On books...

My children often mock my quirky attitudes towards certain things, but I think yesterday even I saw the peculiar side of my actions.

I headed out for a drive and there was a book lying in the road smack in the middle of a roundabout. It was laying face up; opened with the pages blowing in the breeze; rain-sodden, tattered and dishevelled.

I felt a tug at my heart in the way one would on seeing a wounded bird lying half-dead and I have to admit that for a moment I contemplated stopping to pick it up and did actually adjust my line to avoid running it over.

I spoke out “Aw, look at that poor book!”

All three girls scoffed – even baby who is usually on my side through everything; I didn’t dare admit that I had a lump in my throat too, there would have been no clawing back any respect after that!

I am sure I am not the only person to take books this seriously?

I remember whilst watching television reports on the Chinese earthquakes of 2008 (or 09, I can’t quite remember now) seeing an image depicting a stack of books amidst the pile of rubble which represented a family’s entire life. Someone had obviously rummaged through the debris to find all the books and carefully piled them up ready for rescue. That had been one of the most poignant images for me.

I often wonder if that might be my true vocation in life; to run a book rescue centre. I have boxfuls of tattered, unloved tomes in my garage which I have claimed at the end of a table-top sale or at the closing of a car boot sale. Words which cut into me;

“if I don’t sell these all in the next ten minutes, they will be in the recycle bin tomorrow”

I paid that guy £1 for a huge box filled with books I already knew I didn’t want as I’d been browsing through them long enough.

There is a shop here in town selling used books; I go there a lot always planning to just browse - after all, I really do not need more! In spite of the fact they only charge around £2 or £3 each, I have never yet spent less than forty there, sometimes for no other reason than a particular book has been in the shop for a while and it seemed it would never have a home.

Sick and elderly books cared for here!

One to think on!