TOP TEN TUESDAY | READING ASSOCIATIONS

This week’s post topic is books that have a strong sensory experience associated with them –  books that have strong association to a time or place or activity in your life. I’ve got a few of these, plus two books that were more evocative than associative – in other words, rather than remembering where I was when I read them, I remember feeling the place between the pages come to life around me as I read.

              

A Little Princess was the very first chapter book I read to myself. It was an incredibly frustrating experience, and if it hadn’t been for school, I doubt I would have finished it. But that effort has been richly rewarded because by the end of the book I understood the magic of reading and was completely sucked into the story. Without that, I don’t know if I would have become the reader I am today.

Fangirl I read during Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon a few years ago. It was a thick book (and the cause for my rule not to try those for readathons), but I have a very strong association between this book and a cosy day spent drinking tea and chatting intermittently with other readers on Twitter.

I buddy read A Little Life with my friend Julianne from Outlandish Lit. We would read a section and chat online about how we couldn’t even find words to talk about what we’d just read! It was tough going, and I definitely wouldn’t have finished the book without her.

I read Americanah last summer, and it’s one of the first large and intimidating books I managed to finish post-baby. I also have associations with her playing with the book, and it’s the first time in my life I’ve not only been okay with someone damaging my book, but actually became quite fond of the creases in its cover and pages made by tiny hands. It was a shift in my life and I’ll always carry a fondness for this book because of its timing.

           

I read And the Band Played on on a trip to Seattle many years ago. I have vivid memories of reading it in a hostel bed by the light coming through the window.

The Devil In the White City is one I picked up in the airport, again in Seattle, on my way home from visiting Chicago (largely because I’d just been there). I then read it on a red-eye Greyhound bus which turned out to be a completely terrifying experience!

In a slight shift, Cunt is memorable not so much for where I was when I read it, but for the reaction I had to it. I have rarely been as emotional while reading a book, or as grateful when finishing it. I barely remember the contents now, but I remember some of the connections I felt to what it discussed, being a young woman learning about how that changed my place in the world.

I Capture the Castle is the ultimate comfort read for me. I first discovered it on the recommendation of a friend in high school, but have read it many times since. There’s something about its twee setting and simple, character-based story that just feels so warm and inviting. I admit that as I’ve grown up it is perhaps a little less magical, however it will never truly lose its appeal – and I’m really hoping my daughter will want to read it (or, do I dare to hope, read it with me) when she’s older!

    

I read Under the Tuscan Sun in high school and it is the first travel memoir I encountered. It not only introduced me to a now-favourite genre, but it also transported me to the Italian countryside and made me feel that I could taste the food she made, smell the olive groves and feel the Tuscan sun on my face. It made me feel that I had visited somewhere I’ve never been and will always be a favourite of mine.

A Year In Provence is another book that brought a place to life for me, but more than that, it brought to life the people who live there. Mayle does an amazing job of creating on the page the ex-pat experience and drawing the reader right into it along with him. The frustrations of dealing with another culture, of navigating complex renovations in another language, and the wonder when this foreign place becomes home. Mayle just released a new book that is a look back on 25 years living in Provence, so I plan to re-read the original trilogy before diving into the new book!

These last two books are why you may find me, many years from now, in a run-down stone house that needs a lot of work and is full of local wildlife, trying to learn how to speak Italian or revive very rusty high school French! Share the books you have the strongest associations with or that made you feel like you were in the book. I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.