Interesting. I read almost everything until high school, when we were assigned "The Speckled Band" and I became a Sherlock Holmes addict, spreading to Agatha Christie, and beyond. Then some classic Science Fiction--Clarke, Bradbury, Heinlein.
This is a really interesting way of thinking about relating books to various parts/stages of our lives. I never thought about that. I need to look into these books; your descriptions weaving the book themes into the portions of your life is a unique way to describe a book.
Joy, some of the books I haven't read in years, so I can't vouch for how well they've held up over several decades. I just know that they influenced me in some way. Thanks for reading!
OH, PS I grabbed Chapter 1: An Unappealing Meeting to read. I love your stories. I think you have an awesome sense of humor and are selling yourself short! I'm glad you took your daughter up on the challenge. I'm excited to read it.
You have saved me from myself PLENTY of times after reading my messy chapters. In that regard, I've been thinking of different ways to end Book 4 where Tommy is actually involved in the action (Taya, Ash, Sammie vs 50-cal). I just can't figure out how to do it without stealing the "thunder" from the women taking on that challenge.) If you by any chance recall that storyline and have any ideas, I'm OPEN for suggestions! :)
First, I want to thank Meredith for being so open and honest about her struggles. Sharing things that make us more real and vulnerable is hard to do.
I love the idea of picking a book that describes certain time periods in my life, but I couldn’t narrow it down that much. Books were everything to me.
I grew up being bullied by some of my sisters and rude kids at school from elementary through high school, so I loved the escapism of books. In elementary school, I loved Beverly Cleary's Ramona the Brave, Runaway Ralph, and Ribsy.
In middle school, it was everything from Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder to PG romances, but I don’t remember the titles or authors of those. I know that’s an odd start for a mystery/suspense/thriller author, but I got that fix from TV shows. I LOVED 80s detective shows: Hart to Hart, Magnum P.I., Simon and Simon, Riptide, 21 Jump Street, Miami Vice, and of course, Charlie’s Angels—until my dad, a sheriff’s deputy, ruined it by saying, “You can’t hold your gun like that. You’d shoot your head off.” So, I went on to get a degree in criminal justice to sort all that out and a minor in psychology because I’m fascinated by why people do what they do.
So to me, fantasy and sci-fi books were the real escape. I LOVED Star Wars and read all of the spinoff books until the Yuuzhan Vong started destroying all the worlds I loved. At that point, I bailed. I need happy endings because real life is dark enough.
After getting married, I read about creative magic systems in books like: the Dragonlance series, Terry Brooks’ Sword of Shannara, and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time.
When I became a mom, I began reading to my children when they were infants. It started out with the sensory books where the child touched something soft or opened a window to find a hidden picture. Those were a big hit and so were children’s versions of the Bible and Book of Mormon and other popular childrens’ authors. By the time my oldest was eighteen months, I could quote from memory a bunch of Dr. Seuss books. It’s been about two decades since I read them so forgive me if I misremembered, but I’ll give it a shot: ”Aunt Annie’s Alligator A. A. A. Barber, Baby, bubbles and a bumble bee. B. B. B.” My kids also loved the Magic School Bus, the Magic Treehouse, Hank the Cowdog. Later, Fablehaven and Harry Potter. Because I always read to my kids, my dyslexic son LOVES books. He now prefers audiobooks, but that love of reading never faded despite his challenges.
Now, I read mostly other authors' work for critiquing and/or research, so I don't take much time to do casual reading, but books are definitely still everything to me!
Thanks so much Meredith for giving us a chance to travel down memory lane.
"I grew up being bullied by some of my sisters and rude kids at school from elementary through high school, so I loved the escapism of books." I've read versions of this sentiment many, many times. Books can be a refuge and a source of hope for those in troubling situations. I think authors should keep this in mind when they write: that at any moment, they may be read by someone who is on the brink of a choice between life or death, hope or despair, and we should write in a way that helps them choose hope!
"Because I always read to my kids, my dyslexic son LOVES books. He now prefers audiobooks, but that love of reading never faded despite his challenges."
I loved this, and think it's very encouraging for anyone with dyslexia! This is one reason that listening to audiobooks does count as reading, despite what some people think.
