Books and Nostalgia
Books have always been a big part of my life, ever since The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Junie B. Jones. I have fond memories of reading in my childhood and getting really into the AR points at school. I grew up in the era where Pizza Hut would give you free pizza if you read a certain amount of books. And when I was young, my grandma actually wrote a children’s book about me, in collaboration with her friend who did the illustrations, called Izzy’s Lunchtime Adventure, where I eat alphabet soup and think of things that start with the letters until all my soup is gone. My grandma said they only printed a handful of copies and had a local book promotion event, but that’s as far as it went. The book is actually featured in my elementary school library still.
As I got older I started reading The Babysitters Club, Nancy Drew, and The Boxcar Children, and also lots of horse related series, including Thoroughbred, Heartland, and The Phantom Stallion. I read my first mystery/thriller in middle school called Deadly Stranger, and even that book from so long ago got me hooked on those types of books as I grew up. I even remember The Giver and The Outsiders changing my life at a young age, among some other books and stories we had to read for school.
I would say the end of middle school and all of high school was my most impactful period of time when it came to books. I discovered Twilight in eighth grade, and I know I don’t have to tell you how crazy every young preteen was for that at the time. I read every book, and I’m pretty sure I stood in line at every single movie premier. I discovered The Hunger Games series, which I read in a week or two, along with so many other literary classics - per the class curriculum - that I was surprised that I enjoyed so much too, including Pride and Prejudice, Animal Farm, 1984, Night, and Heart of Darkness.
The series I was most obsessed with in high school definitely had to be The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. These books kept me up reading into the wee hours of the morning in my bedroom back home and even brought tears to my eyes as the prequel series came to a close. Now I’m so overwhelmed and overjoyed that there are so many more books in this world that I still have to read. And to this I say, slow down Cassandra, but at the same time, keep ‘em coming. My mom also told me not to read Stephen King back in school, but thanks to my older cousin’s Eragon dust jacket that she lent to me, including a designated drawer in her room for my book to hide when I wasn’t able to read it, I was able to read Rose Madder, my first and still only Stephen King book I’ve read still, unless you count On Writing of course.
It’s been a mixed bag since high school, but I honestly love pretty much every genre that I’ve given a fair chance. I love memoirs about my favorite celebrities, graphic novels and books about the greatest and my most favorite animated show of all time, Avatar: The Last Airbender. I love inspirational books with little wisdoms and advice for creatives, and I’m starting to dip my toes in fantasy finally. Tress of the Emerald Sea has to be one of my favorite fantasy books I’ve ever read, but then again I haven’t read many others yet, except for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, which I’m still working on currently but should finish soon. Among the sci-fi and psych thriller/crime genres, my mind was literally blown by The Gone World and The Silent Patient, and I also loved Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I have yet to read every book in that series, but I definitely plan to. It made me laugh so much with its quirky humor. Soon I hope to get more into Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss too.
I just recently discovered Emily Henry, and I absolutely adore all of her books. I love those feel good rom-com style stories where I know exactly what’s going to happen but am always surprised in some way how the characters get there. So far I’ve read People We Meet On Vacation and Beach Read, and I just bought Happy Place and Book Lovers. Can’t wait to also buy Funny Story and binge read them all.
Some inspirational books that changed my life were the Steal Like an Artist series by Austin Kleon, all the James Norbury books about the big panda and tiny dragon and the cat that taught Zen, and Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. I’m about to start reading The Creative Act, and if it’s half as good and inspirational as Caleb described I know it’s going to be another very impactful experience.
In the meantime I still wait for George R.R. Martin’s epic conclusion to The Game of Thrones series, and Caleb is still waiting for Rothfuss to get his third book out. I continue to buy more books than I can even read to the point where I’m stacking things on top of my bookshelf now. And I keep getting lost in new and amazing worlds, never able to get enough and never wanting to return to the real world once I get sucked into an imaginary one. But anyway, here’s to many more books in my lifetime that inspire and excite.