Day 4,158—I am glad I found you (books)—

 

        I wish The Giver had been a better movie. The graphic novel was okay, but I remember it as one of the first books that connected with me as a kid. The idea that experiences could be captured and passed down made me realize the importance of perspective. I was outside on a park bench reading. I always walked outside to read, searching for a quiet spot where I could sit for hours. Sometimes, I’d move from place to place, dissatisfied with the comfort or noise.

        I knew I should look up words I didn’t understand, but I never brought a dictionary. I used blades of grass as bookmarks to remember the page with the unfamiliar word. This system didn’t always work. I often searched a page, finding words I wasn’t sure I knew instead.

        I spent a lot of time reading The Black Stallion Series. I liked the third one the best, and I recall being thrilled to borrow the movie version from the library and watch it. They centered around a boy and a wild horse. I tried to get into the Hardy Boys, but I only remember reading the first one. I liked the Boxcar Children books and the Berenstain Bears Big Chapter Books. The big chapter books were more like the Boxcar Children books than the ones for younger kids. Sometimes I would read my books into my tape recorder and listen to them while I went for walks. I was never alone when I had a good book.