Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Sensory Reading Memories

"Top Ten Tuesday" is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Artsy Reader Girl!

This week's "Top Ten Tuesday" theme - "Books with Sensory Reading Memories" - kind of stumped me at first. What do you mean, sensory memories? I don't listen to anything while I read, because it distracts me, so that strikes out audible memories, and I eat way too much while reading, so there's too much information there to make anything meaningful out of taste memories.

It was only when I freed up my brain a little bit, and started thinking from the opposite angle, that I finally started to get somewhere.

For instance, what books made me think of summer? Instantly, Tamora Pierce comes to mind, as she's always been the first pick for vacation reading, starting when I was in middle school. Then, there's summer reading, completed frantically while staring out the window at the sunshine outside. Then, there was the old classic, the one I read every summer.

So, it seems that I do have some sensory reading memories, after all. It's just not the experiences that shaped my readings of the books... but the books that shaped the experiences!



1. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, J. K. Rowling
My Dad was a prodigious nighttime reader, when it came to my sister and I. It's how all three of us first read the first two Harry Potter books: together. I can still remember when my younger sister and I shared a room, the two of us tucked under our matching bedspreads while my Dad read to us. Most notably, he pronounced the name "Hermione" disastrously wrong, but we wouldn't figure that out until the story hit the big screen.

2. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
This children's classic will always and forever remind me of my Dad, because he might just be its greatest champion. Not only is this another from among the bedtime reading collection, but something he felt so strongly about, that each of us kids has our own collectible hardcover copy to fill out our own libraries. It has a full cast of characters taking part in the action, and for each one, my Dad gave it a voice in such a memorable way, that that's probably how I'll read them forever.

3. Trickster's Choice (Trickster duology), Tamora Pierce
This is exactly what I mean, when I said that Tamora Pierce's books remind me of summer. Older fans might sigh, because I read all of her works completely out of order... starting with the Trickster series, the summer after the 8th grade, while I was on vacation in Oregon. I had never read Fantasy like this before, and could frequently be found tucked up in the hammock swinging outside of our cabin, soaking up the words in every bit of sunlight I could find.

4. First Test (Protector of the Small series), Tamora Pierce 
Immediately after finishing the two Trickster books on that vacation, I needed more. Hence, why I could frequently be found reading Keladry's books underneath my desk in Geometry class, once I'd made my way to freshman year of high school. Thankfully, I had a fairly understanding desk partner, who would always make sure I was paying attention when it was important.

5. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain
The classic answer for bookish memory-related questions will always be this one, because of how much there is to pull from: I've read this book every summer since I was about 8 years old, and there are so many experiences that run flush with what I remember of that particular season growing up. From sitting in Summer School quiet-time every afternoon in elementary, to laying outside by the kiddy pool with our nanny, Lindsay, to reading it while curled up in my bed, under the shade of a gloomy Washington June, there are just about as many memories associated with this book, as there are stains on the inner covers, or tears along its spine.

6. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
The first of the two assigned summer reading memories I've mentioned, Wuthering Heights is notable for two reasons: I absolutely hated reading this book, and I finished both it, and the corresponding course material, within three days while on vacation in Sunriver, only days before my Junior year of high school would start. Frantically filling in notes sections on my Word document, and trying to skim over whole pages, only to realize I missed something and had to go back... this novel was an absolute nightmare, compared to the sunny weather I was watching outside.

7. Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer
Yet another summer reading gig, but the one from the year before, when I actually was prodded by my mother into finishing the assignment ahead of time. In my tween-and-teen bedroom, one I no longer shared with my sister, I had a large set of bay windows that faced the afternoon sun, and a desk turned against it, so by the time we hit July, I was roasting with the sun at my back when I tried to work... so most of this book was consumed, while sitting on the white carpeted floor, away from the sun's gaze.

8. The Big Book of Pasta: Your Complete Guide to Cooking Perfect Pasta Every Time
This serves as a stand-in for every other book I read while puttering around the kitchen, opening cabinets and stacking ingredients, while making sure not to accidentally move the page as I move around. I cook for my family quite frequently, but due to the rise of Pinterest (all hail), that usually takes the form of me peeking at my computer screen now, than it does the pages of a book (all of which are usually library copies). This one, however, is the counterpoint, as evidenced by its numerous tomato stains, and the battered spine, broken to the exact page for my sister's favorite Spaghetti Bolognese.


9. The Spiderwick Chronicles, Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi 
Funny enough, I can't remember the first time I read this batch of small, hardcover books, about children who discover the magical (and dangerous) creatures living around the forest-bound house that their uncle lived in. However, I do remember the second: sitting in quietest part of the school library, enjoying my last chance to read books before Thanksgiving Break, when they'd be doing an inventory of all the books that needed to be retired.

10. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Yet another repeat read that comes with a whole host of various memories to pull from, the most notable part of this book, for me, was that we read it in my senior year of high school. While that year was one of the most significant of all of mine so far, for a few very important reasons, my English class that year was a star standout. I can strongly remember reading this book for the first time, during class itself, as our teacher had us read various parts out loud to the class, but I sped ahead. Thankfully, I had friends there to nudge me when it was my time to read... especially when our teacher selected me to playact as Lizzie during the first proposal scene (I crushed it, in case you were wondering).

What's in your Top Ten? Let me know, in the comments below!