Hugh Laurie in February's Oprah and Books...

Okay. I'll admit it. I'm addicted to House. I LOVE Hugh Laurie. He's handsome and funny and has a great American accent... though I prefer his real accent any day.

So, you can imagine my excitement when I saw that February's issue of Oprah featured "Books that Made a Difference to Hugh Laurie." As I was reading his comments, this really struck me:

...Then there are the books that shine in my memory, milestones along the horizontal course of my life. I remember not just the books themselves, but the chair that I sat in, the shoes I wore, the woman I loved, what song was on the charts at the time. None of which makes them good books, exactly, although all of them are -- it just means that they are mine. They really happened.

Amazing. This statement speaks to me on so many levels... first, my own love of books and the places that they take me. Sitting on my sister's lap, reading The Night Before Christmas. Talking with my friend, Chrissie, in 6th grade about Homecoming and Dicey's Song. Sitting on the bay in Auckland, reading the His Dark Materials series. The breakfast at Mel and Todd's when we talked about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. It's amazing how books take me back. Wayne's screaming sarcasm as we discussed The Time Traveler's Wife. Defining moments. Memories. Steps along the "horizontal course of life."

And now, this is what I want to give my students. I want them to remember the first time we read Skippyjon Jones. I want them to feel what Tomie felt as we read The Art Lesson and what Trisha felt when we read Thank You, Mr. Falker. Books hold so much more than characters and plot.

It's a love affair I just can't shake.