teen. I re-read it a few years ago and liked it. I didn't think i'd remember anything about it but as I read everything came back to me somehow. I did read it during a slump so i'd like to re-read it again. Is it cheesy and cliche? Of course. And that's why I love it now. I didn't know that when I first read it though.
4.
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
I would have been the perfect age to read these as they came out or as a kid/teen. Many my age did. I wasn't allowed, and the story is kind of ironic. A lady from church gave me the first book when I was 12...and my step-dad took it away because "magic is evil and of the devil". So I just..never got to read it growing up like most my age. And I had wanted to read it. But at 18 I thought it was "too little too late i'm too old now" which is ridiculous.
And I had fallen out of love of reading for various reasons. My struggles with reading comprehension, not being allowed to read what I wanted to (and it wasn't just Harry Potter), and all the stuff I had to read for school that I absolutely hated at the time or didn't understand making me feel very dumb.
I wanted to find a love of reading again, that had been sparked a bit by Goosebumps, R.L. Stine and The Outsiders (the ONE book I had to read for school that I enjoyed). So in 2015, at 26 years old, I realized I was being dumb for thinking I was "too old" to read Harry Potter. I wanted to read it so damn it I would!
I had read a few books (not many) between 18-26 but they were all about stuff, like Wicca, that I wanted to learn. Non-fiction. I believe I read the first 3 HP books a couple times, starting on a nook. It was slow-going (and i'm still not a fast reader) and reading headaches are a thing. I don't know why it took me a couple tries to get into it but eventually I just bought the whole series physically and read it. And fell in love!
So...ok... I read Harry Potter...loved it...but what next? If I wanted to find that love of reading again I needed more books. I found Booktube by looking up Harry Potter reviews on Youtube. And so it begins.
5.
Across the Universe trilogy by Beth Revis
I can't remember who I watched on Booktube that I initially heard about this from but I remember hearing some booktuber talk about it and it sounded interesting. So I bought the first book and really enjoyed it. I was so excited to then buy books 2 & 3 and read them as soon as they arrived! I loved the trilogy! I haven't re-read it since though i'd like to. See what I think of it now.
It taught me to not look at an author's page on Goodreads though, the questions answered specifically. I wasn't finished with the trilogy when I did that and someone had asked a question that spoiled the ending! The question itself was the spoiler. I'd say how but that would spoil it. So it didn't quite have the impact it should have but I still enjoyed it.
6.
Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz
The first queer book I ever read! I came out as bisexual at 13 and had yet, at nearly 27, to see ANY representation, in ANY media. The MC is a black bisexual girl recovering from an eating disorder and in love with ballet named Etta Sinclair. I loved it! I re-read it last year, and loved it all over again! I have some more books by Hannah but have yet to read them...I suck. This book showed me queer books are out there and are finally coming out all over the place, and I love it!
Now I am an avid reader. And I thank these books (obviously more than 6 but you can see what I did) for doing that in their own ways. What books made you a reader? Have you read any of these? Let me know your thoughts down below!
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