There is just something about the season isn't there? Tolkien is a great choice for a winter re-read. I have another friend that selects one Dickens book each winter. Whatever you select it is a great opportunity to revisit stories we have loved.
Ah, I so enjoyed this. Memory triggers are fascinating. For me, smells and sounds (music, yes, but also something as simple as wind chimes), instantly transport me. And books! It's so true that we come to them at different points in our lives, and that will affect how we process the stories. I had to read Wuthering Heights as a teenager at a British boarding school. So many dark, rainy nights...it was never hard to imagine a ghosts at the window or crossing the blustery moors. And of course, star-crossed lovers! I recently read that we remember our teen years with more clarity than at other points in our lives, so it's no wonder this book stayed with me. Great post, Matthew. And stay warm!
Maria - thanks, so far it has been relatively mild! Hope that holds. I love the connection with teen years. I think that is so true. Even in talking to my parents they can clearly recall things from high school and so it seems those years really engrain themselves in our psyche. I would be curious to understand the science behind that.
I listen to a lot of audio books when walking. Dreyer's English stands out for me as the book that caused me to snort and burst into laughter the most while walking in the nearby cemetery. I think I might have frightened a few other walkers and runners who imagined I was just cackling over the graves. For great writing that set the bar for me and made we want to go back and read certain sentences over and over again: Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel; The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, by Louise Erdrich; Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson; and Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather. And books that do the most to churn up memories for me tend to be the ones I read aloud to my kids, fabulous adventures we went on together. Percy Jackson, The Penderwicks, Artemis Fowl, Lockwood & Co. - those series gave us the context and shared language to talk about everything from narrative arcs and plot devices to first crushes and school bullies. They are so intertwined with my experience of their childhoods and are always a joy to reread. Thanks for this. It's so good to be prompted to recall favorite stories. Happy reading!
Tara - thanks so much. I had to chuckle about your cemetery experience. I haven't listened to or read that book but I have certainly had my share of odd looks while out walking the dog and I am laughing along with or arguing with something I am listening to. I am going to have to check out Dreyer's English. It sounds right up my alley. I have tons of memories of kids books that I read to my children. Percy Jackson was a favorite in our home too. When the kids were a bit younger we read through all The Magic Treehouse series. At the time I got so tired of reading those books but now those moments are easily recalled and it is wonderful. All the best!
Thank you for sharing, Matthew. I can relate to your wife's connection with music. Reading those lines brought a large smile to my face. You described it beautifully.
I still remember the first song I fell in love with as a child (I was around six). Each time I listen to it, I see myself in the backseat of my dad's car, staring out the window, hearing it play on the radio and singing along. I often wonder what it was about that song I loved so much back then. It's no longer a favorite of mine, but it holds such a strong connection to a specific period of my childhood that it's stayed close to my heart after all these years.
Then there are those songs that would irritate me when I was younger. Songs that were so popular then that it was hard to escape them, but that I've come to appreciate, even love, years later: Rosana's "Si tú no estás" comes to mind.
I'm only now experiencing that same strong connection to books. Two I read this year that I think will stay with me forever are W. Somerset Maugham's "Of Human Bondage" and G. Eliot's "The Mill on the Floss".
Greetings from Nepal, where I'm spending my winter reading!
Amalchi - thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. It means a lot to me. Isn't it fascinating how those memory triggers can simply transport us? I think it is wonderful and so powerful. My wife is from Peru and music is such an integral part of her cultural heritage but it still amazes me how she can recall so many specifics just from hearing a song.
I have not read either of those books. I know they are both classics but I haven't got around to them yet! I am glad that you enjoyed them and they had such an impact on you.
I have heard Nepal is beautiful but I am imagining it is quite cold in the winter! Enjoy your reading time and I will try to do the same here. All the best!
Thank you for responding, Matthew. Nepal is beautiful indeed. Fortunately, I'm in a part of the country where winters are relatively mild, so it's not as cold as I feared (no frozen pipes here yet). I grew up in the Caribbean, so there's only so much cold I can handle!
I am slightly jealous of folk who conjure up memories like this, through music or books. I have a general sense of remembering the stories that shape the history I’ve constructed for myself. I do wish I had diaries or a better memory.
The human mind intrigues me. How can we be so alike and yet so different? Why does the brain work differently for everyone? It is fascinating to observe. I love to watch my kids (almost adults now) and see how they process things. They were raised int he same environment yet they are so different. I can somewhat relate to your dilemma however. My wife's memory is so good she can recall events with precision (including conversations much to my dismay at times). My memories tend toward imagery and feelings and I rarely remember word for word dialogue but a more general sense of things. My father kept a daily journal for 50+ years. I wish I had developed the habit as well.
Mine is very much big picture, broad sweeps of the hand ... milestone events, op tour dates, minor events that become bigger with remembrance, occasional deja vu, vivid dreams ... I should maybe have a go at writing some stuff down. I've always deliberately looked forwards and so that must eventually swallow up the memories
This post has given me much to think about. Firstly I don't think I've ever re-read a book! I love reading and almost always have something on the go, but I'm constantly looking for books I've never read before, and I've never thought to read ones I've loved before. One book I loved was Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres (I distinctly remember finishing this at about 3am in my room at uni and I cried for so long). Secondly, you've inspired me to finally try War and Peace which I've thought about for years but never braved. It's time.
