Reading Meme

I ran across this meme at kate's bookblog and had to participate. Chime in if you wish! (And a nod to braun for explaining the meaning of meme.)

1. How old were you when you learned to read and who taught you?
I first read a book on my own a couple of months before I turned three. My mother had always read to us, and we had memorized a couple of favorite books, The Cat In The Hat being our favorite. My brother, the genius, was three and a half at the time (he's nine months older) and he could read already. It was actually he who taught me to link the words I'd memorized to Cat In The Hat with those funny squiggles on the page. (I bet you haven't heard of a three year old teaching a two year old to read before, have you?)

2. Did you own any books as a child? If so, what’s the first one that you remember owning? If not, do you recall any of the first titles that you borrowed from the library?
I had a library of the Little Golden Books by the time I could talk. I also had Cat In The Hat, Green Eggs & Ham, and others of that ilk. The first book I ever checked out of the library was Moby Dick in first grade. The teacher couldn't believe I actually understood the words.

3. What’s the first book that you bought with your own money?
Moon of Three Rings by Andre Norton, thus beginning my passion for science fiction and fantasy.

4. Were you a re-reader as a child? If so, which book did you re-read most often?
To quote Kate, "I was a compulsive re-reader as a child which makes it a bit difficult to identify which of my many re-reads that I re-read most often." I had a number of Andre Norton books, the Prydain Chronicles and the Narnia books which I re-read constantly. I also would check out books I loved and re-read them periodically. I read Crazy Kill Mountain (a horse book), Walter Farley's Black Stallion books, some Nancy Drew, the Red/Green/etc. Fairy books (as well as others) repeatedly. I was shy as a kid. I read a LOT and I read ANYTHING. My mother caught me reading Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice at ten or so, and later Erica Jong. It probably saved answering some questions, but it surely raised a few more, lol.

5. What’s the first adult book that captured your interest and how old were you when you read it?
I read Moby Dick at five. I understood the words, but didn't get the larger themes and story, of course.

6. Are there children’s books that you passed by as a child that you have learned to love as an adult? Which ones?
Actually, I cannot think of any children's books which I passed by as a child.