Books…Books…Books

Look around your house. What item do you have the most of? For me its books.  I have more books than anything, and more than I wish to count.  When I was a kid in the 1970’s there was a show called the Newlywed Game” my parents (who were not newlyweds anymore) watched this show occasionally. I remember this was a question on that show one day. “What item do you have the most of”? My parents asked me what I thought the answer was for our house and without a thought I said “books”.

In 1st grade I was in the “slow” reading group and the scary mean teacher called us “dumb”.  It took me years to not think about myself as dumb in school.  That year was the blizzard of 1977 and schools were closed to save energy. We went to the school building on Monday mornings to get our work for the week.  It was during this time at home with my mom and the baby brothers that I learned to read, away from the stress and judgement of that awful teacher. I was off to the races. Reading street signs, store names.  “I Can Read” books. This was a series of picture books for early readers. “Danny and the Dinosaur” by Sid Hoff. “Johnny Lion’s Rubber Boots” by Edith Thacher Hurd. In the years before I was 12 years old, I had 3 books I read every night to myself.  “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse” “Manuel’s Cat” by Dorothy Fein, and “Naughty George” by Jane Pilgrim- A Blackberry Farm Book.

When my daughter was very young, she wanted the same books read to her every night. “Clifford the Big Red Dog”, “Good Night Moon”, “Little Bunny Biddle Bunny”, and “Are you my Mother?” One of my biggest surprises in parenting was how quickly I was bored to tears with reading the same books over and over again. I always encouraged something new. Mostly to no avail, of course I missed reading those books when she was older.

In the middle of 7th grade, I moved to a new middle school. The only good thing about school that year was English class.  There were several different reading groups. (I don’t like this idea of dividing kids like this but that was how it was done). I was given the ‘average” group books to read. They were cliché and boring.  My teacher asked me about my reading and saw how I was up to a challenge. I was pleased to move up the “advanced” group. I was given a copy of ‘“Rebecca‘’ by Daphne DuMaurier. “Last night I dreamed I went to Manderly again”. This first sentence of this story still comes into my mind occasionally. 

I love being transported to a new place or time through a book; drawn into a family or a mystery, a spooky house. A whole new reality is created and I am invited in.  And yes, I am “always” reading. I have recently started reading ebooks in addition to traditional ones because as I have advanced in wisdom and age, a bit of arthritis makes it painful to hold a hardback book in bed. 

Recently a coworker saw my Kindle on my desk at work and her eyes lit up and she said, “you like to read”? She was so excited to talk about books.  Kindred spirits. Making connections. Telling stories. 

I read a whole lot of books last year. My library hold list in long.  My home library is my favorite room in the house. Even if reading isn’t your thing what are your interests or hobbies? Who shares your interests?  What stories do you like to share? 

What’s the last good book you read?