Soozi - I really appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. I am glad that it was thought provoking for you. I think that it is such an interesting topic of discussion. I think there are a lot of people who have never reread a book. It is hard to invest that time when there are so many books out there. But, you can get so much more out of a book from a reread. I encourage you to pick up Captain Corelli's Mandolin and give it another read to see how it impacts you now. I am glad you are going to give W&P a try. It is well worth it. All the best!
Thanks for the mention, Matthew 🤗! I'm glad you're enjoying the Sparrow Bones series.
Since we're on the topic of memory, I wanted to share "Ozymandias" by Percy Shelley. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46565/ozymandias I stumbled upon this poem about 5 years ago back in high school, and it's stuck with me ever since. A lot of time when we talk about "memory" we're referring to the individual's memory. This poem approaches the topic from a different angle by exploring the ephemerality of collective memory through the ages. Just as moments from an individual's past can be crystallized in a book or a childhood home so can the legacy of a civilization be crystallized in its monuments or its literature. Just as an individual who has passed on can still live in the memories of their loved ones, so can a lost civilization live on in the imaginations of today's people. This topic also reminds me of a short story I'd wrote last year that explores how memory links the living and the dead: https://clubplumliteraryjournal.com/macy-lu/.
Not sure if this directly answers your question, but this is the direction where my mind took me this morning. :)
I also read Ozymandias years ago when I was in high school which was probably before you were born! I had forgotten it however so thank you for bringing it back to my attention.
You make a great point about memory. It can be individualized for sure or it can be societal. We are not a hive with a shared conscience so how are things retained in our collective psyche? Art, literature, and architecture are all a means of transmitting those memories. Do artists then have a social responsibility to preserve truth? It makes for an interesting rabbit hole to crawl down! Sort of a "history is written by the victors" dilemma.
Comfort books and poetry are the delights of winter reading. I re-read Tolkien every winter too.
There is just something about the season isn't there? Tolkien is a great choice for a winter re-read. I have another friend that selects one Dickens book each winter. Whatever you select it is a great opportunity to revisit stories we have loved.
I’m a retired English teacher with a huge library --endless options :)
Ah, I so enjoyed this. Memory triggers are fascinating. For me, smells and sounds (music, yes, but also something as simple as wind chimes), instantly transport me. And books! It's so true that we come to them at different points in our lives, and that will affect how we process the stories. I had to read Wuthering Heights as a teenager at a British boarding school. So many dark, rainy nights...it was never hard to imagine a ghosts at the window or crossing the blustery moors. And of course, star-crossed lovers! I recently read that we remember our teen years with more clarity than at other points in our lives, so it's no wonder this book stayed with me. Great post, Matthew. And stay warm!
Maria - thanks, so far it has been relatively mild! Hope that holds. I love the connection with teen years. I think that is so true. Even in talking to my parents they can clearly recall things from high school and so it seems those years really engrain themselves in our psyche. I would be curious to understand the science behind that.
I listen to a lot of audio books when walking. Dreyer's English stands out for me as the book that caused me to snort and burst into laughter the most while walking in the nearby cemetery. I think I might have frightened a few other walkers and runners who imagined I was just cackling over the graves. For great writing that set the bar for me and made we want to go back and read certain sentences over and over again: Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel; The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, by Louise Erdrich; Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson; and Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather. And books that do the most to churn up memories for me tend to be the ones I read aloud to my kids, fabulous adventures we went on together. Percy Jackson, The Penderwicks, Artemis Fowl, Lockwood & Co. - those series gave us the context and shared language to talk about everything from narrative arcs and plot devices to first crushes and school bullies. They are so intertwined with my experience of their childhoods and are always a joy to reread. Thanks for this. It's so good to be prompted to recall favorite stories. Happy reading!
Tara - thanks so much. I had to chuckle about your cemetery experience. I haven't listened to or read that book but I have certainly had my share of odd looks while out walking the dog and I am laughing along with or arguing with something I am listening to. I am going to have to check out Dreyer's English. It sounds right up my alley. I have tons of memories of kids books that I read to my children. Percy Jackson was a favorite in our home too. When the kids were a bit younger we read through all The Magic Treehouse series. At the time I got so tired of reading those books but now those moments are easily recalled and it is wonderful. All the best!
Thank you for sharing, Matthew. I can relate to your wife's connection with music. Reading those lines brought a large smile to my face. You described it beautifully.
I still remember the first song I fell in love with as a child (I was around six). Each time I listen to it, I see myself in the backseat of my dad's car, staring out the window, hearing it play on the radio and singing along. I often wonder what it was about that song I loved so much back then. It's no longer a favorite of mine, but it holds such a strong connection to a specific period of my childhood that it's stayed close to my heart after all these years.
