The Accidental Collection
I've never considered myself an addictive personality. I'm a creature of habit, but I have no problem with change and don't have much trouble giving things up. I've even managed to give up chocolate before. Not permanently as I have no desire to bring about the end of the world, but still, I've been on the Hershey wagon once or twice. I'd still be on there if my co-worker hadn't given me that bag of Dove chocolates for Christmas.
Some people collect things. John Wayne plates (my sister needs an intervention), figurines (who in the hell wants to dust that much?), or maybe Harry Potter memorabilia (not naming names here). To me, collections are just stuff that take up space. They usually have to be moved or cleaned or stored, all of which requires time and energy. Two things I have very little of.
But if you ever see the inside of my house…errr…cabin, you'll probably notice that I do have a collection. Books. I remember when my collection consisted of five Judith McNaught books only took up one corner of my little nightstand. That was six bookshelves (and more years than I care to mention) ago and I'm seriously considering buying another shelf. Mostly because of the trip I made to the used book store (UBS) this weekend.
I never meant to actually buy more books. At least not regular Romances. I had a large bag of books to trade and after buying some YA for the daughter of a (former…long story) friend of mine, I was just going to carry the credit. I started with $20 credit and ended up paying the credit plus $30 for the very large bag of books now sitting on my dining room floor. Because, uhm, there's no place to put them on the current bookshelves.
There's something about a book that I can't resist. The chance to be somewhere else. To be someone else. To say things I'd never have the nerve to say or take a risk I'd never have the courage to take. But most of all, the chance to fall in love over and over again. That's why I read them and that's why I want to write them. And that's why Romances will never go out of style.
Why do you read them? Why do you write them? Where are some of the favorite places books have taken you? And if you're a writer, how do you decide where you're going to take your readers?
Books by the Crew
38 comments:
Ah. Books took me to Middle Earth. To the stars, to the Alaskan goldrush, Sherwood Forest, swinging through the jungle of Africa with Tarzan... To Ireland and magical places of pure imagination. (Notice I didn't include Middle Earth in the pure imagination list? I think it's really there!)
I want to take my readers into a speculative past and the challenges of a future. And hopefully...
*big breath here
...to a place inside of themselves that can actually feel and connect with what they know, and what they don't know they know.
BTW, Terrio...some years back I decided to set the majority of my books free. Free! To be read by others, to inspire the world, to share the magic... I keep so few anymore...
Tho with my memory fade, I may pick them up again and find them brand new!
Wow, a positive benefit from the mind fade... :)
Oprah moment ahead. (Just a warning).
Reading for me has always been an escape. I remember when I woke up at 3 a.m. as a very young girl with god-awful earaches and how my mom would read to me until the pain eventually faded. She did that without fail, and I still remember one book involving a young girl and bears, one of those big painting/story books. I always saw my mom and my grandma with a book in their hands and reading them. Trips to the library and bookstore were common. I loved reading; it took me away and I could imagine a world the author created. It was that simple joy in taking pleasure of being lost and forgetting about everything else. Really, I owe my mom so much for instilling such a love of literature in me. Although she did try to do that with my younger siblings with no success, so maybe it's also something in me, too.
I always wrote. I remember reading a horror story out loud and also winning two writing competitions when I was little (a local newspaper poetry thing where I got $5 and a classroom thing where I got a quarter, just enough to buy barbeque chips). But the second experience in the classroom was the more rewarding one---because I wasn't exactly the most confident girl you've ever meet. I was painfully shy, gangly (sigh, if only I was gangly and skinny now), and I had a very bad speech impediment of not being able to pronounce the middle "R" sound. (If I'd lived in Boston, it would have been a non-issue). But the stories were annonymous and all these same kids who laughed at me and caled me names laughed with my story becuase it was hilarious.
Dawning moment of realization there. If you can make them laugh, you have power. Sadly, I still was teased and tormented until my parents found a speech teacher who helped me correct my problem. Tons of life lessons there.
But writing for me was always something I did. Something that was as natural to me as breathing. I just loved doing it and kept doing it, even though writing wasn't considered a job and even though I tried to go into more acceptable line of work.
You know why I write? It's not because I can't imagine a day without writing. It's because I CAN imagine a day without writing; I know what it's like to stifle dreams and not pursue them because it's too damn scary. Anyone who is a writer is one who says I know the odds and I'm going to do it anyway. I know what it's like to not have a voice and to shut away pain because "boys will be boys." I write because if I can in my 300 plus page story take someone away from their problems, from their cares, and get them lost in a good book and make them hope, then that's all worth it. I write because it's who I am, and life without writing is not as bright and colorful and hopeful as one with writing in it.
