1/4/12

My life as a reader--a birthday retrospective, with never before seen pictures!

Today is my birthday, and I will be getting books, as I have for every birthday. To celebrate, here's a look back at my life as a Reader.

I have suffered all my life from people bothering me when I was trying to peacefully read. This is me at the age of two, being rudely interupted while reading Fox in Socks.

I was lucky to have grown-ups in my life who read to me (my grandfather, my mother, my father), although my father liked reading us scary books just to tease us. (I am the thumbsucker on the left).


Soon I was an inveterate bookworm, reading desperately whatever was at hand. This is me, age seven, in Portugal, reading a Ladybird biography of Lord Nelson. Why did no one buy this poor child more non-fiction? I had to re-read Lord Nelson about twenty times, and am bitter to think of all the knowledge I could have painlessly absorbed. The cat is named Mitzi.

Here's another picture from Portugal, to give Satchel, the dog, a place here too, even though it looks like my big sister is the one reading.

Then we moved to the Bahamas...where I bravely ignored the garish fabrics of the 1970s and managed to get in quite a bit of peaceful reading. Mostly Enid Blyton. I am ten in this picture, and I so badly would have loved an enormous box of the middle grade fiction of today.... there was no good library, and the one bookstore had a limited selection.

We spent our summers at my grandparent's house, and I looked forward lots to going to Arlington Central Library, where I would immediately pick out my favorite re-reads. Here I am, in the top bunk, during one of those summers.

And then we moved back to Arlington ourselves, and I became a sullen adolescent reader. This is me at the age of 13 celebrating Christmas with my family, clearly throwing myself enthusiastically into the fun of it all (not). It was the early eighties by then, but textiles hadn't improved much.



I spent much of the next few years reading to escape the trauma of growing up. The book I am reading here is Nobody's Garden, by Cordelia Jones ("Two very different girls become friends and share their secrets in a deserted garden that they discover among the blitzed houses of post-war London."). I have my own copy now, and still quite like it.

Then I went to college, and read as much I could to escape having to do the work. Here I am reading Gerald Durrell's How to Shoot an Amateur Naturalist.

No one bothered to take any pictures of me reading when I was in my twenties, although I did do lots of it....mostly re-reading. I would wander into bookstores, and nothing new would appeal...very sad.

In my thirties, I began to read aloud to my two boys (note: that's just a curl, not a dead rodent, on my cheek in the picture on the left, and we know longer have Thomas stickers on our living room wall, as shown at right).

But I have still managed to find time to read lots to myself (despite someone, naming no names, saying things like "I guess, Mama, you love that book more than you do your own little child....")


Here is a picture of me last night, reading The Jewel of the Kalderash, by Marie Rutkoski, well wrapped up in blankets and woolly sweater (our house is cold) with our current cat (Kitty) on my lap:

And that is my life with books. Thank you to anyone who has ever read me a book, given me a book (with a particular nod of thanks to my dear husband, for the books of this birthday!), sat with me peacefully to read a book, or, perhaps best of all, left me all alone to read in peace....

26 comments:

  1. What a fun way to celebrate --- happy birthday!

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  2. What a lovely retrospective. And happy birthday!

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  3. Aww. Well, I guess I fall into the category of one who has left you alone to read. So, you're welcome.

    Your pictures are adorable, and your MOM! She looks so much like your Mom, twenty years ago, or not. It's funny how some people change, and others don't.

    I love that huge reading sweater. Clearly, I need a sweater that doubles as a blanket as well...

    Happy birthday - may your 29th year be glorious! ;)

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  4. What a fun post! Happy Birthday!

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  5. Oh dear, I left a long comment and don't know if it will pop up again somewhere. So at the risk of repeating myself, happy birthday! And I like to think of us crossing paths at Central, although I never got to go as often as I would have liked and missed Nobody's Garden completely! Will have to remedy that. In the meantime, I'll leave you to your reading....

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  6. Aaaaahhhhh! Happy birthday! If I can find pictures of me reading, I may steal your idea, but my father specialized of people eating dinner. With their mouths half opened. Lovely. Your memory for what you read is great, too. And you need to find a copy of Lilek's Interior Desecrations. You just do!

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  7. Thank you all! I would love to see other people's reading lives, Ms. Yingling, so go for it!

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  8. Oh my goodness. What a wonderful post, Charlotte. I love all of your pictures and know exactly what you mean. People have been trying to interrupt my reading for years on end . . . :)

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  9. Happy Birthday! I loved all your pictures. Thanks for sharing them.

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  10. Man, I missed getting to say Happy Birthday in person. I'm sorry. You were just here. I love this post. The pics are fabulous. And I of course am especially happy to see the last pic. So sweet!
    And little tiny Ben too!
    HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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  11. Happy birthday! I appreciated this post, especially the sentence, "I have suffered all my life from people bothering me when I was trying to peacefully read." Why oh why do people expend so much energy getting children to read, only to fuss about doing something else when they *do* read? I promise that if you ever come to visit Seattle, you can sit and drink tea in peace, and I won't pester you while you read.

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  12. hee hee Bethany--it took me a while before I realized you were talking about the kitty!

    It is true that as I work in the upstairs sunroom I am imagining it as a place for a guest to read, but it is also true that there is a lot to be said for happy conversation with nice people like you are (I am sure this is true even for you all that I've never had the pleasure of meeting in person!).

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  13. Wonderful post! Happy Birthday!

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  14. Lovely! I can't believe you posted a photo of yourself on the toilet!

    Also, those bunkbeds are totally boss.

    And you reading to your kids - that is totally sweet!

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  15. Happy birthday, Charlotte!

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  16. Aw, shucks. That is so sweet--and really great! Happy B-day, Charlotte!

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  17. Oh, I missed it! Happy belated birthday. And I loved the pictures; thank you for sharing!

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  18. What a great post and how wonderful to be able to trace you reading life with so many photos. Happy Birthday!

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  19. Love all the reading pictures! I grew up reading in the car as we drove long distances across the Kansas prairies, so not a lot of pictures of that! Happy birthday!

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  20. Happy Birthday (a little late)! Your post is a good reminder that I should take more pictures of my own kids reading, especially as they get a little older. I have a few of myself as a young child, but after I reached middle grade - nata, nothing! Your parents, relatives, friends did a awesome job documenting your reading journey.

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  21. Happy Bookday to you Charlotte. Thanks for the story of your reading life.

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  22. Belated Happy Birthday, Charlotte! This is an awesome post. I loved the vintage pictures of you reading as a child.

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  23. Well, it's a belated birthday now, but I just came across this post via the Comment Challenge. I like the retrospective. :)

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  24. What a great way to celebrate your birthday and reading!

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  25. This is one of my favorite posts from you, Charlotte. To think you have such a complete history of your love of books! I wish I could say the same. And as belated as this is Happy Birthday! What a fantastic way to celebrate. May there be many more years of reading in you (and your sons) lives. :)

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