While perusing the web over the past few years, I noticed that there are a lot of nostalgia blogs, especially for childhood books. I have spent hours on end reading through these entries and commiserating. It feels good to know that you're not the only one who has mulled over certain plots or noticed continuity issues or just really really wanted to strangle some characters. If only you guys were around while I was 8-12!
I started reading at 2 and read everything I could get my hands on. By age 6, I was reading Judy Blume who became a personal writing hero for me. I got piles of books from the library, ordered from the book club slips that would come around in elementary school, went to book fairs, got books for my birthday and Christmas...nothing made me happier. I even won the MS Read-a-thon in 5th grade. Being able to do charity work for my mother's illness by reading? Perfection.
Naturally, being a young girl in the 80s, I was obsessed with the Baby-Sitters Club. I ordered them in 3's from the book club in 2nd grade ('88). My first was Boy-Crazy Stacey, then Claudia and Mean Janine, and Kristy's Big Day. I got Dawn and the Impossible Three and Kristy's Big Idea separately, and then I finally filled in Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls, The Truth About Stacey, and Mary Anne Saves the Day. I got Logan Likes Mary Anne! and took The Ghost at Dawn's House, Kristy and the Snobs, and Claudia and the New Girl from the library. I got Goodbye Stacey, Goodbye and was heartbroken. Then I started getting the books regularly as they came out (along with the Super Specials), with only a few from the library. By book 60, Mary Anne's Makeover, I was just done. I couldn't understand why the girls were so rude to her, and I had moved on to Stephen King by that point anyway. I didn't know what a ghost writer was, but I did notice that Ann M Martin was "gratefully" acknowledging manuscript preparation quite often.
Reading other people's blogs gave me the incentive to raid thrift stores, flea markets, and used on Amazon for books. The chain of thrift stores by me sells paperbacks for $.35, and I often leave there with at least four. I just filled in my gaps for BSC #1-13, and I am ready to cry with happiness. Those were the best years. That's when Ann M Martin really gave her all and created such thoughtful and fun books. I didn't mind Mallory and Jessi, but Stacey was my favorite and I missed her. Welcome Back, Stacey! made this young girl so happy. My mother always complained about Chapter 2 and the typical setup and description of the club members, but I loved reading all the clothing descriptions. Now I just gloss past it, as it really did get lazy. I never made it to when Dawn moved back to CA or when Abby joined, but I just picked up the book about Abby's bat mitzvah. She seemed like a character I would have related to. I don't tend to pick up too many of the books from the time period I didn't read unless they seem pivotal or interesting.
Don't get me wrong, I've been picking up plenty of other non-BSC books as well. My copy of Are You There God? It's Me Margaret is completely tattered, and I found my exact edition from 1986. Joy! I found The Pig-out Blues, a book I have been searching for over 15 years for. I found some more Sleepover Friends and giggled at the Sweet Valley Twins. I found old Christopher Pike, Fear Street, and old library books. One of my greatest finds was the same hardback cover of Anastasia on Her Own that I had gotten from the library. I wish Anastasia Krupnik was my best friend. Those books still have me laughing at 30 years old, perhaps even more so 22 years later. I even looked just like her!
I just read The Ghost at Dawn's House this morning, and I can't believe it's been at least 20 years since I've read it. It felt like yesterday! It felt comforting and warm. I plan on reorganizing my 80s-early 90s books in my shelf proudly and starting to blog more frequently about them. They won't be all BSC, trust me. I plan on definitely doing the first 13 and selective ones after that (probably mostly Stacey and Claudia). And there will be nothing about the Little Sister series here, I HATED Karen Brewer.
One series I feel is sorely forgotten is the Who Killed Peggy Sue series by Eileen Goudge. I have all 4 and will be having some fun with those! I swear they capitalized on Twin Peaks with that series in 1991.
Eee, I'm all excited. I have intended for this blog to be a mixture of topics for a long time now, and old YA lit is a big passion of mine!
Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Therapy: Like going to the gym for your brain**
I'm happy to report that I am now seeing a therapist to help with the grieving process. I feel there should be no shame in something so necessary. Therapy and counseling has been an integral part of my life since my father died in 1991. However, I was kinda burned with the process in 2000 and never really went back. I always debated whether to find support groups or books about being a caretaker or MS, but I never quite made that step. I had support from the lovely hospice group with my stepfather back in 2004, but I never made the extra leap. I figured, what better time than now! Lord knows that my emotions will go on a continuous roller coaster if I put this off.
