Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Wish I Had Read As a Child

There is always something special about book read as a kid. It probably has to do with the magic we still felt as kids and how that magic gets sucked away as we get older. Oh, that’s getting a bit melancholy…let’s jump into the books I wish I had read as a child and experience some magic!

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Harry Potter by JK Rowling

When Harry Potter first started gaining traction in my little California town, I was that annoying person who refused to read a book because it was popular. But shortly after seeing the first movie in theaters with my mother, I devoured the first two books on a car trip from Northern California to San Diego and was hooked. I still wish I could have gotten into these back when they first came out, but I’m just glad I got to be a part of them at all.

The Hobbit/LOTR by JRR Tolkien

Even though I consider The Fellowship of the Ring one of the first books I DNF’d, I wish I could have experienced these books as a kid just learning about epic fantasy worlds. Yes, there are some truly dense and boring parts of the novels *cough* Council of Elrond *cough*, no one can deny that these books are classics for a reason.

The Tortall Series by Tamora Pierce

I was introduced to Tamora Pierce’s Totall series in my late teens and early 20s, but oh how I wish I’d gotten my hands on these when I was a young girl. Though there are a few problematic bits, the overall theme of women finding their strength in a patriarchal world is something every girl needs.

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Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

My first real introduction to Little Women was in an episode of Friends, but this novel has always seemed like such a classic that must be read. I’m not sure what I would have made of it during my youth, but I wish I could have given it a shot.

Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I tried to start the Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes a few years back, but between Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr. fresh in my mind as the titular detective, the original hardly stood a chance. The modern, quippy adaptations made it difficult to sink into Doyle’s old fashioned writing style and I wish I’d been able to enjoy the source material before the pop culture phenoms from Moffat/Gatiss and Ritchie.

The Once and Future King & Mists of Avalon

There is just something magical and alluring about these books. I’ve had copies sitting on my shelves for years, but there is a deep part of me that wishes I had read them back when I was young and full of wonder.

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The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey

I’ve always, always wanted to read these books. Is it weird that I wish I’d read them as a kid, but I’m too intimidated to read them now, as an adult?

Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Straight up, this boils down to me wanting to be able to read these books without getting bogged down in religious over or undertones. Sometimes, you just want to be able to experience things as a child without wading through the deeper meanings.

Dune by Frank Herbert

For Dune, I really just kinda wanted this to be my intro to classic science fiction, rather than Ender’s Game.

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Marvel Comics

Look, I don’t ever want to be that person who flaunts having read the source material before the adaptation, but there is a part of me that wishes I had been into comics, specifically Marvel when I was a kid. There is something so nostalgic about collecting superhero stories and I want that feeling.