Three On Thursday

The other day I was listening to All The Books, a Book Riot podcast that I listen to weekly for book recommendations. It’s a pretty decent book podcast although I still miss Book on the Nightstand terribly. Anyway, one of the podcasters, instead of talking about books she had recently read, answered some questions about books she had read in the past. I have stolen three of them to use for this week’s Three on Thursday.

Three Book Related Questions:

What’s the first adult book you ever read?
It was The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough and I remember it distinctly because I had to get special permission from my mom to check a book out of the adult fiction section. I was 12 and this was probably way racier than my mom realized but I loved it so much!

What’s your Swiss Army Knife recommendation?
A Swiss Army Knife recommendation is the book you have read that you would recommend to anyone because you believe it’s universally enjoyable. For me this would be Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow. Or, as we fondly call it, Jesuits in Space. It’s an incredible story that is beautifully written and utterly compelling.

What book do you wish you could read again for the first time?
Without hesitation I wish I could read The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. It’s heartbreaking and wonderful and tragic and I’d love to experience it again for the first time. I’d also like to erase the movie from my memory because it’s just not at all how I pictured Henry and Clare.

I’d love to hear your answers to these questions – either in the comments or in a blog post of your own.

Don’t forget to add your link below if you wrote a post for this week!


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This Post Has 18 Comments

  1. My first adult book was probably Gone With the Wind. I such a frequent flyer at my library I don’t recall being questioned about it even though I was in 6th grade. There was one correct but very adult word I asked my male teacher for help with & he made me look it up. Whooo boy was that a good thing! I was disappointed when I later saw the movie. It was a gorgeous, sweeping film, but what can measure up to your mind’s eye?

    The Harry Potter books are ones I would love to experience again for the first time. Those are probably the only movies from books I’ve read that enriched my experience instead of diminishing it.

  2. Oh, these are excellent questions!

    1. My first adult book, The Godfather. I loved it, every dramatic and descriptive word!
    2. My Swiss Knife book… South of Broad. This is just simply a fantastic read, and yes I know it is long!
    3. The book I wish I could read again for the first time? This is a toss of for me between Rosy Colored Glasses by Briana Wolfson and The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.

    GREAT POST!!

  4. Great questions. They were actually hard for me to answer.

    First adult book: I don’t know. Isn’t that silly?
    I can’t remember reading adult stories before they forced me to read them at school. I clearly remember walking around in the adult part of our library when I was ten or even younger, but I usually checked out non-fiction from there. Does Anne Frank’s Diary count? I read that when I was about ten or eleven years old (don’t remember exactly). I started browsing my moms poetry books around the same time, I think.

    Swiss Army Knife Book: I think I’d recommend The Pursuit of Happiness by Douglas Kennedy. I really loved that book. The Sparrow sounds good, going to see if I can find it.

    A book I wish I could read again for the first time:
    I really don’t know. I read so fast and so much that I tend to forget the details of a story, so I don’t mind rereading books. I actually do that often. I love looking forward to the things I remember enjoying as much as I love discovering new books.

  5. Interesting questions!

    1. My first adult book was also The Thornbirds. I checked it out of the library and then bought my own copy with babysitting money because I loved it so much.
    2. My Swiss Army Knife book is The Shipping News, but I do know several people who aren’t big fans. The book is so good I know it should be universally enjoyable; maybe those people just need to read it again! 🙂
    3. I wish I could read the Harry Potter series again for the first time. It was a wonderful and wondrous experience the first time, probably because Ryan and I read them together. Now as an adult I know what’s going to happen, can see the holes in the plot, and also that the writing lacks finesse and depth.

    Now I’m off to find that episode of AtB!

  6. Fun questions
    First adult book might have Ben Slaughterhuse Five
    I am cautious about recommending books – but I have told many, many people to read Being Mortal
    I loved the Sparrow and it would be my Read Again for the First time pick.

