I’d always heard you are what you eat…I disagree. I think you are what you read.
I have thousands of books. Most are in boxes in our garage, but a select 150 or so are gently tucked into the small bookshelf in my bedroom. I dream of having a room just for my books, with floor to ceiling shelves and a ladder on a pole that runs around the whole room someday. But for now, my thousands of books remain in boxes in my garage. It’s sad, it breaks my heart, and I wish I could even get one big bookshelf, one that can hold at least half my collection. We just don’t have the wall space for it.
Anyway, what I do know is if someone were to look through my personal book collection, they would learn a lot about me. Note: Business books don’t count, while I do have many I like, they don’t say nearly as much about me as my personal collection.
There are quite a few books in there that are worn from reading so many times, others that are filled with notes, highlights and thoughts and some that have barely been opened. While I respect books more than a lot of people I know, that doesn’t mean I keep them pristine. Books I love are often worn, torn, written on and beat up from the number of times I have read them and the places they have been. The more I love a book, the more worn it is. There are even a few books that I have had to buy a new one because I beat up the first one so badly…I’m on my 3rd copy of I Know This Much is True and Atlas Shrugged. My notes all go in the original copies, but if I want to re-read it, and take it somewhere, I take one of the newer ones so they don’t fall apart (seriously, the first copies, the bindings are barely on anymore).
Of course, there is an exception to every rule. There is one set of books I have read 4 or 5 times, and still remains in perfect condition. The Harry Potter series. They stay in the house, protected. I feel like if I were to beat those up, I’d hurt their feelings. They need to be nurtured and loved, for fear the magic would just fall out if I was careless (told you I love books).
When I tell people about my collection, I often get the question: So, which book is your favorite? And I can never answer it. I try, but I just keep thinking of others that I couldn’t live without. I guess the best answer would be, it depends on my mood.
When I need uplifting? I turn to either Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) or one of the 7 Harry Potter’s (J.K. Rowling).
With a glass of wine? The Queen’s Fool (Phillipa Gregory) or Me Talk Pretty One Day (David Sedaris)
Cold and rainy day? I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb) or Weep No More, My Lady (Mary Higgins Clark)
What do you read? What books are you passionate about?
And if you’re interested in checking out any of my favorites, here’s the links on Amazon:
Related posts:
- Creativity through the years – 1997
- Creativity inspired by Wicked.
- You can’t learn unless you ask questions.
Kirsten