My doctor recommended me to a very nice woman who works with the local hospital hospice group and runs her own private practice. She loves him too, so that was a big plus for me (I adore my doctor, he's just the greatest man). Our first session went well, and I look forward to this journey. I'm not going to hide the fact that this is very hard for me to deal with. I've never been apart from my mother, and this is just truly throwing me for an emotional loop.
It may sound weird, but I've been reading books from my "young adult" years again. That's something that I do every once in a blue moon, but it's been pretty intense lately. I don't see it as a sign of regression, simply revisiting my childhood years. And quite frankly, so many of these authors encouraged me to write. I don't know what I would have done without the presence of Judy Blume, Ann M Martin, and Lois Lowry in my young adolescence. I've found blogs, boards, and groups online where people discuss childhood books and lovingly snark on them and dig through thrift stores to find old copies they don't have. I've been thrift store hunting myself and have gotten some amazing finds (for .35 cents!). So many books I read were through the library, so my bookshelves are not as packed as one would think.
Anyway, I'd really like to discuss some of these on this blog. I don't intend to make it a huge focus, but it's fun to revisit old well worn books that I used to devour. (no, really, some are in tatters and quite fragile.) I actually think that this is me trying to find myself as a writer. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a manuscript that is easily readable and understandable while remaining entertaining. In fact, I think it takes a very talented author to pull this feat off. I'd love to some day have a book that is in well-read tatters in somebody's room.
**The title was a quote from an Alan Cumming article many years ago. Don't ask me to quote dates or publication, though back in 2000 I might have been able to....
My doctor recommended me to a very nice woman who works with the local hospital hospice group and runs her own private practice. She loves him too, so that was a big plus for me (I adore my doctor, he's just the greatest man). Our first session went well, and I look forward to this journey. I'm not going to hide the fact that this is very hard for me to deal with. I've never been apart from my mother, and this is just truly throwing me for an emotional loop.
It may sound weird, but I've been reading books from my "young adult" years again. That's something that I do every once in a blue moon, but it's been pretty intense lately. I don't see it as a sign of regression, simply revisiting my childhood years. And quite frankly, so many of these authors encouraged me to write. I don't know what I would have done without the presence of Judy Blume, Ann M Martin, and Lois Lowry in my young adolescence. I've found blogs, boards, and groups online where people discuss childhood books and lovingly snark on them and dig through thrift stores to find old copies they don't have. I've been thrift store hunting myself and have gotten some amazing finds (for .35 cents!). So many books I read were through the library, so my bookshelves are not as packed as one would think.
Anyway, I'd really like to discuss some of these on this blog. I don't intend to make it a huge focus, but it's fun to revisit old well worn books that I used to devour. (no, really, some are in tatters and quite fragile.) I actually think that this is me trying to find myself as a writer. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a manuscript that is easily readable and understandable while remaining entertaining. In fact, I think it takes a very talented author to pull this feat off. I'd love to some day have a book that is in well-read tatters in somebody's room.
**The title was a quote from an Alan Cumming article many years ago. Don't ask me to quote dates or publication, though back in 2000 I might have been able to....
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The most wonderful time of the year....
I may not know the joyous rapture of that classic Staples commercial yet, but fall will always be my favorite season. Though it may be the first day of September, this area is going back into the 90 degree weather for a bit, which really isn't helping my mood much.
I want to feel the crisp air and the smell of leaves and fireplaces beginning to reignite. I want to see the colors change and see the days turn into night faster. Well, I do miss the late sunsets, but even so it's ok as long as I get to put on my flannel jammies and curl up under the covers. I want to grab my favorite hoodies and go shopping for Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations. The farmers markets will be reopening along the road and we can gather mums and go pumpkin picking. I never actually carved a pumpkin until last year, which surprises me since I'm obsessed with the smell and flavor. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin Starbucks treats, mmm. And don't forget that evil confection otherwise known as candy corn. It's so bad yet so good.
What's really exciting me is that this year is the first my boyfriend and I will be living together during the fall. It's our favorite season, and he's obsessed with Halloween so we'll truly have a rockin' yard. It was harder when he was just here on weekends, but we still got a pretty cool pumpkin graveyard going last year. We were also more focused upon the Halloween wedding I was in and gathering the pieces together for our Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett costumes. Yeah folks, we're delightfully macabre. It's going to be amazing to share this with him.
