Books

So here's a random topic for ya, but have you ever thought about how books smell? I really must be a dork because I have certain books that when I'm in a bad mood (or good mood...depends...) I flip their pages and just...breathe them it. My favorites are East by Edith Pattou and the Lord of the Ring series by JRR Tolkien. Old books are usually the best.

I don't really know what they smell so good...and they don't have a word to describe them...other than musty and bookish.

One of my favorite memories as a little kid was lying down in the sunlight pouring through the library window in my old house. It kind of shone under the computer table so I was sort of under that too...I had a habit of crawling up in small places and falling asleep...so I grabbed this book called The Girl, The Dragon and Wild Magic (or something like that) and I fell in love with it. Just sitting there in the sun reading about far away places, magic and a life ten times more exciting about your own and still being planted in reality is so...surreal.

I remember explaining to my brother once why I read only fantasy books (I have since then expanded into other genres but the same reason goes). I told him that reading about the trees, reading about magic, the color, the sounds, just every little thing helped me to notice those things in my own life here in reality. I felt like I was living inside the story and even if I really couldn't, I could feel the wind, hear the music, taste the blood and gore of wars, the bitter and sweet revenges, everything enthralled me. :)

Another book I distinctly remember reading was Goose Girl. I don't want to give any spoilers but the end scene in the throne room just before the battle....ahhhhhh...it gives me HUGE chills - even still to this day just thinking about it :) The mental images sometimes just overwhelm my head: yellow dress, wind on the skin, flashing of swords, fingernails scratching, princes being heroes, geese boys saving the day... :)

Let me just say that is definitely a must read. The second book Enna Burning is just as good.

I remember the very first chapter book I read. I was so proud of myself :) It was The BFG by Roald Dahl. I read it when we drove across like all the U.S. to visit my grandma in NY. I remember to this day the weird drink he drank and the cucumber like food. Poor little girl in a pink dress kidnapped from her bed or something. :)

Oh! And then there was this rainy day that I was bored and I went over to my bookshelf and started reading Secret Garden out loud to myself doing all the accents. That can be SO much fun. Especially with books like To Kill a Mockingbird, where there are Southern accents involved. ANYWAY - back to the story. I was reading about Mary (Secret Garden) and the howling voices in the corridor and I remember creeping myself out and having to have to walk around the house and turn on some lights (being a rainy day the natural lighting was obviously lacking). I curled up on a couch and kept reading though. Probably fell asleep ;) as always.

Then another time, I started reading Eight Cousins out loud to my puppy, Jack. He didn't like it much...he decided to walk away. the mut. :P But I liked the book anyway, even if Jack made me read it out loud to myself like a crazy person.

So now that I'm done rambling randomly about books, I'll call it a night and happy blogging.

Kaylla