Ah-men!
I know most people spell it Amen but many also pronounce it my way. After yesterdays blog and John Wayne today it seems more appropriate. *g*
Terri, I think that I agree with everything you say today. Even your experience in UBSs matches my own.
Amazingly I'm also in perfect harmony with Chance(except for the Middle Earth bit!).
Before I put my foot in it and ruin everything I think I'll just repeat Ah-men.
Lovely Mon morning blog!
Sigh, Ely. Post that response on your own blog where I can get weepy again. XXOO.
Cannot possibly add to that, except that I stopped reading romances for decades. Now sometimes I stop reading them for days, annoyed by one silly convention or another. But I still have to write, not because I have something profound to say---except that a lot of things can be made better with love, even if it comes hard for the characters on the page and even harder for you.
Hmm. "Comes hard" is probably not the best phrase here, LOL. Life is a challenging journey, and we all need a little help.
Great blog, Terri! I used to read just to escape. Not anymore. I read for lots of reasons now. I read to visit places I've never been (Ireland, Scotland), never will be (1800 England) or places I'd like to re-visit through someone else's eyes (the ocean, the mountains). I mainly read because it makes me feel - laugh, cry, sigh - and that has become such a high for me.
I write to get all these ideas out of my head. LOL I have scenes, dialogue and such going on at certain moments and it just seems natural to write it all down.
Ely - I had a mother with a book in her hands all the time also. It made it seem very natural to me to be a reader. I hope I'm passing that on to my kids. It's a wonderful gift.
Chance - Reading is such cheap travel. LOL! I'm not one for fantasy worlds, but I've been all over the planet through the written word. From Alaska to the Great Barrier Reef. I almost feel sorry for people who don't read that they never get to have these wonderful experiences.
About the book *collection*, I did part with quite a few books back in September when I moved. I gave several bags to the library, two bags to a friend of mine and just gave another to the UBS over the weekend. And I still have way more than I can handle. But then, there are worse things I guess.
Ely - That is such a great response. Thanks for sharing all that. I can't figure out where I got the love of reading since no one in my house read when I was a kid. We had a ton of childrens books, but I have no recollection of anyone reading to me. We never went to the library or to book store. But I can't remember a time when I didn't read.
The really great thing about your response is it gives me hope I'm doing something good for my daughter. I never thought about it before, but we are often at the library and we're always in bookstores. She knows that I write, she's met some big name authors (Eloisa or Nora ring a bell? LOL!), and she's even written her own stories. I hope someday she looks back remembers our world of books.
Q - Is it a lovely day on the other side of the pond? Kind of murky here, but no snow and temps above 40 so I'll take it.
I'll second that Ah-men. After I wrote this blog I realized I was preaching to the choir but I was in the mood for something light today. :)
Maggie said:
Life is a challenging journey, and we all need a little help.
AH-MEN! Thank goodness we have wonderful books and great friends to lend us a hand.
Irish - I think it's a frequent argument that reading about places and events isn't the same as getting out and experiencing them. But I say HOOEY! Books got me through HS alive, through my divorce with some semblence of sanity, and now through the ups and downs of single-dom. As much as I want to see the world, I wouldn't trade all those great stories for anything.
T,
I share your love for books. I've recently had the same credit at the used book store, and came home with a bag of books.
Books are a comfort to me. A way to escape or an avenue to find bits and pieces of characters or stories I add to the ones I have in my mind. I learn a lot about writing from books. I learn about writing voices,character devlopment, and flow. I also discover places I will never go in my lifetime. Right at this moment I am holed up with a Duke in the remote Scottish Highlands and he's having his delicious way with me. Thank you Anna Campbell:)
Ely, what a powerful post. Thank you for sharing. :)
I started reading because we only had two stations on our tv at home. And as I still can't tolerate stupid television, I preferred the company of characters in my head. My mom would buy/rent age appropriate books for me at the library or whatever, but I would breeze through them too fast and then end up having nothing to read but my mom's books. So I started reading Harlequins and historicals by the time I was in middle school.
Honestly, I'm with ELy. If it weren't for my mother, I doubt I would read like I do now. Or that I would have gone into English as a major or taught English at all.