While decorating the house, we found one of Van Gogh's prints Wheat Field with Crows, and it sums up much of the darker aspects about fall that I find so appealing. I look at it and see the howling wind, the deep toned night sky, the harvest pushing against the wind, the Gothic crows surrounding the scene. It's just beautiful.
I'm also particularly fond of the opening credits to the movie Halloween 4. Don't groan, it's an excellent representation of classic fall symbols! The minimal music was a wise choice as it showcases the creepiness of these simple blowing decorations, scarecrows, and farmland. It's really more of a Midwestern representation, but you don't have to live on a farm to feel the ambiance and a shared memory. Books, movies, and TV shows that one grows up with often makes Halloween and fall within wide open spaces of land and small towns. Fall feels beautiful in the city and the lights and colors play off brilliantly against the buildings, but nothing is going to quite affect you as much as the sight or memory of going to the Mom & Pop drugstore to buy your costume.
Fall and Halloween brings out my inner nostalgia and as I got older I also learned to appreciate the sensuality of the crisp, multicolored, yet dark and howling season. Many memories flood me, whether it's the good old days of trick or treating on a block where people actually enjoyed the holiday, going and looking at a scarecrow arts competition in a nearby village during college, walking through NYC on my way to the annual Broadway Cares flea market, or stocking the store I used to work at with our multitudes of Halloween merchandise and listening to the amazing seasonal and spooky contemporary music (that I managed to recreate on my iTunes). If you need me this season, I'll be sipping on a pumpkin frapp while watching slasher movies in my navy cableknit hoodie.
I want to feel the crisp air and the smell of leaves and fireplaces beginning to reignite. I want to see the colors change and see the days turn into night faster. Well, I do miss the late sunsets, but even so it's ok as long as I get to put on my flannel jammies and curl up under the covers. I want to grab my favorite hoodies and go shopping for Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations. The farmers markets will be reopening along the road and we can gather mums and go pumpkin picking. I never actually carved a pumpkin until last year, which surprises me since I'm obsessed with the smell and flavor. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin Starbucks treats, mmm. And don't forget that evil confection otherwise known as candy corn. It's so bad yet so good.
What's really exciting me is that this year is the first my boyfriend and I will be living together during the fall. It's our favorite season, and he's obsessed with Halloween so we'll truly have a rockin' yard. It was harder when he was just here on weekends, but we still got a pretty cool pumpkin graveyard going last year. We were also more focused upon the Halloween wedding I was in and gathering the pieces together for our Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett costumes. Yeah folks, we're delightfully macabre. It's going to be amazing to share this with him.
While decorating the house, we found one of Van Gogh's prints Wheat Field with Crows, and it sums up much of the darker aspects about fall that I find so appealing. I look at it and see the howling wind, the deep toned night sky, the harvest pushing against the wind, the Gothic crows surrounding the scene. It's just beautiful.
I'm also particularly fond of the opening credits to the movie Halloween 4. Don't groan, it's an excellent representation of classic fall symbols! The minimal music was a wise choice as it showcases the creepiness of these simple blowing decorations, scarecrows, and farmland. It's really more of a Midwestern representation, but you don't have to live on a farm to feel the ambiance and a shared memory. Books, movies, and TV shows that one grows up with often makes Halloween and fall within wide open spaces of land and small towns. Fall feels beautiful in the city and the lights and colors play off brilliantly against the buildings, but nothing is going to quite affect you as much as the sight or memory of going to the Mom & Pop drugstore to buy your costume.
Fall and Halloween brings out my inner nostalgia and as I got older I also learned to appreciate the sensuality of the crisp, multicolored, yet dark and howling season. Many memories flood me, whether it's the good old days of trick or treating on a block where people actually enjoyed the holiday, going and looking at a scarecrow arts competition in a nearby village during college, walking through NYC on my way to the annual Broadway Cares flea market, or stocking the store I used to work at with our multitudes of Halloween merchandise and listening to the amazing seasonal and spooky contemporary music (that I managed to recreate on my iTunes). If you need me this season, I'll be sipping on a pumpkin frapp while watching slasher movies in my navy cableknit hoodie.
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