June at the Insecure Writers Support Group

It's been a few months but I'm back to answer this month's prompt for ISWG:

What were some books that impacted you as a child or young adult?

Whew, that's a tough one. After all, books do so many different things for us. They open us to new worlds, they awake a love of reading/writing, they help us set goals...so I decided to include a few:

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

This is the first book I really remember my mom reading to me. I'm sure she read lots of books before then (I've seen them on the bookshelves) but I distinctly remember lying on my bed with her and her reading this one aloud. We were in our new house so I had to be at least 4 years old.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I loved Jo because she was so brave and became a successful writer and, like so many little girls, I wanted to be Jo when I grew up. Well, I'm not quite as brave or successful as Jo but I am a writer!

Blue Sloop at Dawn by Richard Bode

I picked this book at my library's summer reading club. Was I around 10? 12? I lived in landlocked Pennsylvania and, although I had been to the beach every summer, sailing was a whole other world that this book introduced to me.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Yes, I know this is an adult book but I found it at my cousin's on a Christmas visit when I was in middle school and he let me borrow it. Goodbye, Nancy Drew. Hello, Hercule Poroit, Miss Marple, Sam Spade and Nero Wolfe. This book unleased an enthusiasm for mysteries that I still enjoy today.

So those are the four that popped out in my memories. What about you?