Remember These? is a series of posts looking at some of the books I recorded in my old pre-blogging reading diary. The diary spanned my teenage years to my early twenties, so most of the books mentioned below will have been read during the 1990s and although I’ve included my original ratings, these do not necessarily reflect what I would feel about the books if I read them again today!

I gave the books ratings out of 5. The symbol * means I loved the book. X means I didn’t finish it.

Books beginning with ‘C’

Here are a selection of the books that appeared on the ‘C’ page of my notebook:

The Clan of the Cave Bear – Jean M Auel (5/5*)

This is the first book in the Earth’s Children series which follows the adventures of Ayla, a prehistoric girl who is adopted by a group of Neanderthal people. I loved this one, but for some reason I couldn’t get into the second book at all, so gave up on the series. Should I give these books another chance?

Charley – Joan G. Robinson (5/5*)

Also published under the title, The Girl Who Ran Away. I’d love to hear from anyone else who remembers this children’s book, as it was one of my favourites. It was about a girl called Charley who was sent to stay with her aunt. When a misunderstanding caused her to believe that her aunt didn’t want her, she ran away and tried to survive on her own in the English countryside.

Claudia’s Shadow – Charlotte Vale Allen (4/5)

I can’t remember reading this one at all! Here’s a description from Amazon: “When her sister Claudia dies mysteriously, Rowena Graham cannot accept the verdict of suicide. In a desperate move to learn the facts about her sister’s death, Rowena moves into her sister’s home and takes over the management of Claudia’s restaurant.”

Children of the Dust – Louise Lawrence (3/5)

This is a post-apocalyptic YA novel which follows the story of three generations of people who survive a nuclear war. I read this book at school and remember it being a very effective and harrowing portrayal of both the war itself and the aftermath.

The Christmas Mystery – Jostein Gaarder (3/5)

I first read this as a teenager and re-read it in December 2009 (my review is here). I didn’t like it as much as Gaarder’s other books such as Sophie’s World or The Solitaire Mystery, but it is a perfect book to read at Christmas and has an interesting advent-calendar structure of twenty-four chapters, one for each day of advent.

Choices – Noah Gordon (3/5)

This is the third in a trilogy of books by Noah Gordon about three doctors from three different generations of the Cole family who have all inherited a special ‘gift’: they can sense when a patient is going to die. The first book, The Physician, is set in the 11th century; the second, Shaman, is set during the US Civil War. This one has a more modern setting and I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first two. It was also a lot shorter and didn’t have the same ‘epic’ feel.

The Copper Peacock – Ruth Rendell (2/5)

A short story collection by the crime writer Ruth Rendell. I can’t even remember reading this book or anything else by Ruth Rendell.

The Celestine Prophecy – James Redfield (1/5)

This book was part adventure story, part spiritual self-help book. It was about an ancient manuscript discovered in the rainforests of Peru, which contains nine important insights into life. Although it sounded fascinating I was very disappointed by it.

Crucifix Lane – Kate Mosse (x)

Kate Mosse is better known as the author of Labyrinth, Sepulchre and The Winter Ghosts. This was one of her earlier novels and something a bit different, as it was a science-fiction novel about a woman from the 1990s who travels 11 years forward in time. I didn’t manage to finish this one and haven’t had any better luck with any of her other novels.

Have you read any of the books I’ve mentioned?

Coming soon… Remember These? Books Beginning with ‘D’