I wasn't an advid reader until late in life. My reading started off with kids books. Reading to my friends daughter (savannah-6) when she lived with me. It has snowballed since. No thanks to my book pusher (terri).
I read to escape life, depression mostly. In the books, i can be skinny, pretty, the heroin. I can fall in love. I can be in the story, travel to different places and be a different person. I can even solve mysteries.
Terri has been a huge help picking out books she thinks i would like. She hasn't been off yet. She even pused me into reading Twilight and for that i will be eternally greatful. I am even picking up on some techniques (all the ladies in the office are reading twilight along with my sister in pa and a couple of youth in at my church. I have even recruited Terri's daughter into reading twilight.
Reading brings people together, bonds them in different ways, opens communications and can even be a good influence. Reading to me is about a lot of things. Adventures, escapes, friendships, etc. I am so glad i took the steps to start reading on a regular basis. My day isn't complete anymore unless i read.
My bookshelf is crammed full of books I've read and not read but intend to read eventually. Probably when I'm in the nursing home running over Lisa with my rascal. (My lone bookshelf in our room is overflowing and each shelf is bowing in the middle. I can hear little voices each time I walk by it scream... "Help me..."). I got told this weekend that I need to get rid of some of my books.
My retort out loud was, "You need to pitch your magazines. They are taking up my book space."
Then he rolled his eyes. "I do read them again."
"BS."
He picks up a lone magazine sitting on his dresser. "See," he says, holding up this muscle mag. "This one is from 97. *I* do read them again."
To this I laughed, "That doesn't count. You only read it because you were sick and I ignored you."
He doesn't know about the massive tupperware container underneath the bed full of books. I'll leave that surprise for when we move. LOL
I mostly read books to get out of my head. Reading is about the only Zen moment I get and in order to achieve even that slightest bit of Zen, I have to crank up the iPod and really focus. Like this weekend, instead of writing or reading, or doing the very neglicted housework (especially laundry) I crafted. I should've been writing. I should've been working on work or housework. But instead, I just chilled out a little.
I love books that take me for a ride. I'm an angst lover (I love to write it, I'm not big on being wrung through the ringer); so Pamela Clare's I-Team series always does the trick for me. There's an intense story behind the romance and mystery and every time I finish one of her books, I feel like the book has truly come full circle. The full circle is very important to me as a reader.
I collect: books, movies, the HP stuff Terri mentioned--and which she enables my obsession for by sending me HP action figures, pirate stuff--POTC and regular pirate gear. I collect it all. Except for the John Wayne plates...I don't see a need for that, really. But then I'm even contemplating culling my DVD herd for movies I actually watch...which would probably streamline my collection by at least a third.
And I love Ely's post. My mom too instilled a love for reading at an early age. And when her eyesight got bad at the end, I would read parts of my books to her, of the stuff I was laughing at, and she'd laugh too. (I also had to go to a speech therapist...but I forget for which letter. Probably all of them. There was a reason why I was so quiet when I was younger.)
Lisa - I too learn from the books I read, but I almost long for the days when I could read without dissecting the prose. When I could enjoy a book for the sake of entertainment alone and not get pulled out because the characterization feels wrong or some phrase is left dangling. That's why I love books like the ones Anna writes. NOTHING pulls me out of an Anna book.
Marn - Another mom to thank. This is really starting to bother me now. I can't for the life of me remember where I got my books. How did I find the young adult romances? Huh. They had to come from somewhere. I may have to consult my mother on this. LOL!
Sin - He re-reads magazines? Has he heard that they actually publish new magazines every month? You might want to tell him that. Thank goodness I don't have anyone to answer to for all my books. I don't re-read and don't even pretend that I do. But at this point, there are more books in my house that I haven't read than ones I have. LOL!
I too love angst. Gotta have it. Though at the moment I have enough real world angst to last me the rest of the year. *sigh*
It's not good when you're book pushing victims start to show up on your blog. Yes, I've gotten Susan into reading. She reads faster than I do now, though she has more time for it than I do. I recommended she buy Twilight for the teenager who lived with her. I had no idea she'd read it and it would turn into the obsession of the year.
For Romances, she prefers the "closed door" variety but she'll read Lora Leigh's Navy Seals. Go figure. LOL!
Captain - I really wasn't naming names. LOL! But that Harry figure was too cute. I couldn't not send it to you. So how are all the collectibles fitting in the new place? Is there a pirate room? And an HP room?
