{"id":1463,"date":"2025-09-15T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ccpls.info\/true\/?p=1463"},"modified":"2025-09-08T17:01:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T23:01:20","slug":"my-reading-journey-stephanie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ccpls.info\/true\/2025\/09\/15\/my-reading-journey-stephanie\/","title":{"rendered":"My Reading Journey – Stephanie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For the first six years of my life, I lived in the middle of nowhere on the Crow Reservation. My dad taught in a one-room schoolhouse serving local ranch families. I loved where I lived. My house was mostly quiet and afforded me ample time to think and imagine. Outside my house was a vast, empty landscape that stretched as far as I could see. Once a month, the school kids, my family, and I took a trip to Sheridan to go to the public library. The library felt like the opposite of my house. It was stuffed full of books and people. The opportunities for stories and experiences there made it feel like the whole place was buzzing with life. I loved it there too. My middle-of-nowhere life and the stuffed-full library felt the same to me: alive with possibility for endless growth, new experiences, and fresh understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My reading journey is reflective of my life\u2019s journey. In the rural setting of my formative years, I learned about the expansiveness of reflection and solitude. My experiences at the public library taught me to seek out stories, try new things, and forge connections with others. Reflecting on my childhood helped me make sense of my reading tastes, which have always been voracious and varied. I bounce between genres and intended audiences. What connects the books that have meant the most to me are the ways in which they aided me along my journey of exploring the vastness of interiority (my own and every other human\u2019s) and the limitlessness of the world outside my door as it extends to the whole universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cAnswer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything\u201d may or may not be \u201c42\u201d as Deep Thought, the supercomputer from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy<\/em> calculates, but through reading, I have the most profound opportunity to connect my thoughts, feelings, and experiences to others who have bravely shared their own stories. Tracy K. Smith, who does her own exploring of the Ultimate Question in her poem \u201cMy God, It\u2019s Full of Stars\u201d makes a beautiful hypothesis that amid the lonely immensity of the universe, our shared stories connect us and help us find meaning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes, what I see is a library in a rural community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the tall shelves in the big open room. And the pencils<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a cup at Circulation, gnawed on by the entire population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The books have lived here all along, belonging<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For weeks at a time to one or another in the brief sequence<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of family names, speaking (at night mostly) to a face,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pair of eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Me on a trip the Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Anne of Green Gables<\/em> by L.M. Montgomery<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Medieval Life <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bread and Jam for Frances<\/em> by Russell Hoban<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Chair For My Mother <\/em>by Vera B. Williams<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Something Big Has Been Here<\/em> by Jack Prelutsky<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Snowman<\/em> by Raymond Briggs<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Frog and Toad<\/em> by Arnold Lobel<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Long Winter<\/em> by Laura Ingalls Wilder<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Catherine, Called Birdy<\/em> by Karen Cushman<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wade in the Water<\/em> by Tracy K. Smith<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Tears of Things<\/em> by Richard Rohr<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gilead<\/em> by Marilynne Robinson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Higher Power of Lucky<\/em> by Susan Patron<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wayside School: Beneath the Cloud of Doom by Louis Sachar<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy<\/em> by Douglas Adams<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Penderwicks<\/em> by Jeanne Birdsall<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Empire of Necessity<\/em> by Greg Grandin<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A First Time for Everything<\/em> by Dan Santat<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the first six years of my life, I lived in the middle of nowhere on the Crow Reservation. My dad taught in a one-room schoolhouse serving local ranch families. I loved where I lived. My house was mostly quiet and afforded me ample time to think and imagine. Outside my house was a vast, empty landscape that stretched as far as I could see. Once a month, the school kids, my family, and I took a trip to Sheridan to go to the public library. The library felt like the opposite of my house. It was stuffed full of books and people. The opportunities for stories and experiences there made it feel like the whole place was buzzing with life. I loved it there too. My middle-of-nowhere life and the stuffed-full library felt the same to me: alive with possibility for endless growth, new experiences, and fresh understanding. My reading journey is reflective of my life\u2019s journey. In the rural setting of my formative years, I learned about the expansiveness of reflection and solitude. My experiences at the public library taught me to seek out stories, try new things, and forge connections with others. Reflecting on my childhood helped me make sense of my reading tastes, which have always been voracious and varied. I bounce between genres and intended audiences. What connects the books that have meant the most to me are the ways in which they aided me along my journey of exploring the vastness of interiority (my own and every other human\u2019s) and the limitlessness of the world outside my door as it extends to the whole universe. The \u201cAnswer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything\u201d may or may not be \u201c42\u201d as Deep Thought, the supercomputer from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy calculates, but through reading, I have the most profound opportunity to connect my thoughts, feelings, and experiences to others who have bravely shared their own stories. Tracy K. Smith, who does her own exploring of the Ultimate Question in her poem \u201cMy God, It\u2019s Full of Stars\u201d makes a beautiful hypothesis that amid the lonely immensity of the universe, our shared stories connect us and help us find meaning: \u201cSometimes, what I see is a library in a rural community. All the tall shelves in the big open room. And the pencils In a cup at Circulation, gnawed on by the entire population. The books have lived here all along, belonging For weeks at a time to one or another in the brief sequence Of family names, speaking (at night mostly) to a face, A pair of eyes.\u201d Me on a trip the Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library Then: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery Medieval Life Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams Something Big Has Been Here by Jack Prelutsky The Snowman by Raymond Briggs Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman Now: Wade in the Water by Tracy K. Smith The Tears of Things by Richard Rohr Gilead by Marilynne Robinson The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron Wayside School: Beneath the Cloud of Doom by Louis Sachar The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall The Empire of Necessity by Greg Grandin A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":1502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,24,5,25,410,1],"tags":[535,565,528,543,533,547,566,560,531,542,553,564,538,539,562,548,529,545,460,554,532,541,552,534,537,557,563,556,544,561,540,551,550,536,549,558],"class_list":["post-1463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-childrens","category-fiction","category-history","category-nonfiction","category-staff-picks","category-uncategorized","tag-a-chair-for-my-mother","tag-a-first-time-for-everything","tag-anne-of-green-gables","tag-arnold-lobel","tag-bread-and-jam-for-frances","tag-catherine-called-birdy","tag-dan-santat","tag-douglas-adams","tag-eyewitness-books","tag-frog-and-toad","tag-gilead","tag-greg-grandin","tag-jack-prelutsky","tag-james-stevenson","tag-jeanne-birdsall","tag-karen-cushman","tag-l-m-montgomery","tag-laura-ingalls-wilder","tag-louis-sachar","tag-marilynne-robinson","tag-medieval-life","tag-raymond-briggs","tag-richard-rohr","tag-russell-hoban","tag-something-big-has-been-here","tag-susan-patron","tag-the-empire-of-necessity","tag-the-higher-power-of-lucky","tag-the-long-winter","tag-the-penderwicks","tag-the-snowman","tag-the-tears-of-things","tag-tracy-k-smith","tag-vera-b-williams","tag-wade-in-the-water","tag-wayside-school-beneath-the-cloud-of-doom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccpls.info\/true\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccpls.info\/true\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccpls.info\/true\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccpls.info\/true\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccpls.info\/true\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1463"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ccpls.info\/true\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1506,"href":"https:\/\/ccpls.info\/true\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1463\/revisions\/1506"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccpls.info\/true\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccpls.info\/true\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccpls.info\/true\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccpls.info\/true\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}