litlover12

4. The book that’s been on your shelves the longest.

I think that must be the set of Mark Twain that my parents bought me when I was just a baby; it's been there ever since I can remember. It's a nice set: The major novels (and a couple of the minor ones) in hardcover. The story goes, as I remember it, that they got some sort of a deal or discount on it and thought it would be a nice thing for me to have someday. It has been!

5. A book you acquired in some interesting way.

I won a copy of A Tale of Two Cities in a drawing contest at a blog I know. The interesting thing about that is that I can't draw! But I practiced and practiced and finally sent in something that . . . still wasn't very good.

But it turned out that only two of us entered the contest, so I tied for first place anyway!

6. A book with a story for you, that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time).

It's not among my most pleasant memories, but it's a strong one. I must have been 16 or 17, and my big sister had gotten into trouble (again). Serious trouble. The you're-grounded-for-the-rest-of-your-life-and-maybe-even-longer kind of trouble. I was lying on my bed, re-reading The Phantom of the Opera, trying very hard to concentrate on the story and not hear what was going on downstairs. Of course, I heard every word. The book and the memory will probably always go together for me.

(It isn't quite as bad a memory as it could have been, given that my sister turned out all right in the end. But it took a very long time; a lot of blood, toil, tears, and sweat; and all the grace of God.)