I remember reading constantly as early as the 2nd grade, although I was probably reading earlier than that. But I remember learning (at least based on the assessment level of the book collection I was reading at the time) that I was reading at a 6th grade level while in 2nd grade. (Does anyone else remember SRA reading cards? Are those still a thing?) I also remember that reading was mostly what girls did—at least they are the only ones I remember talking about books—and they mostly read books about horses.
My allowance around that time was $2.00 a week at a time when paperback books cost about $0.65, so I could usually afford to get three books every week. But when the prices increased to $0.75, I became extremely unhappy because I could only get two books one week, and then have to wait a week to be able to afford to get three of them, and then only two the next week, and so on. When the prices increased to $0.95 and then, alas, $1.25, the situation became rapidly unmanageable, so I was forced to start re-reading books that I had already purchased. (There was the public and school libraries, of course, but their selections of science fiction was extremely limited.)
The books that I remember the most from those years include:
The “Encyclopedia Brown” series taught me a deductive reasoning. (If there was ever a book series that deserved to be a television series for older children, this is it.) It became a personal game with me to see if I could put together the clues and figure out the solution of the mystery before reading it at the end.
Although there was an entire of series of “Danny Dunn” books (which our local library did not have the complete set of, so I learned the joys of inter-library loans), I can see now where my fascination with computers began.
I don’t know what led me to start reading the “juveniles” from Robert A. Heinlein, but I think I discovered Have Space Suit, Will Travel first at a bookstore, then Time for the Stars not too long afterward. Time for the Stars always stuck with me even years later.
I discovered Isaac Asimov through a copy of Nine Tomorrows that was missing its cover. I don’t remember now where I found it, but I still have it, and it introduced me to a whole new set of stories and ideas and authors.
At the local mall bookstore (where we went almost weekly), I discovered this book. Although I remember that it took me several months to decide to buy it because there were other books, such as the other Heinlein novels, that I wanted the read first. But reading this book changed everything.
And, in 7th grade, our English Literature teacher introduced us to The Hobbit, and I discovered epic fantasy — which, of course, immediately led to reading “The Lord of the Rings” next … and then and then and then.
I’ll stop there, because around that time I started reading more “adult” science fiction and fantasy. (But it sure was a fun trip down memory lane trying to locate the book covers that I remembered for each of these books!)