Sunday, May 22, 2011

The "First Book"

Being retired has given me the opportunity to pursue other avenues of interest: where appointments are no longer restrictive; my family is not time-demanding. The slow gradual development of degenerative osteo-arthritis diminished my recreationally active life...love of skiing, tennis, dance, hiking, etc. Yet, “I Feel Lucky” as described in an earlier blog!

Never can I lay claim to the fact that I am “a book worm”, nor that I ever belonged to a Book Club, nor that I incessantly visited the Library for reading material!

Of course, our parents yearly gave us books to read...always Christian-oriented with a so-so story line. Back in those...what I consider almost “pioneer days" but literally known as The Great Depression...one wasted nothing! So we read these Christmas gifts...however they failed to instil any "literary interest". My sister had a passion for Hollywood movies, favourite actresses with dreams of becoming one some day; when a teenager, from somewhere she obtained several magazines...secretly admired them, then "below the bed mattress" became her hiding place for them, away from parental eyes.

During High School years, my sister and I had jobs in the local General Store...where the customers came in, placed their grocery order at the counter; then, as clerks, we would take a basket to the well-stocked shelves (unreachable by the customer) to collect their items. In view of the customer, we keyed in the costs of the list to the cash register. We were each paid $2.00 for our 9-hour day's earnings. The store also carried a few sundry items... jewellery pieces, cards for all occasions, some necessary lingerie, hair shampoo, a few tools including nails, a few basic health remedies and a “used book” area...all in a separate section where the customer could browse while waiting for their grocery list to be assembled.

On the book shelf, I noticed “Gone With The Wind”. Living in a farm community, the title intrigued me with its front cover picture and causing me to believe the title was Nature-inspired. The synopsis stated the setting was Atlanta, Georgia. I felt I could easily be “transported away” to a new country, a big city and a large plantation! To me, it pictured a totally different and appealing lifestyle. From my earnings of the day, I purchased the book. Shortly, thereafter, we moved to Brantford and entered Grade 13, my final year of High School. It was a walk of over a mile to the Collegiate Institute on Brant Avenue. To allay the boredom of this daily trek, I carried my “treasured book”

Yes, I know that Genesis is deemed The First Book! For me Gone With The Wind written by Margaret Mitchell, published 1936, was the First Classic Book I read! Page by page, city block by city block, I read its entirety of over 1,000 pages as I walked to and from the educational institution. I was totally captivated by this thrilling novel. It was then, I sought other authors whose story line appealed to me. Friends often recommended “Good Books”. For some unknown reason, I had an innate curiosity and desire to read about other peoples of the world and their lifestyles. Gone With The Wind wakened me to a whole new realm!

Tarzan...I decided must be my “next read”...not realizing there were 24 plus novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs written between 1912 and 1965... including The Adventures of Lord Greystone.

Louis L'Amour then became my author of prime interest who wrote numerous books of western and frontier days...I read most of them! In his science-fiction genre was The Haunted Mesa...it truly “haunted me” to the extent that I read this novel several times. Then, on my long van-trek drive (in early 2000) from California to Ontario, I visited Mesa Verde National Park in southern Colorado...seeing the “cliff dwellings” as he described...I felt “bewitched” ...acquainting myself with the locale of his story. His adventure tales appealed to my imagination, especially Last of The Breed...a phenomenal novel of an American pilot shot down over Russia, imprisoned for interrogation, then escaped into Siberia. Both of these books are “A Must Read”!

My reading prowess became richly enhanced when I would locate novels with settings in various countries of the world: Africa's Egypt, Europe's ancient to medieval days, Asian peoples of Bangkok to Tokyo, South America's Andes Mountains to Antarctica, the Roman days of power and supremacy, the emperors and tsars of Russia.

Books that profoundly affected me and ones that I will long remember may also interest you:

Two novels by Pauline Gudge: House of Dreams and House of Illusion...a compelling story of Thu, living along the Nile River...an indomitably, ambitious young woman who rose from village mid-wife to become the favourite concubine of the mighty Pharaoh.

I have read most of John Grisham’s court room trials. Movies and Television productions have been made from several of his dramas. Each book I have thoroughly enjoyed.

Danielle Steel's family-oriented writings depict the tribulations and trials, the blessings and triumphs experienced along Life's path. Message from Nam, Granny Dan, Lone Eagle, Fine Things, Rogue...all impressed me.

The Man Who Listens to Horses by Monty Roberts and Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner were both exciting novels.

My dear friend Sol introduced me to a few books, that without his recommendation, I would not have normally read...but I trust his judgement....each had great significance!
How to Argue and Win Every Time by Gerry Spence. He states, “We fail to make successful arguments because we affix certain locks to ourselves ~ Locks that imprison our arguments ~ Locks that bar us from assuming a successful stance or from adopting a winning method. The Lock is Your Lock ~ and You Possess the Key! He offers these Stratagems for Living: the Greatest Gift is the Gift of Learning! But not complete until it is passed on...Life is Brief! It needs to be lived with every Advantage...Break free of the Cocoons of Convention. Tom Clancy, (Sol's favourite author) is an American with best-selling political thrillers e.g. The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, Executive Orders...each featuring Jack Ryan as the main character. 1984 by George Orwell is a classic novel set in a world beyond our imagination. All power is split into three equal groups: Eastasia, Eurasia and Oceania (the latter which includes the United Kingdom where the story is set).

Rivington Street (from Sol's sister, Rose) written by Meredith Tax, is a true story about four Jewish women living in New York City who organized the garment unions in NY C’s Lower East Side...a very informative telling of working conditions in the early 1900's.

At a book rack near the check-out in a grocery store a few years ago, the cover picture and title, The Valley of Horses by Jean Auel, captivated my attention. With my love of horses and the back cover synopsis, it was a book I desired to read! The Ice Age in Middle Europe was the setting whose heroine was Ayla. I related to her well...placing myself “in her shoes” experiencing her emotions and will-power as she survived a cruel winter. I discovered there was a previous novel, The Clan of the Cave Bear. Luckily I found it! Other books in Jean Auel's “Earth's Children” series were The Mammoth Hunters, The Plains of Passage, The Shelter of Stone. My son presented to my Mother's Day celebration recently a hard cover novel of 757 pages...The Land of Painted Caves which brings Auel's series to an extra ordinary conclusion. Therefore, it is with keen anticipation when this week, I open the book...to again “live and associate “ with Ayla, Jondalar and their infant daughter, Jonayla who are living with the Zelandonii in the Ninth Cave...a shelter of stone.


Merle Baird-Kerr
May 22,2011

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