Five on Friday: Where My Lore Began

Five books I loved when I was young

If you’re on Instagram, you may have seen many folks posting about things that “started their lore” - all the things from pop culture that really shaped who they are today. I posted my own take this week here. I thought it would be fun to expand a little bit on some of the books I chose in my post.

What started your lore?

Anne of Green Gables

I wish I could remember how old I actually was when I first started reading L.M. Montgomery's books. I really just feel like Anne with an E has always been a part of my life. I loved how Montgomery wrote about Anne and her views on the world, as well as her descriptions of the island. Not to mention the love story between Anne and Gilbert. Swoon.

The Princess Diaries

I loved Meg Cabot’s Princess Diaries books, but, shocker, I actually loved the movie even more. Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews? They were amazing. Never watch the movie with me though. I'll quote the whole thing. As for the story, I just loved that a super awkward teen (why, yes, I did feel like an awkward teen myself), was able to find more family and herself over the course of the novels.

The Chronicles of Narnia

The idea that I could walk through a wardrobe and find a magical land was so thrilling to me as a kid. I don’t remember when I first read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe but I do know that I never did end up finishing the series. (And I’m pretty sure the reason was a certain boy wizard showing up on the literary scene.) Even though I don’t know how C.S. Lewis’s series ends, I do remember the feeling I had when the Pevensie children made their way through the wardrobe.

Little Women

I had an abridged book of Little Women that I remember reading all the time as a kid. I read that copy of Louisa May Alcott’s book so much that I hadn’t realized until I was in my early twenties that, oops, I hadn’t actually read the full novel! Another reason this book stuck with me for so long was that the 1994 movie came out just at the right time for me to watch as a preteen and through my teens. There was a lot to love about this book. The sisters! Jo's writing! Laurie was kind of the worst, but also, he was the boy next door! (A romance trope I still love today.)

Harriet the Spy

Now, I didn’t actually end up including Harriet the Spy, the novel by Louise Fitzhugh in my Instagram post. But after the news of actress Michelle Trachtenberg’s death this week, I remembered the book and the movie. I think part of it was that Harriet was always carrying around a notebook and watching what was going on around her. And, most importantly, writing down her observations. I think writing was the key to my love of Harriet!