Top Ten "Gateway" Books/Authors In Our Reading Journey

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is Top Ten "Gateway" Books/Authors In Our Reading Journey. This could mean books that got us into reading in the first place, or books that got us into a particular genre or author. Jenny and I decided to split this one 50/50 again since we had a harder time coming up with our list. I think we both leaned more toward childhood faves, since we developed our love for reading and our favorite genres at such a young age (like most of us, I'm sure!). We'll start things off with Jenny's Top 5:

Jenny's Top Five "Gateway" Books/Authors in Her Reading Journey

1. The Chronicles of Narnia - I know I am not alone in this one. Narnia gave me the hope that there are other, unknown worlds out there and they are worth exploring. Not only did it inspire a love for the fantasy genre, but it also inspired my love of travel and belief in magic.

2. Nancy Drew - I grew up reading my mom's Nancy Drew books, the hardback ones with the yellow on the back. You know what I'm talking about. I love reading books that force you to think and put together clues from hints the author gives you. I can always be tempted by mysteries.

3. Marie de France - This lady wrote in the 12th century, so I expect that many of you have not had the luck to run across her before now. She wrote lais, which are short narrative poems. She was my entry into the Medieval world, which I have now made my career choice.

4. Orthodoxy - This book by G.K. Chesterton was one of the first books about Christianity I read that made sense in the real world. His irreverence towards everything was so refreshing and appealing. His view of what it means to be a Christian really resounded with me and led me to Lewis, Merton, and many others.

5. The Giver - Like I mentioned in the Throwback Thursday post here, this was my first dystopian book (and still one of the best, in my opinion). Dystopian books are really good at helping you to see things you take for granted- such is the nature of the genre- and I have never looked at sunburn the same way.

Lesley Anne's Top Five "Gateway" Books/Authors In Her Reading Journey

1. The American Girl books - I am totally showing my age by telling you this, but for some reason, I will always remember the first time I looked at an American Girl catalog. It was a tri-fold brochure, and the only dolls you could order were Samantha, Kirsten, Molly, and (maybe) Felicity. Obviously things have changed a lot since then, but one thing I know remains the same is that all the dolls still come with an accompanying book series -- which is what I loved about American Girl when I was little. I'm pretty sure those books are solely responsible for my obsession with historical fiction today.

2. Magic Attic books - Continuing right along in my girly-ness, I was equally as obsessed with the Magic Attic girls and their bookish adventures! The Magic Attic books were so much fun and definitely laid the foundation for my current love of fantasy and time travel fiction.

3. The Phantom Tollbooth - Oh The Phantom Tollbooth. How I loved it so much! I would consider this one to definitely be a gateway book to fantasy, but it can also be a great intro to books that make you think. I am way overdue for a re-read of this one, especially since I can appreciate the play on words and metaphors all the more now as an adult.

4. The Christy Miller series - Christy and Todd -- probably my favorite fictional couple of all time! I would say this series was my gateway to contemporary young adult fiction, and hey--I actually read it as a preteen/young adult! When I was feeling alllll the feels. Especially over Todd and his "screaming silver blue eyes." If you've read the books, you know what I'm talking about! Basically Robin Jones Gunn needs to write more books. Like yesterday.

5. Left Behind: The Kids - Oh yes, I totally got swept up in the Left Behind books, and these short stories definitely fostered my current love for post-apocalyptic fiction. I have to be honest with y'all, though. I did not finish this series. I stopped halfway through, at about Book 20. I KNOW. Even though they average only 150 pages each, 40 books in one series is just a little much. Which means these books also served as a gateway to me hating series that go on and on and never seem to end (I'm looking at you, Shadowhunter Chronicles!).

 So tell us, what books do you consider to be "gateway" books in your reading life?