A little while ago, the Top Ten Tuesday topic, hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl, was about books with sensory memories: books that are linked to very specific memories (where you were, what time of year it was, who you were with, what you were eating, what you were feeling, what you were seeing, etc.). Even though I've read a ton of books in my life, I didn't think I had many specific memories of individual books that really stood out, so I didn't participate that week. However, after reading so many other bloggers' lists and memories, it sparked something in my memory and I was able to come up with a few of my own. So, here's the list I should have had that week!
Behind the Attic Wall: This is one book I distinctly remember reading as a kid, and more than once. I loved it so much I named my pet cat after one of the characters!
Nancy Drew: My aunts read Nancy Drew when they were younger, and my grandmother kept a lot of their old books. When we would visit, she would let my sister and I read them!
The Selection series: I brought this series on vacation with me when we went to Las Vegas last year. I thought it would be a fun, light reread. I didn't get much reading done on our trip, but figured I would get some reading time in on the flight home. Our flight stopped in Denver for what was supposed to be a short time (we weren't even supposed to get off the plane), but something happened, they made us all get off the plane, and we ended up being stuck in the Denver airport for HOURS. I ended up reading quite a lot during that layover!
Anna Karenina: When I went off to college, I didn't bring many books with me, assuming I wouldn't have a lot of time to read for fun, but I brought Anna Karenina, I guess thinking that because it was so long, I wouldn't need any other books. I distinctly remember sitting on the couches in the student center on a Friday night, reading it. Now that I think about it, I was kind of pretentious - I swear, I had friends!
The Almost Archer Sisters: I decided to switch careers in my twenties and attended my local community college at night to get my paralegal certificate. I would often get there really early because the parking situation was so bad, and I would either sit outside or in the library, eating Pop-Tarts for dinner and reading before my class. I didn't have many books at home, so I reread a lot, and I remember reading this book at least twice in one semester.
Playing the Game: Tom and I were in Baltimore for a long weekend, and we browsed for a bit in the Barnes & Noble at the Inner Harbor. I ended up buying this book, but the highlight of the weekend was Tom proposing! Even though I ended up not liking the book very much, I held onto it for years because it brought back a lot of happy memories from that weekend.
What is your favorite bookish memory?
I love how books and memories can go together! Seeing the Nancy Drew book takes me backto reading those and the Hardy Boys as a kid. I love those old covers!
ReplyDeleteI know, they're so fun!
DeleteNancy Drew! Loved those books as a kid. One summer I read a lot of The Selection series - such a fun series that totally reminded me of The Bachelor. I have never read Behind the Attic Wall, but always wanted to.
ReplyDeleteIt's so fun to see how many people have read the Nancy Drew books! Seems like they were a big part of a lot of childhoods!
DeleteAww, that last one is cute. I usually remember the books I read when I’m traveling. I guess those ones stand out because I rarely go anywhere. :)
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Thank you! :-)
DeleteYes, me too - probably because I'm doing something outside my ordinary boring life!
Love that last memory! I visited the B&N at Inner Harbor about 5 years ago, but don't remember if I bought anything... I know my daughters did though.
ReplyDeleteThat was a REALLY nice bookstore!
DeleteAhh... I like the sentiment with the last book, too bad it wasn’t a better book. I have so many memories of books. I remember reading Tuck Everlasting in the fifth grade at the beginning of the year and to this day when late August rolls around, I recall the first passage of that book.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Heidi! Oh, that sounds like such a lovely memory!
DeleteLove all these memories! :D One of my earliest bookish memories was when I was 8 and we'd go to the library with our class and after that we had time to read so I was reading a book and the teacher came up to me saying she was impressed with my choice because it was a pretty heavy topic. :P
ReplyDeleteThanks, Stephanie! Aww, that is awesome!
DeleteSuch great memories, especially the book you associate with your husband proposing. Nancy Drew brings back a lot of memories for me as well. I always associate them with visits to my grandmother's house because she kept a set there for the grandkids to read.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Suzanne! Haha, did everyone's grandma do this?
DeleteNancy Drew defined one of my favorite childhood friendships. It was a girl, Sara Jane, in my elementary school class, who introduced the series to me. It broke my heart when SJ moved away.
ReplyDeleteAww, well, at least you have good memories of her! That's so sweet that you shared books!
DeleteWhat great memories!! <3
ReplyDeleteThanks, Erica!
DeleteGreat post! It's fun seeing the memories people have connected with books. You're allowed to read on Friday nights in college if you wanted to :-P Aww that's so awesome that you kept that book because it reminded you of the weekend you were proposed to!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kristen! Haha, I guess I wasn't invited out those Friday nights! And yeah, that was a fun weekend in Baltimore!
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