Introduce Yourselves!

[Rachel-K]

Welcome to the discussion! This thread gives us the opportunity not merely to introduce yourself, but its a great place to talk about what Judy Blume books you remember reading as a young person. Which stand out most in your memory?

[MegCabot]

Hi! Well, I'm Meg Cabot, and I'm a contributor to the book. I wrote about my favorite Judy Blume book, BLUBBER, and it's still probably my most memorable of her books, mainly because I had a very similar experience in school, where I was bullied by another girl (actually, this happened multiple times).

Judy's book helped me learn to deal with bullying the only way I think you can, with a sense of humor (although I still fantasize about taking those girls out with a cool karate move, a la Jackie Chan).

Weirdly, almost all of the girls who bullied me have come up to me at book signings with their own daughters and pretended like we were friends back in the day. I guess because their own daughters are huge PRINCESS DIARIES fans.

I guess the sweetest revenge is the fact that their kids are reading my books, which are all about how mean their moms were!

So I owe Judy a big THANK YOU for showing me that the best revenge is NOT karate chopping a bully in the neck, but growing up and writing a funny book about her for her kid to read. MWA HA HA HA!!!!!

Meg Cabot

[jenniferoconne…]

When Judy and I were talking at the Martha's Vineyard Book Festival yesterday she mentioned her "friend, Meg Cabot."

And I thought, "Judy Blume and I share a friend!"

Talk about reverting to adolescence.

[ML]

I wanted to take this opportunity to personally thank you for all of your writing. You have the courage to delve into material that is open, honest, and certainly realistic. I was a little too old to really be able to "grow up" with your incredible novels, but I do hear a lot of my students comment on your books, and how much they appreciate(d) your work. Kudos for staying on the ALA's Top 100 List of most challenged and/or banned books for many years (all the good stuff is there is my view). I wish there were more writers like you who dare to be different and approach the real issues many young people face.

[kpeterson32]

I know this is supposed to be a board dedicated to the book and to Judy Blume, but I just have to say that I am absolutely stunned. I cannot believe that we are in a forum surrounded with some incredible writers and there are so few participants. Meg Cabot, my sister is 16 years my junior, and we found ourselves able to bridge the age gap by sharing The Princess Diaries.

I'm Karen and it has long been a dream of mine to become a published author. I believe this stems from being such an avid reader in my childhood. I grew up reading and adoring the collected works of Judy Blume. I loved the Superfudge books, Blubber, and, of course, Are You There God, It's Me Margaret. I basically read everything I could get my hands, wearing down book bindings and dogearing the pages until they were so tattered they literally fell apart.

I only heard about this Everything I Know book this morning and as soon as I get off work I'll be rushing over to my local B&N to get a copy.

Thank you all for taking the time to write it, and for being here with us to talk about it!

[lolagoetz]

Meg, what a great story about those former bullies!

I read so many Judy Blume stories when I was a girl. I had a couple of boxed sets that included the Fudge books, plus some others.

My most memorable books are: Blubber; Tiger Eyes; Superfudge (which was read to us by our 2nd grade teacher - I couldn't wait for each installment); Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing; Are You There, God?; Then Again, Maybe I Won't; and Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great.

I cannot thank Ms. Blume enough for her writing. Are You There, God? was such a great book for me during an awkward time (and it made me grateful that we no longer needed those darn belt thing-a-majigs).

My name is Becky (aka lola), and I'm a freelance business writer. I would love to be able to write such relevant, poignant adolescent novels. Thank you, Judy Blume.


Becky
beckyscorner.com

Message Edited by lolagoetz on 08-07-2007 06:15 PM

[Popper19]

I finished this book a couple of days ago. Actually, I read the book in it's entirety on Friday. I loved it! I now need to re-read all of Judy's books to see what my perspective is as I'm almost 30. In one of the essays it was mentioned that after rereading them as an adult you get a different point of view of the adult figures. I'm excited to see how I feel.

I have 3 pre-teen girls in my life. 2 nieces and one sister-in-law and I will be giving each of them a box set of Judy's books for Christmas.

I've recommened EVERYTHING to all of my book loving coworkers. It's not only great if you grew up on and love Judy's books, but it's a great compilation of essays of growing up. I related to every essay in the book in some way. It really makes you remember how tough it was during those years of our life.

Thanks to all the contributing authors who are participating on this board. I'm also a little shell-shocked that we are in your presence.

I hope I actually post this correctly because this is my first time doing this. Sorry in advance if this goes to the wrong place.

Becky

[KristyR]

Hi! I'm a little late getting started here, I just found out about this and ordered my book 2 days ago. I loved reading Judy Blume's books when I was younger. If I had to list off my favorite books as a preteen they would certainly be high on my list. The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo was the first book my son, now 10, devoured on his own in second grade. We couldn't believe he had read it so quickly, so my husband flipped through the book and quizzed him. He knew every answer. It was quickly followed by all the Fudge books. That experience taught him how meaningful reading could be - it was the first time he ever felt sad because there were no more books about his favorite characters. I have 4 daughters, ages 7, 5, 2, and 8 weeks, and I can't wait to share Judy's books with them when they get a little older. I'm sure they will love them as much as I did.

