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My father gave it to me for Christmas when I was a kid.
You cannot do better thanThe Hobbit.

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“Buy it here.
She kind of fired my imagination.
By the time I was 10, I moved on toHarold Robbins.”

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Kelly Clarkson:Matilda
“It was the first big book I ever read.
I also loved that she was the underdog.
“Buy it here.

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(I only ever read the first one and didnt know it was a series.)
I recently reread it with my own kids, and its dated in good and bad ways.
Bad: Stereotypical gender roles.

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Good: Lets just say those kids dont need to be helicopter-parented.
“Buy it here.
Rainn Wilson:The Phantom Tollboothby Norton Juster
“The Phantom Tollbooth.

Josephine Sittenfeld
I loved the wordplay, the humor and the fanciful characters, and the wild imagination.
“Buy it here.
Elizabeth Gilbert:The Wizard of Ozby L. Frank Baum
“The Wizard of Oz.

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Whats not to love?
As a restless farm girl myself, I identified big-time.
“Buy it here.

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These were all happy worlds I visited so many times I lost count.”
All of them.”
A wonderful mixture of fantasy, 60s psychedelia, and Goreys macabre sense of humor.

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“Buy it here.
Chimamanda Adichie:The Famous FiveSeries by Enid Blyton
“The Famous Fiveseries by Enid Blyton.
“Buy it here.

Jay Grabiec
It compelled me from the first day and has not let go to this day.
“Buy it here.
Amy Schumer:The BFGby Roald Dahl
“Roald DahlsThe BFGwas huge.

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“Buy it here.
“Buy it here.
I got busted in 6th grade for reading Erica JongsFear ofFlying.

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“Buy it here.

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Walter McBride/WireImage

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