Back to School: Reading Edition
In one of the many romantic exchanges between Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail, Joe Fox writes: "Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address." My mom texted me this quote last week and it's been on my mind ever since. It's back-to-school season, and I have books on the brain. The start of the school year always holds a special place in my heart, so when September rolls around, I have the urge to buy notebooks, pencils, books and book covers. As I have no assigned reading to prepare, I'm thinking back to the some of my childhood favorites. Here's a love letter to some of my favorite and most influential books that I read (or had read to me) as a kid.
From the Little House on the Prairie series, to The Trumpet of the Swan to Charlotte's Web to the Harry Potter series to The Cricket in Times Square, my parents spent hours reading to me before I went to bed. Whether the stories took us to New York City, the middle of Kansas, the halls of Hogwarts or a far off farm, I loved exploring these fictional worlds. When I got older, I started writing my own stories, inspired by the books I'd heard in my earlier years, and continued read everything I could get my hands on. One of the standouts was the Trixie Belden mystery series. My mom read the books when she was growing up and gifted some of her original copies to me, and I proceeded to devour the series. In them, Trixie lives with her parents and three brothers on a farm in upstate New York. Honey moves in to the mansion next store and she and Trixie meet and become best friends. They meet Jim who has run away from home, and with him, they all form the Bob-Whites of the Glen. With their special secret whistle signals, trips and constant travels, I would disappear in the pages and go on adventures with Trixie and the rest of the crew.
I also worked my way through most of Andrew Clements' books, but my all time favorite was The School Story. In it, 12-year-old Natalie writes a book and secretly submits it to the publishing house (with help from her best friend Zoe) where her mother works. The book discussed the writing and editing process in a way I'd never seen from a children's book and it was one of the first ones that truly inspired me to write. I also remember becoming obsessed with Sharon Creech's Absolutely Normal Chaos, which I read while I was in a before-school creative writing club. I was fascinated by the different characters in Sharon Creech's story, which centered on Mary Lou Finney, who is required to keep a journal and read The Odyssey over the summer, and her family members, and strived to emulate her style.
Some people had Judy Blume, I had Meg Cabot. You may know Meg as the author of The Princess Diaries series, which is actually a lot different than the movie version of the story (I love both, obviously!). She also penned Avalon High, Teen Idol, All American Girl and many, many more. As I got older, I read pretty much every young adult book she wrote and started following her online blog to learn more about this dynamic author, who wrote about feminism and filled her stories with strong female characters and intricate friendships. My favorites, of course, were in the Princess series, which chronicled Mia's high school adventures, Star Wars references, her insecurities, struggles with her grandmother, love life and friendships, all through her diary entries. I was particularly impressed with the way Meg wrote to her audience. She never talked down to us as teenagers and always wrote about real issues. Despite being about a royal teen, it's one of the most relatable portrayals of growing up as a high schooler, and I re-read the books over and over.
Do you have a favorite book from your childhood? Was there a story that inspired you? A memory of reading that particularly stands out? Reply to this newsletter with some of your favorites, and I'll include a rundown in next week's issue!
As Seen on Screen
Reading can be a quiet task that isn't always glamorous to portray on screen, so it's always exciting when bookworms make their way to the forefront of a TV show or movie. Here are a few of my favorite readers:
No list of bookworms would be complete without Rory Gilmore. TV shows rarely glorify introverted characters, but on Gilmore Girls, Rory is celebrated for her love of reading and tendency to stay inside with a good book instead of going out. In one episode, she packs her backpack so full of reading material that it barely fits. In case you're looking for Rory-approved recommendations, BuzzFeed compiled a list of all 339 books referenced on the show.
Jane Villanueva is a lover of romance novels. Her favorite author? Angelique Harper, who she has an awkward run-in with at The Marbella Hotel in season one. While attempting to give Angelique her manuscript, she ends up being mistaken for a masseuse and has to give an awkward massage. Throughout Jane the Virgin, she excitedly reads the latest stories and writes her own, eventually becoming a published author later in the series.
Another iconic reader is the brainy Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series. Always studious and holding a book in her hand, Harry and Ron would pretty much never accomplish anything if she wasn't helping them. From her Hogwarts history knowledge to her ability to quickly master all subjects, Hermione is the true hero of the series.
The original bookworm, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, was named a town outcast because of her love of reading and her eccentric father. But Belle marches to the tune of her own drum, and dances around town singing about her favorite novels and her desire to re-read the same amazing story over and over. Any bookworm knows that feeling!
Nora Ephron's masterpiece, You've Got Mail, is an ode to the magic of books and writing. Kathleen Kelly owns the Shop Around the Corner, which is struggling to stay afloat after Joe Fox opens a large Fox Books down the block, which offers plenty of discounts. As Kathleen fights to keep the store open, she exchanges emails with a mystery man (surprise... it's Joe Fox) about life and her love of reading. Throughout the movie, Kathleen and various customers talk about the impact the store and the books they discovered there had on their childhoods. It's magic.
Years ago, PBS came up with the catchiest song in the world. It gets stuck in your head so deeply that I still find myself humming it when I pass a library. Arthur said it best when he sang, "Having fun isn't hard, when you've got a library card." If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you've been seriously deprived from this gem. I also apologize, because you'll never be able to un-hear it again.
Required Reading
Another childhood favorite of mine was From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, written by E.L. Konigsburg. Smithsonian Magazine details the history of the book, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, and features interviews with E.L. Konigsburg's children. The book itself tells the magical tale of two children who run away and stay at The Met in New York City. I was instantly filled with nostalgia after reading the article, which highlights The Met's art and history artifacts featured in the book, some of which are still on display today.
To bring things full circle, we started with a You've Got Mail quote, it's only fitting to end with one. Vanity Fair published a tribute to the movie, featuring interviews with people who worked on it. In addition to being a love story between two people, the movie is a love story about books and the magic of reading, whether its notes exchanged between two people via email or a book you discovered at your local book store. I'll close things out with one of my favorite quotes from the movie: "When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does."
