Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, by Alvin Schwartz

I have always been a little bit morbid.  I know I’ve told you that before, but it just comes up so often.  This week I was struggling between Summer of My German Soldier and Scary Stories.  Huh?  I guess even as a kid I was quite the prolific reader.

Anyway, I completely loved this whole series.  Most of the stories were adapted from urban legends and myths like the hook man, the baby-sitter getting calls from inside the house, the killer in the back of the car… that kind of stuff.  The pictures were just as creepy as the stories, sometimes even creepier.  I remember there being creepy songs and poems and jokes and tons of ghost stories.

I remember one of the stories (not sure if it was in this one or one of the sequels) where a girl always wore this ribbon around her neck.  She falls in love with this boy and he always asks her about it.  One day, either she offers to show him or he just takes it off and her head plops off- that was all that was holding her together.  *Insert girly screaming here*

I was in Girl Scouts the whole time I was growing up and I remember this being one of those essential packing items when going on a camping trip.  After we were supposed to be asleep we’d read these by flashlight and just totally freak each other out.  This really is one of my fonder book-related memories.  So much fun.  I remember getting one girl all worked up and crying and we didn’t want her telling on us for being up late so we resorted to gossip and who “liked” who until she fell asleep… then we got to the really creepy stories.

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To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

I’m sure that most bibliophiles have fond memories of this book, whether they read it when they were 10 or 18 or 39 or whenever.  It’s one of those classics that is pretty much universally loved, so probably nothing I’m going to say here will blow your mind, but it’s what I wanted to talk about today, so there!

I’ve told you a little bit before about this incredible high school english teacher that I had.  She really was the best.  I was always in love with reading, but she managed to bring that out in everyone.  She had us reading great books and her enthusiasm for the books rubbed right off on us.  One of the books we read with her was To Kill a Mockingbird.  I’m pretty sure that she’d been teaching this book every year for the last 20 years or so, but you could tell that she’d do it for 20 more given half the opportunity.  Inspiring, really.

I remember that I was in this class full of the loudest, most obnoxious kids possible, myself included.  We were freshmen and we had english right after lunch. It was maybe the worst combination ever, but she had no problem subduing us by reading out loud.  Seriously, it was like a drug.  Anyway, my fondest memory of her reading this to us is this: At the end of the book, when (*spoiler alert!*) Scout meets Boo, she read Scout’s line in just the sweetest voice, with a little southern accent: “Well, heeeey, Boo.”  And for some reason, I just loved that.  It was, for me, the most memorable line of the book.  After we were done with the book, we watched the movie and the whole time, I was just waiting to get to that line.  And it was the biggest letdown of all time.  Maybe I just didn’t like the girl in the movie or something, I have no idea, but I was like, “that was it?!” So funny.

She also cried during a couple parts of the book, which I thought was so sweet and funny because this wasn’t the first time she’d read it. It was probably closer to the 100th.  In fact, I’m pretty sure she’d read it earlier in the day.  It just always made her cry because she loved it so much.  So frigging adorable.

Just an added bonus: I was looking for a clip of “Hey, Boo” on youtube, but instead found this. I have no words. Just watch.

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The Babysitter’s Club Series, by Ann M. Martin

I have put off making this my “Flashback” for so long because I do not even know what to say. For me, these books were IT. I read them for years and had a full bookshelf of them by the time I decided to give them up.  I had also become part of the fan club so I had all these other little BSC trinkets and even a Dawn doll. No, for real. I was obsessed.

I was a pretty nerdy kid, so I did nerdy stuff a lot, but I have this one memory that sticks out in my head that specifically involves these books.  I had just gotten the newest one and my friend Crystal came over to play. I was headed outside to climb a tree in my backyard and read, and told her that she could pick up a BSC book and come read with me.  She looked at me like I had grown another head, but she went to my room, got the first one and followed me outside.  For about 10 minutes, we sat together and read and then she was like, “Really, this is it? Are we going to do something fun?” and I just looked at her with my mouth hanging open. As if this wasn’t the most fun way for 10 year old girls to spend their summer afternoon!  I told her I wanted to keep reading for a little bit so she climbed down the tree and asked me to call her when I wanted to do something fun.  I spent the day reading and called her the next day when I knew the fate of Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey. So funny.

I could go on and on and on about this series and how much I loved them, but I will spare you. I’ll just answer the questions that every BSC fan would ask:

Who was your favorite? I was always really partial to Claudia just because she was so effing cool.  I liked how she was laid back and scatter brained and wore the craziest clothes.  For years I wanted to be like her, but I always knew deep down that I was actually probably more of a Kristy: loud, bossy and take-charge. Ah well, a girl can dream.

What was your favorite Super Special? Super Specials were these big, thick books that shifted points of view between the girls.  They usually took place during some big event or in a different location than Stoneybrook.  I was really, really into camp when I was growing up so the one that they were camp counselors  was always my absolute favorite.  Years later, I went on to be a camp counselor for a summer, probably as direct result of my obsession with this book.

To participate in Flashback Friday, head over here to get the info on what’s going on.  After posting your flashback, come back here and comment with a link to your blog so everyone can enjoy!