To All the Books I've Loved Before
I get rather snippy about the stereotypes people have about librarians. I admit that it's the "positive" stereotypes that bother me the most. I don't mind so much when people assume we are dour bun-sporting "shushers," (I just wish I knew how to successfully put my hair up in a really awesome bun) but the assumption that we librarians just naturally know things bugs me. On the contrary, our superpower is we know how to look that sh*t up, AND aren't afraid to use the Google if that's the best answer avenue.
It also really annoys me if folks think we just spend our days reading. Okay, most librarians probably do really like reading, but that's not actually, unfortunately, what we get paid to do.
That's enough venting for now. Instead, I want to embrace how precious reading has been during my life. Not only is February "I Love to Read Month," but I've been inspired by a co-worker who recently posted a question on our work blog about reading favorites. And, I've been short on blog ideas.
So the main question I'm stealing is "What book(s) were pivotal to you during your formative years?" Without thinking about it too much, the books that jump to my mind are all ones that I think I read when I was between 8-11 years old, so I guess that was a "formative" time in my life. I also have not re-read any of these as an adult...partly because of time constraints but mostly because I think I'm scared to see how my adult self would react to them. I don't want to ruin the memory (so my description of these books could be wildly inaccurate).
"A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Mistreated "orphan" girl who gets all the goods in the end. It surprises me that I loved this book so much, as I've never really been into the classics, but I remember reading it over and over when I was about 8 and couldn't sleep. Ironically, this may have led to my aversion for stories with institutional settings, as it take places in a boarding school. I think I hit my boarding school story quota early in life. Now that I think about it, I wonder if OD'ing on "A Little Princess" is the reason I'm not a fan of Victorian settings.
"A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeline L'Engle. Christian science fiction adventure romance. This was another book that I would binge-read, particularly when I was scared during bad weather. I guess reading about Meg being brave while standing up to ultimate evil helped me feel like I could survive a tundra thunderstorm. And I'm pretty sure I found it inspirational that Meg was geeky and still got a boyfriend.
"Thomasina, the Cat Who Thought She Was God" by Paul Gallico. Reincarnated Egyptian goddess cat. I loved the ancient Egyptian elements and was fascinated and horrified by the girl's father "killing" her cat. Hmm, this book may explain why I have recurring dreams about discovering deceased pets (and sometimes mothers) that aren't really dead and have just hanging around in the basement. Another reason behind a personality quirk revealed! This blog post is better than therapy.
"Beloved Benjamin is Waiting" by Jean Karl. Bullied girl + cemetery + aliens. I thought this book had the coolest cover and title. I also loved the cemetery setting because as a kid because the whole family "helped" my brother with his job as cemetery caretaker one summer.
"Lizard Music" and "Alan Mendelsohn the Boy from Mars" by Daniel Pinkwater. Weird and wild science fiction for preteens who want to feel cutting edge. I just love the sound of the name "Alan Mendelsohn." And I remember reading these books while watching David Letterman.
"Ghost I Have Been," by Richard Peck. A spunky girl ghost named Blossom and some connection to the Titanic? Okay, I really don't remember much about this one but this was another cover and title I loved. I do remember reading this one at my grandparents and that it inspired me to write my own ghost story.
It does blow my mind that 35 plus years later, I still have sense memories of reading these books and how they made me feel (even if my memories of the actual contents of the books are lost in the mist of time). If my job as a librarian has allowed me to play even a small part in helping kids get connected with books that have had such an impact on them, then it's a pretty cool job (even with the side effects of buns and omniscience).
It also really annoys me if folks think we just spend our days reading. Okay, most librarians probably do really like reading, but that's not actually, unfortunately, what we get paid to do.
That's enough venting for now. Instead, I want to embrace how precious reading has been during my life. Not only is February "I Love to Read Month," but I've been inspired by a co-worker who recently posted a question on our work blog about reading favorites. And, I've been short on blog ideas.
So the main question I'm stealing is "What book(s) were pivotal to you during your formative years?" Without thinking about it too much, the books that jump to my mind are all ones that I think I read when I was between 8-11 years old, so I guess that was a "formative" time in my life. I also have not re-read any of these as an adult...partly because of time constraints but mostly because I think I'm scared to see how my adult self would react to them. I don't want to ruin the memory (so my description of these books could be wildly inaccurate).
"A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Mistreated "orphan" girl who gets all the goods in the end. It surprises me that I loved this book so much, as I've never really been into the classics, but I remember reading it over and over when I was about 8 and couldn't sleep. Ironically, this may have led to my aversion for stories with institutional settings, as it take places in a boarding school. I think I hit my boarding school story quota early in life. Now that I think about it, I wonder if OD'ing on "A Little Princess" is the reason I'm not a fan of Victorian settings.
"A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeline L'Engle. Christian science fiction adventure romance. This was another book that I would binge-read, particularly when I was scared during bad weather. I guess reading about Meg being brave while standing up to ultimate evil helped me feel like I could survive a tundra thunderstorm. And I'm pretty sure I found it inspirational that Meg was geeky and still got a boyfriend.
"Thomasina, the Cat Who Thought She Was God" by Paul Gallico. Reincarnated Egyptian goddess cat. I loved the ancient Egyptian elements and was fascinated and horrified by the girl's father "killing" her cat. Hmm, this book may explain why I have recurring dreams about discovering deceased pets (and sometimes mothers) that aren't really dead and have just hanging around in the basement. Another reason behind a personality quirk revealed! This blog post is better than therapy.
"Beloved Benjamin is Waiting" by Jean Karl. Bullied girl + cemetery + aliens. I thought this book had the coolest cover and title. I also loved the cemetery setting because as a kid because the whole family "helped" my brother with his job as cemetery caretaker one summer.
"Lizard Music" and "Alan Mendelsohn the Boy from Mars" by Daniel Pinkwater. Weird and wild science fiction for preteens who want to feel cutting edge. I just love the sound of the name "Alan Mendelsohn." And I remember reading these books while watching David Letterman.
"Ghost I Have Been," by Richard Peck. A spunky girl ghost named Blossom and some connection to the Titanic? Okay, I really don't remember much about this one but this was another cover and title I loved. I do remember reading this one at my grandparents and that it inspired me to write my own ghost story.
It does blow my mind that 35 plus years later, I still have sense memories of reading these books and how they made me feel (even if my memories of the actual contents of the books are lost in the mist of time). If my job as a librarian has allowed me to play even a small part in helping kids get connected with books that have had such an impact on them, then it's a pretty cool job (even with the side effects of buns and omniscience).
Love this post. Ironically, I just did a post on Wrinkle in Time for my Inspired by Reading creative book club and I can honestly say, don't go back and re-read! ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I definitely won't rush to re-read...I think my first choice would be the Richard Peck book, if I did actually take the time.
Delete"buns and omniscience"
ReplyDeleteWhat's more irksome is when librarians think librarians should just naturally know things.
I think being able to find answers is more impressive!
Delete