My bookshelf
This morning I made a list of six books I remember reading. I remember the experience of reading them, not necessarily the details of the books. I remember where I was, who I was, and what was going on in my life while I was reading those books.
I remembered reading Love Story by Erich Segal. It was the first book I ever read cover to cover in one sitting. I was nestled in a purple beanbag chair in my family’s living room. It was a hot day in the summer before my junior year of high school. Mom and Dad were at work. I was completely alone. The house was deafeningly quiet, and for the first time in my life I became so absorbed in a book that I lost track of time and space. The experience opened new possibilities for my reading life.
I remembered, too, reading Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, by Dr. Susan Jeffers. It was early January of 1989; my son was two years old. During those early years of motherhood, it seemed impossible to find long stretches of uninterrupted time for reading. So, on several consecutive Thursday evenings, my husband took over, and I went out alone to a nice restaurant. I asked to be seated away from other people and told the waiter I was planning to be there for a while. Sitting sideways with my legs up on the booth and my back against the wall, I ate slowly, nibbled my way through dessert, and lingered over several cups of decaf coffee. Week after week I returned, luxuriating in the quiet corner of the restaurant until I finally finished that book.
I also remember the book I read on January 15, 2005. I missed a connecting flight and found myself stuck in Detroit’s airport for an entire day. It was bone-chillingly cold outdoors, below zero most of the day. But the sun was shining brightly and I found a gate that was closed for remodeling. I plopped down in a generous patch of sunlight and pulled out a book my friend Jean G. had given me a few days before: The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitchel Albom.
I finished the book in its entirety just before boarding my flight to Lincoln, Nebraska. I made it to the hospital by evening and had a nice, long chat with Dad. I left when visiting hours were over, and he died unexpectedly a short time later. How could I not remember reading that book?
Sometimes we read books that change our lives. Sometimes our lives are changing and the books we are reading are part of the landscape that give substance to our memories. Can you think of six books that you remember the experience of reading? Comment here or send me an e-mail. I’d love to share a memory with you.
Coach Barbie Dallmann 
Ahhh, reading books, One of my favorite things to do. I learned at a very early age that reading helped me escape the realities of life. I could be anyone or go anywhere through a book. When I was 9 years old I had a terrible case of tonsilitis and read the entire unabridged version of Gone With The Wind in 3 days, curled up in a bed weighed down with quilts as it was winter in Connecticut!
Daddy retired from the US Coast Guard and we moved to Tampa, FL in November 1961. It was my first exposure to the bigotry of the deep south. As a military brat I was never exposed to bigotry. Everyone lived side by side in base housing, shopped at the commisary, went to the same churches and shared dinners on a regular basis. On the road trip from Connecticut to FL my head would pop up with “Are we there yet?” each time the car stopped. We stopped for gas in South Carolina; I had been napping for quite a while and when I woke up I had to use the bathroom. Mother pointed around the corner of the gas station. A few minutes later I returned to the car and asked mother if boys and girls had to use the same bathroom? You see, there were 3 doors, Men, Women, and others. It was then that my mother realized that at the age of 14 I had never known racial discrimination. I refused to go to the bathroom at that facility and Daddy had to find a rest area for me. Thus began my introduction to bigotry. As soon as we got settled went to a book store and got a copy of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, and cried all the way through it!
My youngest biological son was born in February 1972. By 1973 I was very unhappy and no doubt, suffering from Post Partum Depression. As much as I loved being a mom, my soul felt something was missing. ‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull’ was hot reading at the time and I read it. That book ignited the desire to gain knowledge in me and I could not put it out. In 1974 I registered for college and my life took on a whole new dimension. I earned an AA in Liberal Arts in just 15 months! After graduating I registered for the Nuclear Medicine program and earned a AS in Nuclear Medicine Technology. Twenty years later I finally completed my education with a BA in Psychology. That simple little book was the light on the pathway to my future.
When I was earning my AA in Liberal Arts I was introduced to Leo Buscgalia and fell in love with this man who was all about love. His first book, Love, was required reading for one of my courses. He hooked me in. So when his third book, Living,Loving,Learning was published in 1985 I had to have it! It was a collection of his most popular lectures and speeches. It was all about taking risks, being open to new experiences and ways of thinking. It taught me to accept every experience, good or bad, as moments where I learned something new about myself. It was the catalyist for my willingness to break out of my cacoon and begin trusting myself.
And finally, Five People You Meet in Heaven, in 2003. My dad died in 2002 and left just a terribly emply hole in my heart. I was an only child and daddy’s little girl. I had been asking myself why I had to experience some of the very painful moments of my life. I was asking God what I had done that was so bad that I deserved to face so many heartaches. I read this little book in one sitting. Yes, crying all the while. But for once, it was not tears of agony, but tears of gratitude for the people in my life who have made me who I am and trusting that someday I’ll see the whole picture.
Thank you Barbie for this opportunity.
My most vivid memory of reading, not the book but the experience, is The Mists of Avalon. I was lying on a blanket on a beautiful, golden afternoon in October 1985. I remember what an amazing experience it was being warm although it was quite cool and feeling peaceful and safe. I was just settling in during what had been a very hectic year in my life of studying for state boards and setting up a new office and moving into a new house and having a new house mate! Reading just for fun felt delicious and almost decadent. That afternoon everything was absolutely RIGHT with the world and I couldn’t have been more content.
I love love this idea! I’m going to ponder and get back with you about details. What a fun thing to remember!
Bravo!! What a grea idea:) I’m thinking!!!
Sent from my iPhone
What a beautiful post Barbie – thank-you. My first ever book I remember was the first ever book I owned and I still have it! It’s a red bound hardback cover version of Heidi. My mother used to read it aloud to me when I was about 5 – 6 years old. Just thinking about it transports me straight to my passion for travelling, mountains, snow and adventure. JD Salinger’s Catcher In the Rye, simply it is such a masterpiece and my fascination with why he stopped there…Shirley Maclaine, Going Within, because it was the best possible distraction whilst my 11 year old son was in theatre, undergoing a kidney operation: Shakti Gawain, Living in the Light, sparked off my own deepening spiritual quest and journey: Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love, because every word resonates in my heart; Henri Nouwen’s The Inner Voice of Love and Stephanie Dowrick’s Forgiveness and Other Acts of Love, for exactly the same reasons.
I have read and reread this one and so enjoy your writing. My best story on books is that the summer between my 7th and 8th grade, my mother threw (literally) the book “Gone With The Wind” at me and told me I would enjoy it….and this was when I could barely read paperback chapter stories, not what I think of as “real” books. But I took that whole summer and taught/made myself a reader. Haven’t looked back. I so enjoy a “good read” . ann