Thanks to some diligent parents, I have developed a lifetime love affair with books and reading. Because of that interest, I have come to associate certain books with certain periods of my life - the good as well as the bad times - and those books have become like a journal of dear friends.
Here are a few, fond memories of my life with books:
- My mom read aloud the "Chronicles of Narnia" (C.S. Lewis) to us as kids while my dad was working two jobs and going to law school. Those books still hold a magical wonder every time I re-read them and they remind me of a sweet, simple time in my life.
- A random sampling of children's books that I absolutely adore from my growing-up years: "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" (Judi Barrett), "The Best Word Book Ever" (Richard Scarry), "Where the Wild Things Are" (Maurice Sendak) and "The Little House" (Virginia Lee Burton). When I was sad, lonely or just wanted to escape, I could dive into one of these little adventures and be whisked away to a magical world.
- What girl doesn't remember the first time they read "Are You There God, it's me, Margaret?" (Judy Blume). While I was a bit perplexed reading about this girl's depiction of puberty when I was only 11, I found many similarities between our lives as I tried to make my way through those awkward pre-teen years.
- Shamefully, I didn't read "Little Women" (Louisa May Alcott) until I was in college. But the antics of the four March sisters made me laugh out loud one minute and then sob unconsolably the next. That book still brings back bittersweet memories of my time with my amazing roommates from #96 - especially when I had to leave them all.
Anyone have any favorite books that evoke up magical times in their life? If so, please share!
3 comments:
I remember those books too. I read them to you kids because they were my favorites.
The Chronicles of Narnia I read in high school, not as an assignment, but because I wanted to. So when the movies came out I was excited. I never pictured Gollum the way he was portrayed in the movie though!
I think I have the beginnings of dementia at 58 yrs old.
I did read Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings as a teenager.
Just to set the record straight, Gollum was in the Lord of the Rings, not Narnia!
T\
I really like how you say the books and their memories create a journal of your life. It's so true! I look back on some great books and remember vividly what was going on in my life when I was reading them... I was away for the summer living at my aunts, I was first starting to impress boys in high school, etc. It's so true. I love it when a book hits you that hard and it's solidly apart of your growing up.
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