the first book I ever read
599532
I clearly remember bringing this home from the school. It was one of those book sales at the school. That kind of gives away my age. Oh well. This book is now a classic.  The illustrations are timeless and the repetition helps children learn sentence patterns.
1589764
I wasn't introduced to "The Hobbit" until I was a sophomore in high school.  This was the first book that i loved reading.  Starting with this book then moving to the Lord of the Rings, I am now in search of other fantasy novels that would measure up to such fine work as JRR Tolkien.
1685739
My brother and i both read this as kids it was one of the first novels i read all the way through. i ordered it for my neice(age 9). this is a great book for any young reader.
4596726
This was the first poetry book I've ever read and I fear nothing else will ever live up to it! I was in love the moment I read the first page. Thank you for this!
1205657
This was the first audio book I ever listened to, and I thought it was great.
2547033
In fifth grade I fell in love with this book.  I read the tale cover-to-cover with the single-minded obsession thats unleashed in me whenever I find a compelling story.  The next week, at the school library, I turned my book in and checked out the sequel.

I liked my book so much I bought a paperback copy at the school book-fair.  Not wanting my book to be lonely I bought the sequel too.  In seventh grade, on the way home from school I left my book on the bus.  The next day a girl I knew handed it back to me.  Inside the front cover she had written my name in pencil, but she spelled my last name wrong.  Her handwriting distinguishes the copy as mine to this very day.

My book moved with me from moms house to dads house and back-and-forth again and again.  It followed me to the dorms in college, lived in a handful of apartments, and joined me for the years at my grandparents house.  Today it sits in my condo on the bookshelf in our living room.  Every year or two, no matter where I live or what has changed in my life, I scan my shelves looking for something to read.  Inevitably my hand falls on the worn spine of my book, because this is the tale that speaks to me over all the others on my shelves.

However, it wasn't until winter dumped mountains of snow upon us last month that I realized the depth of what my book has done.  For the first time since Ive started writing seriously, I went and pulled my book off its shelf.  I opened the cover, passed over my handwritten incorrectly spelled name, and turned to Chapter 1.

I worried that maybe this time it would be different.  That my writers brain would over analyze the authors use of adverbs and choice for point of view.  That I would no longer get lost in the story because somehow, after twenty-three years, I had out grown the tale.  The story began and for the first two pages my brain screamedthrowing all my doubts at me.  By the third page the voice was talking, by the fourth whispering, and by the fifth it was silent.  Because this was my book, and it carries the magic that makes me want to be a writer.

It was just as I remembered, but at the same time it was different too.  I traveled with my heroine as she began a long, hard journey, and I thought Hey, thats like in the book I'm writing.  I saw the places she traveled because of the vivid detail and dead-on imagery, and I thought Hey, thats like in the book I wrote.  I saw two minor characters subtly named after cartoon characters that were linked to one another, and I thought Hey, thats like in my book.  Page after page went by.  I loved every one of them, but by the end I knew what was different.

Its not that her story was like the book Ive been writing, its that my story was like the book she had written decades ago.  Its that the authors voice has spoken to me from the age of ten, and somewhere along the way her book became a part of me.  Whatever modicum of skill I possess was unconsciously modeled after her talent, and she is an aspect of the voice I hear when I write.  And I realized if I ever write something that shapes a whole persons being, thats when I will have done it right.

Cynthia Voigt changed my life when she wrote Homecoming.  I just didn't know it until now.

I wonder if she has a book too?

p.s. This piece was written for an old blog of mine in March of 2013. At that time, I also forwarded this to Ms. Voigt. I was sitting on my boyfriends couch when the reply email came in, and I just kept saying, She wrote back! She wrote back! She wrote back! It took me a good twenty minutes before I could explain to him who had written back. Its one of my favorite writer memories.
2029421
The best book I have ever read, of the thousands this 72 yr old man has read. Wish I could find one
1946867
One of the first books I read that gave me a love for Science Fiction. The actual first book was "The Earth Abides"
4261327
I recently purchased a Kindle, and I came across this book. It was actually the first real book I ever read every word of. Mind you that I am 29 years old. The book is amazing and so easy to read. I love how every chapter challenges the mind and for the reader to step out and figure stuff out. Thank you, James! Being dyslexic was never easy but this book seriously has changed my issues with it and I feel unstoppable. -Joe
3945400
I was not into books at all. English is not my first language either. But I read this book when I was new in US and it was the first book I ever finished on my own without being forced by teachers to read. I would recommand this to teenagers and young adults.
1338181
I woke up at midnight to be the first to read this book ( I also finished it the morning it came out! By the way I was the first to read it.) and it is definitally the best Ever book in my point of veiw!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1332918
It all started a hot summer day here in Taipei. My brother was here on vacation, before he went off to university. I noticed that he wouldnt come out of his room for hours while I played on the computer, or watched TV. It was nine pm and he came out of the room with a smile on his face and he held out a book to me. He said" you have to read it!" with excitement. After a couple days he went off to university and I was left alone. I really hadnt payed much attention to the book, but one day I put my mind to it and started reading it. I discovered that the book never stoped unraviling surprises. It was practically impossible to stop reading in middle of a chapter, I had to know what would happen next. I was surprised how the book always had surprises. It was an emotion I had never felt before, reading a book. A sensation that you don't get by reading any other book. This is a book that shows you reality and how real life is, not just some wonderland. Its fiction, history, andventure, sexuality, and other subjects in one book. I'd read for hours until my body was exhausted. When I finished the book I was a little sad because I didn't know what would happen next. I have to say this is the best book I've read in my young life, and probably not the last book I read from this author: Isabel Allende. Id recommend this book to everyone who loves reading.
4522021
This was my first "real book", my son's first "real book" and now my grandson's first "real book".  After 40 years I can remember everything that happened in this book.  That alone says it all.  A fantastic read for young and old.
2511395
I vividly remember this book even though I read it when I was about eight or nine years old, and I remember it was the first book I ever cried about after finishing it. I just didn't want the story to end because I felt that I had grown so close to the characters. A book has to be really magical for me to cry about it, and this story really touched my heart.
1800015
this book, its predecessor and its sequel began my lifelong reading habit.  My parents had read to me from the time I was born, but in 1968 I spent 3 weeks in hospital.  I was terribly bored till they brought me these books.  Being a typical horse-crazy pre-teen girl this is all it took to suck me into the world of reading.
2232388
This was the first book I ever read by Julie. It got so worn by how many times I read it over the years that I had to get a new one.
1946487
This was the first book I ever read. Now 10 years later, This is still my favorite and I go back to it when I am confused on something, or, if I need insight