These are the books that moulded my reading habits and affected my future reading preferences. Some of them are still favourites, others I haven’t read in years.
I first read all of these books in Icelandic, and later some of them in the original languages. Most were originally written in other languages, and nearly all of them are available in English, in some version. I haven’t bothered with most of my favourite Icelandic children’s books because very few (if any) of them have been translated into English, although several have been translated into German and one or more Scandinavian languages.
The Tales of Hans Christian Andersen. Fantasy/adventures/parabl es. I was given these before I could read (I think they were a christening present) and loved to have them read to me. Later, when I could read for myself, I devoured them and got to read the tales my parents thought were too dark for a little kid. Still later, when I got a copy in Danish, I discovered that the Icelandic translator had taken all sorts of licences with the tales. I have long been planning to finish reading them in Danish, but somehow never got round to it.
Aesop’s Fables. Fables/parables. I enjoyed reading these delightful tales long before I knew what a fable was. The edition I have is full of pictures and enjoyable to look at as well as to read.
The Cat in the Hat and The Cat in the Hat comes back by Dr. Seuss. Picture books. How I envied my brother those books when we were children! The Cat in the hat was able to make as much mess as he pleased – and able to clean it up and make it look as if nothing had happened. Being good little kids, we rarely did anything destructive, but that didn’t mean we didn’t want to. It was fun to sit and read the books to him while we both looked at the pictures and dreamed...
The Moomins books by Tove Jansson. Fantasy. Probably the first pure fantasy novels I read. These are wonderful books about the Moomintroll family and their friends and neighbours and their adventures.
Enid Blyton’s Adventure books (and to a lesser extent, the Five Find-Outers). Mystery, adventure. My favourite was The Valley of Adventure. I always disliked how wimpy the girls in those books were, and always identified myself with the boys. I loved the exotic locations these kids would find themselves in, and these books are possibly the beginning of my interest in both travel literature and mysteries.
A children’s version of the first two books of Gulliver’s Travels - that’s the ones about Lilliput and Brobdingnag. Fantasy. To my knowledge, the full novel has never been translated into Icelandic, and the children’s versions have had most of the satirical bite taken out of them by well-meaning editors who have reduced them to simple tales for children.
Norse and ancient Greek myths. The books I first read (and still own) are wonderfully illustrated versions for children that are (sadly) long out of print, but for adult reading I recommend the perennial Bulfinch’s Mythology, especially for the Greek/Roman myths. I also read and loved the Gylfaginning part of Snorri’s Edda, which is the main source of the Norse mythology you find in modern books on the subject.
The Mary Poppins books by PL Travers. Fantasy. I read at least four of them and loved them all. Mary is such a wonderfully proper and yet wacky character that you can’t help liking her.
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. Fantasy. I was 8 when The Hobbit came out in Icelandic, and it cemented my lifelong liking for fantasy. I had cut my reading teeth on fairy tales, legends and myths and this was a natural continuation of that process. Although there are no children in the stories, both hobbit and dwarves are no bigger than children, and their behaviour is rather childish at times, which makes them appealing to children. An added pleasure is Tolkien’s style which is simply sparkling with good humour. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of The Hobbit.
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About me
What this blog is about:
Reading and books.
If you’re wondering about the name 52 books, it stems from a book-a-week reading challenge I set myself. The challenge is over, but I'm still reading, and will continue to blog about the books I read and my reading experiences, and other stuff connected with books and reading.
I rate the books (if I feel like it), giving them stars ranging from zero to 5.
Books I have already read (sporadically updated):Cover gallery
Note: Some of the entries are linked to the months the reviews appeared in, because I made several entries for each book. I have marked those reviews with an asterix (*). If you want to read the whole review from beginning to end, you must scroll down and read from the bottom up (but you probably already knew that ;-) >
