lost in a good book

i've missed it, tho i didn't realize how much til tonight.  i've always been a reader.  for as long as i can remember, books have been a part of my life.  the stories i remember from when i was little...

yes, that is a worm.  apparently they aren't scary when they wear hats and bow ties.

i remember my dad reading Gus to me, and that he liked toast & jam.  because of course i liked toast & jam, too!  : ) 

as i got older, i enjoyed these:

in 5th grade, our teacher banned SVH books for being "indecent."  i had up to an hour commute to & from school, depending on whose parent was driving, so i always kept a book in my bag for the ride.  one day, someone (jenny harris) decided to snoop thru my bag & turned in the SVH book that was in there to miss burns, who decided i'd broken the rules (!!) and kept it til the end of the year.  i was SO MAD!  i didn't know anything about illegal search & seizure at the time, but i certainly felt it was an injustice that something that my parents were fine w/ me having IN MY BOOKBAG was taken away from me.  pshaw.  *laugh* 

oh, nancy drew & the hardy boys.  i still love them!  did you know there used to be a hardy boys tv series?  it starred these guys:

yeah, dreamy, i know!  LOL  i had a huge crush on parker stevenson (in blue).  idk who the pretty boy is in red.  *laugh* 

ooh, another 5th grade story here - we went to florida, and my dad took me to waldenbooks so i could pick out some books for the trip.  i found what looked like a very interesting book, and it turned out to be the beginning of a wonderful relationship between me and Mr. Christopher Pike.  (btw, THIS is probably the book miss burns should have been concerned about me reading...way more teenage shenanigans in his books than SVH!!)

i've had 7 copies of this book so far - everyone liked to borrow my books (i had a library in my locker in HS) & sometimes they didn't survive so well.  speaking of HS, my friend carol really nurtured my love of reading.  she was a sophmore when i was in 7th grade, and she was allowed to read *gasp* romances.  i know, shocking, right?  that was it for me, tho.  i'd read a couple johanna lindsey's, and loved them, and she had practically every book johanna had ever written.  dad of course had me reading stephen king, and my aunts pointed me in the direct of dean koontz.  this is still one of my all time favorite time travel stories, and is another book that i've had several copies of due to ppl borrowing it.  : )  

 

i can read a story over & over again, never tiring of it.  a good story - like Lightning or Slumber Party or Sherrilyn Kenyon's Born of Night - never gets old.  even if i know the ins & outs enough to tell you the whole story, reading it again means discovering something new, some subtle nuance or a line i missed during the other readings.  curling up with a good story makes me feel all warm & fuzzy inside, and when i find a book that i don't want to put down... it's just an amazing feeling. 

i love reading all sorts of things, still.  i haven't latched on to any one thing, altho i do tend to be very fond of authors.  there are some who i'll read everything they write and enjoy it, and others who i only enjoy certain stories of.  (that sentence is very un-grammatical!  is that a word?  oh dear...it's late, but you get my meaning, yes??)  stephen king is brilliant, but i don't like all of his books.  sherrilyn, on the other hand, hasn't written a book i've not enjoyed as of yet!  (ooh, okay, i have to take that back.  there is one i haven't been able to get into currently.  and it's a sequel to Born of Night, so it's really quite odd that i don't like it!  i normally adore connected books!!)  and i am very much drawn to romances, it's true.  even my favorite christopher pike books (because i don't like all of his, either) have romantic elements, even tho their main focus is spooky. 

i suppose, actually, if i had a favorite genre, it would be fantasy.  gods & goddesses, other planets, alternate universes that seem so normal but are just a wee bit off... oh yes, they hold a special place in my heart! 

what's your favorite story?  do you remember the books you read when you were little?  do you read those books to the children in your life?  i'm waiting for Gus to come to my mailbox.  i can't wait to read it to leyton, and i hope he enjoys it as i did.  tho, i know, i have to prepare for if he doesn't.  in the world of thomas and Cars, will he have the patience for a lonely ghost who loves toast?  i can't wait to find out!  : )

but for now, i really must sleep.  it's amazing how sometimes the thoughts flow so nicely!  goodnight & ta for now!