making contact
my grandfather would take us to the library nearly every time we stayed with my grandparents. i loved reading books from the young adult section but soon graduated to big fantasy novels and a horror obsession. but at maybe 13 or 14 i stopped checking out many books because i was reading more difficult material and i can be a slow reader. my attention drifts and i find myself rereading passages over and over again because i'm sure i didn't get it "right". this is actually a common thing and you solve it by using your finger and tracing your reading point. it sounds strange but it works wonders. only i didn't know that until much later. i also had and do have the tendency to stop and think about the material when i'm reading non-fiction. i had such difficulty finishing books and would usually have to return them unfinished which was no fun.
the point being is that at about 13 i stopped really taking books out and would just get armloads of movies (and cds). especially when we got to go to the "big" library which was the central Beaverton one (which was nowhere near as big as it is now). they had the best movie section ever and an amazing international section that i pretty solely rented from as the main section was much more standard fare. i watched most of the Criterion films i love before i knew they existed on VHS tapes (be kind, please rewind!). i wish i could thank whoever was responsible for that section because, while i already loved movies, it was what made me fall in love with cinema. it was also what made me lose a lot of money on fees because i would never be able to watch all the films i checked out and it was a bigger fine than for a book. i still checked out books, mostly things like art books and when i started to get political, a lot of things like Chomsky and some philosophy (i think in the 300's in Dewey?).
i don't have to worry about it any more since i have my own library now but my grandfather is the reason i'm such a reader. he took me to Powell's for the first time and i was in awe as well as Cameron's which is older than Powell's and was the quintessential 'old bookshelf" that smelled musty and was overflowing with books. they even had old pulp books in those rotating carousel shelves (not sure how to describe them) i need to go back there (it still exists!). he would take me to library book sales where i could pick out a box of books, i liked getting books about animals (i would draw the animals out of them) and astronomy. i remember when i picked out Dracula and he said, "are you sure you're ready for this?". he was a conservative, religious man but let me get it anyway. he probably would faint if he saw my radical poltics, sex / gender / LGBT, etc. sections but i wonder what he would think of my library and his part in starting my obsession. we had greatly differing politics and sadly, i let that get between us later in his life which is one of my biggest regrets in my life. i'm sorry for that grandpa. i miss you and i owe you so much for what you offered me, not just with starting my reading obsession but being a kind, wise man who always tried his best to encourage me to pursue knowledge. he would often quiz me about subjects and correct me when i could use a more "proper" word when i was speaking. i always wanted to impress him so amd loved sitting on his lap and hearing him talk about things. anyways, in trying to re-engage with real life,
i'm going to start journaling again and i hope you do too.
the point being is that at about 13 i stopped really taking books out and would just get armloads of movies (and cds). especially when we got to go to the "big" library which was the central Beaverton one (which was nowhere near as big as it is now). they had the best movie section ever and an amazing international section that i pretty solely rented from as the main section was much more standard fare. i watched most of the Criterion films i love before i knew they existed on VHS tapes (be kind, please rewind!). i wish i could thank whoever was responsible for that section because, while i already loved movies, it was what made me fall in love with cinema. it was also what made me lose a lot of money on fees because i would never be able to watch all the films i checked out and it was a bigger fine than for a book. i still checked out books, mostly things like art books and when i started to get political, a lot of things like Chomsky and some philosophy (i think in the 300's in Dewey?).
i don't have to worry about it any more since i have my own library now but my grandfather is the reason i'm such a reader. he took me to Powell's for the first time and i was in awe as well as Cameron's which is older than Powell's and was the quintessential 'old bookshelf" that smelled musty and was overflowing with books. they even had old pulp books in those rotating carousel shelves (not sure how to describe them) i need to go back there (it still exists!). he would take me to library book sales where i could pick out a box of books, i liked getting books about animals (i would draw the animals out of them) and astronomy. i remember when i picked out Dracula and he said, "are you sure you're ready for this?". he was a conservative, religious man but let me get it anyway. he probably would faint if he saw my radical poltics, sex / gender / LGBT, etc. sections but i wonder what he would think of my library and his part in starting my obsession. we had greatly differing politics and sadly, i let that get between us later in his life which is one of my biggest regrets in my life. i'm sorry for that grandpa. i miss you and i owe you so much for what you offered me, not just with starting my reading obsession but being a kind, wise man who always tried his best to encourage me to pursue knowledge. he would often quiz me about subjects and correct me when i could use a more "proper" word when i was speaking. i always wanted to impress him so amd loved sitting on his lap and hearing him talk about things. anyways, in trying to re-engage with real life,
i'm going to start journaling again and i hope you do too.