Paris Window, Ajar.

Paris.
June 2010.

Childhood Favorites

Falling in love with reading can start as a child. Mothers and fathers, grandparents, aunts and uncles, older brothers and sisters, bring us to books, a light in their eyes brilliant with love we don't quite understand but know we want, too. Teachers let us linger with books, think about books, talk about books, write about books. Librarians share aisle after aisle of books they love with us, and, soon, too, friends, and bosses, co-workers, random encounters with readers on the subway, and we are aflame.

Maybe it begins with one book, that first love, the miracle of connecting with a story so deeply that it feels like it is written just for you. Read it again, we plead. And again. We do. More by that author and a random book here and there. It grows, new encounters, words and thoughts beautiful and perfectly strung together. We become frantic for more, better.

And it all begins with those first books, those first stories.

Here are some of mine.

Books that Came in the Mail
My book-loving mom signed me up for a book-a-month club early on. I couldn't wait for those packages to arrive in the mail. Go, Dog, Go. A Fish Out of Water. Early readers at first, but later real chapter books. Berries Goodman. Danny Dunn. Carolyn Haywood books.

Books from the Public Library
The first place we visited when we moved to a new town was the public library. I was fortunate my mom was a reader. There was a big children's book collection. I always got my ten-book quota. Half Magic and all the Edward Eager books. A Wrinkle in Time. By the Great Horn Spoon and other Sid Fleischman titles. Gone With the Wind.

Books from My School Library
My sixth grade teacher required us to read and report on a book a week. And not just any old books, mind you. We couldn't just skip the nonfiction books; our teacher wanted us to try a lot of genres. Unexpectedly, Genghis Khan grew on me. And Japan. Greek gods. I began to inch out of children's fiction only.

Books from My Grandpap's House
My grandfather was an amazing self-taught fellow who was forced to leave school when he was in eighth grade by his mother who told him it was time for him to get a job. He had a fabulous collection of history books that I just couldn't get enough of when we visited my grandparents for dinner every Sunday during my childhood. My aunt, who was only six years older than me, was an eclectic reader, too. I devoured her Superman comic books and her fantastic collection of abridgments of great children's fiction called Best in Children's Books including Grimm's Fairy Tales, Gulliver, Ulysses, Aesop's Fables.

Assigned Reading
Not all assigned reading is bad. Here are some that were assigned in high school that turned out to be excellent reads: Don Quixote, Metamorphosis, Glass Bead Game.


What books won you over to the light?

It's Monday!

                 

 

What Arrived Last Week Unexpectedly arrived this week. Paparazza, eh?

What I Finished Last Week Finished and reviewed. In a nutshell: "I liked it at first. In the middle, a little less. By the end, I was annoyed and bewildered." In one word: Disappointed.

What I'm Reading Now I'm still reading along in Orfeo, and I'll tell you right now that Orfeo better not disappoint me like The Crane Wife. Do you hear that, Richard Powers? I mean it. The Burgess Boys. Reading frantically, in hopes of finishing it before tonight's Inprint guest author, Elizabeth Strout, comes to Houston.

What are you reading today?!




It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too!.As part of this weekly meme Book Journey loves to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. 

Reading Trophy

Why I Love Being A Blogger/Reader/Librarian

It's Monday!

       

         

What Arrived Last Week The Red-Hot Chili Cook-off and, via a Bookcrosser from Australia, I Can Jump Puddles

What I Finished Last Week  Three strong reads: Frog Music, Arthur: The Seeing Stone, and The Whole Five Feet. Happily, The Seeing Stone is my 500th book of the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read. I'm very, very close to the halfway point.

What I Am Reading Now  Orfeo by Richard Powers and The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness. Two books by two favorite authors.

What are you reading today?!




It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme Book Journey loves to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. Book Journey offers a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment telling BJ how many you visited.

Bee on Lavender

Bee on lavender.
Provence, France.
July 2010.

♥Books That Will Make You Swoon♥

♥Books That Will Make You Swoon♥

I'm easily be-swooned, and always in search of the next swoon-able book.
Here are a few that have led me to swoon-ish moments:

♥Eleanor & Park♥

♥The Monk Downstairs♥

♥Lonesome Dove♥

♥The Rosie Project♥

♥Possession♥

♥Sloppy Firsts♥

♥Me Before You♥

♥Gold Bug Variations♥

♥Stargirl♥

♥Dewey Decimal System of Love♥

♥Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont♥

♥Attachments♥

What makes your heart go pitter-patter?

And if you'd like to see an amazing swoon,
take a look at this!