My favourite quote by Jorge Luis Borges is:
“I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library”.
I am someone who loves to read. I have a love of books. Any kind of book. According to a recent entry on Wikipedia, their definition of a classic bibliophile is “one who loves to read, admire and collect books, often amassing a large and specialized collection”. I couldn’t agree more.
I grew up in home where books were considered dust collectors, and we as a family owned very few. I see myself making up for lost time, with my vast personal home library. Everything I need to know I can find on those bookshelves. (And the internet of course, but my collecting started before the web became what it is today). Think of it as a place of instantaneous information at my fingertips without ever having to leave home. Joy.
Reading a book is pure escapism and entertainment. It’s learning. It’s pleasure. All wrapped up into one. They say, do what you love.
I love to read.
I am happiest when I have a dozen titles on the go. I have little stacks of books just waiting for me to relish. Could say I am an avid and voracious reader.
I’ve discovered a great website www.alibris.com that carries used, new, and out-of-print books. Joy.
Browsing garage sales, used book stores, and recently the book department at Value Village, I am getting my fill. More joy.
My greatest find was picking up a few hundred used books some years back. I sometimes dream of owning a used book depot to share my love for reading while collecting donated books that will keep them in circulation and out of landfills.
There is nothing like being immersed in a great read.
There are times when I’d rather read the book than watch the movie version.
If I could describe my love of reading to you, it would be comparable to breathing. It’s just essential to existing. If I had a mission, it would be to spread the joy of reading to everyone.
Books provide answers to many questions. They are unending sources of knowledge and power. For this reader, it’s that passion, that joy of reading again, taking me places. Stories affect. Words Imprint.
I grow and am changed by what I discover in the text between those covers.
Holding a book is a viseral tactile experience that can never be replaced by a digital book.
Ebooks and eReaders will not kill the joy of reading in my estimation. For me it’s about ease of use. I can carry a dozen or more books at one time if I load up my eReader. My purse will not weigh a ton and should I choose to, I can borrow an ebook from the library with a few clicks of the mouse and not even have to get up or leave the house to do this when I am in couch potato mode. (Pluses not minuses in my book).
Reading is being alone with my thoughts with my book as a constant companion. It’s how I stay informed and connected to my emotional self. What are you reading? Does it evoke similar feelings in you? Will you have the time to finish it?
All I can say is one can never have too many books. One just needs to set aside the time to vacuum them periodically.
