First english novel you read?

[missbookworm]

I think I am going to get some nasty remarks about this, but I am going to admit that the first English novel I have finished reading was "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer. I honestly did enjoy it so much, and it somehow sparked my interest in literature.

[xTinx]

Well, I never went for the classics until I got to high school. When I was in elementary, I read nothing but Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Sweet Valley novels. Reading Nancy Drew gave me a good start. Looking back, the author knew just what words to use. I never had a hard time understanding words or phrases. Reading it was one heck of an adventure and the mystery always hooked me. I'd say the same for Hardy Boys and Sweet Valley, although there's less mystery and more middle school nonsense in the latter.

[foolsgold]

I read a lot of pocketbooks growing up so it probably was one of the Babysitters' Club book. I also read Mary Kate and Ashley mystery novels (how pathetic haha) and Goosebumps. I can't tell which ones I've read first though. The first legitimate novel would have to be the first Harry Potter book. I got a copy when I was in 1st grade and didn't read it until a year later.

[Litnax]

Mine was Judy Blume's "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." It was a gift from my ex-teacher for my eighth birthday 

[Mim]

I think it was "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love", by Reymond Carver. It is a collection of short stories and is worth reading. Although it has been almost 15 years and I have moved more than 10 times since then, I still have the book. 

[anna3101]

First English novel, it brings so many memories.. For me it was "Five Children And It", and I cannot even remember what it was about, but I still remember how the book looked like, and the picture on the cover...

Time flies so fast.. So many great books in English happened my way since then.

[pesic87]

My first and so far my favourite English novel I read was Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I was infatuated by the book, the style and choice of words. I love the way Austen writes, how she depicts the time they lived in and how much she pays attention to characters and details.

[anna3101]

pesic87, I love Jane Austen too, I've read almost all of her books, mostly translated to Russian and then later on I started to read her in English and it was a treat. I also enjoyed two of the Bronte sisters very much, especially those lovely editions where there are watercolour drawings of English countryside, and the paper is thick and pleasant to touch. Those were the days

[agentzero]

The Gunslinger by Stephen King. It's the first book in his Dark Tower series and I think it's the shortest, but even if it was the longest I would have breezed through because it was very interesting, but also because I have underestimated my abilities to read English. I had a bad experience before when I "read" Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. There was some dispute with the publishers and word got out that they wouldn't be translating it to Serbian and I got really bummed and then I got really optimistic when I thought I could read it in English. I could comprehend what was happening just fine, but I wouldn't call it an enjoyable book reading experience as I was having to pause and go look for translations of certain words online. 

[Amelie]

By "english novel" we mean novels written in English, right? I don't have to pretend I read Great Expectations and Jane Eyre when I was in elementary school? Haha. I don't recall the exact title, but it was either a Sweet Valley High book or a Babysitters' Club one. But oh, I remember vividly how glorious those days were. I was excited to go to school just so I could go to the library, or the mini-library we had inside the classroom. We were asked to bring our fiction books and leave them inside the classroom. We had a nook that was filled with books and stuffed toys and pillows, and we could go there to read. I loved it because my parents couldn't afford to buy me the entire set, and my classmates always had the best collections. It was a magical time.

[pesic87]

pesic87, I love Jane Austen too, I've read almost all of her books, mostly translated to Russian and then later on I started to read her in English and it was a treat. I also enjoyed two of the Bronte sisters very much, especially those lovely editions where there are watercolour drawings of English countryside, and the paper is thick and pleasant to touch. Those were the days

Yes @anna3101 Bronte sisters! I have recently finished reading WUTHERING HEIGHTS, the novel by Emily Brontë, for the 3rd time in my life, in English. I am so in love with that book. It was not certainly the first one I read from English literature, but it is among my favourite ones. Thrushcross Grange in Yorkshire is depicted in such a morose, melancholy, and dark way, along with Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff and Catherine just amaze me, and Nelly who is there throughout the novel, as a narrator and a viewer, has seen and experienced a great deal of the two families depicted, so she could give a good account on the matters to Lockwood,  who happened to rent a place at Thrushcross Grange as a place for recuperation and rest.

Lovely novel, that I would read again and again.

[Rumpelstilzli]

Not that long ago.. It was "The longest ride" from Nicholas Sparks =) 

[reverserewind]

I can't recall the very first one. But it's probably either Dorian Grey or 1984. Both are absolutely awesome. I enjoy reading them so much. Any fans?

[Baburra]

For me it's the first Narnia book and at the time I read it the movie wasn't out yet and I'm glad that I was able to do that before I watched the movie because it was then that I finally understood why people always said that the book was the better version. In this case I just wasn't able to get into the movie at all because I enjoyed the book so much that seeing visuals of it somehow felt a lot more boring even if I'm like most others who will certainly find visuals more enjoyable most of the time. Admittedly I've forgotten most of it by now so I'm hoping to read it again soon so I can see if I can still enjoy it as much. 

[VinayaSpeaks]

Dogs of War by Fredric Forsyth  is the first English novel I read. I was an eight grader. After I read the novel, I discovered that there is a movie based on this novel. I watched the movie and I liked it very much. Prior to Dogs of War I had read a Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, but it was an abridged version.

[AgentD22]

I don't know if this qualifies, but the first one I read was the Harry Potter books because I didn't like the translations in my native language. Looking back on it, I only did it because I knew some basic english and wanted to read it as the author wrote it, but now that i give it some serious thought, those books really where worth reading, they helped me improve my grammar. Also, it doesn't hurt that those are great books.

[blotteracids]

I think the first book I've read in English was Wintergirls, during a dark time in my life. I was about 14-15 when I first read it, and it changed my life, really. It's not a positive book and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't go through the issues mentioned in the book, but it's really poetically written and full of metaphors to human suffering. It was a really easy language and helped me learn a lot of new expressions and words in English.

[Maryam khan]

Charles Dicken's great expectations

[ChadC455]

My first novel was To Kill a Mockingbird and 20 years later and having reread several times, I still can't get over the phrase Let the Dead bury the Dead.