My favorite books of childhood, "The Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis and any Nancy Drew mystery, left such an indelible impression on me, that I can remember exactly where I was when I read most of them. That's why the idea behind "Field-Tested Books," a new book by Coudal Partners featuring more than 50 authors and their essays, resonates so strongly with me. From the introduction by Jim Coudal:
We had this notion that somehow through experimentation we could identify how our perception of a book is affected by the place where we read it. Or maybe the other way around. Maybe it’s possible to determine how a book colors the way we feel about the place where we experience it.
We’ve been trying for over six years now, and frankly, we’re not getting any closer to a definitive answer. We know, without a doubt, that book and place do affect each other, and that they are bound as a single experience in our memories...
My memories quickly surfaced as I thought of books I've read, how old I was, where I was. Certain books— their stories, themes and characters—became so important to me at different points in my life. I felt inspired to write an essay based on the "Field-Tested Books" idea. Then I read this:
We’re also interested in more stories about a “certain book read in a certain place.” Email us here with 300-500 words about a book you read somewhere. We’ll select some for publication in our growing collection and send those authors a copy of The Field-Tested Books Book and some other stuff too...
This is the third volume of "Field-Tested Books," and there will be another one in the near futures (which looks like 2-3 years based on these editions' timeframe).
Which books do you associate strongly with a place? If you'd like a writing assignment, take on Jim Coudal's offer and write a 300-500 word piece about one. If you write one and post it to your blog, come back and leave a link, and I'll feature all in an upcoming post.
Yes, I'll be writing one, too. Now if I can just narrow down my book choice.
You may purchase "FTB" here. (Found via Swissmiss)
UPDATE: Rachel Levy at The Slow-Cooked Sentence has posted her essay about Jane Eyre. Definitely click over for a read!
What do you think about the idea of re-reading the books of your childhood? What about reading them for the first time?
The reason I ask is I've been considering reading the Chronicles of Narnia. I'd just hate to do it if it is something I am too old to profit from.
Posted by: Cam Beck | June 13, 2008 at 05:15 PM
Wow. It's funny how easy it is to treat memory as a logical thing. That I would file a book by the year I read it or the title or author. Yet when I look at myself (difficult if not impossible), it appears to work off softer triggers. A place triggers a book which triggers an emotion which leads to a shared experience with that emotion, etc.
Makes me feel better about my horrible skill with taxonomy on my blog and link lists. ;) :)
P.S. I LOVED the Narnia series as a kid. Wow. That brought back memories.
Posted by: Sean Howard | June 13, 2008 at 05:49 PM
Cam — I would definitely recommend reading the Chronicles of Narnia, even as an adult. There's something really timeless and powerful about those stories. There is so much in there about rights of passage, family/isolation, growing up/independence, good/evil, going through trials to grow, courage and bravery. I have to admit that I haven't looked at them now as an adult, so I don't know if they're good reading from this point of view.
If you do read them now, I'd love to know what you think of them!
Posted by: KG | June 13, 2008 at 10:00 PM
Sean — You loved the Narnia series, too! It was so powerful to read as a child, wasn't it? From your comment and Cam's question, I'm going to have to go back and look at them again.
Interesting points about memory. It is so subjective, isn't it? I read something somewhere about how memory is not linear, it is fluid. We really don't work like cataloging systems in a library -- it is much more human to have that ripple-in-the-pond memory type. Overlapping circles, more than points on a straight line.
Don't feel bad about not being a robot. ;)
Posted by: KG | June 13, 2008 at 10:06 PM
Kristin - Thank you for the encouragement. :)
Posted by: Cam Beck | June 16, 2008 at 05:47 PM
Cam — You're welcome! Enjoy. :)
Posted by: KG | June 16, 2008 at 10:53 PM
I discovered The Chronicles of Narnia as an adult when I read all the books with my son. I loved them, and definitely recommend a read or re-read.
I like the idea of books and place - I will definitely write this essay, if I can ever narrow the field to just one book :)
Posted by: Becca | June 22, 2008 at 10:14 PM
Becca — So great to hear that you had a positive experience reading Narnia as an adult!
Let us know how your essay goes. And I'd love to know which book you finally choose. I know it will be tough. ;)
Posted by: KG | June 23, 2008 at 11:18 AM
I wrote about "Jane Eyre." You can find it here: http://theslowcookedsentence.blogspot.com/2008/06/certain-book-read-in-certain-place.html
Posted by: Rachael Levy | June 26, 2008 at 06:57 PM
Rachel — Fantastic! I'll definitely read your essay and link to it. Thanks for the heads up.
Posted by: KG | June 26, 2008 at 10:06 PM