In news that would shock no one who has ever seen my garage, I have books that I read as a child that I have been saving for my kids to read. Mason, who recently started third grade, has turned into a voracious reader. In fact, yesterday he met his first nine-weeks reading goal only three-weeks into the school year. A few at a time, I’ve been pulling out some of my old books and adding them to his collection. One genre he’s really been enjoying lately are my old Choose Your Own Adventure books.
If you’re my age I’m sure you remember these books, which offered readers choices as they read their way through each story. Readers would receive a page or two of story, followed by a choice and subsequent pages to turn to. For example, in a book a reader might be presented with the option of turning left or right. If you chose to turn left you would turn to one page; if you chose to turn right, you would turn to another. Decidedly low-tech, but fun nonetheless.
The most common brand of these types of books were the actual Choose Your Own Adventure brand — however, there were lots of knock-offs released around that same time. A couple of competing brands included Twist-A-Plot and Which Way books, both of which used the same page-flipping methodology. While they weren’t as popular at the time, TSR also released several Choose Your Own Adventure-style books as well.
Although they are branded “Dungeons and Dragons”, these books share nothing in common with the actual role playing game, other than perhaps the magical settings that the stories take place in. Like traditional CYOA books, readers can flip through them, make choices, and see what happens. (And, if you’re like me, you’ll keep a finger in the old page, just in case picking a fight with a Red Dragon wasn’t a wise decision …) One of the books boasts 20 different endings, and I think Mason’s read it at least that many times.
I wish I had kept more of these old CYOA books. Of course there’s always eBay …
I used to read CYOA books quiet often. They were my books of choice elementary school. I had many of them, but unfortunately, my mother gave them all away! I also recall, for a school writing project, I did a 15 page COYA story of my own. I don’t recall anything about it except that one ending had you getting mugged. I am sure the papers were tossed long ago so I’ll never know what the rest of it may have said.
Good on so many levels.
-Book good for many reads, since it’s everchanging (saves money)
-Stimulates the imagination (thus creating your own stories like Felix)
-Teaches consequences of choices, which you can relate with them to real life
-Entertains for hours
-Gives us a good feeling to share something we enjoyed so much with our own children (that one’s the best!)
I keep the Kids Bookcase, filled with books for the grandkids. Mason has his own section. I fill it with books for entertaining, crafts, science, and just things I think he might like to read about. Morgan’s section has mostly princess stuff. :-)
I know I am weird, but I never liked CYOA books at all. Never could get into them. I read just about every Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and Three Investigators books they had out though.
Those TSR books were my favorite CYOAs. Mountain of Mirrors is one I have a memory of sitting by the fire on the couch reading. It was the only time I read books when I was a pre-teen. One of the cool features of those books were the textured covers – something that, in my opinion, made them even more special – they seemed higher quality in that respect.
In years past, I’ve tried to sell them at garage sales, but thankfully they never sold. They sit here right next to my desk to this day (along with 2 remaining CYOA books – #4 and #30).
I also have fond memories of CYOA books. I would love to find some for my sons when they get old enough to read them.
I have a variety of these sorts of books and my mother kept all of the CYOA titles – not long ago I purchased a Zork CYOA paperback on Ebay as I am interested in old gaming fiction (I even made a site by that name OldGameFiction).
Loved your Floppy podcast on my ride home, posted a link up at the C64Walkabout. I’m very interested in getting an FC-5025 now…
I also find this sort of Second-Person fiction the closest thing to Text Adventures (without those clunky “I don’t understand” parsers) or room descriptions from the Temple of Apshai or for that matter Module room descriptions from D&D.
Loved the choose your own adventure books. I always got a new one at Christmas in my stocking and on my Birthday…and I still have them all :)
Here’s one…
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