Then there are those songs that would irritate me when I was younger. Songs that were so popular then that it was hard to escape them, but that I've come to appreciate, even love, years later: Rosana's "Si tú no estás" comes to mind.
I'm only now experiencing that same strong connection to books. Two I read this year that I think will stay with me forever are W. Somerset Maugham's "Of Human Bondage" and G. Eliot's "The Mill on the Floss".
Greetings from Nepal, where I'm spending my winter reading!
Amalchi - thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. It means a lot to me. Isn't it fascinating how those memory triggers can simply transport us? I think it is wonderful and so powerful. My wife is from Peru and music is such an integral part of her cultural heritage but it still amazes me how she can recall so many specifics just from hearing a song.
I have not read either of those books. I know they are both classics but I haven't got around to them yet! I am glad that you enjoyed them and they had such an impact on you.
I have heard Nepal is beautiful but I am imagining it is quite cold in the winter! Enjoy your reading time and I will try to do the same here. All the best!
Thank you for responding, Matthew. Nepal is beautiful indeed. Fortunately, I'm in a part of the country where winters are relatively mild, so it's not as cold as I feared (no frozen pipes here yet). I grew up in the Caribbean, so there's only so much cold I can handle!
I am slightly jealous of folk who conjure up memories like this, through music or books. I have a general sense of remembering the stories that shape the history I’ve constructed for myself. I do wish I had diaries or a better memory.
The human mind intrigues me. How can we be so alike and yet so different? Why does the brain work differently for everyone? It is fascinating to observe. I love to watch my kids (almost adults now) and see how they process things. They were raised int he same environment yet they are so different. I can somewhat relate to your dilemma however. My wife's memory is so good she can recall events with precision (including conversations much to my dismay at times). My memories tend toward imagery and feelings and I rarely remember word for word dialogue but a more general sense of things. My father kept a daily journal for 50+ years. I wish I had developed the habit as well.
Mine is very much big picture, broad sweeps of the hand ... milestone events, op tour dates, minor events that become bigger with remembrance, occasional deja vu, vivid dreams ... I should maybe have a go at writing some stuff down. I've always deliberately looked forwards and so that must eventually swallow up the memories
This post has given me much to think about. Firstly I don't think I've ever re-read a book! I love reading and almost always have something on the go, but I'm constantly looking for books I've never read before, and I've never thought to read ones I've loved before. One book I loved was Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres (I distinctly remember finishing this at about 3am in my room at uni and I cried for so long). Secondly, you've inspired me to finally try War and Peace which I've thought about for years but never braved. It's time.
PS. I'm exactly like your wife about songs too.
Soozi - I really appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. I am glad that it was thought provoking for you. I think that it is such an interesting topic of discussion. I think there are a lot of people who have never reread a book. It is hard to invest that time when there are so many books out there. But, you can get so much more out of a book from a reread. I encourage you to pick up Captain Corelli's Mandolin and give it another read to see how it impacts you now. I am glad you are going to give W&P a try. It is well worth it. All the best!
This was lovely, Matthew. Warm and cozy, just how I wish the winter season could be.
Thanks Jenna, I appreciate the kind words. Hope you get a chance to relax and enjoy family during this season.
Scents trigger memories for me. And also, very weirdly, TV and commercial and jingles. 😂
I have never had a strong sense of smell but I can definitely identify with the commercial jingles. That is a strange one that I hadn't thought of!
Thanks for the mention, Matthew 🤗! I'm glad you're enjoying the Sparrow Bones series.
Since we're on the topic of memory, I wanted to share "Ozymandias" by Percy Shelley. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46565/ozymandias I stumbled upon this poem about 5 years ago back in high school, and it's stuck with me ever since. A lot of time when we talk about "memory" we're referring to the individual's memory. This poem approaches the topic from a different angle by exploring the ephemerality of collective memory through the ages. Just as moments from an individual's past can be crystallized in a book or a childhood home so can the legacy of a civilization be crystallized in its monuments or its literature. Just as an individual who has passed on can still live in the memories of their loved ones, so can a lost civilization live on in the imaginations of today's people. This topic also reminds me of a short story I'd wrote last year that explores how memory links the living and the dead: https://clubplumliteraryjournal.com/macy-lu/.
Not sure if this directly answers your question, but this is the direction where my mind took me this morning. :)
I also read Ozymandias years ago when I was in high school which was probably before you were born! I had forgotten it however so thank you for bringing it back to my attention.
You make a great point about memory. It can be individualized for sure or it can be societal. We are not a hive with a shared conscience so how are things retained in our collective psyche? Art, literature, and architecture are all a means of transmitting those memories. Do artists then have a social responsibility to preserve truth? It makes for an interesting rabbit hole to crawl down! Sort of a "history is written by the victors" dilemma.
I had a dog named Lola as well. I miss her
I dread the thought of losing her. She is my constant companion. It is amazing the connection we can make with these beautifully loyal friends.
So true. My oldest dog sticks to me like Velcro. I’m humbled by her devotion.