words

View Original

first book post woot!

So this is where I plan on rambling about books, about what I'm reading and the thinks and feels that come from that. This will be an informal blog, wandering through fiction and non, to cookbooks, children's books, audio books, and occasionally to movies or television shows based on books. 

So here's a big question: where to start? How about starting where I first learned to love reading, at the doctor's office, that being the office of Dr. Seuss. Like so many before me and since, I fell so in love with reading through the pages of Dr. Seuss. The way he played with words, with their rhythms and their meanings, opened up parts of my brain I hadn't known were there. The way he could simply make up words whenever he needed them, and use them in a way that made it so obvious what it meant, like it had been a part of our dictionary since the days of Noah Webster, made me feel like anything was possible with words. The Cat in the Hat. Green Eggs and Ham. I even loved the obviously-laced-with-meaning The Sneetches and The Lorax. Bring it on, Dr. S., I thought, I'm listening!

My senior year of college, I bumped into a Seuss title I'd never seen before. Oh, The Places You'll Go! As I was wrestling with where to go from there, with how to make my way through the big, bad, post-college world, Dr. Seuss was there for me again, giving me advice and reminding me once again of the power I held inside myself as well as the power of words. 

It seems like words have always been a part of me. Reading has always been there to help me, lead me, teach me, comfort me, and challenge me. This reading journey started early, with the help of one of the most creative artists of our times. The journey has been complicated and complex, with lots of ups and downs, books that changed my life and books that made me long for a warm, cozy fireplace with a roaring fire to chuck them right in. But there are no regrets (well, not many anyway), and I can't wait to see what's next. There will always be more books to read, but there is only one reason: because books can take you anywhere you can dream. Oh, the places you can go!