20 Books For 20 Years
I’m twenty today! To someone who has been a teenager for the past few years, it feels like I’ve become ancient overnight.
I’m celebrating two decades of being a bookworm (yes, it’s a lifestyle that started from birth) by listing twenty books that mean something to me. These are not my favourite books, but a few of them mark milestones in my reading life, while others just spark joy.
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Penguin Puzzle by Judith Stamper
My first box set was a set of books from the Magic School Bus series. My first experience with borrowing someone a book and never getting it back also came as a result of this series. These books pretty much cemented my interest in travelling. I can’t remember the characters (apart from the class pet and their quirky teacher), but I can’t help but smile whenever I think of the stories.
The Naughtiest Girl in the School by Enid Blyton
I’ve probably read more books by Enid Blyton than by any other author, and I can remember how it felt when I graduated from her short story collections to her full fledged series like Famous Five and Malory Towers. The Naughtiest Girl in School remains my favourite Enid Blyton book.
The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé
When I was much younger, there was a family we used to visit quite regularly. In one of the rooms of their house, there was a shelf that housed a collection of Tintin comics. These books kept me well occupied over the years that we visited this family.
Archie Comics
These books introduced me to the concept of a love triangle (which is a trope I now dislike very much because #whychoose). I was in love with Jughead, I thought Archie was quite daft, and I felt like Moose was a very underrated character. I liked neither Veronica nor Betty and I had a love/hate relationship with both Cheryl Blossom and Reggie. I loved these comics so much, you can’t imagine how I felt when I heard about Netflix’s Riverdale. *sighs* Nothing is sacred.
Goosebumps by R.L. Stine
In primary school, after exams, we always had a week that we were all expected to go to school and pretty much do nothing. During those weeks, the library was my home. It was there that I discovered — and fell in love with — the world of Goosebumps.
Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion by Jane Austen
My brother owned a book with three of Jane Austen’s most famous stories. I read this book several times over the years. This was my first introduction to classical literature. Till date, those three stories are my favourite classical stories.
A Cop’s Good Name by Linda Markowiak
When I was in boarding school, one of my friends brought this book to school. So, seven of us would gather around at night and take turns reading out chapters. It wasn’t a particularly good story, but can you imagine the novelty? A bunch of ten year olds had just discovered Harlequin.
The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson
While I grew up reading Enid Blyton, I had friends that grew up reading Jacqueline Wilson. One of such friends introduced her books to me. For someone who was so used to the “properness” of Blyton’s works, I though Jacqueline Wilson’s stories were quite peculiar. However, I loved how she tackled subjects that children’s authors were not known to tackle.
Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor
This was the first middle grade fantasy book I read that was by an African author, featuring African characters, and set in Africa. I was so happy to read about characters that look like me and were raised with similar cultures. It was interesting to see how the author turned the usual forbidden forest trope (used in most African folktales) into something otherworldly and enjoyable.
An Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers
This is the first book I ever got in trouble for. It was in a bookshelf right by my bedside, so one night, twelve year old me picked it up and read it. When my mum caught me reading it, she was not happy (I now know the reason to be because of the dark themes), and after she gave me a stern talking to, I went on to read book one and book three (I was a little bookish rebel, you see).
I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter
I really can’t remember why I liked this book as much as I did. Maybe it’s because the heroine attended an all-girls spy boarding school? Either way, this is one of those books I knew not to take too seriously, because were I to read this book today, my eyeballs would probably hurt from excessive rolling. Or I might love it even more.
Hans Christian Andersen Fairytale Collection
When I discovered the dark roots a lot of fairytales have, I was very interested in reading the original stories. It’s been a while since I read any story from this collection, but I still remember how much I loved it. The Travelling Companion is one story I don’t think I can ever forget. Maybe it’s because I read an illustrated version, but boy, was I shocked.
Kaleidoscope by Danielle Steel
One word comes to mind whenever I think of Danielle Steel: bittersweet. All her books are bittersweet. But believe it or not, when I was in secondary school, I went on a quest to read all of the Danielle Steel books in the school library. I disliked most of the characters and all the stories had less than happy endings, but the glutton for punishment in me did not care. Indeed, I read over fifteen Danielle Steel books before my thirteenth birthday.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Cinder put YA science fiction on my radar, and turned me into a cover snob until I realised that some nicely packaged books can be really awful on the inside. Weirdly enough, the Lunar Chronicles is one of those series that I loved so much but never got around to finishing.
