I had the pleasure of visiting The Friends Of The Boca Raton Public Library bookstore for the first time this past weekend. As I wandered through the aisles of the bookstore and looked at all of the different genres, authors, and titles, I found myself wandering through the aisles of my memory reminiscing about the books I’ve read throughout my life, and what reading means to me. In the same way that hearing a certain song can bring you back to the first time you heard it, seeing books that I love brings me right back to the time when I first read them.
When I first walked in, seeing the prominently displayed Dr. Suess books brought me right back to the earliest days of my childhood when my mom used to read Green Eggs and Ham to me. It also brought me back to when one of my teachers used Dr. Seuss' Butter Battle Book to teach the class about what an Allegory is by relating the book to the arms race during the cold war. While I don’t remember exactly which of my teachers taught this lesson, I do remember being amazed at the hidden meaning in the book and thinking how cool it was to hide a message within the story. (I still think it’s cool!)
I then noticed the collection of Harry Potter books, and I was instantly transported back to sleepaway camp in 2003. I made my parents pre order The Order of The Phoenix so that I could read it the first day it came out to avoid any spoilers. My dad dropped the book off at camp and for the rest of the day I did not participate in any of the camp activities and I stayed up that entire night with my flashlight huddled up in my sleeping bag and finished the entire 766 page book in around 16 hours. I still remember that frenzied excitement I felt all those years ago and it even still lights that spark inside of me today.
I can go on and on writing about countless more memories, like how seeing books by John Grisham and Robert Ludlum bring me back to my bedroom as a teenager when they were my favorite authors and I would read every single night before going to sleep which is really where my passion for reading flourished, but what I have now realized is that if I were to write about every memory that I have that is triggered from a book, I might as well be writing an autobiography. Not only do I love to read but reading has been such an important part of my life that I can hardly think of a point in my life that I can’t associate with a book I’ve read.
So for anyone who loves to read as much as I do, I encourage you to come down to The Friends Of The Boca Raton Public Library bookstore and take a look through your memories. Comment below about your favorite books and what memories they bring up for you!