What were the books that turned you into a romance reader? For me, there was anything by Victoria Holt, Phyllis A. Whitney, and this crazy book I read about 100 times called JANE-EMILY, which wasn't really much of a romance, but it sure was great. (There was that crazy glass crystal ball...but that's a whole other post!)

And then there was Catherine Marshall's CHRISTY.


I remember beginning it and not being able to put it down. Christy left her comfortable home and went off to the Smoky Mountains to teach at a mission school. There wasn't any plumbing! There wasn't even a road! She even had to make medicine out of onions.

There's a religious aspect woven into the fabric of the story, but I have to admit that it went right over my head. What I got involved in was Christy's choice between two very different and very handsome men. It was enough to make me volunteer for mission work. I couldn't put it down, and it genuinely remains one of my favorite books to this day.

Question of the day:

What were the books you read when you were young that stay with you today?

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3 Comments:

Blogger Terri Garey said:

Oh, I loved 'Christy' - I always planned on having a character named Fairlight in her honor.

The first book that ever truly stuck with me was an obscure little tome called 'The Faraway Lurs' by Harry Behn. It was a haunting and tragic love story about a boy and a girl living in the Bronze Age, and thus began my fascination with romantic historicals. :) I also loved 'The King Must Die' by Mary Renault.

9:16 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I read Katherine by Anya Seton when I was 12 and I remember being just swept away by what an amazing book it was. Yes, the history was really vivid, but the bit that made my heart go pitter-pat was the emotional, passionate love story between John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. Cried my eyes out in the sad bits. Cheered when they got the happy ending they deserved. Haven't read it for years. Afraid to - my reading tastes have changed so much over time, I'd hate to tarnish the image. But it certainly turned me into a dedicated historical romance reader!

3:24 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

The first book I ever read by myself was The Black Stallion. I loved that book. My mom read all the Chronicles of Narnia to me when I was young, too, and I think that really spurred my imagination. This might be a little weird, but I read Gone With the Wind in 5th grade. That really stayed with me, too. Of course, I've read it many more times over the years. I think it really turned me on to historical fiction.

10:26 AM  

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