My sister really has the John Wayne plates. Our grandfather looked very much like Mr. Wayne and I believe that's why she gets them. She also has a million Tiggers (of all shapes and forms) and those dolls you order from magazines. She bought any doll with a western theme many years ago, but I think she's stopped that now. Talk about dust collectors.
I learned to love reading from my mom and my babsitter (she was like a mom, and I was with her for 9 years). Both of them would read to me when I was little, and both often had a book in hand.
Then I remember reading Sweet Valley High, The Girls of Canby Hall, and a variety of YA historicals-all the titles were girls names Amanda, Heather, etc.
Then I read one of the historicals, and I HATED it, the heroine picked the wrong guy at the end. My mom still remembers how mad I was. Then I had to read a classic for school, and I HATED it, too. The author killed off my favotite character.
So I stopped reading. Cold turkey, not interested, nuh-uh.
I was driving my mom nuts on the two hour trip to my grandparents house. So when she stopped for gas, she bought me my first Silhouette anthology, and I haven't looked back since.
Thanks, Mom!
Di
Di - Another one for mom! And now the babysitter. I spent the majority of my youth with my grandmother and the only thing she got me into reading was the Reader's Digest. I do love that magazine.
Good thing you got back on track with the Silhouette. That's another great thing about reading Romance. There are so many choices. If one doesn't float your boat, there's bound to be something else that does.
Great blog Terri! And Ely, what a response!
I grew up in a...well, let's just say not-so-good home. I remember very little from my childhood, but I remember the books. I loved the escape reading provided - in high school I'd come home from school, lock myself in my room, and read an entire novel before I finally turned out the lights and crashed....only to start over the next evening. When my mom finally caught on that I was staying up until all hours of the night, she imposed a "lights out" time. So I'd start getting up earlier and earlier to read (hey, she never imposed a "lights on" time). By the time I moved out, I was setting my alarm for four am so I could wake up and read.
And now I write, mostly because it's the only way to get everything *out* of my head so I can actually think. *g*
Well, my bedroom is the HP room of course, because that's where the magic happens.
as far as collections go, terri will tell you i am the queen of collecting...Ornaments (i have 3 large trees and 5 smaller trees at christmas). movies, I love movies. Crafty things, you need it, I probably have it. stamps Yes, stamps but i haven't touched that since i went to high school. That was quite a long time ago. My mother continued the collection til the time she passed. Its nice to have something she worked on. i could go on and on. Terri says, i am a collector of STUFF. I took her diving with me one day (she was a bubble watcher) and I remember her telling me "Now I know why you like this so much, the object isn't to see whats under the water, it to see how much crap you can take in with you." The things i collect serve a purpose (rubber stamps, material, etc) or they mean something to me (the stamps my mom did) but isn't that the typical answer of every collector...Just like "but it's on sale"...
At some point in life, i will need an intervention!
I just had a moment and finally read Ely's post. We must have been cut from the same cloth. I always wrote or told stories at a young age. I was chubby and clumsy as a child (*sigh* not much as changed). I told stories in front of the class for laughs, and even today make fun of myself in light of my shortcomings. Now I write to escape. I have hopes and dreams that somewhere along the line some of the words I pen will make a difference to someone. It's not about fame or money, it's about giving back to readers what the cherished authors in my life inspired in me.
Captain - *snort* You've been saving that one up, haven't you?
Susan - You already need an intervention. One look at your garage should tell you that.
Lisa - Fantastic point! It's not about the money. I have no desire to be a *famous* writer. I don't even want writing to replace my regular job. I just like doing it. And it's a challenge to see if I can ever get it done.
Now, the feeling of making someone else feel what I've felt in all these years of reading, THAT would be priceless.
Hmmm, common cause! I had a speech ailment! Mine was a lisp and it lingered all through high school, but lightly. Did the therapist thing, too. Interestiing. Wonder if it means anything...
Q - You don't believe in Middle Earth. :( That is so sad... My Dad got all of us hooked on the books, the whole family read them. We all traisped off the the movies together... (granted I was the only one for multiple viewing) And I was so grateful my Dad lived long enough to see it completed.
I admit to a fair collection of LOTR stuff, including an Arwen on horse, with Frodo in front. But it is outweighed by me POTC stuff. And simple pirate stuff.
