Sunday, September 03, 2017

In a world of books



Sometimes folks seem to think I lead an exciting life. Well, I do. But not in the way they think. I live most of my exciting adventures through books. And I always have. I became addicted to reading very early and have never broken the habit. I typically three 2 to 3 books at a time, of varying types. I'm reading a pulp western, a collection of Robert Frost's poetry, and a children's book right now.

I got almost all of my early reading through the library since we didn't have money for a lot of books. But I actually kept semi-decent records of what I read as a youngster and as an adult I have purchased many of those old books. Now I've taken pictures of those and will share some of them here. Among the books I read in my pre-teen and teen years were books about:

Football. I wanted to be a running back for the Arkansas Razorbacks growing up, and then go pro with Green Bay. I did play in high school but weighed only 132 pounds when I graduated so I never played college ball. I lived many football adventures with Joe Archibald, though. Here are some:
                                                
                                           

I also loved animal stories and that probably made up the bulk of my early reading. Jim Kjelgaard and Walter Farley were staples in those days:




I loved novels but I also enjoyed reading of real life adventure and non fiction. A favorite series for me were the "You Were There" adventures. Here's two that I remember fondly.

Soon, I began to branch out to westerns, science fiction, and fantasy. But that's for another post.

14 comments:

Cloudia said...

A wonderful and very personal journey through Charles. Thank you for sharing yourself with us

Angie said...

I had Big Red and Irish Red when I was a kid. :) I don't remember much about them now, but I remember liking them. There was another one about a golden spaniel... I think it was called Champion Dog Prince Tom, something like that, about the runt of the litter who went on to win championships in both obedience and hunting. I remember more about that one (obviously) but I'm not sure if that was actually the title of the book, or just what the dog was called by the end.

Angie

Charles Gramlich said...

Cloudia, books are the thing I can talk about best

Angie, I don't think I've read that one. Will try to find it.

sage said...

I wish I had kept a better list of my reading as a child. I do remember reading a lot of sports books--more about baseball than football, but there was some of both. I also read a lot of biographies, mostly of explorers and books on the outdoors. Good post!

Blogoratti said...

You have such a varied taste and it's wonderful to note that you started early enough, books are a delight to the soul. Nice of you to share!

Charles Gramlich said...

Sage, I read sort of the standard biographies, saints and politicians. I read a lot today about musicians and writers

Blogoratti, I am truly eclectic in my reading, though not so much in my music

pattinase (abbott) said...

Loved seeing what you read.

Charles Gramlich said...

Patti, glad you enjoyed.

Shadow said...

I have live many lives through the books I have read *smiles* books are magical, they allow me to paint my own pictures, with tastes and smells and heat and chills and it's really annoying sometimes, when the story ends......

Charles Gramlich said...

Shadow, oh absolutely. Some great lives too

Erik Donald France said...

Yes! I dig, Charles!

Working in a library is very pleasing - like seeing those books on display.

As an aside, I tend to do the same thing -- read multiple titles across different genres. And I always must have titles in process or I'll feel like I'm in some kind of purgatory.

Charles Gramlich said...

Erik, yes, I sometime think librarian was my first best destiny.

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

Charles, there was a time when I used to finish reading two to three books a week. Now though I'm still reading that many at a time, I get through only one book a week.

UplayOnline said...

Loved seeing what you read.


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