The One: The book that means the most
I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in first grade as I stood there clutching my copy of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, as the librarian at my elementary school told me, “Kimberly, you have to turn in that book. Someone else deserves a chance to check it out.” I turned it in, but I came back to the library every day to make sure it was still there. I just wanted to know it was in the same building as me. I needed to know the magic was nearby. I ran my hand across the thin spine of the book, just to assure myself.
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This is the hold a good book can have on a person, of any age, really. We’ve been telling stories to each other since we were running around in fur pelts and catching our dinner with nothing but a spear and our wits. We drew on cave walls, trying to convey the struggle and wonder of our existence. Sendak’s world in Wild Things was a return to those primal times, a boy whose room was slowly transforming into a jungle, and he met splendid beasts who taught him how to roar!
As the marketplace is flooded with more and more books, I often wonder why I keep writing, but then I remember different stories appeal to different people. A person may read dozens before they find that one book that they love so much they just want to know they are at least in the same building as their beloved tale.
What is that one book that made you love reading? We sometimes feel pressured to answer with some sophisticated classic, but I don’t believe in that. The correct answer is whatever book sings to your soul. There is no wrong answer.
Check out something brand new from Katherine Nichols! Imperfect Alignment
Liz Tucker’s childhood was ruled by the stars. Every morning, her mother read the horoscope page. When the prediction was positive, all was good. But God help them if the planets were out of alignment.
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Now a successful producer in an LA public relations firm, Liz has escaped those arbitrary forecasts, but her mother’s stroke takes her back to her stepfather’s beautiful Atlanta house, a place she could never bring herself to call home.
Once there, dark memories resurface and terrify Liz with the prospect that her mother’s condition is the result of one horrific night. As she struggles with distinguishing reality from imagination, she comes to understand the reasons for her self-destructive behavior. Everything from her terrible choices in men to running away from the only man she really loved can be explained by one dreadful event.
Before she can reclaim what was lost, forces return to destroy all she holds dear. Only Liz can stop them, but will she be strong enough?
Looking for nonfiction? Check out You’re Not a Murderer: You Just Have Harm OCD.
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This is a memoir my oldest child and I wrote about living with extreme OCD with intrusive thoughts.
“You’re Not a Murderer: You Just Have OCD is a prime example of the kind of candid, thoughtful memoir needed to convince people they are not alone in their mental health struggles and that capable help is available, and often essential.”—Doug Smith, M.D., DLFAPA Director of Community Psychiatry at Northeast Ohio Medical University
Upcoming Events:
Sat., 1/31/2026 Virginia Highlands Books
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March 27th 1-4 pm Carrollton Book Fest Workshop
“So You Want to Write” with George Weinstein and Kim Conrey
The what, why, and how of writing. We’ll discuss everything from editing, formatting, obstacles, publishing, routines, etc. Let’s get into it! Click here to register: https://www.
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