Do you remember where you were when you read certain books?I ask because I saw this picture on Pinterest and it took me right back to my childhood and Amelia Earhart:
It was in the early 70s and I was in a new home in a new neighborhood, with a different elementary school, and spending my first night in my new attic bedroom. It looked very similar to this picture from Pinterest, except there was only one narrow bed and my flower-power bedspread and curtains were purple and pink with hints of turquoise and yellow. They were quite psychedelic, truth be told, made by my seamstress mom who could whip up anything on her Singer sewing machine.
The tiny room was so cozy. So cool. I’ll never forget the feeling of sitting on the floor under my very own reading lamp, back against the bed, legs criss-crossed in the middle of the giant orange floor pillow I’d asked Santa to bring me from last year’s Wishbook. Yep, it was my world, all my own.
I read a lot of books in that attic bedroom over the years, but it’s that first book, a biography of Amelia Earhart, that sticks with me the most. Maybe it was being the only person on the second floor, able to gaze out my small window and see the entire sleeping neighborhood, that made me feel somehow connected to, AE, the legendary pilot. Maybe it was just the room and the book ... I'm not sure.
There were many other books after that, Silver Chief, Dog of the North being one of my favorites, but it was downstairs in a different bedroom--okay, my sister's bedroom, long story--that I discovered my love of scary books. Come back next week and I'll tell you more about that.
And please, by all means, leave a comment and tell me about your book memories.
Till next time, stay cool and read everything you can while your eyes are young.
Ann Swann
Afterthought: I've got some books to give away ... stay tuned.
