Books

I have loved books for as long as I can remember. Not only do I love reading them, I also smile at the sight of their spines dressed in brightly-colored jackets on the bookshelves. I take pleasure in the feel of the pages as they slide through my fingers, some slippery like silk, and others calloused like hard-worked hands. The smell of the ink mixed with the paper’s wooded past tickles my nose as my ears collect the faint sound of rustling, word-filled pages.

My guilty pleasure is buying books, even when I have far more than I could read in a year–perhaps two or three. Bookstore visits are fraught with temptation that must be resisted.

“Only one or two,” I admonish myself as my eyes grow wide at the sight of the tables and shelves, heavy with volumes begging to be bought.

Before embarking on my motorhome travels, I had more than 700 books crowding the shelves of my house. Some were old friends that had to be parted with in order to live my new, mobile life. There isn’t much room for books in a motorhome. Still, I managed to stuff a couple of boxes filled to the brim into the motorhome’s tiny cubbyholes.

This doesn’t mean that I only enjoy printed books. Now I read them on my tablet when I’m traveling, and listen to them on Audible while I’m walking or driving in the car. Back then, I didn’t have a tablet, and hadn’t yet heard of Audible.

Now that I’m no longer living in the motorhome, I find more and more volumes creeping onto the shelves, multiplying like rabbits, overflowing their allotted space. If only there was more time! Then I could read them and pass them along. But could I, really, pass them along? Some of them, certainly. Others, no. Some will remain my trusty, bookshelf friends.

13 thoughts on “For the Love of Books”

  1. As Heidi’s sister, I can vouch for her in that she truly loves books. She was always a book worm, even as a little girl. One childhood memory I have is Heidi curled up on the couch, always with a book in her hands. She takes after our Mom, who also is a lover of books. I am so happy to see Heidi realize her dream of writing her own book!

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  3. Oh, all those beautiful books! Heidi, your love of books comes across in a way that all book lovers can relate to. Books are lovely to hold. It’s comforting to turn their pages. And yes, they have their own smells – especially the old ones. And the stories they contain! It’s amazing. Years ago, when I became a devoted visitor to public libraries, I gave up almost all of my books. While I can no longer see them lined, stacked and piled up on my bookshelves, I can still enjoy reading them.

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  4. I like books and reading, too. However, I must admit that I like downloading and reading them now. Thought I would never get used to it, but I have. They don’t take up the space, are backlit at night (not as likely to wake up my husband), and they are not back-breaking to move (which I have recently). All the positive and none of the negative. They are pretty to look at, though. I will give you that!

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  6. Great post. One day Heidi will need to remove some of those books to make room on the shelf for her own! Looking forward to that post and new picture.

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  8. Hello.

    Well, it is. Those 1500 books take about 10 bookcases. Every bookcase takes 152 books. Thus 152*10=1520. I have also Spanish, Portuguese books, but only few English and Finnish. Why so many language books? Learned Spanish while working in Spain 4½ months. French, I learned by translating them using my dictionary in me hands. After three books, I need dictionary lesser and lesser. After 10 books seldom. Portuguese I learned on two winter courses. English in school. I know also Swedish and German, but not enough to make my posts in them. Books keep my brains fresh and active.

    Have you read Albert Camus’ book the Plague. Now there is Coronavirus, but I have not found that nobody has read his book. Why, people should!

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plague

    Happy weekend!

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    1. Wow! Reading all of those books in all of those languages is very impressive and inspiring. I always wanted to learn a bunch of languages, but never did. That’s one of the things I hope to do when I’m retired.
      I haven’t read The Plague, but it sounds like a good one so I will check it out.
      Thanks for the wonderful comment, and have a great weekend!

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  9. Hello Heidi.

    Well, when retired, then you are busy! Of course, I can imagine that you are now, but my retirement surprised me. Most important is that you have a hobby or maybe more then. My hobbies are now shooting photos, blogging, reading and somehow travel. With travel, I mean for example road trips and day hikes.

    Happy Sunday!

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