Your First Book and Why You Read

*日本語書き込み無し

As I'm an avid reader, I thought this would be an interesting exercise to participate in. I saw the questions posted on my friend Janet's blog started which was posted by a friend of hers.


1. Do you remember the first book you ever read on your own?

Digging far back into my memory, I can remember my second or third grade class in Grant Heights (Tokyo, Japan - what can I say, I'm an army brat!), where we would get to order books from some company for class. My mother never had any complaints about buying books (and encouraged me to read as well - and also made me read books in Japanese too!). Anyway, I cannot be sure if it was my first book or not but the one I earliest book I remember reading on my own was Eleanor Cameron's "The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet". It seems as if I had an early start on my road to loving science-fiction and fantasy, as this book was followed by Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time".

2. Do you remember how you felt?

I thought it would be really neat if you could build a spaceship with a friend and fly to another planet.


3. Do you remember a book that you read again and again as a child?

I'm also one of those people who does not read a book over and over again. If I read it once, that's it. However, there was one title that I do remember reading over and over again. It was when we moved to the States from Japan (around 1973). It seemed I had one book that I would take with me everywhere and never get bored of reading it. Unfortunately I cannot recall the exact title but I remember the contents quite well. It was a book about the seven ancient wonders of the world. I imagine I was the only sixth grader who could name all seven ancient wonders. Perhaps this book was the catalyst my love of World Heritage sites.


4. Why that book? Have you read it again as an adult? If so, was it like you remembered?

As I mentioned above, it was the only book I had before settling down. My father just retired from the military and we had just moved to the Seattle/Tacoma area. We were staying at my mothers' friend's house and that book was probably my only form of entertainment at the time. As to reading it again as an adult - because I cannot recall the actual title, I must say no; however I did buy two large coffee table books published by Skira on World Heritage Sites, "A Treasury of World Culture", volumes 1 and 2. And I am still mesmerized by places like Pompeii and Ayutaya (World Heritage Sites I've actually been to). I also recently went to the Grand Canyon (another UNESCO World Heritage Site). I never tire of reading about those places either. My ultimate goal is to to go Machu Picchu, Chichen Itza, and Victoria Falls!

5. Why do you read?

Oh my. Why do I read? It's relaxing, exciting, thrilling, and makes you feel a host of other emotions depending on what type of story you're reading. From the pure escapism of fantasy, to the cold reality of non-fiction. It enables me to travel the world without leaving the house (travel essays) It's informative (history, biography, other non-fiction), it's just plain fun (humor, children's).

Oops, I think I hear a book calling to me - so off I must go!

And finally - way to go Obama!!