(no subject)
My good friend Dr. Smarty Pants (aka Amanda Willey) posted a pciture with a quote from John Waters, which said:
"We need to make books cool again.
If you go home with somebody, and they don't have books, don't fuck them."
I, of course couldn't agree, simply because Howie is not a fan of reading. At all. And would like to continue to...anyway, he doesn't like books.
But I did comment on how I love my books, and how they have special meaning and memories, similar to people who get tattoos for special occasions.
I started looking at my bookshelf, and I did notice that this was indeed the case. For example:
Dune by Frank Herbert. In fact, all of the Dune books. When I was in 8th grade, my parents were going through a particularly rough spot, well, that was all the time, but I needed to go live with my brother and his wife for a time. I had to go to a completely different school at the age of 12, and it was scary and terrible. All of those kids had known each other since kindergarten, and at that age, hormones were telling them to be extremely selfish....
I was miserable. My brother, knowing how much I loved reading, dug into his college books, and found the first two books of Dune. I picked up the first one and promptly forgot my misery. Water planet! Sand planet! Spice Melange! I still today will recite the litany of fear when I feel a little anxious....
Watchers, by Dean Koontz, as well as many, many other titles. My ex-mother in law introduced me to Dean Koontz. It wasn't a bad time in my life. I was really happy, a good man and a great family. She and I just clicked over books. We would share, and trade thoughts about the books. She got me hooked good with Koontz. I have a huge collection, and I just can't give them up, even though I've read them all. He is the kind writer that grabs you and doesn't let you go. Even now, I can't wait for the next Odd book....
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. In high school, it was another situation of me going to a different school, in fact, in my senior year I attended 4 different high schools. This was the last one I attended, good ol' Santa Paula High. I was a miserable teen. If it weren't for a few great friends who made my loneliness go away, I would never had made it. But they also had their own lives, so in my down time was torture. Except I checked out many books from the library. This was the first one that introduced me to Adam's worlds. He gave me the power to travel though time and space and still laugh out loud. Thanks Doug.
The Bible-NIV edition. This was my rock during my Christian years. I've read it front to back three times. Maybe more if you count all of the different sermons, devotionals, and just searching I did. I'll never get rid of it. It has notes that I took like crazy. I thought God was talking to me through that book. Once I realized that it was just me, it didn't have as much impact. Even without that spiritual hook, it still had value. Not just in the recording of where I was at that time, but also in some of the beautiful prose, the entrancing literature that it is.
Touch the Earth-TC McLuhan. This is one of my prized possessions. My sister Carm gave this book to me on my ninth birthday. My nephew signed it as well. And in his six year old handwriting ended it, "your friend". So cute. It's a book about native culture, which she was trying to get me more information, trying to get me to accept my background more than I ever had previously. I was just too young to understand it, really. But now, I'm able to appreciate it so much more. Now the pictures and the words mean so much more to me. It is so beautiful.
Contact by Carl Sagan- In the early days of my relationship with Howie, it was apparent to me that he wasn't interested in books. But he was interested in movies. We knew Contact was coming out, so I wanted to read the book first. I'm sure Howie could see that I was disappointed that he wasn't a reader, so he let me read the book to him. We would sit on the couch, a most uncomfortable one at that, he would lay on my lap and let me read the book to him. How great a man he is.
There are so many other books on the shelf as well as packed up. Ray Bradbury (signed!!) Madeline L'Engle, Stephen King....my friends, my escape buddies. Jilly is a mixture between her dad and I, which is probably a good balance.
I love opening them up, smelling the paper, which stirs the cauldron of my mind, sending waves of memories, some calming, some as a reminder of where I've been. All are tattoos on my soul.
Now I want to get another tattoo....
What are some of your favorite books....and why?
"We need to make books cool again.
If you go home with somebody, and they don't have books, don't fuck them."
I, of course couldn't agree, simply because Howie is not a fan of reading. At all. And would like to continue to...anyway, he doesn't like books.
But I did comment on how I love my books, and how they have special meaning and memories, similar to people who get tattoos for special occasions.
I started looking at my bookshelf, and I did notice that this was indeed the case. For example:
Dune by Frank Herbert. In fact, all of the Dune books. When I was in 8th grade, my parents were going through a particularly rough spot, well, that was all the time, but I needed to go live with my brother and his wife for a time. I had to go to a completely different school at the age of 12, and it was scary and terrible. All of those kids had known each other since kindergarten, and at that age, hormones were telling them to be extremely selfish....
I was miserable. My brother, knowing how much I loved reading, dug into his college books, and found the first two books of Dune. I picked up the first one and promptly forgot my misery. Water planet! Sand planet! Spice Melange! I still today will recite the litany of fear when I feel a little anxious....
Watchers, by Dean Koontz, as well as many, many other titles. My ex-mother in law introduced me to Dean Koontz. It wasn't a bad time in my life. I was really happy, a good man and a great family. She and I just clicked over books. We would share, and trade thoughts about the books. She got me hooked good with Koontz. I have a huge collection, and I just can't give them up, even though I've read them all. He is the kind writer that grabs you and doesn't let you go. Even now, I can't wait for the next Odd book....
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. In high school, it was another situation of me going to a different school, in fact, in my senior year I attended 4 different high schools. This was the last one I attended, good ol' Santa Paula High. I was a miserable teen. If it weren't for a few great friends who made my loneliness go away, I would never had made it. But they also had their own lives, so in my down time was torture. Except I checked out many books from the library. This was the first one that introduced me to Adam's worlds. He gave me the power to travel though time and space and still laugh out loud. Thanks Doug.
The Bible-NIV edition. This was my rock during my Christian years. I've read it front to back three times. Maybe more if you count all of the different sermons, devotionals, and just searching I did. I'll never get rid of it. It has notes that I took like crazy. I thought God was talking to me through that book. Once I realized that it was just me, it didn't have as much impact. Even without that spiritual hook, it still had value. Not just in the recording of where I was at that time, but also in some of the beautiful prose, the entrancing literature that it is.
Touch the Earth-TC McLuhan. This is one of my prized possessions. My sister Carm gave this book to me on my ninth birthday. My nephew signed it as well. And in his six year old handwriting ended it, "your friend". So cute. It's a book about native culture, which she was trying to get me more information, trying to get me to accept my background more than I ever had previously. I was just too young to understand it, really. But now, I'm able to appreciate it so much more. Now the pictures and the words mean so much more to me. It is so beautiful.
Contact by Carl Sagan- In the early days of my relationship with Howie, it was apparent to me that he wasn't interested in books. But he was interested in movies. We knew Contact was coming out, so I wanted to read the book first. I'm sure Howie could see that I was disappointed that he wasn't a reader, so he let me read the book to him. We would sit on the couch, a most uncomfortable one at that, he would lay on my lap and let me read the book to him. How great a man he is.
There are so many other books on the shelf as well as packed up. Ray Bradbury (signed!!) Madeline L'Engle, Stephen King....my friends, my escape buddies. Jilly is a mixture between her dad and I, which is probably a good balance.
I love opening them up, smelling the paper, which stirs the cauldron of my mind, sending waves of memories, some calming, some as a reminder of where I've been. All are tattoos on my soul.
Now I want to get another tattoo....
What are some of your favorite books....and why?