Throughout my life, I have managed to find the nearest readers and insert myself into their sphere of influence. In high school I spent an inordinate amount of time in the library, not only because that’s where the books were but also because we were fortunate enough to have a hip, young, well-read woman as our librarian. She turned me on to Ellen Gilchrist and I’m eternally grateful for that. Recently we reconnected (thanks, Facebook) and she recommended Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. She is still doing what she does best, passionately promoting books. As it happens, this particular librarian is still employed at my old high school. Here’s hoping that the class of 2011 loves her as much as the class of 1987.
[caption id="attachment_2341" align="alignleft" width="192" caption="Robin Black makes a "fly-by" appearance in Denver May 13-14."]
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In college I had a great group of friends, readers all. I also had a couple of excellent professors whose love of literature couldn’t be contained to classroom lectures. Delta State University was small and the English Department even smaller, so I had the great pleasure of getting to know my professors pretty well. They thought nothing of calling me to see if I was feeling okay should I happen to skip a class (true story), but they also took the time to chat with me about books outside of the assigned reading lists. Richard Ford, Willie Morris, Ellen Douglas, Bobby Ann Mason, Walker Percy and too many more to name took up permanent residence on my growing bookshelves.
In fact, of all the things people have given me, it is the book recommendations that stick with me. I cannot recall who gave me what for Christmas or my birthday or any other gift-giving occasion. I do know exactly who recommended Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Good Squad (the always spot-on Lighthouse founder and Program Director Andrea Dupree) and who solved my dilemma of Nook vs. Kindle (Dupree and Lighthouse member Jim Ringel), and who shares my love of Margaret Atwood (instructor Jenny Itell), A.S. Byatt (instructor Rebecca Berg) and Rick Bass (board member Gary Schanbacher), and who loaned me John Brandon’s Citrus County (board member Emily Sinclair). Really, I could go on and on. The point is, these people love books. They are all writers and damned good ones. I’m thrilled to even occasionally orbit their talent in workshops, but I’m really grateful that they let me into their reading lives. I think there is no greater compliment than to be on the receiving end of a book or author recommendation.
These days, an awful lot of my reading is done upon the recommendation of the staff and members and greater community of Lighthouse. To that end, I’m putting Robin Black’s If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This on my list of books to read this month and I’ll be signing up for the Fly-By Writer’s Project events on May 13-14 (or some portion of the events, I’m also signed up for a half-marathon that weekend). Most of you reading this already know how great the Lighthouse community is, but maybe you have friends who haven’t yet been wooed by the charms of Lighthouse. So the next time you find yourself recommending a book to a friend who loves to read, consider recommending the Lighthouse community as well. I selfishly suggest this, because I'd like to know what your friends are reading.
