I love books!
I love it when a book is so well written that I feel like the entire world disappears until I am completely done reading it!
I have read some books more than once, some in English and Spanish. That trick helped me learn English when I moved from Mexico City to the United States in May 2000.
My level of English was quite basic when I arrived to Jackson, WY. Some of the schools I attended would teach us English. We would start with: I am, you are, he is, she is, etc., conjugate a few more verbs, and then the school year would be over. Sadly, there was no continuation from where we had left to the next grade, so we would start all over from the verb to be every year! ☹️
It sounds pretty funny, but it is true: most of the English I knew when I moved to the USA was from watching “E! Entertainment Television.” I loved that they showed the series in their original language with Spanish subtitles. As a teenager, I watched many guilty-pleasure TV shows: Beverly Hills 90210, Felicity, Charmed, Dawson’s Creek, you name it. I watched dramas like Party of Five, Life Goes On, and ER. I also liked silly shows like News Radio, Just Shoot Me, Seinfeld, Will and Grace, and other comedy shows of the time. I admit that “Friends” was (and still is) one of my favorite shows ever! Even now days, if “Friends” is playing on the TV, I must watch… at least until the next commercial break. 😁
I am deviating from the subject. There is nothing new here!
Back in Mexico City, I could not afford books. I used to go to bookstores and pretend I was browsing their books, reading one chapter at a time. The bookstores weren’t as friendly as the new bookshops, where you buy coffee and sit comfortably to read for hours.
A good friend of mine in Mexico used to say, “I am too lazy to read this book.” He was not lazy. The emphasis was in “THIS” book. He has always liked learning new (complex and random information). I mean, he is an engineer, and he certainly likes complicated things like learning about solar panels “because it is the next new thing to do for our world.” He did not want those schoolbooks because “HE HAD TO READ THEM.” The “homework” part took away his joy in reading that book.
The first time I saw the book he “did not want to read,” I was stunned. I had been eyeing that title for weeks, but the bookstore wrapped it in plastic, so I could not do my “one chapter at a time” free reading.
I was Gus’ audiobook before they were a thing. I told him I would not do his homework for him, but I would read the book aloud so he could do his homework. And as it was our costume, we would go to a coffee shop (thank you, waitresses, at Sanborn’s in Xola, especially ‘La Morena’), Gus’ apartment, our friend Gitelle’s, or mine. We would sit for hours at ‘our’ table, drinking coffee like we never wanted to sleep again until we finished the book. That story happened almost every day for a few years. As the TV show Friends, I miss spending time at a coffee shop with my friends. Life seemed less complicated back then.
Anyhow, that is how I read “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Milan Kundera, “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho, “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel García Márquez, and other books that I have enjoyed so much. I could not have read those books because their prices exceeded my budget. The experience of reading such good books with friends makes those memories priceless.
It is easier to get books in the USA. You can go to thrift shops and book sales. Library cards are not too expensive compared to Mexico and other countries. They are even free if you live in that library’s county. I love all the little free libraries on streets, parks, and airports. And you do not always have to leave a book.
Going back to after I moved to Jackson. As I said, my English was relatively poor then. But I am curious and dislike not understanding something, so I ask tons of questions. Per the advice of my ESL tutor, I started watching movies with subtitles, even if the movie’s spoken language was English. More than twenty years later, I still have that habit. John likes it, too. You can read it if you didn’t hear what someone said in the movie.
As my level of English advanced, I changed my reading materials from the super-cool bilingual children’s books I borrowed from the library to my (until then) favorite books in Spanish, but now I was reading them in English. Teton County Library has always been such an excellent library. It was easy to borrow good books through them. They can order or borrow the title you want from other libraries if they do not have it.
I used to highlight with pencil (in my own books) every word I did not know, and then I would search each word in the dictionary. In the beginning, there were so many highlighted words! I have always been old-fashioned, so I did not get a cell phone until early 2007, when I turned thirty. Before that, I used to carry a dictionary in my backpack. I am proud to say it: I am a nerd. After I got that mobile phone, Google and I became close friends. 😁
As a kid, I liked grabbing any of our twelve encyclopedias or the giant dictionary at random to learn new words. Anne Rice’s original trilogy of her Vampires Chronicles gave me headaches. Patrick Süskind’s Perfume was so rich in descriptions that even though I haven’t had a sense of smell since I was 4 or 5 years old, I could get the same pleasant and disgusting scents as Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. Those books have words I have never used and never will, but I was excited learning unfamiliar words!
It has always brought me happiness to browse a book with pretty papers, fonts, or images. Sometimes, those books might be hard-cover books sewn by hand. Those books are like a hidden treasure, regardless of the book’s subject or language. It is like a cherry on top of a delicious dessert. 😋
When Mary Fran, my mother-in-law, gave me my first Kindle Fire tablet, I did not know what to think about it. It felt weird not to have an actual book in my hands, and I did not like that I could not browse through the pages to admire their pretty printing. She said, “I thought the same, Jessy. Give it a chance.” So, I did.
My mind changed after I ‘touched’ 2 or 3 of those words I did not understand, and the dictionary discreetly popped up with the meaning of the words. I love that you can fit dozens and dozens of books in one single device. Needless to say, I was converted. I liked mine so much that not too long afterwards, I saved money and purchased one for my mom and each of my brother’s daughters. Nowadays, I own two different ‘tablets’ (one only for reading, one for streaming/playing).
I still love “real” books, and I always will. At home, I have over 100 books and counting. Books make me happy. Do not get me started on notebooks, pens, or office supplies in general… those are entirely different stories! Sidenote: Thank you for the funny video, Laurel!
The pleasure of paging through a book is hard to beat. Reading a book while laying on a hammock, or under a tree, or a cozy blanket, by a fireplace, drinking a warm Chai (with oat milk for me)… total happiness!
I am sharing here a growing list of books I have read (or listened to) and would rate 3 to 5 stars. I am sure I have forgotten more than one. I am not listing the titles in the order I read them or liked them, but alphabetically by the author’s last name because it makes more sense (to me).
Maybe you have read one or more of these books and did not like them that much. In Mexico we say “cada cabeza es un mundo” (each head is its own world/universe) and “el gusto se rompe en géneros” (taste is broken into genres). I am always happy to talk about books regardless of whether I have already read them. I like to find new titles to read or listen to, so do not be shy and recommend them!
Un abrazo,
Jess
If you would like to recommend me a book or two, please fill this form out. Thank you in advance for the suggestion!