Half Baked: Imagination

A post by Professor Mondo, followed quickly by one from Dr. J, Gormogon, has inspired me to write a bit about literature and imagination.

My mother is an English teacher (now Professor) so I'm sure you can imagine the abundance of books we were treated to as children.  (Make Way For Ducklings, an assortment of Jan Brett, The Little Princess, The Secret Garden, The Boxcar Kids, the collected works of Madeleine L'Engle (read her)*, the "Mandy" Series, James Herriot, The Narnia Series, Laura Ingalls Wilder... etc, etc.)

As children my sisters and I coerced the boys in the neighborhood to play Boxcar Kids with us in the giant pine tree at the bottom of our driveway.  We built forts, climbed the tree's massive branches, and modified and added to the existing Boxcar Children stories (which I alone had read.)

Throughout middle and high school I continued to be a voracious reader, though my school library was sadly lacking.  My diet consisted of (almost entirely bad) romantic Christian fiction. Thank goodness for To Kill a Mockingbird and A Tale of Two Cities.

Once I got to college reading for pleasure got tossed out the window (with a fair sized blip in the spring of 2005.)  I'm now three years past graduation and reading again.**  Thanks to the Professor and Dr. J for reminding me that reading is not only beneficial for increasing one's knowledge, but also to stretch one's imagination. 




*I may write more about L'Engle's genius in the future.
** Most recently One Day by David Nicholls and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen