Deadly Furniture

I was asked the other day what childhood book inspired me to pursue a job in publishing. After a spluttered moment when I panicked and thought about all those strange years when I wasn’t going to be an editor (I like to call them Rebecca: The Nurse Years), I realized that I had absolutely no idea. So I went to my fall back for most things book related, The Lord of the Rings, and smiled and nodded my way into another topic.

But the question has haunted me since. I feel like everyone else in the entire world has an answer to the question (although I will admit to not asking quite everyone yet. Busy week). But for me, when I was young, I was more interested in finishing as many books as possible in as short a time span as possible.

Funny side note: When I was in fourth and fifth grade, I started a book club during recess (I know. I was really popular). When a friend couldn’t keep up with me as I was reading Redwall, I sorta kicked her out of the club. That made me the only member. On the bright side, during this moment in time I was kicking-ass at any reading competition that my school library could throw at me. Read around Michigan? How about ten times! Read some Newbery Winners? How about all of them (even this one).

So in this whole time span, I doubt any books seriously moved me and inspired me towards a job in publishing. Instead, as it usually is with me, I think it was a memory.

My family lives in the middle of nowhere. Our small town (if you can call it that) has a single post-office and that’s practically our main attraction. So, whenever there’s a bad storm we always lose power and, because there aren’t that many of us, we’re pretty low on the priority list to return to civilization. But when I was young, whenever we lost power my family would all sit in the dark in our living room and my dad would read to us. And that’s how I heard the Chronicles of Narnia for the first time.

Of course, this is all over-the-top sentimental stuff that would be too much to bring up in serious conversation. I’m sure that I’ll stick with my Lord of the Rings answer if anyone ever asks it again (it’s safe and pretty true). But really, it was those moments in the dark as a storm blew outside where I was transported to a world of lions, magic, and summer that taught me the power of books. And that’s the first step into a job in publishing.