My Reading Touchstones
Thank you to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Tara, Beth, Anna, Kathleen & Deb for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers.
I love reading posts on the Nerdy Book Club! I find new books and authors whenever I go there. I always learn something new. Donalyn Miller wrote yesterday's post called Touchstones. It's about the books from our lives that have been meaningful to us.
She talks about reading autobiographies. I have written my reading autobiography...multiple times. One time I wrote it as a poem (like a Where I'm From poem) and published it on the Nerdy Book Club....Reading and Where it All Began.
Every time I sit down to write my reading autobiography, it changes. The early books stay the same, but books and authors are added and deleted as I read. I love that even though I'm in my forties, reading still changes me.
Right now, some of my touchstone books include...
Books from childhood:
Chicken Little
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
Emily of New Moon by LM Montgomery
Current books:
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Carry On Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
How to be Here by Rob Bell
Brave Enough by Cheryl Strayed
Each of these books has touched me and changed me. The words have nudged me to think and wonder about the world around me and my place in it. These books helped me become more of myself.
Which books are your touchstones?
Which books are your touchstones?
I like that you used the phrase, "right now" because I think my touchstones are fluid.
ReplyDeleteWe share many of the same "current" books. Big Magic is my favorite. Isn't it funny how we have seasons in our reading lives, when one kind of book draws us near and holds us for awhile?
ReplyDeleteAn excellent topic to write about. I ame thinking that I need to spend some time thinking about what are my touchstone texts? Time to ponder.
ReplyDeleteLove this and I now have an idea for a future slice! My list is fluid (and endless). We share some childhood favorites!
ReplyDeleteI am reading Carry On Warrior right now, and wrote a little bit about it this morning! I read this blog post too, and it has me thinking about what is really sticking with me. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYes, it's the changing piece that interests me most. I wish i'd kept a journal of the current books affecting my life. Brilliant thinking today Michelle.
ReplyDeleteSo true - that there are seasons in our reading life. Both Big Magic and Carry On Warrior were recent reads and very inspiring. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI still re-read some of my touchstones. The early one was The Wizard of Oz stories, then Alice In Wonderland, then Mark Twain's books. As an adult, and what I re-read are Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury, Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck and My Boyhood and Youth by John Muir. There are a few others, but these never fail to inspire, Michelle. I love what you shared, still need to read Big Magic!
ReplyDeleteI read Doanlyn's post, too, and I've been thinking about it as well! I think Harriet the Spy HAS to be on my list (it's on so many teachers' lists--that can't be a coincidence), but I'm not sure what else would go on there. Clearly time for some reflection!
ReplyDeleteYou're the third or fourth person who's written glowingly about Big Magic, so it's officially on my list!
Thanks for adding to my reading list, too!
ReplyDeleteThis slice confirms to me that you are a reader in the fullest sense of the word. Thank you for sharing your favorite books.
ReplyDelete