Bookology

I collect books. I’d rather own one than borrow one. One of my favorite sounds is that crackling one hears when a book is opened for the very first time. Try it. You’ll understand what I mean. I have more books that I can possibly read in a lifetime, yet I need more. I’m especially drawn by series. How can you have only volumes I and II, when you know there’s III and going to be a IV? The wait for publishing dates can be excruciating. I'm extremely sentimental about my books. And I'm quite sure my children will cherish them as much as I do, simply because they were mine or my father's before me. (You will, won't you?)

Children’s books are among my favorite to collect. I love searching out and finding that rare Happy Hollister book in perfect condition. I’m on a quest to recreate that favorite childhood series in my own library. I’m a rereader. It’s true. I’ve read some of my books 6 or 8 times. It’s like visiting old friends and favorite places. And sometimes, when I finally read a book from my collection for the very first time, I find myself completely dismayed that I allowed its world to go unexplored for so long. And it was just a shelf away.

Have you ever experienced a book? Been so caught up that you can taste what they’re eating or smell the salty air or felt the dampness of the night? I was an avid Nancy Drew fan. When I was young, my mom would come in and have complete conversations with me. While I was reading. She’d talk, I’d answer, and I didn’t even know she was there. I think my love of reading came from my parents. They were never without a book in their hands. Some of my favorite memories are of sitting by my dad on the couch each night as he read to me. One day he gave me a book that I still cherish – James Thurber’s, The 13 Clocks. He read that book to me several times. And I’ve read it to my own children. As I grew older my mom and I would swap books back and forth. She got me hooked on the Regency era and taught me everything I needed to know about Lord Byron and Almacks.

I’m amazed at how many book clubs are out there. I never had the urge to join one because often they choose books that I have no interest in. My sister belongs to a book club. She rather likes it. I’m not entirely sure she actually reads the required book, but that’s okay. I could superfluously chitchat with the best of them about books I’ve never read, but the thought of being required to read a book for pleasure just doesn’t make sense to me. And if Oprah picks it, I usually make a point of leaving it on the shelf. I just can’t seem to catch that particular wave.

I’m not a big fan of biographies or self-help books (I find them too prosaic), and leave it to my friends to tell me the highlights of Van Johnson’s life beyond the camera or the short (very short) version of How to Awaken My Life’s Purpose. I’m a fiction girl. Give me a mystery or adventure, fantasy or romance, but always… a happy ending.