helenjoy

My start in the reading life? I was blessed to have a baby sitter who was a retired schoolteacher, possessed of an endless love for children and books. I also remember my Da always taking the time and trouble to read the funny papers to me.
Back in the day, my Ma's favorite hangout was "The Haunted Bookshop." It was a wonderfully musty... more »

My start in the reading life? I was blessed to have a baby sitter who was a retired schoolteacher, possessed of an endless love for children and books. I also remember my Da always taking the time and trouble to read the funny papers to me.
Back in the day, my Ma's favorite hangout was "The Haunted Bookshop." It was a wonderfully musty and cobwebby three story 19th century storefront in a usually foggy seaport town. I watched "Dark Shadows" in the afternoons so I was prepared to be tantalized by anything ghostly. The owner, a squat gray-haired woman with a semi-froggy voice, pointed out to me that "yes, we are haunted, but by the ghosts of great ideas." Strangely enough, I wasn't disappointed.
I can also remember myself as a restless pre-school child surrounded by my wildly sophisticated 11 and 12 year old cousins. They would sit quietly for what seemed like hours just flipping pages while I bounced from wall to wall, dreaming up ways to annoy them. One of them complained and the other one (very wisely for her age) said,"she hasn't learned to read yet. She'll be ok once she learns to read." At that, I wanted to join the sisterhood and have been happily flipping pages myself since then.
Now I feel blessed to remember 300+ books that I've read over the years-but I wonder how many more I've read and completely forgotten! My fellow members' bookshelves are bringing back many good memories. « less