Ten Books That Say Something

OK I am going to give this “Ten Books” thing a try. Remember, these are ten books that say something about me. It was hard. It is still hard, even as I sit down to write the list. I could easily add ten more. Maybe it should be an every Tuesday Meme. Zillions of books say SOMETHING about us, right?

1) Little Women – actually the entire Alcott series. I loved those books. I don’t remember exactly which year I got these as a gift or for what special occasion but I do remember how excited I was to have received an entire set of hard bound, no jacket, books. I loved those books, did I mention that?

When I left NJ, I somehow did not get all of my boxes returned to me. I got a few boxes over the first year after the move but the Alcott books never appeared. I thought the dirtbag sold them. Hope is renewed though, Jenn says she has a box that the dirtbag found in the attic…with some old books and Plain Gramma’s old radio… next weekend, these may be back in my possession. Fingers crossed, please.

2) Nancy Drew – I was a loyal Nancy Drew reader for many years – long after I was of Nancy Drew reading age. I’m still a loyal Nancy Drew fan and am often tempted to pick one up just for fun.

I was sad that my daughters didn’t develop a taste for the greatest girl sleuth of all time. But also relieved because upon reflection I can only imagine my parents frustration at having me buy a new book on Saturday morning and within two hours be begging for extra chores so I could make more money … and then money in hand, beg to be taken back to the store to buy another book.

My parents were good, they often indulged me in this and made trip after trip to the store on a weekend or a summer’s day.

3) Return to Modesty – This is the book I want to burn. This is the book I need to ban. That need says just about anything you need to know about me, doesn’t it?

4) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – I use to go to the library with my mom. We didn’t go every single week so it always felt like a treat – no, an adventure – to go. I remember wandering the children’s section and finding not much of a selection. I had a couple of books but I was of age that Nancy Drew wasn’t holding my interest and even if she was, I needed to buy those – not check them out. So I wandered into the adult section to find my mom. She saw the small number of books in my hands and decided we’d go in search of something better.

The gods and goddesses were smiling upon me that day because she took me to the “S” rather than the stupid “C” section and pulled out Betty Smith rather than Wilkie Collins. I should really believe in a higher being for that simple act of kindness he or she showed me.

My mom said that Betty Smith had been one of her favorite authors and she suggested I start with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn… I did, finished it fast, and we headed back to the library for more of Smith’s work.

5) Collier Encyclopedias – As a child, we had the World Book Encyclopedias, 1963 and those were great but the creme de la creme were the Collier’s. We had the 1967s. My brother and I loved them. The human body transparencies, woohoo that was fun. The paper, the quality of the paper, so much better than the World Books. The gold on the spine. The black and red. The embossed feeling.

TW reads the dictionary just because it catches her eye. I spent many a childhood rainy day in the living room not practicing the stupid piano but reading the encyclopedias instead.

I wonder if my dad sold those in the garage sale. I bet he did. HMPH.

6) Velveteen Rabbit – This is the book my mom had to read to me, over and over and over again. Long into the years when I could quite easily read it to myself. It wasn’t the same though. And I don’t recall my father ever reading it to me. Just mom. She read it a lot. Even though she was sick of it. She still read it. Not nearly as often as I wanted her to. But often enough.

7) My Darling, My Hamburger – Man the stir this caused in my middle school. There was one copy and it got circulated around the entire school. There were waiting lists and stuff. Sort of look bookcrossing rays or something. Today, I don’t understand why we (or at least I) didn’t just go to the darn Barnes & Noble and buy a copy for myself. Or why didn’t I go to the public library (our library did not have a copy, I do remember checking) and get it there? Probably because it somehow seemed elicit… a book our parents (and teachers, obviously since there was no copy in the library) would want banned. I made darn sure my kids had a copy of their own – and I don’t think any of them ever bothered to read it. What was elicit back in the 70’s certainly isn’t now.

8) Millions of Cats – This is my children’s version of “Velveteen Rabbit”. I have read this so many times, I have it memorized even today. Though I have not read it to a child in a good long time.

We moved to the Philippines when I was pregnant with Christopher and Jennifer was not yet 3. There were no bookstores off of the air base and the Stars & Stripes, as valuable as it was (is) and as much as I appreciated it, it just did not cut it. Picture a bookstore the size of a typical 7-11. A bookstore that couldn’t specialize in any one genre. A bookstore that had to meet the needs of a lot of different types of people. Did I mention it just couldn’t cut it? (and let’s not talk about the library… sigh)

So my mom signed Jenn up for a book of the month club for kids. Great club. Great books. And Millions of Cats arrived in our postal service center.

I remember when I opened it, I said “Oh, I remember this. Cool.” Famous last words. There have been many times when I have said “Ugh, not that again!”

But I love it, I really do. And I often buy it for kids that I know and love and kids that I don’t really know or love. And, we own 4 copies at the moment…2 hard back and 2 paperback. 😉

9) The Red Tent – Menstruation! The Red Tent! I love it. Is there any book that treats menstruation as wonderfully as this one? Any book that treats women gatherings as wonderfully as this one? I don’t think so, and that’s a shame.

10) Anthem – Forget The Fountainhead. Ignore Atlas Shrugged. Anthem is all you need. Short. Sweet. Right to the point. Ego is everything. Free will is all there is. Everything else is secondary. Reading Anthem was sooo what I needed at the time. It’s still a favorite, just because it was exactly what I needed in those rough years.

As I was writing this, I realized that I can’t do just 10… my list grew to 11 and then 12 and then… so expect to see additions to this every now and then. It was fun to do, once I actually got going on it.

meme, book lists