[StephanieHale]

My name is Stephanie Hale. I am a young adult author who just released my first book last month. I KNOW that Judy Blume is partially responsible for my success. I spent countless hours with my face buried in Judy Blume books growing up. My mother is now very thankful that I didn't heed her advice and 'just go play outside every once in a while'. Growing up I was scared about the changes that I knew were going to take place in my body. But the way Judy wrote about them made it seem like I was going to be part of a special club and I wasn't scared anymore, but excited. I feel really lucky that I had Judy as a friend growing up.

[molsey]

Hi, my name's Molly. I haven't read this book yet -- I have it on reserve at the library -- but it seems a lot of other people had the same idea, and I'm getting impatient waiting my turn!

I found about about these boards through Meg Cabot's blog, and I'm so exicited to be here. I've been reading Judy Blume books since I was a kid. I saw parts myself in many of the characters, especially Sally, Peter, Sheila, Margaret and Stephanie. As the years have gone by, I've made more and more "discoveries." I somehow managed to miss reading "Tiger Eyes" until I was 22, and it absolutely floored me. (My dad had died when I was 16, and I still hadn't really dealt with it.) A few years later I picked up "Letters to Judy..." and found it a compelling read. I also regularly go back and re-read my old favorites. My favorite is "Just as Long as We're Together."

I'm now into writing books myself. I'm also a nanny. Last year I read "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" to my three charges -- ages 6, 7, and 8. I thought they might be too young, but no -- they loved it. After we finished "Tales," they wanted more, so I read "Superfudge" as well. We didn't have time to read any more, but I think they'll be checking the others out at the library. They definitely became fans.

[mildone]

When Judy Blume was writing her many novels I was the father of four daughters ages 8 to 18 and I wanted to understand what they were thinking and what were their problems. I understood that many of their questions would not be directed to me but to a person who was writing about these problems. I did not always agree with her answers or solutions to certain questons teen-agers might have but I did know what problems my daughaters might be facing through reading Judy Blume's books.
mildone

[mildone]

When Judy Blume was writing her many novels I was the father of four daughters ages 8 to 18 and I wanted to understand what they were thinking and what were their problems. I understood that many of their questions would not be directed to me but to a person who was writing about these problems. I did not always agree with her answers or solutions to certain questons teen-agers might have but I did know what problems my daughters might be facing through reading Judy Blume's books.
mildone

[megnotsodarling]

Oh, I hate arriving late to a party. I've been traveling to support the August 7th launch of my new novel. I'm not trying to be sneaky and self-promoting here, it just happens to be the truth. (That new novel is Fourth Comings, the latest in the Jessica Darling series which also consists of Charmed Thirds, Second Helpings and Sloppy Firsts. See, what I'm doing here by putting this all in parentheses is playing down the shameless self-promotion aspect of this paragraph.)

I love this anthology, which can be shortened into the cumbersome acronym EILABAGILFJB.

I wrote about sneaking peeks at Forever, which pretty much seems to have been a rite of passage for all women of a certain age. Judy Blume was my first favorite author and made me want to be a writer, and I cannot be more proud to be a part of this amazing collection.

And I'm glad to have finally joined the conversation!

Megan McCafferty

[ctlockwood]

Hello everyone!

I'm Cara Lockwood and glad to be a part of "Everything I Learned About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume."

Sorry about my late appearance. I have no real excuse other than chasing around my eight-month-old who has just learned to crawl and has an obsession with electrical outlets and sharp objects. Keeping her from the emergency room is now a full time job, reminding me a little bit about babysitting my little brother all those years ago. I suppose that turned out to be good training for motherhood!

If you'd like to read more about me or my other novels, check out my website, www.caralockwood.com.

[KikiTheGreeky]

Hey ladiesss

I think one of my favorite JB books was "Deenie." I read it the week I was going into surgery for scoliosis the summer before 8th grade. I was "stuck" in a back brace the entire 8th grade year...not that being a middle school girl wasn't awkward enough..

I've grown up reading books, and even at 23, I re-read the books that helped me grow and read new books that make me feel young again.

When I'm not reading...I am writing...and when I am not writing...I am working :-D

[ZenFlower]

Peace & Blessings Everyone!

This is ZenFlower (Nequa *smile*), joining you from North Carolina. I began wholeheartedly loving and growing into a adolescent diehard Judy Blume fan through this first set of five books my little sis received for a bday gift ages ago. Being the extremely voracious reader I am, of course I read them all, and a couple before she ever did. Haha!

They were:

Blubber
Iggie's House
It's Not The End of the World
Forever
Then Again, Maybe I Won't

I wanna read them all, as my sis enjoyed Fudge and Superfudge. I love all those about being a teen and understanding the world surrounding you through your own soul's lens. Each time I pick one of the aforementioned up to re-read, I feel 12 to 14 all over again. *siiiigh* I simply love that feeling, since I feel I never left that age.

I'm new to Barnes & Noble Book Clubs, and so far, its a truly beautiful thing.

Later for now.

[gaurang_1982]

sssss