TTT: Books With Sensory Reading Memories Attached to Them

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with sensory reading memories attached to them

1.What Happened by Hillary Clinton

I was (am) so sad and mad about the election results, the Russian interference, the fact that some people didn't want Hillary to win because she is female. I remember reading the book several months after the election and allowing myself to really feel the loss. In a lot of ways it was cathartic for me.

2. Uprooted: The Japanese American Experience in World War II by Albert Marrin

I know this is a strange title to attach happy and fascinated feelings to the reading experience. But I read this book on a bullet train in China on vacation. Part of the book deals with the history of relationships between China and Japan. Stuff I didn't know. It made the whole reading experience so good for me.

3. The One-In-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood

This is such a poignant story. I laughed and cried. I listened to this book while driving and nearly had to pull over at the end of the book. I was so swept up in the emotions of it.

4. The Singer by Calvin Miller

This book was given to me by a high school friend. I never read it but moved it around with me over the years intending to read it someday. When my friend died unexpectedly I found the book and read it in memory of her. I felt deeply sad.

5. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

This book which is all about justice and mercy in the court system in our country. My husband and I listened to it together. We were both so moved and provoked by what we learned. I can still picture where we were on the road when Stevenson was talking about the injustice in the mental health system in our country.

6. West With the Night by Beryl Markham

Markham lived in Africa in the 1930s. Her writing is so lovely and evocative of the culture and the landscape. It reminded me of the time we lived in Africa.

7. Teaching with Fire: Poems that Sustains the Courage to Teach by Sam Intrator

I read this poetry volume cover to cover. It spoke to my heart like no other book had ever spoken about strength and courage needed to teach. I snuck it into a 

chamber orchestra concert and read it when I should have been listening.

8. The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett

This is the 5th book in the Tiffany Aching series and the last book published by Pratchett before his death. As I read it, I became overwhelmed by sadness for the world's loss of this great author.

9. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Oddly, I had a very visceral reaction to this Sci-Fi book and I obsessed about what I would do if aliens attacked our planet for weeks after reading it. Don't believe me? Ask anyone in my family. I involved them in the planning.

10. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

I have never laughed so much while listening to a book. My husband and I enjoyed this one together and that experience has stayed with me long after we finished it.