This post is inspired by a fellow bookblogger, Stephanie at “Adventures of a Bibliophile”. I really liked her post and thought it would be fun (though time-consuming) to reflect back on those books that shaped me into the reader I am today.
Bear with me, as I’m starting with early childhood and I’m now in my early sixties.
Eletelephony (as a child I loved reading rhyming prose – still do if I’m honest)
Tom’s midnight garden (my favorite book as a child – this novel is responsible for my book addiction)
The secret garden (started my affection for manor houses, Yorkshire, and of course, gardens)
Nancy Drew (yup, all of them – I read them like a starving person gobbles down food)
The prophet by Kahil Gibran (I was given this book by a customer when I worked at a grocery store after school as a teenager – loved it, this was my ‘deep’ phase LOL)
Dorothy Eden, Victoria Holt, Susan Howatch, and Mary Stewart (introduced my affection for gothic, historical, romantic suspense – I went through a phase in my twenties when I couldn’t get enough)
The mirror by Marlys Millhiser (I plan to re-read this title this year – just to see how much my taste has/hasn’t changed over the decades)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (which remains my favorite classic fiction novel – I’ve read it at least five times and I’ve seen every film version – my favorite being the BBC version starring Ruth Wilson)
James Herriot (my love of animal stories, and Yorkshire, remains unabated)
The auctioneer by Joan Samson (I’ll never forget this one – my first introduction to thrillers/ with a horror element)
The Hebrides books of Lillian Beckwith (I read some of these aloud to my mother when she was ill with cancer)
Prologue to love by Taylor Caldwell (another one I’d love to re-read…)
Tree of hands by Ruth Rendell (I’ve loved almost all of Ruth Rendell’s many novels (especially the Wexford series, but this stand-alone is probably my very favorite)
P.D. James and her Inspector Dalgliesh novels 
The shell seekers by Rosamund Pilcher (my Anglophile tendencies show here)
Elizabeth George, Peter Robinson, Elly Griffiths, Susan Hill, Deborah Crombie, et al…(my love of British police procedural mysteries remains unabated)
Kate Morton (when I read her “The forgotten garden” I just knew she would remain one of my favorite authors)
Gabrielle Zevin (will never forget her “The storied life of A.J. Fikry)
Sharon Bolton, Denise Mina, Ann Cleeves, Louise Penny (just can’t get enough of these outstanding mystery/thriller authors)
Peter May (his Hebridean setting coupled with outstanding character studies won me over)
Fredrik Backman (honestly this man could make a grocery list interesting to read! – I’ve adored all of his novels so far and will make sure to read everything else he writes)
So folks, there you have it! You might have noticed that my personal canon is heavy on mystery/thrillers and literary fiction.
I guess my tastes haven’t changed that much after all…
Fictionophile 
Thanks for sharing with us and good memory! The only one of your books we have in common is The Secret Garden. You’ve got me thinking about re-reading it because it was quite special to me all those years ago. 😀
LikeLike
I’ve always wanted to reread “The Secret Garden” too. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: World Book Day 2019 #GreatReads | Fictionophile
Pingback: Blogger to Blogger Series: An Interview with Lynne @Fictionophile – The Reading Chick
This was such a cute idea! I loved seeing how your reading grew and changed. I agree about Fredrik Backman being able to make a shopping list interesting. xD Man’s got a way with words!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Sammie. It’s always good to hear from another Fredrik Backman fan. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Secret Garden, James Herriot and the Forgotten Garden are all favourites of mine as well!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awww… wonderful. Thanks for letting me know.
LikeLike
Do you still have all those old Nancy Drews? I didn’t read *all* of them but I had a collection that went back to my mother and aunt (born in the 1940s and 50s). I finally gave them away when I moved across the country to a mother-daughter pair who seemed like they would appreciate them. Unfortunately my daughter never got into them. I hoped she would after reading that Sonya Sotomayor and Elena Kagan loved them as children.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No, sadly I no longer have them. We did a lot of moving when I was young and I was instructed to ‘let them go!’
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it’s good to let them go. I was hoping to sell mine but I didn’t get any takers on ebay so I ended up giving them away instead. The mother who took them was older and the daughter said they were books she remembered from her own childhood.
LikeLiked by 1 person
At least you know that they were appreciated. I guess that’s all you can ask for.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Links I’ve Enjoyed this Week #SundayBlogShare – Secret Library Book Blog
I love this. I have a strong belief that I would not be who I am today without the books I’ve read. I would say my personal canon books would include Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, Little House on the Prairie, The Little Princess (I’m just starting to realize how many titles have “Little” in it lol) and I’m sure some more modern and contemporary ones. I haven’t been able to truly assess their impact on me yet.
LikeLike
Thanks SO much for your kind comment. “Anne of Green Gables” was a strong influence on me as well. I should have included it. (especially where I live so close to where the book is set). I can’t overthink it though – if I did the post would have been too long for most people to want to read. LOL
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was lovely to read! I also love The Secret Garden, Jane Eyre, Mary Stewart, and Kate Morton. I really need to read Rosamund Pilcher and Victoria Holt ASAP too. I agree with you that the BBC miniseries of Jane Eyre is the best adaptation. Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson are both amazing and have perfect on screen chemistry. I’ll have to re-watch it soon!
