Skip to main content

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!

Popular posts from this blog

Books with Single-Word Titles

Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl! Books with Single-Word Titles These are all my favorite books that I could think of with one-word titles. A lot of fantasy, a few nonfiction (minus subtitles) and Kindred , whether you consider it scifi or historical fiction. Also two portmanteaus using the word "bitter." I suppose it's a word that lends itself to amelioration. 1. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler 2. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore 3. Fire by Kristin Cashore 4. Heartless by Marissa Meyer 5. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini 6. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius 7. Stoned by Aja Raden (has a subtitle) 8. Educated by Tara Westover 9. Fledgling by Octavia Butler 10. Kindred by Octavia Butler

Book Review: The Speed of Clouds by Miriam Seidel

Book Review: The Speed of Clouds by Miriam Seidel *To Be Released from New Door Books on April 10, 2018* Mindy Vogel is haunted by the future. In frequent daydreams, she toggles between her real, wheelchair-bound life and the adventurous life of her fanfic alter ego, SkyLog officer Kat Wanderer. She's haunted by all that Kat can do which she cannot---belong to an organization of comrades, walk, and fall in love---yet. Because at twenty-four, Mindy's future is very much ahead of her, wheelchair notwithstanding. Through Mindy's "SkyLog" fanzine and related emails, Seidel evokes Star Trek fandom around the turn of the millenium, but also creates a new and compelling science fictional universe, similar to what Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl  does for the Harry Potter fandom with "Simon Snow." Mindy is among the pioneers transitioning fandom from print to digital, boldly encountering like-minded individuals from the comfort of her chair behind the monito

Books On My Summer 2024 TBR

 I've been fairly successful with my reading goals so far this year (40 out of 42 read!), but I still have some goals to catch up on or exceed (books by authors of color and women in translation). I've also got my book club books, and I'll throw a few new and/or summery titles into the mix for inspiration. Hoping to read many of these outside, basking in beautiful weather! Happy Top Ten Tuesday! Books On My Summer 2024 TBR She's Up to No Good by Sara Goodman Confino--This is technically for a book club, although I probably won't be able to attend the meeting.  I've heard so many good things about this one, and it looks like a good summer read, so I'm planning to read it anyway. Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia by David Greene (Book club read)--I already have it out of the library, but have to get on this one! It sounds very interesting but nonfiction usually takes me a little longer. The Edge of Lost by Kristina McMorris (Book cl