What is it about a book that can tug at your heart and with the power of a magnet? Why do some books leave you wanting more, dreaming of the characters and wondering how they are doing now like they are part of your family. I started thinking about the many books I’ve read and why they meant so much to me at the time.

First I want to thank whoever introduced me to books. Really got me to love reading. The first book I remember reading is called “Hare is bad”. I read it over and over because it was a prize I won in grade 1. I read it until it was tattered. I loved that book, it’s 3 words per page and the pictures of the animals and the flimsy newsprint paper.  Here is a photo of the book my mother kept in the archives.

First book

When I was in grade 5 I went to a school that had a library where I could check out books and take them home. I was so amazed that I could actually do that, borrow books and return them. It was such a novelty for me then.  I could barely speak English but I was checking out books and reading them. I probably didn’t understand most of what I read but that didn’t stop me from reading “The Nancy Drew Series” , “The Hardy Boys”, The Secret 7 and so many others. In grade 6 I had a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Millard, who read to us “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”. When she read I felt as if I was watching a movie. My English was improving then and I understood most of the story and fell deeper in love with books. By this time, my mother got the whole family library cards for a library in our neighborhood and we could all go and get some books to curl up with. By high school my closest friends and I just spent time sharing books, talking books and trying to find the next book. Books were as difficult to find then as diamonds. I remember one year my favorite author’s new book came out but I was about number 100 to get the book at the library. My mother photocopied the whole book for me so I could read it in boarding school. What an angel she is. My mother, I could write about how wonderful she is for days but that will be another post.

Today I just got a bag full of books and I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to read next. Some books, the title just pulls me in and I just have to figure out what the story is about. Some books, I am drawn by the cover. Am I the only one? And of course I am always drawn to my usual authors that always deliver a masterpiece that I cannot put down, stealing moments to read a page or two while standing inline at the bank.

One thing is clear. This lovely feeling I get from books. It’s never going to end. I am grateful that where I live now, I can get any book I want to read. I can read books from all over the world and meet characters from all walks of life that way and with the beautiful diversity in our world, what a privilege to be able to read about it all.

At break time one day Faith had two sandwiches, tomato and butter on white bread and she offered me some, since I had forgotten to bring my lunch. I had never eaten tomato on bread before and it was really good and I told her so as she watched me to see my reaction. We sat on the cement block benches just outside the white school building.  I know I was touched by her kindness and her generosity and in a way knew we would always be there for each other. She was kind, friendly and fun after that we were such good friends, we would spend time together before school, after school and when she got really sick my mum took me to the hospital to see her. Our favorite thing to do was to lip sync to songs by Brenda Fassi and Yvonne Chaka Chaka, especially “Thank you Mr. DJ” and “I’m in love with a DJ”. Oh what fun. Then of course the game of the decade was marbles, where you try and hit someone’s tiny ball on the ground and if you hit it, it’s yours. Faith always beat me at that one, making me mad, but not enough to end our friendship.

Best friends

I often think of this angel and I guess I will never forget her. Today I thought of her because she is one of the people who got me to write. She didn’t tell me to but after she was gone, I needed a way to keep her alive. I began to write my diary as if I was writing to her. Almost daily from the time I was 13 to 18 I wrote in this diary telling her about my life and wondering what her life would have been like. To me that kept her memory alive and in a way eased the pain of losing someone so young and so lovely to me.

So it was time for her to go, just at 12 but I have been given all these years, I am grateful but wonder. Am I making the most of this life?

I’ve had Cece Winans’s CD for a long time. On it there’s a song, “ I surrender all”. I remember for years I used to skip it because I knew if I sang it I would be lying. I didn’t want to surrender all. I wanted to hold on to my life and try and solve problems on my own. I had an agenda and if I knew it went against what God wanted then I didn’t want to surrender.

But one day I did. Like falling from the top of a cliff and expecting angels to catch you. It’s a feeling of peace. It’s giving it ALL to God and saying here, Lord, my imperfections, my mistakes, my dreams, my plans, I give them all to you. Why would I want to hold on to my pain, my struggles when He who made me, made the whole earth knows what to do with it. Oh taste and see the goodness of the Lord. Just surrender it all to Him and His peace will invade your whole body, calmly setting my feet on solid ground.

I think it’s something I have to decide to do every day.

A few months ago I read the book, “The Girl Who Fell From the Sky” by Heidi W. Durrow. This book was captivating from the beginning and at times so mysterious I couldn’t wait for the end so I could finally understand what had happened. So sometimes I can’t wait for the book to end but when the end comes it can be bitter sweet. This book had one of the best endings I had read. Heidi didn’t give too much away and left room for speculation but her words painted such a wonderful vision that I will forever remember it. It wasn’t sad or happy, but it was memorable.

When I come to the end of my writing, the end of that story that I’ve been working on for years, or months, I’m often unsure of how the story will end. Either way every good story must come to an end and when that moment comes, will it leave the reader breathless, wanting more or angry at you.

The Hypnotist was the highlight of the Grahamstown Arts Festival. I knew what hypnosis was from some television shows and knew that I would not be able to just go to this show without hearing more about. So after some students came back they were excited and breathless, telling me all about it.

It was so funny

He made me cluck like a chicken

He made me act like a cow

We laughed the whole night

I tried to imagine being at this show, jumping around on stage like a chicken and falling asleep at the whim of this artist. I just knew that as much as I like to have fun I would never attend. Maybe that’s a flaw but I am very careful about the people I give control of my life. Who do I want to have that kind of power over me? Who do I say to “Here take my life and do as you will”.  I say only God. Only God can make me cluck like a chicken and laugh and cry at His whim. Maybe I’m just boring.

Writing Tip: Write about something that you observed or heard of that interested you. You point of view is valuable

Besides that today I spent most of my time after work watching the royal wedding. I loved the whole thing, seeing the fashions, the vows, the excitement. I can watch it many times over. I love weddings and I think they are those moments in life that take our breath away and I know many people count their wedding or a loved one’s wedding as one of the most memorable events in their lives.