Reader's Fave

I recently interviewed Rosburg resident Judy Johnson for our 49th installment of Reader's Fave, a casual interview with someone who shares their favorite book. Opening our conversation, Judy said, "Books crafted my life and I recommend them to others. My mom read all the time. She'd read all kinds of things, whether to herself or to us. She also made sure we appreciated opera by having us listen to it every Saturday afternoon on the radio. We listened for several hours. I just grew up that way. We also had a 100 greatest book list given by our mom. This was our reading list and we used it to pick out a book from the library. My mom, being a fisherwoman, would check out the tide table and she'd take us to the beach at low tide. We'd fish mainly for abalone among the rocks. It didn't matter if it was a school day, we'd go to the beach instead, and it was always in the morning. She'd make a fire right on the beach and she'd cook fresh abalone right there for us. That was our prize each time we finished one of the books."

Judy shared about some books from her youth. "I read 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' by Jules Verne, along with 'The Swiss Family Robinson' by Johann Wyss," Judy said. "I enjoyed reading about these adventure type books with lots of danger. I also read 'Call of the Wild' by Jack London. His famous 'Wolf House' was kinda near where we lived, so our mom took us there. I don't know if we ever finished that list, but we were always reading. We didn't go on vacation; we went fishing instead. While we kids were at school, my mom, by herself, would take our 18-foot boat out in the Pacific and go fishing. Living where we did, I knew about John Steinbeck and read his books. My favorite of his is 'The Moon is Down, writing from the perspective of these Norwegian villagers during World War II. It's not a war story; it's just what they had to endure being occupied by the Nazis."

Later in life, things got busy for Judy. "For many, many years, I didn't read books," she said. "I was inundated with science literature that I needed and wanted to read, due to my marine biology formal education and follow-on work in both marine and plant biology. It wasn't until I was around 72 that I began reading books again. I had a lot of catch-up reading to do for fun. I've read the 'C.J. Box' series of books, and anyone who reads these books should read from the very beginning to understand and enjoy it. I've also read Kristin Hannah's novels, along with Charles Martin. I especially like his 'Murphy Shepherd' series. It involves human trafficking in the stories of which I'm well attuned. I was first exposed to this with young kids in Europe who had been forcefully involved in this activity. I'm an active supporter and engaged with Lifesong for Orphans, an organization which seeks to help kids who have been abused by human trafficking."

Mentioning another favorite book of hers, Judy said, "I started reading and using 'The Founders' Bible' by author David Barton around 2011. Our country's founding documents are incorporated right into the Bible itself. I read it like a research paper. This book overrides all my reading; I love it. I think it's important to be a life learner, to never stop learning, and to read books to the end. Just to show, my 'Founders' Bible' is falling apart, which shows I'm not falling apart."

May you wonderful Wahkiakum readers find books throughout your busy life which bring you joy, education, and comfort.