A Brave New World

Dune

Everything by Stephen King

Every historical romance on my grandmother's bedside table.

Good times.

A little obscure, but I read Stephen R. Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant trilogy at like 9. My parents thought it was a standard set of fantasy novels. I actually met the author at a book signing at like 11 or something and the look he gave me was astonishing, it was like “who the hell lets their preteens read my books.”

I read most of Stephen Kings 80s novels like It, The Stand, Tommyknockers and Needful
things as a young teen.

And here I stand a functional adult.

I wonder if aspiring book banners will go back to weird 70s and 80s books to “protect the children?”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VC Andrew’s messed up my worldview for years

I started reading her books at 12, and they did nothing to me at all. How did it mess up your worldview?

I was younger and it messed up my understanding of how men and women interact in relationships.

Ha! There's a line from Flowers in the Attic that is seared in my memory: "He drove his rigid member into my resisting flesh."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VC Andrew’s messed up my worldview for years

I started reading her books at 12, and they did nothing to me at all. How did it mess up your worldview?

I was younger and it messed up my understanding of how men and women interact in relationships.

My mom’s harlequin romances. She didn’t hide them very well.

Lace and Lace 2. I read them in a corner of the library inside another book during middle school. I would dare check them out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VC Andrew’s messed up my worldview for years

I started reading her books at 12, and they did nothing to me at all. How did it mess up your worldview?

Same. I may have been even younger. The brother/sister stuff meant nothing to me in flowers of the attic because I couldn't relate. It was someone else? Also Heaven series and sweet audrina. Lots of the inappropriate stuff with children that horrifies an adult me didn't faze child me.

I read One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, lots of Sidney Sheldon, and some book in the 80s with Winners in the Title. Winners Finish something? It was not appropriate for me I'm sure. There was a gay scene and I didn't know what a prostate was then! I am fine today and let my kids read anything. Kids really do glaze over what they can't relate to.

I read all of the Jackie Collins books when I was in MS. Not sure how I got them, but knew they were "bad" because I recall slouching down in my seat on the school bus and reading the book inside of a large history or science book. Probably why I became so promiscuous as a teen

Anonymous wrote:VC Andrew’s messed up my worldview for years

I started reading her books at 12, and they did nothing to me at all. How did it mess up your worldview?

I don't think any books I read were inappropriate. If a book grosses a kid out, they'll generally stop reading, or go ask questions.

The Handmaid’s Tale was required reading in my HS AP English class 25 years ago. Read it at 16 and was traumatized until the show came out. I don’t disagree with the premise now, but I think that was too young for most girls to read it without a strong disclaimer.

The Gor series on women wanting to be sex slaves to warriors! Yikes.

VC Andrew’s messed up my worldview for years

The thread about the daughter downloading a potentially inappropriate book got me thinking about a very inappropriate book I read when I was young.

I was an avid reader and my mom worked from home, so summers we had no camps but were relatively unsupervised.

At 11, I grabbed Updike's Witches of Eastwick, thinking it was some sort of fairly tale. Holy cow I learned a lot about sex reading that book. I'm not sure my mom had any clue.

Anyone else recall reading something and getting more than you bargained for?