Every once in a while I remember this book, even though I forget the title and the author, I seem to remember the plot pretty vividly and I want to revisit it though it is out of print (written in 1969). I just happened to be going through my photobucket and lo and behold, I found a picture of the old cover I downloaded a long while back, as I remembered it as a kid, title and author. I'm going to hunt this book down, even though it is a young adult book, something about it has always stayed in my mind and I'm curious why.

The Day of the Drones

As I was thinking of this one I remembered another I think about from time to time, but I intend to revisit.

The Old Man and the Sea
I didn't know who Hemingway was I just saw it as a kid and thought it would be an interesting read, I even forgot it was by Hemingway.

What books stood out for you as a kid?

There were many, but these most immediately come to mind...

A few years back, I visited my primary school library from 30+ years ago and found this book, the self same one I'd borrowed countless times as a little kid, on sale. I bought it for $1 and now count it as one of my most cherished possessions.

I also borrowed this book repeatedly in primary school. Eventually, I borrowed it and lost it. Years later as a college student, I found the book in my parents' house. I keep it on my bookshelf even now... right next to "Bobby and Boo."

[Edited 9/16/13 18:36pm]

I did a book report for The Old Man and the Sea in the 5th grade and got in trouble!

OnlyNDaUsa said:

I did a book report for The Old Man and the Sea in the 5th grade and got in trouble!

a bit mature LOL

I wanted to do one for The Exorcist in 9th grade but they wouldn't let me, my book was confiscated.

It was a catholic school and our priest could do exorcisms, I couldn't see what the problem was!

Jacob Two Two and the Hooded Fang

Little Women

The Diary of Anne Frank

I still love these books as an adult.

[Edited 9/16/13 20:07pm]

I know Orson's mouth has got him in trouble lately but this is still a great read...often reisited

Where Did I Come From.............

Vagina rhymes with carolina.............and orgasms are like little sneezes...................when two fact people lay on top of each other and riggle around....................................

preschool version of the "Joy of Sex"

thouroughly enjoyed looking at the pictures seeing as i never saw my parents naked..............or new what periods were until I was 13.

.....and Dr. Seuss books

Read it in elementary school (middle school?).
That book stayed with me all these years.

Also a Short Story titled; "The Diamond As Big As The Ritz" - read it in 8th grade.

I should find it and have my kids read it.

All I did as a kid was read. Read, read, read. Some of my favorite childhood books...

Whistle for Willie

The Snowy Day

Make Way for Ducklings

The Five Chinese Brothers

Snip Snap Snurr and the Red Shoes

The Best-Loved Doll

The Wicked Pigeon Ladies in the Garden

Loretta Mason Potts

Caddie Woodlawn

Magical Melons

Charlotte's Web

David Copperfield

Johnny Tremain

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Up from Slavery

Gone With the Wind

The Seahawk

Captain from Castille

Little Women

James and the Giant Peach

The Diddakoi

Anna Karenina

I read National Geographic, the encyclopedia, and the dictionary a lot, too.

I tried to read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich when I was 10, but I didn't get very far.

[Edited 9/17/13 14:13pm]

psychodelicide said:

Little Women

The Diary of Anne Frank

I still love these books as an adult.

[Edited 9/16/13 20:07pm]

I am probably one of the few individuals who has never read Anne Frank. It was never a class assignment, and by the time I heard about it I knew how it ended, there was no way I was going to read it. I get to caught up in fictional characters, to get emotionally attached to a real person knowing their fate, I couldn't do it.

Lammastide said:

There were many, but these most immediately come to mind...

A few years back, I visited my primary school library from 30+ years ago and found this book, the self same one I'd borrowed countless times as a little kid, on sale. I bought it for $1 and now count it as one of my most cherished possessions.

I also borrowed this book repeatedly in primary school. Eventually, I borrowed it and lost it. Years later as a college student, I found the book in my parents' house. I keep it on my bookshelf even now... right next to "Bobby and Boo."

[Edited 9/16/13 18:36pm]

Kind of neat you found the books and still have them.

