Friday, January 9, 2009

hurty ick

Daily Stats:
Words: many choice ones
Caffeine: morning cup
Evil Calories: none...feel like utter poo
Reality TV: whatever happens to be on

When I was little, this was my favorite book:















Blossom Culp had me at hello. I can honestly say I still haven't read a first person narrative that has grabbed me as much as she did. Although, maybe we just can't get grabbed like we did when we were young. We're all old and bitter and unimpressed by everything. But I remember so well sitting in the library of my elementary school watching some show on PBS where a guy read a story and, at the same time, drew a scene from the story, and when I realized he was reading Ghosts I Have Been, I freaked. No one else in my class seemed to connect with this book, and I just didn't get it. For the early 80's, it was very edgy, especially for a YA book. All I'd been exposed to were books like Beezus and Ramona and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory.

I mention this because I woke up feeling like utter poo this morning. The kind of utter poo that makes you wonder if you accidentally slept on train tracks the night before. Everything hurt. Even my eyelashes. So, I spent the ENTIRE day in bed, which sucked because it was my one "mommy" day off. But, halfway through the day, I suddenly wanted this book. It's like I was seven years old and home sick from school (real sick, not fake sick) and just wanted my favorite things. So, with lots of moaning I dragged myself to the spare room, because I swear I bought it many years ago just to have in my collection. But it wasn't there. I was sad. Tomorrow I'll probably wake up feeling better and suddenly I'll be all grown up again and the urge to read it will fade.

oh, well...

What was one of your favorite childhood books?

7 comments:

Ray Veen said...

I don't remember what I liked as a child, but in middle school, I got heavy into classic sci-fi: Asimov, Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke -- all the big ones.

The book that sticks out in my mind from that time was 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' The book the movie 'Blade Runner' was based on.

Elise Murphy said...

Tiger Eyes by, Judy Blume. I just read it again recently for the first time in, oh, twenty years or so, and it was still so awesome, and I still cried in all the same places.

And I hear what you're saying about the kind of connection we make with books when we're young. I just read an interesting article in the Atlantic about the way teenage girls experince fiction: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200812/twilight-vampires.

Bryan B. said...

As a smaller kid, I really liked Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

I remember really loving The Indian in the Cupboard and Where the Red Fern Grows.

In a moment of embarrassment, I recently found a copy of some book I presumably bought in middle school/Late Elementary School called USSA. Oh, yeah - some Red Dawn action happening there.

I also liked those choose your own adventure books...but, I always cheated.

Sarah J Clark said...

I'm hugging you from here. Feel better soon, but don't grow up. Go get that book and snuggle it. Read it! Love it. Enjoy it!

My favorite book as a kid: Are You There God, It's, Me, Margaret and The Diary of Anne Frank.

Tracey said...

I hope you're feeling better! I'm not allowed to feel like poop. My dh is terrified of me being sick and him having to take care of the kids on his own.

When I was fairly young I read the Little House books, then I got into Judy Blume.

As an adult though I had a big sci-fi phase. Ray, you're the only other person I know who's actually heard of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" nevermind having read it!

Carrie Harris said...

I'm with Bryan on Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I bought it for my kid recently, and I think I enjoyed it more than he did.

And then there was The Westing Game. Good lord, did I love that book. I wanted to be Turtle so bad.

Elizabeth said...

Anything Judy Blume!!!!