The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
I now know not to take historical romance books too seriously because if I do, I’ll just upset myself. But I took this book pretty seriously because it was my first historical romance, and I was just so intrigued. I went on to read the seven other books in this series, and I never turned back.
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I had this book gathering dust on a book shelf at home before I finally read it in a Literature class at school. At that time, I wasn’t into books written by Nigerian authors because they seemed to have that stiff literary fiction style (and I was more into genre fiction). I loved Purple Hibiscus so much, I’m pretty sure I facepalmed so hard for not reading it earlier.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
If you’ve been a Literature student before, then you probably have at least one book that you analysed to death. Lord of the Flies is that book for me. For all the times I spent re-reading this book, all the nights I dreamt about this book, all the different ways I explored the savage and corrupt nature of mankind. *sighs* Of course, Lord of the Flies has to be on this list!
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
I loved this book when it came out, partly because it brought me out of a fantasy slump, and it had fae in it. And then the diversity controversy came to light, and I felt guilty for not paying attention to representation in a book I liked so much. So, yeah.
Inescapable by Amy Bartol
One day, I’ll tell you all about the series I’ve started but never finished. But for now, here’s a book that I spent so much time reading, waiting for the next sequels, and just shaking my head on. I did like this book, against my better judgement, and I’d probably still like it if I re-read it (like I’m planning to do). This was my first nephilim book. It was also my first book with a love pentagon.
Introductions by C.L. Stone
If I ever have a guilty pleasure, this would be it. (Guilty pleasure because it’s not a very good book, but that hasn’t stopped me). This book marked my official introduction to #whychoose. C.L. Stone’s Academy series is another series I’ve spent so much time on. I started reading it when I was fifteen (the same age as the protagonist). Twelve books later, I am twenty years old and waiting for the protagonist to turn seventeen.
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Do any of these books spark joy for you? What are the books you have fond memories of?
12 Comments
Danielle
OMGG happy birthday!! 🎂🎉🎁🎊 what I would give to be 20 again (even if it was just 5 years ago haha!) I would have done things a bit differently but that’s ok , including reading different kinds of books to expand my reading tastes sooner.
Ibukun
Thank you😊
Better late than never!
Lindsay
Happy Birthday!What an amazingly fun post!! I will have to remember this for my coming birthdays too! Hope you had a great one!! 🙂
Ibukun
Thank you! I’ll be happy to read yours if you write one.
Kristina
OH MY GOD TINTIN !!!!!
I’ve never seen anyone YET having grown up on that too !! though mine was the “original” in french 😅 My godmother had the whole collection and oh boy have I begged her to read them to me in all her “special voices”.. *aherm* — my favorite was The secret of the unicorn and the Castafiore one.
Happy belated birthday !! xx welcome in the “adult age” ahaha !
Ibukun
The fact that you grew up with the original version is just so cool! It’s one of the reasons I want to learn French.
Thank you 😊
Lindsay @ TrulyBooked
Happy Birthday!
I love that I wasn’t the only one who ended up reading Harlequin at a younger age. That and Nora Roberts, I would grab from my mom’s room when I’d run out of books to read.
Should I check out the Viscount who loved me? :p
Ibukun
Thank you! I got into Harlequin and Mills & Boon before I discovered YA Fantasy as we know it today.
And yes, you should check out the Viscount who loved me!
Isabelle @ BookwyrmBites
happy birthday! I turned 20 last month, so I totally relate to that “holy wow I’m not a teenager anymore what is life” feeling.
I hadn’t thought about the Magic School Bus books in forever, but my brother and I loved them! (and they come in so many formats – picture books, chapter books, even the cartoons – and I love how accessible that makes them 📚) also, YES to the Gallagher Girls books, which have been on my to-reread list forever; they were just what I needed as a middle/early high school student so they’ll always be special to me.
Ibukun
Thank you. What is life indeed! I never actually saw the cartoons, but those books were gold at that time.
Gallagher girls was just so fascinating to me. I hope you don’t hate it when you re-read it (that happens whenever I reread contemporary books I liked when I was younger).
Kaleena @ Reader Voracious Blog
Happy birthday, and what a wonderful way to celebrate! Goosebumps definitely are a big part of my childhood too, I loved those books so much.
Ibukun
Thank you!