Firsts

By Heather T.


Estella’s Revenge's January ‘Firsts’ theme gave me some difficulty in the beginning. When contemplating this theme I gave some thought to how the books I had on the go would fit and whether or not a review would work. I had a number of books in the rotation but none were of a genre I hadn’t previously explored so I wasn’t sure where I could really go with that.

I thought perhaps I could reread the first book I remembered and explore some ideas surrounding that but I tried to remember the first book I ever read and couldn’t come up with a title. Books have simply always been there and although they haven’t run together, I certainly didn’t have a blog back than to help me keep track of the books I read and what I might have thought about them. It certainly would have been fun to reread that first book though. I suspect it was a fairytale of some sort since I do remember being obsessed with having my father read to me every night the wonderful tale of Cinderella.

I do remember the first time I went to the public library by myself. It was during summer vacation and I was fourteen. I don’t know if that seems old or not but before that I’d only ever gone with my father. I suppose it never occurred to me that I might like to go by myself but I think there was one morning my father was busy working in the garden with my mother so off I went.

I remember feeling a different sort of excitement than usual – a certain empowerment. The length of the walk seemed shortened. The sky seemed a deeper blue and the sun seemed to shine even brighter than usual. It was late summer and the sound of tree frogs was amplified by my excitement and happiness.

What books did I explore that wonderful summer day? I wish I could remember but I’ve no idea what books I might have taken home with me. I remember only the joy I felt in opening the door to the library, striding inside and breathing deeply, smiling to myself and entering a random stack to see what I could discover. I still behave exactly the same each time I enter a library.