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Top Ten Best Bookish Memories

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is "Top Ten Best Bookish Memories (waiting in line for a new release, meeting an author, or some sort of great experience with a particular book that was unlike others)."

1. The First Time I Went to a Harry Potter Midnight Release

It was for the fifth Harry Potter book, Order of the Phoenix, and my mom had ordered copies for my sister and me. When it was time to go, my sister decided she was too tired, but my little brother begged to come along. At that time, he could barely even read, but staying up till midnight was an opportunity not to be missed!

We waited in line at Borders (so sad!) and there were people passing out HP themed bookmarks and candies. My brother was totally impressed and was so well behaved that my mom decided to give him the book she'd set aside for my sister. The next day, my brother asked me to read it to him, so I started with the first Harry Potter book. He loved it and I was reading him Harry Potter for the next seven years!

2. Reading Harry Potter With My Brother

This kind of stems from the post before, but reading Harry Potter together was a great experience for both of us, it encouraged him to learn to read and it gave me someone to talk about Harry Potter with and we've even branched out to other books as well.

3. Reading Harry Potter at Camp

I was the first person in my cabin to receive the fourth book in the mail and I remember sitting on the porch reading as my cabinmates watched jealously. Soon, everyone received their copies and we had lots of fun discussing it!

4. Discussing Harry Potter at Work

The summer that the seventh book came out, I was working at a science camp, and the other teachers and I had one hour alone together for lunch. I'm pretty sure we discussed Harry Potter every single one of those lunches, it was one thing we all had in common.

5.Discussing LOTR at Work

The first summer that I got to help teach a workshop on modern fantasy for kids was especially awesome because every morning, the teacher I was working with and I would "prepare for class" with lengthy discussions on Lord of the Rings.

6. The Last Time I Went to a Harry Potter Midnight Release

I went to the bookstore (my brother came too) and ran into so many people I knew. We all had a good cry.

7. Getting a Letter from Elie Wiesel

When I read Night in 10th grade, I was deeply moved and wrote a long letter to Mr. Wiesel. Almost exactly a year later, I received a personal reply that I treasure to this day. I recently got to see him speak and am thinking of writing him again.

8. Meeting Margaret George

A year and a half or so ago, I got to meet Margaret George at the National Book Festival. She signed my book and I even got to chat with her for a bit. I was so excited, I hope I didn't scare her!

9. Meeting Gregory Maguire

I'm taking a little bit of leeway with the term "meet," I didn't personally get to talk to him. But I was in the front row watching him speak at the National Book Festival in 2011 and he was so entertaining! He also did a wonderful reading from his latest book, Out of Oz.

10. Receiving My First ARC

I felt like I'd finally "made it" as a book reviewer when I got my first free book to review!

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