Thursday, July 06, 2006

• Internet Island 14.n

  Currently Listening Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band By The Beatles "Getting Better" and "Lovely Rita" see related

  Before I begin, I pretty much have to give thanks to Mike for such excellent prompts this week.  I'm guessing I was partially in mind when he thought to encourage (more) talk about books, and I am mentioned marvelously obliquely with regard to the clowns.  Thanks for making the time, Mike, and for keeping us all together.

  14.01: Books

  Mama is a book hound, a book friend and fiend, dare I say a book whore.  She'll read anything and everything.  She already has dibs on the privilege of purchasing my unborn babies' necessary tomes.  Naturally, my and my siblings' shelves were full of as many books as they were Legos and Fischer Price Little People (old school, of course).  It is mostly through her that I can remember some of my earliest books. 

  Between the two of them, my parents can recite the whole of Dr. Seuss's One Fish, Two Fish and can probably muddle through half of Hop on Pop.  The Lorax, Yertle the Turtle, and the Sneeches were all great hits in my family, but my favorite Seuss has always been Fox in Socks.  The tongue-twisters and illustrations keep me enthralled by the book to this very day.

  Mama is also a fan of Richard Scarey's books.  Scarey's the creator of such delightful creatures as
  Lowly Worm. 

  After the early reading stages, I progressed to other loves.  Frances Hodgeson Burnett's The Secret Garden was pretty good, but I still consider A Little Princess a favorite.  (For each book, you MUST pick the one with cover art by Tasha Tudor, whose book here I omitted in my list of "early books."  I fell in love with the E.B. White trifecta of Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, and The Trumpet of the Swan (in ascending order of preference).  I admit to reading Baby-sitter's Club books quite often, but I always returned to the classics of Roald Dahl (The BFG, Matilda, et al).  In addition to Dahl's wonderful children's books, I highly recommend his more adult literature.  Ghastly, quick, sometimes sexual and perverse, any Dahl is a delightful romp in summer reading.  I remember other classics - Ramona Quimby's good for early elementary school, and Lois Lowry's The Giver and other authors' Bridge to Terebithia, Tuck Everlasting, and From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.  I fell out of love with Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy.  The book was strange because it was orange, but I was excited to learn about dumbwaiters and things of that sort. 

  As you can see, I like books, too.  I'll keep 'em at that, though, and write about other books as the fancy strikes me.  Mike also gave us an option to write about the first or last movies we've seen, or albums we listened to.  I'll quickly tell you another anecdote from my mother - from toddlerhood, I used to watch Gone with the Wind over and over again... until the point (about 20 minutes from the end of the long movie) that Bonnie (Blue Butler) died when falling off her pony.  Then, so goes the legend, I deemed the movie over and either walked away or went to rewind the tape.  Music and CDs are several posts unto themselves.  I've loved Willie Nelson since before I was born, my mother is sorry for having "abused" me by introducing me to Elton John's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" before the Beatles'.  I grew up on Godspell and the Rolling Stones, Bob Seger and Bruce Springsteen and Steve Miller Band and The Doors and Cat Stevens and Jim Croce and Harry Chapin.  My first experience with the Beatles wasn't until about eighth grade, when Mama bought A Hard Day's Night and Sgt. Pepper's....  I learned most of their repertoire in the next two years, and they remain my favorite band.  My siblings and I branched out to more modern and more different music, but these classics still evoke strong memories and a sense of extreme familiarity and comeraderie.

  So I'm not getting to 14.02 or 14.03 today.  After this post, I don't know that I will.  Peace and summer treats to all!

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