Interesting. I read almost everything until high school, when we were assigned "The Speckled Band" and I became a Sherlock Holmes addict, spreading to Agatha Christie, and beyond. Then some classic Science Fiction--Clarke, Bradbury, Heinlein.
Cool! My school never assigned anything as awesome as a Sherlock Holmes story. You were lucky!
This is a really interesting way of thinking about relating books to various parts/stages of our lives. I never thought about that. I need to look into these books; your descriptions weaving the book themes into the portions of your life is a unique way to describe a book.
Joy, some of the books I haven't read in years, so I can't vouch for how well they've held up over several decades. I just know that they influenced me in some way. Thanks for reading!
OH, PS I grabbed Chapter 1: An Unappealing Meeting to read. I love your stories. I think you have an awesome sense of humor and are selling yourself short! I'm glad you took your daughter up on the challenge. I'm excited to read it.
Thank you, Kierstin! I appreciate you reading this. But then, you've read some pretty messy drafts from me before! :)
You have saved me from myself PLENTY of times after reading my messy chapters. In that regard, I've been thinking of different ways to end Book 4 where Tommy is actually involved in the action (Taya, Ash, Sammie vs 50-cal). I just can't figure out how to do it without stealing the "thunder" from the women taking on that challenge.) If you by any chance recall that storyline and have any ideas, I'm OPEN for suggestions! :)
First, I want to thank Meredith for being so open and honest about her struggles. Sharing things that make us more real and vulnerable is hard to do.
I love the idea of picking a book that describes certain time periods in my life, but I couldn’t narrow it down that much. Books were everything to me.
I grew up being bullied by some of my sisters and rude kids at school from elementary through high school, so I loved the escapism of books. In elementary school, I loved Beverly Cleary's Ramona the Brave, Runaway Ralph, and Ribsy.
In middle school, it was everything from Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder to PG romances, but I don’t remember the titles or authors of those. I know that’s an odd start for a mystery/suspense/thriller author, but I got that fix from TV shows. I LOVED 80s detective shows: Hart to Hart, Magnum P.I., Simon and Simon, Riptide, 21 Jump Street, Miami Vice, and of course, Charlie’s Angels—until my dad, a sheriff’s deputy, ruined it by saying, “You can’t hold your gun like that. You’d shoot your head off.” So, I went on to get a degree in criminal justice to sort all that out and a minor in psychology because I’m fascinated by why people do what they do.
So to me, fantasy and sci-fi books were the real escape. I LOVED Star Wars and read all of the spinoff books until the Yuuzhan Vong started destroying all the worlds I loved. At that point, I bailed. I need happy endings because real life is dark enough.
After getting married, I read about creative magic systems in books like: the Dragonlance series, Terry Brooks’ Sword of Shannara, and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time.
When I became a mom, I began reading to my children when they were infants. It started out with the sensory books where the child touched something soft or opened a window to find a hidden picture. Those were a big hit and so were children’s versions of the Bible and Book of Mormon and other popular childrens’ authors. By the time my oldest was eighteen months, I could quote from memory a bunch of Dr. Seuss books. It’s been about two decades since I read them so forgive me if I misremembered, but I’ll give it a shot: ”Aunt Annie’s Alligator A. A. A. Barber, Baby, bubbles and a bumble bee. B. B. B.” My kids also loved the Magic School Bus, the Magic Treehouse, Hank the Cowdog. Later, Fablehaven and Harry Potter. Because I always read to my kids, my dyslexic son LOVES books. He now prefers audiobooks, but that love of reading never faded despite his challenges.
Now, I read mostly other authors' work for critiquing and/or research, so I don't take much time to do casual reading, but books are definitely still everything to me!
Thanks so much Meredith for giving us a chance to travel down memory lane.
"I grew up being bullied by some of my sisters and rude kids at school from elementary through high school, so I loved the escapism of books." I've read versions of this sentiment many, many times. Books can be a refuge and a source of hope for those in troubling situations. I think authors should keep this in mind when they write: that at any moment, they may be read by someone who is on the brink of a choice between life or death, hope or despair, and we should write in a way that helps them choose hope!
"Because I always read to my kids, my dyslexic son LOVES books. He now prefers audiobooks, but that love of reading never faded despite his challenges."
I loved this, and think it's very encouraging for anyone with dyslexia! This is one reason that listening to audiobooks does count as reading, despite what some people think.