PurpleJedi said:

Read it in elementary school (middle school?).
That book stayed with me all these years.

Also a Short Story titled; "The Diamond As Big As The Ritz" - read it in 8th grade.

I should find it and have my kids read it.

is that the one with the scorpion?

OnlyNDaUsa said:

PurpleJedi said:

Read it in elementary school (middle school?).
That book stayed with me all these years.

Also a Short Story titled; "The Diamond As Big As The Ritz" - read it in 8th grade.

I should find it and have my kids read it.

is that the one with the scorpion?

My uncle gave me a science fiction book when I was about 8. I still have it. The Fantastic Universe Omnibus Science Fiction...a compilation of science fiction stories with stories by Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Bloch, & Isaac Asimov to name a few.

I even named my only daughter after a character from the book. Her name came from the story by William Tenn, "She Only Goes Out At Night"...about a vampire named Tatiana. Funny that my 'anointed' uncle gave me this book, which I still have. This set me on the road to critical thinking and a love of science fiction and facts. Been a science fiction fan ever since.

I went on to collect hundreds of sci-fi books.

Another story I read as a child that still chills me to this day is The Rag Thing by David Grinnell. I was terrified of the dust under my bed from then on. Still am!

I had many other books as a child but this one is the one I kept.

I wish someone had given me that book!

I used to repeatedly borrow the book "The Illustrated Man" by Ray Bradbury from the school library

noimageatall said:

My uncle gave me a science fiction book when I was about 8. I still have it. The Fantastic Universe Omnibus Science Fiction...a compilation of science fiction stories with stories by Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Bloch, & Isaac Asimov to name a few.

I even named my only daughter after a character from the book. Her name came from the story by William Tenn, "She Only Goes Out At Night"...about a vampire named Tatiana. Funny that my 'anointed' uncle gave me this book, which I still have. This set me on the road to critical thinking and a love of science fiction and facts. Been a science fiction fan ever since.

I went on to collect hundreds of sci-fi books.

Another story I read as a child that still chills me to this day is The Rag Thing by David Grinnell. I was terrified of the dust under my bed from then on. Still am!

I had many other books as a child but this one is the one I kept.

I used to have this cool science fiction book of short stories. One of them was about a great chess game, where the dad had to use his family members as chess pieces and had to play against some sadistic alien.

There was another story about road rage, and how if someone challenged you to a race to the death on the highway, you had to accept. So this thug - who was the Champion Death Racer of All Time - challenged some family guy to a Death Race. The family guy (not be confused with "The Family Guy") - didn't want to do it but was forced into it, and threw his helmet at the bad guy. This caused the bad guy to crash, and guess what happened? That's right - everyone lined up for Death Races against the family guy. I'm guessing the family guy stuck a shotgun in his mouth but I really don't remember.

However, the best story was about this secret agent guy who was fighting some organization called S.P.I.D.E.R. He spent half the story trying to guess what "S.P.I.D.E.R." meant but he was always wrong.

He spent 40% of the story seducing a hot female S.P.I.D.E.R. agent, and then after he seduced her, he spent 10% of the story killing her by making love to her for a solid week.

Needless to say, I would like to find a copy of this book. However, if you Google "S.P.I.D.E.R." you will not find anything useful.

Trust me, I've already tried that.

.

[Edited 9/17/13 22:16pm]

That one is amazing too! I have it in my collection. I adored my uncle. I was 10 when I went to visit him in Atlanta and he took me to see The Andromeda Strain...one of the best sci-fi films ever. He got me into The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, and SPOCK!!! His apartment was filled with sci-fi books. And he would let me stay up all night reading!

He even reminded me of Spock. So logical, calm, black hair, and he had a deep voice too.

ZombieKitten said:

I wish someone had given me that book!

I used to repeatedly borrow the book "The Illustrated Man" by Ray Bradbury from the school library

noimageatall said:

My uncle gave me a science fiction book when I was about 8. I still have it. The Fantastic Universe Omnibus Science Fiction...a compilation of science fiction stories with stories by Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Bloch, & Isaac Asimov to name a few.

