I've been checking out my books (surprised I bet you are!) and I've come to the belated conclusion that I'm never going to make the pile go away or stop growing. It's the nature of books, they multiply. Short of giving away every book I own and never buying another it's not going to happen. Actually the very thought of giving them away feels almost like I've suggested having a book burning party in the back garden with Adolph as lead torch bearer.
I think this may explain the way I feel about my books.
They are my friends, my memories, my hopes and dreams. I can pick up any one of my collection and as I hold it in my hands I am transported to the time it came into my possession, be it when I was 5 or 35. Or on reading the pages I can remember the first or even fifth time I read those words and what was happening in my life, with my family, or who I was in love with. I use them as life markers as much as for the stories on their pages. Some people use photographs for this, for me its my books.
The stories, poems, prose when I read I'm there, either watching from the shadows or participating with as much emotion as the characters. They make me laugh and sometimes they make me cry (and believe me crying does not come easily to me). Whether I wish to feel happy, sad, childish, angry, uplifted, inspired all I have to do is choose one of my friends.
Funny this post was going to be about some of the books I'd be reading in 2009, got sidetracked, but I'll get to them all at some point in my life, they're certainly not going anywhere.
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I really relate to your feelings about books. As a child they were my best and constant companions. As I grow older, I find books a source of never ending pleasure. People can bring some of that to one, but if I picked it, I can be sure that a book will always deliver what I need.
ReplyDeleteEven though I have two sisters there's a big gap between them and me, I was something of an afterthought I guess. So books became my friends and the stories were the basis of my make believe games. The feeling of friendship has stayed with me ever since.
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