Revisiting my childhood through books
My favorite childhood books permanently unlock a fond memory whenever I get to reread them. When I get to hold their worn and yellowed pages in my hands, I feel time gently carrying me away and putting me back in a childlike version of myself. Reading is never a lonely hobby because there are so many places to go. And, there are so many things to see.
Revisiting my childhood through books
There and back again
When I try to remember anything about my childhood, I usually think of a title of a book. Growing up, the city library was within walking distance from my house and my parents fed my siblings and my voracious appetite to read. Every academic achievement, holiday, and birthday was celebrated with books. Sometimes, they’ll be brand new with a crisp factory whiff. Other times, on the other hand, they are secondhand from the thrift store with notes left by the previous owner. Those are the best ones. It allows me to piece together the life of the previous readers with the traces they left in the book.
Some books hit harder when you’re older. I remember the first time I read A Series of Unfortunate Events and The Hobbit. When I was twelve, I liked the sense of adventure. I liked the youthful optimism that everything will work out in the end. Reading them again now, on the other hand, I understand the mature and underlying themes that I didn’t catch onto when I was younger. It’s peculiar how one book can be read in different ways and from so many different angles. You can never read the same book twice. Isn’t that something?
When books are your best friends
There is a comfort in reading that I have never found anywhere else since. Even now, I prefer to read physical books to reading books through a screen. While an e-book is definitely more convenient, there is something romantic about holding the weight of the book in your hands. It is a copy of the author’s heart; their words and soul are all compressed and bound in paper. Maybe it’s because I read so many books growing up but writing eventually became a tool and way for me to express ideas that would have only taken up space in my brain. I owe everything I write to the books I read.
