Fiction

I have just been deeply moved to discover that one of the reasons an old and dear friend of mine is now such an amazing writer and lover of literature is because he saw how much I loved to read when we were children. I remember the stories we told late into the night, often recorded on tape, on the adventures of Jonathan and Jony. He was always the better speaker, by the way. What I did not remember was retelling the books I had been reading. In the winter of 1990 (I was nine at that time) I wish I had been able to better replicate the adventures that colored my imagination but, then again, had I been able to satisfy his ear maybe he never would have read them for himself! The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis is an outstanding set of books. Even though they are classified as children's literature, one of my post-graduate roommates just read them for himself, which goes to prove they can capture the mind of the adult as well as the mind of a child. I hope Disney does the first book justice in their movie coming out soon. A forest that connects worlds, meeting Aslan, wandering through a desert with a talking horse, sailing to the end of the earth, traveling underground, passing into heaven and more - all with Christian life lessons tied into the story. C.S. Lewis believed there are truths that cannot be learned by the heart unless they are told as a story. I agree; didn't Jesus teach mostly through stories too?
Now that my old friend has shared why he became an avid reader, I may as well reveal the sources of my inspiration too - my parents. Some of my earliest and fondest memories are of them reading an illustrated children's Bible to my sister and myself. Later I recall my mom reading books to me at night and transporting me into the lives of people in other times and other places. I still remember the stories she read but the one that stuck the most was the Island of the Blue Dolphins (of a girl who got left behind when her family abandoned their island home). In the oral tradition, my dad used his memories of the Lord of the Rings as a framework to telling the adventures of Jonathan and Kristin. When I discovered where he got his ideas, I read most of The Hobbit by Tolkien in a single night - well, not just because it was good, but because I was making regular visits to the bathroom all night that night anyway.
Books are an excellent tool for sharing imaginations and adventures. Humankind used to have oral traditions to pass on stories. Then came the printed word and stories were kept on paper to remain unchanged for the ages. Now, we've entered an age of telling stories by film. Don't get me wrong, I love watching movies more than most, but you have to realize movies don't inspire the imagination like books do. Why use your imagination when you are seeing the story as it has been imagined for you by a team of professionals? When I read a good book, I'm not looking at a page full of words. Though my eye may be following the black and white lines on paper, my mind's eye sees only the story unfold before my imagination and I become the characters in the tale. I'm so thankful God gave us imaginations.
Jony, I'm so glad you love books too. Have you read some of C.S. Lewis' other works of fiction? My absolute favorite book of his is Till We Have Faces, which I didn't discover till after leaving Mexico. You should read it sometime; I've read it many times and still learn new things every time through. Thanks for sharing your story with me.