Reader's Fave

I recently interviewed Tracy Turner for our 46th installment of Reader's Fave, a casual discussion with someone who shares their favorite book. Tracy and her partner live on Puget Island.

Tracy started off by discussing the first books that attracted her, the "Nancy Drew" books. "Those hooked me," she said. "I'd imagine I'd drive a blue roadster like she did. I read all of the 'Nancy Drew' books, along with the 'Hardy Boys' and 'Bobbsey Twins' series. Once I got hooked on reading, I started on the library shelves at school and would read straight through on each shelf. That was around sixth to eighth grade. I have a lot of favorite books. 'Plutarch's Lives.' It's kind of a favorite book for me. Just this book itself. One of my favorite authors is Mark Twain. I have his short story book, 'Extract From Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven.' This was a book given to me by my uncle who knew I loved Mark Twain. My two favorites by Twain are 'Innocents Abroad' and 'Roughing It.' Another book I like is 'The Drums of Fu Manchu.' It's a collection of adventure stories. I have the first six in the series given to me by my grandmother. They are delightfully lurid and very racist for today, but a snapshot of who we were at that time. One of my favorites to read to others is 'Harold the Purple Crayon.' I read this to the fourth-grade classes when my three kids were in them. It's a story of Harold who creates his own trouble and yet gets himself out of the trouble. It's a story showing how mostly our own trouble is our own making. The book 'Wolf Story' shows a relationship between the dad and his two boys within the story. There is comfort food, and there's comfort stories, and I think this book shows this. It's gonna be ok, which is a super important message for kids. Another favorite book is 'The Search for Delicious.' I read this to every fourth-grade class of my kids. Basically, this is an anti-war book. It shows how the word 'delicious' is tough to define and how a certain person in the story used it to divide a kingdom for his benefit. However, maybe my favorite is 'Something Wicked This Way Comes.' [It's] maybe the best book about right and wrong, and how evil is not always apparent. It can be sometimes very charming. I also liked Bradbury's 'Dandelion Wine.' It's beautifully written and told. He speaks from the heart. As bleak as things may be, there is hope."

Sharing about her early days as a developing reader, Tracy said, "Maybe I had some kind of learning disability? Or just a late bloomer? It wasn't until I was around eight years old that reading was entertaining for me. I could read before that but it wasn't enjoyable. I loved school and got good grades and loved the sustained silent readers they had. I fell in love with the stories or songs which were read aloud to me. My philosophy is we exist because of stories. We tell a story for our own self-identity; a reflection of who we are and [who] they are. After eight years of age, I loved reading and would read all the books."

When asked about her favorite format for reading books, Tracy said, "All of them. I do all of the formats. It's easy to read an ebook at the doctor's office or do audio when I'm driving. I do believe audio books count. I'm not a purist."

May you wonderful Wahkiakum readers find a multitude of books which provide you with stories you value for your identity and who you are.