I don't think I ever answered what I was reading when I was 14-- I'm pretty sure I vacillated wildly between the Harl Presents and American romances that my neighbor bought in bulk every month and historical fiction along the lines of John Jakes and Michener and Anton Myrer and Southern fic along the lines of Anne Rivers Siddons. I think that may have been the year I discovered Heartbreak Hotel.
I'm such a wuss, I couldn't handle horror-- I tried reading Jaws and the first few pages gave me such horrible nightmares that I gave up, right then and there. My subconscious, she is an active and tormenting sort of thing.
hmmm can't really remember what I was reading at 14. I was past my historical romance (Victoria Holt mostly) phase. Maybe a lot of Salinger and Tom Robbins and Vonnegut. Although that may have been later in high school.
I was past my historical romance (Victoria Holt mostly) phase.
Oh god, I read scary amounts of Victoria Holt when I was younger.
I was also reading romantic mysteries by Jane Aiken Hodge, Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt, maybe some others.
Oh god, I read scary amounts of Victoria Holt when I was younger.
Me, too.
I think 14 was Clan of the Cave Bear, many other Historical Roamances, Erica Jong (I don't know..., Finishing up the entire Agatha Christie collection, Rex Stout, other assorted old mysteries, re-reading Alcott (I think I encountered the Old Fashioned Girl here), maybe Austen, and The Outsiders. I am pretty sure it was past my Piers Anthony Period and before say Salinger, Plath, and other depressing novels of my high school years.
Oh, and the adult Judy Blume books. I got WIFEY confiscated so many times...
And am I wrong in thinking that there's there's no way this book would've ever scored a USA Today feature story if it had been written by a woman?
Not that I'm bitter or anything...
At 14 I was vacillating between various Authurian books (Stewart's Merlin series and etc.) and working my way through my dad's collection of Analog Science Fiction magazines. I think I also got into Douglas Adams around then.
I've just started Twilight, and I'm finding it loads of fun. I disagree with the protagonist about everything so far, down to climate issues, but it's enjoyable in a bad-book-for-the-beach kinda way.
The trick is having it dubbed a "love story" rather than a "romance."
I am reminded that around 14-16 were the years of the Very Long Book, including LotR and Michener. I generally don't tackle books larger than my head these days, but back they it was "Oh, boy! It will last longer." I also read a lot of spy books, because of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and I had a terrible crush on Simon Templar.
Ginger--do you check your profile email on a regular basis, perchance?
