Books and Memories

Some books are linked with my memories. When I reflect on some memories, a certain book comes to mind; or when I talk about a book, a specific memory comes to mind. 

I remember always carrying an Agatha Christie around in my purse. I remember being at camp and just wanting to sit and read it instead of talking to my counselor or participating in activities. All the Agatha Christie book memories are a blur since I read so many of them. 

I remember sitting and reading The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner in one sitting in RuthAnn's room in my favorite chair. This past week I added a new memory in conjunction to the Queen's Thief Series by Turner. Starting at 2:00 PM, last Friday, I read The Thief, then went right into The Queen of Attolia, and finally straight into The King of Attolia which I concluded at 3:00 AM, Saturday morning. If I owned Conspiracy of Kings, I probably would have read that one on Saturday. Instead, I finished it last night since my copy had arrived. Will Turner please publish the next one? 

I remember finishing Emma by Jane Austen, for the first time, on the couch as people were talking and walking around. I was flat on my stomach soaking it all in frustrated with the noise but too engrossed in my book to stand up and walk upstairs.

I was in eighth or ninth grade, and my parents had invited a family over for dinner. The family had a daughter about my age, and I remember asking if she liked to read. She responded yes. I was excited to find another person who said she liked to read, so I asked if she had read Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, which was one of my favorites at that time. She just stared at me as if I was crazy for asking if she liked that book. I came to realize that she didn't read like I did.

I remember reading To Kill a Mockingbird on a trip to Pennsylvania to meet up with my Uncle Danny. I remember trying to continue to read even though it was too dark outside because I couldn't put the book down. I was in the third seat of the van sitting all the way against the window.

I remember on another Christmas visit to Pennsylvania laying on my cousin's bed as I read My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. That was also one of the first books where I wrote down my thoughts about the book as I was reading.

I remember reading Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers and furiously typing in all the great quotes in to my phone. Tracking your reading thoughts on your phone is not the most permanent ways to preserve those thoughts and quotes.  

Savvy and Scumble by Ingrid Law will always be connected as I read them back to back on my couch this year. I'll also, strangely, connect Gone Girl by Gillen Flynn and American Gods by Neil Gaimen with my awfully unpatriotic 4th of July since I read those two back to back. Thankfully, I started with Gone Girl and then moved to the much better novel, American Gods.  

I could probably continue to sit here and reflect over the books and memories which are forever tied to one another, but it's time for me to move on to other things this evening.

Which might include making more memories which will forever be tied to a book.

Or just memories in general.