Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — I can mark my life in books, paper stepping-stones along the way. Each one influencing and creating thoughts, memories, desires, loves, likes, dislikes and much more.
My bookprint
“Sneeches on Beaches.” “The Lorax.” “Horton Hears a Who.” “Bartholomew and the Oobleck.” These immortal Dr. Seuss books are bright lights from my childhood, tied to memories of laughter-filled family time. Each also helped fuel my penchant for the quirky, unusual and colorful.
“Matilda” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” These two books introduced me to a land of imagination, to magic. To the power of goodness over badness, humility over arrogance.
In my high school years, I discovered what take-my-breath-away writing truly is. I read "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and "Going After Cacciato."
“A Wrinkle in Time,” “Goosebumps” books and “The Land of Oz.” Each one of these books was an education in my delight in the bizarre.
In my high school years, I discovered what take-my-breath-away writing truly is. I read “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Their Eyes Were Watching God” and “Going After Cacciato.” After reading those pages, I knew that words could touch the soul and that not all worthwhile stories are happily ever after.
In my adult life, like meeting good friends, I’ve known the joy of reading. “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Jane Eyre” and “The Man Who Listens to Horses.” More recently, books like "The Time Traveler's Wife," "The Help," “Love Walked In” and “The Book Thief.” “The Art of Racing in the Rain” and “Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories.” Each of these books has influenced my adult beliefs, my writing style and contributed to the person I am today.
This is my bookprint.
Creating a bookprint
According to the You Are What You Read website by Scholastic, a bookprint is “the mark that a book leaves on our lives, shaping who we are and who we become. It is our textual lineage, as described by Dr. Alfred Tatum, professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Our textual lineage is a reading and writing autobiography which shows that who you are is in part developed through the stories and information you’ve experienced.”
Just like a fingerprint, a bookprint is unique to the individual. One of the amazing things about reading is that no two people will experience the same book in the same way. What we take away from a book is dependent on who we are, what we like, what we’ve experienced and what other books we’ve read.
If being a parent consists often of passing along chunks of ourselves to unwitting — often unwilling — recipients, then books are, for me, one of the simplest and most surefire ways of doing that.
–Anna Quindlen, author
But unlike a fingerprint, we are not born with our bookprints. We form them along the way, from the earliest days of childhood until the end. As a parent, I guide my children to the best books, to the ones just perfect for them so they can build a meaningful bookprint of their own. Just as my parents did for me.
I take my children to the library, the bookstore and build our family library each chance I get. Not only to teach them to read, but also to help them discover who they are. Dick Robinson, chief executive officer of Scholastic Inc., said, “This textual lineage will enable all young people to have a reading and writing identity, which helps them understand who they are and how they can make their lives better.”
Anna Quindlen, author and columnist, wrote, "If being a parent consists often of passing along chunks of ourselves to unwitting — often unwilling — recipients, then books are, for me, one of the simplest and most surefire ways of doing that."
Like the physical legacy of my eyes and eyebrows, I have the chance to gift my children a rich literary lineage. I am their best guide along the path to a rich and meaningful bookprint, which in turn can help with a successful and happy life. One paper stepping-stone at a time.
What is your bookprint? Share some of the books that have left a mark on your life on the Comment Page or Motherhood Matters Facebook page.
Book Calendar
- For the Love of Reading Conference: For parents, grandparents, teachers and librarians. For more info or to register, visit the conference website.
- World Book Night: Register to be a giver and receive 20 free copies of a favorite book to give away. Registration ends Feb. 1. Visit the website for more details.
- Dolly's Bookstore: Hosting several author events. Please visit the store's website for details.
- The King's English Bookshop: Hosting several author events. Please visit the shop's website for all the details.
- The Utah Chapter of the Association of Personal Historians: Hosting workshops and introductory presentations on preserving life stories. Events run through May. For complete schedule and more info visit the chapter's blog.
Teri Harman writes and reads from home amid the chaos of three young children. Her bi-weekly column, Book Matters, appears on ksl.com and in the Deseret News. For more book fun, visit book- matters.com.
