Sunday 19 May 2013

A Dweller in the Land of Books...

I confess that when I was little I wanted to be one of two characters, Pippi Longstocking or Harriet the Spy. There were many strikes against these ambitions as I didn't own a monkey (though one of our neighbours had one - it wore diapers and had a bad temper) didn't have shocking red hair, my own house, or in Harriet's case a series of mysterious circumstances to investigate - though I did spend a great deal of time wandering through the school playground staring down at gum wrappers and looking for clues. Books, from my earliest memory have been my joy, my escape and my salvation. I have never been a traveller but I could go anywhere and be anyone in my imagination. Even now...there are treasured favourites I return to again and again when I need to find a place of comfort and certain authors who have made me forget - for hours at a time - any petty worries that confounded me. Anything by Kate Atkinson. Gerald Durrell, Sue Townsend, Alice Munro...give me five minutes with any one of the complete series of Adrian Mole and I am rolling on the floor. Human Croquet, a Kate Atkinson masterpiece, has some of the funniest and most poignant moments in any book I have ever read. So here is to books - and the gentle souls who find solace in their pages.

4 comments:

  1. Perhaps it came from Aunt Cora's "hilarious" reading of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn to you and Karen. At least you girls found it very funny!

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    1. Too true! Aunt Cora had a great delivery...

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  2. Marg LeGuilloux20 May 2013 at 19:56

    I was sooo envious of Pippi Longstocking but now, strangely, I realize it never occurred to me to want to BE her. Perhaps not enough imagination. However I do recall wanting quite desperately to BE Elvis (the young version in the black leather outfit). I think that explains many things...
    Any book by Michael Chabon turns me into a bookaholic of sorts -- I actually buy his newest novel the moment it is out, and then let it sit there for a couple of days, so I can have the great anticipation of diving into it eventually. If you're ever looking for something to make you laff real hard, Michelle -- David Sedaris!

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    1. Ha Ha...you'll note that "Me Talk Pretty One Day" is on my list of favourites and while I have all of his books that is particularly hilarious!

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