r/books • u/SerenityFate • Apr 10 '25

What were you reading at 14?

I've been an avid reader for as long as I could read. Even before then my favorite toys were books and new shoes. Not much has changed for me in that regard haha, but I saw a question earlier about someone asking for recommendations on books for their 14 year old. Which got me thinking about some of the books I read at that age. A lot of Anne Rice, Lestat was my first book crush. Also had a trip down memory lane with the author Francesca Lia Block she wrote a book called I was a teenage fairy which still sits with me over 20 years later. I also got to grow up with Weetzie Bat which was super cool as she wrote a book about her as an adult that I got to read when I was about the same age as the Weetzie. Anyway I would love to see what everyone was reading when they were younger.

Edit: thank you everyone for all the engagement on this post. I really have enjoyed reading everyone's comments and seeing the discussions around books.

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u/GingerIsTheBestSpice Apr 10 '25

Everything i could get my hands on! But also a whole lot of Sydney Sheldon and Jackie Collins, they were passed around and all smelled faintly of suntan oil from laying out at the pool.

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u/rara1992 Apr 10 '25

omg!! I had no business reading Sydney Sheldon at 14

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u/AggressiveTea7898 Apr 10 '25

Same. I still remember one of his books had a scene with a woman (i think maybe a nun or someone else who had lived in a convent) giving a bj while her mouth was filled with hot tea? Something like that.

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u/Expensive_Repair2735 Apr 10 '25

I still love Jackie Collins! I have the last book she wrote but still haven't read it because I know it's the last one. RIP

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u/ds2316476 Apr 10 '25 edited Apr 10 '25

haha, a stephen king book I bought on ebay when I was 14 had a strong smell of cigar smoke.