I don't remember learning to read. I just remember reading. And since I was the youngest of four, I read above my age level almost from the beginning. Wanted to read what my sibs were reading! Anyone remember Trixie Beldon?
I've heard of Trixie but I don't think I read her. I forgot to say I had speech therapy in my early years. I remember going out to that little trailer in the school parking lot. I think I had issues with the "th" and "sh" sounds. I guess it's a good thing the therapy worked since I spent 8 years being paid to talk. :)
Never read LOTR but I did see all the movies. The guy I was dating when they came out was all about them. He was also a D&D guy. I know, I never would have thought it either. But those movies were very well done.
I love this blog, Terri. Ely, your response was lovely.
My dad was a carpenter, and I can remember watching him make a table, understanding that he loved the feel and the smell of the wood and the "made thing" he crafted from it. I feel the same way about words. I love their sound and the shape of them on my tongue or in my head, and I love the "made thing" that I craft from them.
The first sound I heard, even before I was born, was my mother reading the KJV Bible and the Victorian poets to me. I can scarcely remember a time when I didn't read, and I have no memory earlier than ones of my mother or one of an assortment of uncles, aunts, and cousins reading to me. I can still remember the excitement of writing with a big pencil in one of those tablets with the dotted and solid blue lines and seeing on the page the words that made my first poems and stories. All these years later, my love affair with words is still going strong.
Trixie was the middle class version of Nancy Drew. Save that Trixie actually grew up during the series. My sis had them all and considers shooting herself now and then at how she let them slip away.
Thank you, Janga. I was in a melancholiy mood last night and figured I'd go with something simple. This idea came to mind.
I remember learning to read in the 2nd grade. I would read to my grandmother and she would always try to tell me the word before I could sound it out. Drove me nuts. Now my little one loves to read to me. And she's good at it!
But now I know why her first love will always be music. I worked in radio so from the moment of conception she heard music all day long. I'd swear I remember her tapping along in there.
I love that feeling of accomplishment after making something too. You're the only person I've ever sewed for, Janga. And I'm still proud of those little squares. :)
Chance - Never read those. Don't think I read Nancy either though. Odd because my first love was mysteries. I went right from Encyclopedia Brown to Sherlock Holmes.
strickly from a readers point of view, how the writers pull you into the story is great. There is nothing like it. To venture to worlds (fantasy or real) that you would never go is amazing. The cool thing is that each reader has a different version of the story. Each charater is tweeked to their imaginations. To be able to do that is talent. I don't know who everyone is on here but i am sure WHEN your books are published, I will be getting one as a gift (thanks to the book pusher - T). I can't wait...
T - have you been working on the story? I waiting :)
I'm not in the mood to write about falling in love at the moment. I'll get back to it. Eventually.
Phew, what a day!
Actually quite nice and sunny here in the English Midlands Terri, but so hectic.
This blog has turned into a real gem!
Sorry to have missed Ely, we must have posted together!
Its always interesting to hear what a massive influence childhood experience can be for later life. Sadly it is often effects of trauma that persist and distort and one can sometimes forget that the joy of imagination and books can also persist.
Chance, I loved Tolkien as a youngster, and I guess middle earth may have been real to me as I read the 'Lord of the Rings'. I think I identified with Gandalf the wizard. Now though, the magic of Tolkien is but a pale shadow of the fabulous microscopic real world as revealed through Quantum Theory. Who needs imaginary worlds when reality is even stranger!
Trouble is there is no romance at the quantum level, and that makes reading romance novels attractive for me. I like romantic fantasy, the entanglements of human characters and it does all become real while I'm reading it.
But back with my computer simulations, the fictional fantasy pales to be replaced by the awesome worlds of quanta.
Lisa, I also read Anna Campbell's book recently. I do hope Lord Kylemore does not have his wicked way with you!
Actually I could fly to the Cairngorms in about an hour to offer assistance. Just post here if it gets out of control! *grin*
At least your day is over, Q. Sit back and have some scotch. I bet you do some interesting and exciting sides of reality most of us will never know. Your enthusiasm for science almost makes me want to give it another try. Almost....LOL!
Q - I love science. Went to a private school when younger with a concentration on history, english and some math. But little on the science side of things. I took 'em all when I hit the public school and just loved it. Never saw it as a calling, it just fascinated me! Geology, Astronomy, Ecology... I took about every ogy there was.
There is magic in science, all in the perspective! It's magic to you!
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