I even named my only daughter after a character from the book. Her name came from the story by William Tenn, "She Only Goes Out At Night"...about a vampire named Tatiana. Funny that my 'anointed' uncle gave me this book, which I still have. This set me on the road to critical thinking and a love of science fiction and facts. Been a science fiction fan ever since.

I went on to collect hundreds of sci-fi books.

Another story I read as a child that still chills me to this day is The Rag Thing by David Grinnell. I was terrified of the dust under my bed from then on. Still am!

I had many other books as a child but this one is the one I kept.

you might be able to help me, not only did I read that collection of stories repeatedly but others as well, and 2 stories stand out that I can't find again:

1) its always raining on Venus but for a moment on one day every XXX years. The school class goes outside to see the sun for the first and only times in their lives except for a girl that was locked in the closet for a prank and forgotten about I used to think that was the saddest thing ever!

2) A guy finds a device that looks like a pen (I think? can't remember)

The device makes all the dust disappear. I can't remember how he gets more of them but he sells them to everyone in the neighbourhood for quite some time, until one day the other dimension where all the dust went was full and all the dust was returned, all at once. Possibly breaking his house

have you read them?

noimageatall said:

That one is amazing too! I have it in my collection. I adored my uncle. I was 10 when I went to visit him in Atlanta and he took me to see The Andromeda Strain...one of the best sci-fi films ever. He got me into The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, and SPOCK!!! His apartment was filled with sci-fi books. And he would let me stay up all night reading!

He even reminded me of Spock. So logical, calm, black hair, and he had a deep voice too.

ZombieKitten said:

I wish someone had given me that book!

I used to repeatedly borrow the book "The Illustrated Man" by Ray Bradbury from the school library

Can't forget...

ZombieKitten said:

you might be able to help me, not only did I read that collection of stories repeatedly but others as well, and 2 stories stand out that I can't find again:

1) its always raining on Venus but for a moment on one day every XXX years. The school class goes outside to see the sun for the first and only times in their lives except for a girl that was locked in the closet for a prank and forgotten about I used to think that was the saddest thing ever!

2) A guy finds a device that looks like a pen (I think? can't remember)

The device makes all the dust disappear. I can't remember how he gets more of them but he sells them to everyone in the neighbourhood for quite some time, until one day the other dimension where all the dust went was full and all the dust was returned, all at once. Possibly breaking his house

have you read them?

noimageatall said:

That one is amazing too! I have it in my collection. I adored my uncle. I was 10 when I went to visit him in Atlanta and he took me to see The Andromeda Strain...one of the best sci-fi films ever. He got me into The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, and SPOCK!!! His apartment was filled with sci-fi books. And he would let me stay up all night reading!

He even reminded me of Spock. So logical, calm, black hair, and he had a deep voice too.

Oh yes! The Venus story is All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury!! I hope you can find it again. I don't recall the story about the man with the pen. I'll see if I can find something though. Doesn't sound as scary as The Rag Thing.

ZombieKitten said:

you might be able to help me, not only did I read that collection of stories repeatedly but others as well, and 2 stories stand out that I can't find again:

1) its always raining on Venus but for a moment on one day every XXX years. The school class goes outside to see the sun for the first and only times in their lives except for a girl that was locked in the closet for a prank and forgotten about I used to think that was the saddest thing ever!

2) A guy finds a device that looks like a pen (I think? can't remember)

The device makes all the dust disappear. I can't remember how he gets more of them but he sells them to everyone in the neighbourhood for quite some time, until one day the other dimension where all the dust went was full and all the dust was returned, all at once. Possibly breaking his house

have you read them?

Hey - I think that's the same book I was talking about! I remember that story about the kid on Venus. She was the only kid who had ever seen the sun (she lived on another planet for awhile), and none of the kids would believe her, so that's why they locked her in the closet.

What was that book?!?!?!?

ZombieKitten said:

Thank you April!

I'll keep trying with the dust one.