Michał Grosicki
I read a lot when I was a kid.
By a lot, I mean I read in the car even when it was getting dark. I can’t remember how many times Mom told me I’d ruin my eyes – never mind the fact that I already wore glasses and was begging her for contacts.
When we’d go shopping, she’d tell me that if I behaved while she shopped then I would be allowed to buy a book for a treat. I was a model of politeness and decorum most every time.
I tried to get a library card on my own one day. My grammy only lived half a block away and back then kids walked anywhere without a second thought. So I walked up one day and asked for a library card. They told me to come back with my Mom.
My love for reading didn’t change in middle school. I had the same reading teacher for grades 6-8 – Miss Grove. Miss Grove required book reports, and the books had to be selected from her painstakingly curated book list. It contained classics and award winners along side popular – but well written – novels for teens.
Miss Grove never would have considered adding Twilight to the list. Of this, I am certain.
Over the course of three years in her reading class, I had to write a total of 12 book reports, if memory serves. Part of me remembers that it was one per marking period, but I almost think it might have been two. If the latter is the case, then I wrote 24.
And I still didn’t scratch the surface of the massive list.
For some reason, I decided at some point in my adulthood that it would be fun to go back and see how many of the books I could read. It definitely would provide a diversion to all the heavy reading I’m doing for my seminary classes.
About a year and a half ago*, I received an email from my former high school librarian who had seen my writing in the local newspaper. I asked her if she had a copy of the old book list. She promised to dig around for it, and a few weeks later I received the list – now weighing in at 17 pages, front and back.
No time frame. Just me and a list of hundreds of books. As I read, I post. (2018 note: Most posts will be on Instagram using the hashtag #MissGrovesBookList.)
Feel free to join in with your thoughts, memories and comments on the books as I post short thoughts on each one.
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*This post appeared on a previous blog, and I dusted it off for Throwback Thursday this week since I’ve picked up reading from the list again.
