8 thoughts on “Books in a Small Town

  1. I read this when you first posted it. Books were also my escape and continue to be my safe escape. Thanks for this glimpse into the childhood that helped you become the woman we admire today.

  2. I also grew up in a small town ( central Illinois) and read to learn about the world. I devoured those you mentioned. Once I was allowed upstairs to the “adult ” library (I was 12 and had already read everything in the children’s library), I read my way through Frank Slaughter, Thomas Costain, Leon Uris, Agatha Christie and Grace Livingston Hill. Quite an eclectic group. But what fun I still read across all genres and still count you as one of my favorites along with Mary Roach. Keep writing please.

    • Yes, Thomas B. Contain. I had forgotten about him. The Tontine and The Silver Chalice, right?

  3. I also grew up in a very small one-stoplight town in the midwest where it snowed 9 months of the year. Lucky for me, I walked home right past the library every day and would always stop in to pick up books to transform me to other worlds. Also, being only one of two half Asian families (Japanese Mom, American Dad) in this small mostly German dominated town, it was nice to get away from racism directed at me so that I could “fly away” to lands unknown, solve the world’s mysteries, (Thank you, Nancy Drew), visit mystical places, etc. Thank YOU for all the great writing you’ve done throughout the years. Now I can see what Arizona looks and feels like too! I’m a huge fan!

  4. Reading was also my way to venture forth into a world other than my little 3 room country school. My first teacher (she taught first to third grades) would go to the library and get 3-4 boxes of books and bring them to school for us to read. That was manna from heaven to me. I traveled the world and met so many people and learned so much. To this day, I read 1-2 books a week. J. A. Jance has three shelves of my bookcase, and I am going to have to push someone out of the way to make room for more. I have all of your books to date available in paper back, two of some of them, and have read most two times. Your characters are like family, Beaumont reminds me of one of my brothers, Joanna is who I wanted to be when I grew up. Ali Reynolds is my tough lady personna, and although there are not many Diana Ladd books, I have enjoyed them all, especially Queen of the Night.

  5. I grew up on a farm in Central Iowa. Our town had a small library, but it had little for children In the summer Mom would contact the Iowa State Traveling Library to send us some books. They were wrapped in a brown paper package. Mom opened the package very carefully as she would use the paper when sending the books back. There was even return postage in a little envelope. I think my sister and I read them fast. We were ready to send them back before the month was up. This was in the years before TV.

    I loved Nancy Drew, too.

  6. I spent last weekend beginning with Friday, the 19th, in a hospital. I fell in my kitchen. Didn’t do any serious damage, but have a nice black eye. What is awful is no books , magazines and newspapers were allowed. I carry a Gideon New Testament in my handbag, but I really wasn’t interested in reading it. All I could do was watch terrible TV. This really made me thankful I can read all I want at home. I can’t believe the virus could be carried in a book, but who knows?

    PS They had plenty of toilet paper.

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