Top Ten Bookish Moments

Christian, the author of Stuff White People Like

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, brought to us by the Broke and the Bookish, requires us to list ten of our top bookish moments. It was quite fun reminiscing on the influence my parents had on cultivating my love for reading and what it was like in college to be surrounded by so many wonderful opportunities to meet authors and try new reads.

1. Where It All Began: My mom read to me every single night and I remember her bringing me books that were on sale at a local grocery store that she worked at.  Getting new books was always very exciting for me.  I started reading from a book about Daisy the Duckling and I remember the first time I was able to read it back to my mom, it was an incredible moment for the both of us.

2. My Love for Harry Potter: One of classmates, Jake, received Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone from his aunt and luckily, we had a Scholastic book fair that week (I think I was in third grade).  It sounded like a great read, so I picked it up and we were off on vacation to San Diego.  I pored over those pages and finished it within two days.  I loved it and automatically asked my dad if I could get the second book.  I remember walking around Old Town and seeing a small bookstore with an entire Harry Potter display in the front window.  That started my love for the characters and that series.

3. Being Rewarded Through Books: Did you have the Scholastic Book Fairs during parent-teacher conferences? If you didn't, a ton of children's books and "first time" chapter books were on display and children, with their parents or guardians, would visit.  I did very well academically throughout my entire life, but for good grades I could always pick out books. I think my parents were more than thrilled that I loved receiving books for good grades.  I remember once my dad got me a Clifford book for being so good while watching a bowling match. The deal was for good behavior, I would get to pick a book and it was awesome.

4. My First Library Card:  At the Kenosha Public Library with a summer workshop.  My mom chaperoned and we walked the few blocks from the school to the library.  I remember signing my name on the back and then having access to all of these amazing stories. My  mom would proceed to take me to that library, and any one that I wanted to go to, quite often.  She was really the one who cultivated my love for reading.

5. The NeverEnding Story Bookstore: A long time ago there was an amazing children's bookstore in Kenosha called the The NeverEnding Story.  My friend Kerri's mom was one of the store owners and it was an amazing place.  It was filled with whimsy and great reads, something you would find in Madison.  I purchased most of my Harry Potter reads from there and since my optometrist was a few stores down, my mom would always let me pick out a few books whenever I had an eye appointment. I was pretty sad to see it shutdown, especially since the closest bookstore was the Barnes and Noble a half hour away.

6. UW-Madison's Bookstore's Half-Priced Bestsellers:  In the basement of UW-Madison's bookstore is a huge collection of bestselling books that are all half-priced.  I would spend many a weekend afternoon perusing through hundreds of titles and when Ryan deployed I would stock up on books for care packages from there.  I picked up my first copy of I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell from the bookstore and it opened up my eyes to crazy college boy antics...oh Tucker Max.
 

7. My Love for Small Business Bookshops- A Room of One's Own: I know a lot of my "bookish" moments cover small bookstores, but I could not cover favorite moments without talking about A Room of One's Own.  I used to dread making the trek in the snow to purchase books for my gender and women's studies class my freshman year of college.  Then I started to appreciate the personal experience I would get from the store and how it was different to support a local business versus a large chain.  I would find myself visiting frequently after payday to see what else they had in stock.  If you're in Madison, I highly recommend checking it out. There are also a ton of awesome stores in the area.

8. All that Glitters, or the Expectation that Boys Should Sparkle: Do y'all remember the Flair app on Facebook?  This was essentially before Pinterest and on your virtual corkboard, you could "re-pin" adorable little pins with sayings, etc.  Well I kept seeing stuff about this Edward character and it caused me to pick up the first book.  I absolutely loved it and despite the other implications a character like Edward can create, it reminded me that I should have higher expectations for the person that I wanted to spend my life with.  Now this doesn't mean that Ryan glitters in the sun or watches me while I sleep.

9. The Blogger Book Swap:  With 2013 being my year of opportunity, I came up with this idea for a book swap and it turned into a great event with over 80 people participating.  It has been such a fantastic journey and I've met so many wonderful bloggers who love to read.  I could not think of a better way to share my love for reading and blogging than having this be my first swap. 

10. Picking up a New Read:  I love to read and I love having a new book in my hand.  Now it doesn't necessarily have to be straight off the printer, but holding a book that I've never read or an old favorite is one of my favorite feelings.  That's the beautiful thing about reading, it's a new adventure in your hands.  I would love to write a best-seller and give that feeling to other people.

Thanks for Reading!