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Top Ten Books With Sensory Reading Memories

Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted over at That Artsy Reader Girl!

Top Ten Books With Sensory Reading Memories

What a great idea! I hope this one comes up again!

1. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

Outside, on the way to a pep rally, nose buried in the book my teacher just gave me. Don't remember a second of the pep rally, just the bleachers underneath me, the smell of grass, and my eyes on the page.

2. Matilda by Roald Dahl

Sitting at the kitchen table with my dad, going over the math problem that Matilda's dad poses to his son, and Matilda answers immediately (Spoiler alert: Matilda had the right answer).

3. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan

Purchased at Tattered Cover in downtown Denver, and dug into on the hotel bed, between explorations of the city and the mountains outside.

4. Dawn by Octavia Butler

Pulled off the shelf in my dad's office, I remember sitting in one of his office chairs, my feet up on his extra desk, staring up at the whiteboard on his wall when I wasn't reading, while he worked.

5. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Sneaking into the bathroom late at night, pulling the book out from the cabinet where my mother hid it, reading my back against the bathroom wall, knees pushed up against the cabinet, until I was too tired to keep my eyes open, when I carefully replaced it, and tiptoed out.

6. All the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling

Reading aloud, with a pillow to my back against my brother's wall, a small boy leaning against me or slightly away from me, and a dog stretched out on the floor, ears cocked toward my voice.

7. A.P. U.S. History

In a tent, late at night, early in the morning, flashlights against the darkness, leaning on our elbows,
our bodies stretched out in sleeping bags

8. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Late, late at night, with the light on, frozen in my bed, hands frozen to the page, checking again and again that the madwoman isn't next to me.

9. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Off my parents' shelf, the hard cover and etched lettering sophisticated feeling in my hands, leaning back in the armchair, my legs stretched out in front of me.

10. The Torah

Tiny lettering, onion skin pages, to the sounds of the service, always reading faster and further ahead in English, skipping to my favorites.


Comments

Some really great choices! Reading any sacred text is a tremendous opportunity for growth and self-discovery. The Red Tent was such an experience! To even try to imagine life in that time or place is beyond modern minds, but boy it did a great job of trying to show us what it was like, didn't it? Great work!
@Lisa The Red Tent is a truly foundational work in women's historical fiction, and a fascinating story!

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