I now have over 1000 books, which is not bad, if I consider the financial limitations of the first few years of young marriage and parenthood.  I look forward to acquiring several thousands more.  Amongst them are some I have not read.  I look at them fondly because I know I will someday.  As for the rest, I often reread books.  I can go back to happy places, exciting, dangerous, ancient or imaginary places.  Every time these stories are familiar and new.  I can visit brilliant conversations and enjoy the scenery all over again.

The second and third readings are especially delicious because I notice details that were not obvious the first time.  To read a book ten years later is to read a new book.  I am cursed with the memory of endings, unlike BPR, but my view point and experiences in the mean time add fresh twists to the understanding of the book.  There are the books that I reread once a year, these include 'The Lord of the Rings', 'The Book of Tea', 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Please Don't Eat the Daisies'.  Why I go back I do not know, maybe it is seasonal, or maybe it is because we all have friends and like good friends, we want to see them again.

Sometimes, I read a book again around the time I want to share it with my children.  I did this with Sherlock Holmes before giving the book to my son.  My daughter is reading 'Life of Pi'.  She saw the previews of the film and thought it looked cool.  I gave her the book and this morning she opined that Pi is an idiot.  Last week Pi was clever on account of what he did with his name.  I hope to read the book again once she is done with it.  My children like it when I say "Oh, I read that at your age."  They open up; Ask questions that would be awkward with "I" or "me" in them... Last night, on a long drive home, my daughter and I had a serious conversation about 'The Outsiders' which, I too, had to read in seventh grade.

Familiar books are soothing when I am stressed.  Books are often the cure to a horrible day with a cup of tea.  Jane Austen, Terry Pratchett, Okakura, Isabel Allende, Fannie Flagg, J.K. Rowling, Tolkien, Jean Kerr... I could keep going. I reread all the time while reading new books.  'The City and the City' by China Mieville has been calling recently,  I think it is time to visit that strange place again.

None of this would be possible without my books at home.  Libraries have opening and closing times as well as other patrons.  There is a limit to how many books I can lift in one go or even check out in one go.  Though I must write that those difficult years mentioned before were made bearable by a lovely local library one passage away. I can underline cool bits and stick book markers in different places.  I can enjoy them over and over again.  Some would argue that a tablet is better for my purpose but on a tablet I do not own the book.  I pay for the privilege to read X book on their tablet.  This is a privilege they can take away and per the very small print, they are not obliged to tell me why.  Should my tablet fall in the bath tub, it is apparently, my problem and I have to procure a new one or lose the books,  should the software change radically as happens faster and faster these days, or the new and improved tablet make mine obsolete then I have to go shopping again.  Tablet makers are in the market to sell tablets, not books.  If 'Pride and Prejudice' falls in my bath then all I need is a blow dryer.  The only tablet plus I can think of is that it makes reading easier for my mother when her eyes get tired in the evening; she can opt for bigger letters.

There is the satisfaction of owning books.  I can pick one up on a sleepless night, read my favorite chapter and put it back, no need to check if the batteries are charged.  Books add warmth to a home.  I always notice when there aren't any and I somehow feel suspicious of the inhabitants of said home.  "We have no time to read."  "My wife doesn't like to read."  She does like it when they both watch tv together, if he reads, he is "ignoring" her.  A house without books feels like a hotel room to me... no personality.  Several persons of my acquaintance are not allowed to keep books at home.  If one book comes in another must go out.  It is pointed out that libraries are to keep books.  I have noted that the enforcers of these rules are not readers themselves and only tolerate the time their partners read, if at all. I never had this discussion with BPR.  When he met me, I was surrounded by books.  I could not afford to ship them to Europe, where we eventually settled 17 years ago so I set about buying books to make a home.

Yes, there is time to cook or garden or read or whatever you love to do with and without your family.  If you happen to have a garden at hand or an excellent kitchen, that is all to the good, so why not books at hand to reread?  Books remind me that I never stop learning, even from the same book.  Books leak (the Librarian at Unseen University would agree) knowledge and perspective and often change my life in magical ways because of it.

I Recommend You Read This!!!

I am the sort of reader that does not believe in reading as a solitary activity. Quite the opposite. If I am reading something good I like to talk about it, but this is very hard if the other person has not read the book as well. I will read out loud the good bits to anyone near me.  Beloved Proof Reader heard half of 'Cat's Cradle' and most of 'Moby Dick' this way.  It is one thing to say,"this book is about a lonely, suicidal werewolf" and quite another to discuss the guilt, blood, sharp details, motivations of the protagonist or descriptions of London in the moonlight.

I should point out that if I do not like what I am reading, I am even louder.  The 'Twilight' series were so terrible I asked another adult to read book 1 in case I was being overly sensitive.  It turns out these books are just badly written.  My point is that I will complain long and loud about bad books.  I hate to be robbed of money and time.  Bad writing is not a matter of taste.  I may not like 'The Scarlett Letter' but the book is beautifully written.  A good story idea can be ruined by bad writing.

Beloved Proof Reader hates being told anything important in a book; he thinks I give too much away.  To be fair, he often notices different things than I do, so he finds it annoying to read a book with someone else's preconceptions.  But, if I don't mention an essential theme how do I get him to read the book so as to discuss the essential theme?  By the way, have any of you read 'Catch 22'? great book.  Well you get it, I have my very own reader's catch 22.

Some of my nearest and dearest sought to deflect my literary lectures by convincing me to keep a blog.  Fools!  MUAHAHAHA!!!  I have two broad topics with which I bore my friends: books and food.  My poor victims are often very polite and promise most sincerely to read my new favorite writer at the first available opportunity.  Liars... which is understandable, after all, it counts as a "white lie" i.e. prevents violence to my person ('cause I am driving her/them crazy) and I shut up.  I also have well read friends who will patiently listen, even look at the book I am vigorously swinging under their nose and finally say "Oh, I read this."  Liars.  It is a very disconcerting experience for me.  How dare they read something sooner than me?  But, I shut up and move on to a different topic (or book), which is probably what they had in mind.  

I must add though, that it is always more fun to give than to receive, especially book recommendations. So what happens if someone traps me between a wall and a good book?  Good question.  My reaction depends on the source.  If the source is one of my well-read friends, then I trust their opinion.  If it is someone who thought "Twilight" was good, then she is not trustworthy.  Recommendations or reviews on Amazon are often a matter of luck.  'The Economist' and 'The Wall Street Journal' are great sources of book reviews, especially when I want to read non-fiction.

In defense of my booky conversations, I argue that it is healthier to discuss the suicidal tendencies of a werewolf than the vitriolic tendencies of a real couple who's marriage is currently falling apart.  I may come off as an awful bore but at least I won't come off as just plain awful.  There is something exciting about opening a papery object and stepping into another world.  It is easy, cheap, good against dementia and provides me with something pleasant to talk about.  Let's face it, we do too much complaining and worrying.  When I accost a friend with 'The Elegance of the Hedgehog', I want to share beauty and joy.  I do hope you understand because it is perfectly obvious to most of my friends that this blog has only made things worse.

MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!