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Habitual Reader Profiles - Page 2
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Name: Martha Alderson |
| State: California | |
| Vocation / Avocation: Teacher/speaker/writer/reader |
Why I'm a Habitual Reader:
Words came late for me and language was a jumbled mess, but even so, for some reason, I could read. And read I did.
My father had a library made up of a wall of shelves filled with books in the foyer of our home. We would stand together in front of that wall whenever I complained of nothing to read. I can still smell the faint scent of Old Spice and feel the warmth of his hand in mine.
Each time, at the moment he dropped my hand, my eyes would dart left and right, speeding ahead of his index finger that was moving across the shelves. I tried guessing which of the books he would choose. Would it be the one with the green cover? Or, one of three tiny red books?
When his finger was at the top of a spine, I would turn impatient, eager to know the title. He always took his time and pulled the corner of a book down before slipping it from its place between two others. And always before he would let me see his choice, he turned away from me to blow a stream of breath across the top of the pages. Flakes of dust turned to glitter in the rays of sunlight from the arched windows behind us.
My best friend back then, Kathryn Parker, and I met when I was six months old and she a newborn. We are still friends today. We don't read together anymore but back then we'd read in silence for hours with only the noise of the pages turning. Left up to us that was pretty much all we did together. When our moms insisted, we took cooking lessons from her mother and sewing lessons from mine. But our favorite pastime was reading. We never even talked that much about what we read. When we finished one book, we'd just pick up another. And, the sound of pages turning continued.
Today when I marvel what a huge part books continue to have in my life, I guess I should not be so surprised.
When I'm not reading, I'm writing. When I'm not writing, I'm consulting with other writers about their books. When I'm not consulting, I'm teaching writers about plot. What an honor. What a joy.
Books, books, books. Best friends for life.
My List of Ten: Personal Favorites
1. Grapes of Wrath
Author: John Steinbeck
When my husband read this book, he was convinced that Steinbeck knew his family
because his rendering of the migration west was so real to life for him. Re-reading
the classic gave me profound insight into my sweetheart's spirit.
2. The God of Small Things
Author: Arundhati Roy
I am still haunted by the beauty of the writing and the horror of the story.
Made me want to write "pretty."
3. Love Made of Heart
Author: Teresa LeYung Ryan
This was the first book I helped an author "birth" that went on to
secure a contract from a major New York publishing house. That the author is
a dear friend made the accomplishment even sweeter! Quite a joy and honor.
4. Memoirs of a Geisha
Author: Arthur Golden
First book I read after working out the Universal Story Form parameters. It
fit!
5. Al Capone Does My Shirts
Author: Gennifer Choldenko
First all day workshop I did with children book writers and illustrators, I
used this book as an example. Fit perfectly!!!
6. Accidental Tourist
Author: Anne Tyler
A perfect balance of "above the line" and "below the line" scenes.
7. Watership Down
Author: Richard Adam
I reread this book recently for an article on plot and it delighted me even
more than the first time I read it nearly thirty years ago. Demonstrated wonderful
tricks for plot.
8. Gone With the Wind
Author: Margaret Mitchell
Read and reread several times before I was ten years old. Scarlett was an Aries.
I'm an Aries. Need I say more?
9. How Green Was My Valley
Author: Richard Llewellyn
The green hardcover book my father picked out for me that day.
10. The Sound and The Fury
Author: William Faulkner
Read it during an incredible rain storm. I knew in the morning they were coming
for my dog. I'll never forget that night.
Have you read any of these titles? Review one now.
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