Janice Campbell

First, I have to say that this is way too hard. One book? Books were my companions, friends, and greatest delight. Choosing one would be like choosing which of my children is my favorite. Not possible.

However, in the interest of being a cooperative community member, I’ll share the first favorite that I can remember. It’s a book I checked out of the library endlessly, and heard and read it so much that I pretty much had it memorized. It is Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are.”

I loved the monsters because they looked so funny and friendly and unmonsterlike. Somehow, I understood, even at that very young age that things that seemed like monsters weren’t always scary or unfriendly. It was comforting to me, and I just enjoyed each picture.

So… that’s my first favorite. I went on to love transformation stories of every type, from Cinderella to Under the Tuscan Sun.

Now, let the wild rumpus start!

Monday: If I were stranded alone on a deserted island with only seven books to read over the next few years, I would like to have…I’ve spent a remarkable amount of time trying to think how I’d get the maximum number of words in just seven books, but really, it comes down to content. Who and what would I want to spend my time with?Here is my list:

1. The NIV Study Bible
2. The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Norton or other annotated edition)
3. The Complete Works of C.S. Lewis
4. A History of the English-Speaking People by Winston Churchill
5. An Enormous Anthology of English-Language Poetry
6. A Comprehensive Annotated Atlas of the World (including star charts)
7. An Encyclopedia of Art (Gardner’s or similar– the most comprehensive available, including music)

In addition, I’d like an enormous trunk full of blank paper and pens and other art supplies. If Robinson Crusoe could snag all the useful stuff he was able to salvage, I’m sure I’d be equally blessed!I’ve enjoyed the exercise, and look forward to reading your choices.

Why? Why do I go through cycles of forgetting the library? I stopped by today to donate old magazines to the give-away basket and came out with amazing riches. The reading pile by my chair is teetering dangerously, but here’s what’s at the top of the stack:

Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession by Ann Rice

Flip! How to Turn Everything You Know on its Head –and Succeed Beyond Your Wildest Imaginings by Peter Sheahan

Discovering the Enneagram: An Ancient Tool for a New Spiritual Journey by Richard Rohr and Andreas Ebert

Talent is Never Enough by John Maxwell

What Not To Wear by Trinny Woodall & Susannah Constantine (I do enjoy these prescriptive tomes, if only for the delight of reading orders, then doing exactly as I please!)

And from the discard shelf, I bought:

Listen! The Wind by Anne Morrow Lindbergh (slipcased, like new, 50 cents)

Diary of a Left-Handed Bird Watcher by Leonard Nathan

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (nice trade paperback to replace ratty one I already own, 25 cents)

The Young Visitors by Daisy Ashford (Preface by JM Barrie, copyright 1919, Ashford was purportedly 9 years old when she wrote this, and it started out quite amusingly)

The Republic of Tea: How an Idea Becomes a Business–Letters to a Young Zentrepreneur by Mel Ziegler, Bill Rosenzwieg, Patricia Ziegler

There are more, but I haven’t time to list them. I need to get outside and read a bit in the waning rays of the sun.

Imagine that, though…nourishment for mind, spirit, soul, and body– all for less than a boutique cup of coffee. Not that I’d refuse the coffee. But the library has FREE BOOKS! Why do I keep forgetting that? Go to the library, people. It’s where the smart stuff is!

I’ve always been inspired by words. From earliest childhood, I’ve never gone out without an ample supply of reading material in case I should get stranded in some vast wordless desert. (Incidentally, I’ve observed that few things are as annoying to the impatient as the sight of someone happily engrossed in a book while waiting in a long line. This amuses me.) Words have immense power to transport us to other times and places, and they must be absorbed and wielded with thoughtful judgment.

My reading pile is always teetering (unless it’s just tottered). Some of my favorite books are Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s journals, Edith Wharton’s autobiography, Collette’s letters, Madeleine L’Engle’s Crosswicks Journals, and countless other stories of women who wrote. I love fiction by Edith Wharton, J.R.R. Tolkein, Victor Hugo, and others; and for fun, I read mysteries and magazines.

After two decades of caregiving, a time when I wrote for bread on the table rather than hyacinths to feed the soul (Muslih-un-Din Saadi), I’m turning back to my first love, and sharpening the tools of my craft once more. Non-fiction will still be bread and butter, but it’s time to unleash the muse!