First Book Loves (Question of the Month)

         Voting is still open for my current Battle of the Bands post.  If you haven't voted yet please visit this post.

     The Question of the Month is hosted by Michael G D'Agostino from A Life Examined. The first Monday of each month I'll be answering a question posed by Michael prior to event day. Click on the link to his blog for more participants. 

Question of the Month

“What was the first book (or book series) you really fell in love with?”

         If I were to include coloring books and the Little Golden Book series then those would be the obvious choices.   Those do not seem to be legitimate book choices for a question like the one posed for this month.  What kids don't like coloring books?    I'm not sure if the Little Golden Book series is formatted in the same was as it was when I was a kid in the 1950's, but the stories were for the most part timeless.   Too basic and innocent for today's kids?  I can't say for sure, but I spent many hours of my early life looking at the Little Golden Books that I had in my collection.

         But let's get book serious here.  The first book of real substance that I fell in love with was the King James Version of the Holy Bible.  I'd grown up fascinated with my father's giant sized Bible.  He would sometimes read from it or quote from it.  Sometimes he sounded like a preacher when he'd recite Biblical passages.

          I received my own personal copy of the King James Bible in 1958 when I was seven years old.  This Bible was given to me by Frank Van Valen,  the pastor at the church we attended at the time.  On a blank page near the front of the book he inscribed, "This book will not keep you from this book, but sin will keep you from this book."  I still have this copy of the Bible.  The cover is coming off, but the book is in remarkably good condition considering the wear and tear it has undergone.

          Now, if we are thinking about secular books then I'll go with two series that were published by the same company and in a sense went hand in hand.  The Tom Swift, Jr. books was a series of science fiction novels and the Hardy Boys series were mysteries.  I had complete sets of both at the time I stopped collecting them, though I think more were published after that.  Those collections were my pride and joy sitting on a bookshelf in my bedroom for many years.  I've gotten rid of most of that collection over the years, but I've managed to hang onto a few of each.   In recent years I've even actually reread some of those books and they weren't half bad even now reading them as an adult.  I guess that's one reason why I loved them so.  

          

          Do you remember Little Golden Books?    What was the first book that you ever received where someone inscribed a message to you?   There were many books series like the ones I mentioned:  Was there a set that you owned as a child?

First Love

First Loves Blogfest - on May 14, post your first loves – first movie, first song/band, first book, and first person. Four loves, one blogfest!   Alex Cavanaugh does it again!   How could I resist?


          First loves?  I think Alex has listed them in the right order.  Love is a complex subject.  I'll keep it simple so as not to delve into philosophical interpretations of what love is.   Maybe these are merely infatuations or perhaps passions, but I'll call them loves. 

wikipedia

          Before I could read there were music and movies.  Since I grew up in the 1950s we didn't have too much opportunity to watch movies on television.  It seemed like nearly every week my parents took us to the movie theater to experience the magic on the big screen.  The first movie that made a big impact on me was Godzilla.  I would have been 5 or 6 years old at the time.  The rampant destruction caused by this radioactively mutated monster fascinated me and filled my dreams and imaginations from then on, leaving me with a love and curiosity of all things related to nuclear destruction and mutations.  Sci-fi became my genre of preference after seeing Godzilla, King of the Monsters!.

wikipedia

          There was always music in my house as I was growing up.  I grew up with my parents' music and I loved it dearly, but I was somewhat of a snob when it came to the current pop hits. The Beatles and the English Invasion started warming me up to the sound.  The first song that really grabbed hold of me was "The House of the Rising Sun" by the Animals.  After that I was hopelessly hooked on rock and roll music.  


       

amazon

           Books were also prevalent in our home.  I had many of the Little Golden Books when I was in early childhood, but in second grade I was given the two books that made the biggest difference in my life.  Reverend Frank Van Valen gave me my first Bible and this led to my life interest in this book.  At about the same time my father gave me an art book The Way, the Truth, and the Life: Paintings by Ralph Pallen Coleman.  I have often spent time studying these paintings.  The books were given to me in 1958 and I still have both copies as treasured books on my shelves.










                    Annette was a bug-eyed frail little girl with dusty brown curly hair.  In fourth grade she was about the cutest thing I'd ever seen.  She was quiet and shy.  I don't think we ever said a word to each other, but my imagination often ran away with her.  I'd had little crushes before, but I began thinking about Annette more than any girl I had ever known before then.  I don't ever recall her last name--for some reason I thought it was Italian, but it may have been Spanish.  She and her family used to drive the thousand miles from San Diego to La Paz, Baja California in a jeep.  Our teacher Ms. Kingston had her tell about the trip once and it sounded like an adventure worthy of the pioneers in their Conestoga wagons.  The story made Annette seem all the more interesting to me.  I don't remember Annette after fifth grade.  I wonder what happened to her?


          There they are.  Four first loves.   Memories of long ago.   Parts of who I am now.


           For more First Loves visit Alex Cavanaugh's site for the list.










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