  7. 1. Love Story
    2. The Art of Racing in the Rain
    3. This one is hard…today I’ll go with The Dog Stars

    Great post Carole! And I’ve never even heard of The Sparrow!

  8. My 4th grade teacher recommended some of us for adult library cards at the end of the school year; I remember wandering around the stacks in awe, even though our library was not that big. I think the first adult book I read was Jane Eyre, my mother recommended it and I have such good memories of talking about it with her.
    My current Swiss Army Knife book is A Gentleman in Moscow.
    It’s hard to choose a Read Again for the First Time, but I think it would be The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

  9. 1. I believe the first adult book I read was EXODUS by Leon Uris, when it was about 10,000,000 miles over my head. I don’t recall seeing my mother read very often, but she had a small & compelling (to me) collection of books and… if it wasn’t Exodus, it was another from her shelf (and stealthily, too, because I was pretty sure that she’d have said I “wasn’t old enough” for any of those books.)
    2. There’s a book by Garson Kanin called A THOUSAND SUMMERS — a romance — that I’m pretty sure came to be mine via the Doubleday Book Club back in the day. It’s been on my shelf for 40 or more years and I’ve re-read it several times — in fact, every time I do a big book purge and am overcome by feelings for that book and have to read it again as a reminder and to decide whether it’s still worthy. (So far, Yes.)
    3. The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Or the Chronicles of Narnia. Or The Hobbit.

    What a great set of questions!! 🙂

  10. 1. The Sandpiper by Robert Hemenway (in hard back) because our library had no restrictions on what books we could check out.
    2. A Man Called Ove (then they can see the movie, too).
    3. TOO many books as I love seeing a story through fresh eyes!

  11. Aaaah…the first adult book! I read one my mom had secreted in her nightstand. It called for serious stealth!

  12. I _think_ the first adult book I read was Peyton Place. I know that dates me, but I am getting on. The Sparrow is a great Swiss army knife book choice, but I might pick This Much I Know Is True or Cutting for Stone. Book I wish I could read again for the first time would probably be the History of Love or the Time Traveler’s Wife, but there are lots of books I feel that way about. Once you have read them, the plot is known, and I don’t get that breathless anticipation on subsequent reads. Yes, I probably get breathless when reading a great book – LOL. Here’s a question that I would like answered on a blog. What books have been your most “immersive” reads. I love a book I get lost in! Great post, Carole.

  13. What fun questions Carole!

    My first adult book could have been Peyton Place (LOL) or Hawaii or Gone With The Wind – I just can’t remember.

    My Swiss Army Book: so hard to pick one. I (like Bonny) loved The Shipping News, also Ahab’s Wife and The Poisonwood Bible.

    Gosh! here are so many books I want to read it’s hard to contemplate re-reading something. Perhaps the Burgess animal books that I read as a child. Or The Wind in the Willows. I thought they were all so wonderful!

    I don’t remember hearing about The Sparrow previously – I’m off to look for it on Overdrive!

    Thanks for a fun post.

  14. I really miss Books on the Nightstand. That was a great podcast. Do you have other book podcast recommendations?

  16. Fun post, Carole!
    1 – Love Story (my mom wouldn’t let me see the movie, but my friendly librarian had no problem allowing me to check it out in 1971 at age 12). (She knew me well.)
    2 – Lately, it’s been A Man Called Ove. But I’ve also been recommending A Gentleman in Moscow a lot.
    3 – I don’t think I have an answer to this one! I’ve been thinking about it all day (since reading your post this morning), and I still can’t think of one. I’m stumped!
    🙂

  17. I have no idea how to answer any of these questions. I share books with a friend who has similar taste but that is about it. She has some she reads, then I read them, then she mails them to her sister in TX or in some other order of who is reading which ones. Saves me buying all the books.

    I still miss Books on the Nightstand. I have the last 5 episodes on my Ipod and I am putting off listening to them as then they will be gone for good. I’m going to start walking so may listen then as I won’t be disturbed. I do like listening to Michael when he’s on Roxanne Coady’s podcast.

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