According to my mother, I started to read at eighteen months. I’m certain that’s just good old-fashioned parental bragging. But I do have vivid memories of being four years old and easily breezing through my older sister’s first grade readers.
I was a shy, awkward child. I had several good friends around whom I could be open, but mostly I was filled with a sense of social anxiety and self-loathing, all of which culminated in an unhappy adolescence. From the ages of about eleven through seventeen, I was never happier than when my nose was stuck in a book.
In October 2006, I had a baby. Between caring for my son and continuing my job (not career, just a job) as a cube-dweller, I found myself losing focus on me. I was desperate to find some kind of project that would allow me to step away from motherhood and work. After discovering a couple of other nostalgia blogs, I decided that was for me.
So this blog is about two things. First, to reconnect with my unhappy adolescence and second as a project that gives me a couple hours of “me time” each week.
If you have any ideas or suggestions for books to review, email me or leave a comment here!
Other random facts about me?
- I live in suburbia, somewhat to my dismay, but I’ve made my peace.
- I’m a terrible crossword puzzler, but that doesn’t stop me from trying.
- I’m more of a couch potato than I like to admit.
- I eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich almost daily.
- I’m expecting a second son in Feb. 2011.
- I do actually read grown up books. My favorite authors are Michael Chabon and Kurt Vonnegut.
- Son number one was named after a character in a Chabon novel.
Are You There Youth? It's Me, Nikki 
Thank you for linking to my blog. I too have made my peace with living in suburbia. It took years of toil and mockery, though. But in fact, I discovered on a recent jaunt into the city – where I could not find a decent parking space or big box store – that I prefer it. Quelle surprise!
You seem to be in tune with the books of our childhood, so maybe you’ll remember the time of this series for me: There was a book (or books) about a group of girls that get stranded on an island with a woman named (I think) Izzy. Izzy was born on an island similar to the one they landed on, and they all live there for a while. I’d thought it was called Island Girls, but can’t seem to find that.
Any clue?
I have a few requests for books I’d like to see you tackle:
*Yours Turly, Shirley. I recently re-read that one and it’s surprisingly good despite a few flaws.
*Any of the Ramona books you haven’t done yet, and Emily’s Runaway Imagination. I read the latter a while ago, too, and it’s as fun as I remember it being.
*Jelly Belly and Mostly Michael by Robert Kimmel Smith.
*Teacher’s Pet and Class President by Johanna Hurwitz. The latter still holds up pretty damn well.
*The Cat Are My Gymsuit by Paula Danziger. Another recent re-read, which is a mixed bag.
OH, and Suzanne Weyn’s “Baker’s Dozen” series, if you know of that one.
Ok, I’ve already spent hours on this blog reliving my preteen years and on my quest for more I found another blog that is similar to this one except it’s all about the Fear Street series by R.L. Stein. Does that blog belong to you too? Because if you not you must have a clone in the world.
Thanks for your book blog; it’s brought back so many memories and has made me feel like I wasn’t the only book nerd in the late ’80s (although I was the only reader I knew at the time.)
Your recent blog about girl gangs doing shit together made me remember one of my favorite series from back in the day — The Girls of Canby Hall. It’s about three girls who go to a picturesque New England boarding school and have various misadventures. Then they graduate and a new crop of girls come in. Here’s the link to the first book:
Do you remember this series? Looking forward to your thoughts. 🙂
Just curious about two things. Did you read Just As Long as We’re Together by Judy Blume and do you watch Girls? And if so, do you agree that Hannah and Marnie are grown-up Stephanie and Rachel, respectively?