LikeLike
Great idea Jessie! I think it is high time I re-watched “Jane Eyre”. Luckily for me I have it on DVD. Thanks SO much for your kind comment on my post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t think I would be able to do this. I have been sitting here thinking for awhile and keep changing my mind. Nancy Drew and The Secret Garden were also favourites of mine but so were …… so many to choose from.
LikeLike
I will admit Carla, this was an extremely difficult and time-consuming post. I’m sure I’ve left out some vital authors and titles, but for now I did my best. I tried to capture the evolution of my reading life. If you do every get around to it, I would be very interested in reading YOUR personal canon.
LikeLike
It was quite interesting and I loved how you put it together.
LikeLike
Thanks so much Carla.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a lovely journey through your reading likes/life. Some of those older covers are heavenly. One of my favorite things about shopping at used bookstores is the older covers, so nostalgic.
Would you believe I’ve never read any of the Nancy Drew series? My older daughter read a half dozen or so of them in adolescence (and I still have them), but I’ve never picked one up. My first mystery addiction was The Three Investigators series, which I’ve been collecting and plan to reread at some point.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much for the comment Myndi.I’ve never read the Three Investigators so I guess we’re even. LOL
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love your list! I was surprised to see some of my favorites too. I also devoured Nancy Drew, so much so that one summer my dad told me I couldn’t read them anymore until I read something “constructive”. P.D. James was my first foray into British detective stories, and I went through a whole phase with Rosamunde Pilcher.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Finding that others share my reading memories makes my heart happy. 🤗
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, I loved The Mistress of Mellyn in my teens and haven’t thought about it in decades – thanks for the reminder! I wonder if it would stand up to a re-read…
LikeLike
I’m wondering the same thing about “The mirror”. Actually many of the books I read in early adulthood would be candidates for re-reading – if only perhaps to laugh at my former tastes. LOL
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fab post! How did you go about compiling your list? Is it just your favourites or something else?
LikeLike
Thanks Nicki. It was a difficult post to write. I have lots of book memories and tried to choose only those that marked a milestone in my reading life. The stages of my reading I guess you would say. These stood out for me in my memory.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What fun! A couple there from your early days are on my list to read now – books I missed when I was younger 🙂 I’m slowly getting into the crime genre…
I wonder what my own personal canon would look like? (S wanders off, musing happily…)
LikeLike
Thanks Sandra. I’d love to read your personal canon when you get it together. I must warn you though that it is not an easy thing to compile. As it is I’ve no doubt omitted some books that made an impact on me at the time but have faded in my memory…
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a fascinating look back through the years of reading. Unsurprisingly we share many titles given current book likes!
LikeLike
Thanks Cleo. I would love to read your personal canon. I must warn you though – it is time consuming. You are a lot younger than me, so your early books will differ quite a bit even if your current tastes mirror my own quite often.
LikeLiked by 1 person
First of all, I love your mug! Secondly I love this post!! Secret Garden and Jane Eyre both had huge impacts on me. And I loved a Man Called Ove 😀
LikeLike
Thanks SO much. The mug was a Christmas gift from my daughter.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome! That’s lovely 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great selection. James Herriot, The Shell Seekers and everything by PD James all featured in my teenage years.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing your memories Karen. It is great to hear that others have warm memories of the same titles as I did.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, a lot of food for thought.
Off the top of my head, here are a few books that would be on my list:
Sabbath’s Theater — Philip Roth
On The Road — Jack Kerouac
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test — Tom Wolfe
The Sea Around Us — Rachel Carson
Justine — Lawrence Durrell
A Fan’s Notes — Frederick Exley
The Country Of The Pointed Firs — Sarah Orne Jewett
A Lady’s Life In The Rocky Mountains — Isabella Bird
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing Neil.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this! Nancy Drew and the Secret Garden were personal favorites of mine growing up!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awww. So nice that we have those memories in common Danielle.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much for sharing this – looking at your personal journey through books was great. I’ve read and enjoyed a few of these.
Lynn 😀
LikeLike
Great collection!😍😍
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! ♥
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved reading this post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Nikola. Every once in a while I like to post something a little bit personal.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Whenever I see a huge mystery/detective series by an author I haven’t read, I am immediately thrilled. PD James just made my TBR list. Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are very welcome. In that case you have much to enjoy. Please check out my ‘Mystery Series to Savour’ links. https://fictionophile.wordpress.com/mystery-series-to-savour/
LikeLiked by 1 person
All good reads.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Martie. It is only the tip of my reading ‘iceberg’. LOL
LikeLike
Lynne, gasp, we must be dopplegangers~!! This is almost frightening.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha Skye! I take it from your comment that your personal canon has some of the same titles???
LikeLike
Great list. Thrillers are by far one of our favorite genre.
we even built our writing tool http://www.novelorbook.com after taking a class with James Patterson and being inspired by his writing style.
LikeLiked by 1 person