BOOKS!

"One of the many things I love about bound books is their sheer physicality. Electronic books live out of sight  and out of mind. But printed books have body presence...I often seek electronic books, but they never come after me. They may make me feel, but I can't feel them. They are all soul with no flesh, no texture, and no weight." -Will Schwalbe

I thought I'd mix things up a bit here on my little blog. I thought I would look at a few of my favorite things during the month of October. This might be fun because I'm not really much of a thing person. It is easier for me to come up with my favorite places, people, traditions, memories, than it is for me to come up with favorite things. I'm guessing that many of my favorite earthly belongings will actually remind me of my favorite people, places, memories, and traditions. Though people and experiences are more important to me than things, these loved objects act as physical reminders of the people and experiences I love most.

I spend my money just like everyone else. It will be interesting to note where I spend it.

Books, books, books. If they are not my very favorite thing, they make the top three. I love to read, but I love to own books as much as I love to read them. I loved the above quote, because the sheer physicality of my books brings me great joy. Their very presence in my life is a comfort. Our new home was not complete until I had lugged two tons of boxes from the basement, unloaded their precious contents, and filled my shelves with all of my little friends.

Unlike most avid readers, I don't step foot in libraries. Even if it's a silly book club read that I'm skeptical as to whether I'll enjoy, I order the dang thing off Amazon. My favorite place to go on a date night is to Barnes & Noble. Neil mostly finds a chair and sits down to play Hobbitcom, while I mostly wander the store with feverish abandon. Stopping at the new releases first, moving to the bestsellers, then fiction and literature section, ending in the history and biographies. I peruse a good two dozen books, skimming my favorites to the point that I've got the gist of the entire content. This is pleasuring with a vengeance! I seldom leave the store without a new book in hand. It's where most of my money goes. I have no self-control. I begin to skim over a book, get engrossed, then simply must bring it home with me to reside with the many other must-reads sitting on my shelves.

I love the smell of books. I love leafing through the pages. I love their beautiful covers. I love marking them up with my little colored pencil. Quotes that I love, writing that is beautiful, words I've never heard before and wish to look up the meaning of, they all get marked. I can go back and reread an entire book in an afternoon just by reading everything I've marked. I love the grease stains I find on the pages reminding me of the pastry or the delicious panini I was eating while reading that book. 

My books are mostly organized by genre, although I love this shelf because every book happens to have the same yummy black, cream, and brown color scheme. Apparently these are the colors that work best for male biography/history books. Angie organizes all of her books by color, and it looks absolutely delicious! I have never ventured so far but love how this shelf just worked out that way.

This is my collection of quotes by all of the prophets of the church. It was a Christmas gift from Neil that went beyond the budget but straight to my heart. I love it because it's one of those beautiful collections, and it makes me feel all spiritual and stuff, even though I generally turn to the internet if I'm in need of a quote. I told you, it's about owning the books as much as it's about reading them.

And here are some more collections that look so beautiful on my shelf and make me feel all spiritual inside. One day, I'll actually read them, and then I'll feel really spiritual.

This is my shelf of female biographies. Alison Weir is one of my favorite historical writers as is Antonia Fraser. "...And Ladies of the Club" is one of my most favorite pieces of fiction. It's all about a little group of young women who start a book club shortly after high school graduation. The book follows their lives all the way into old age and death. I cried when I finished the book. I had grown attached to the characters and didn't want to let them go.

I am trying to replace my ratty old paperback classics from my high school days with nicer paper backs. The kids keep telling me to quit messing around and invest in some nice hard bounds, but I can buy two paperbacks for the price of one hard bound. Quantity versus quality, it's a thing. Neil's Finnish books sit perched above the classics. They make me happy too.

Is there any surprise that this book sits on my shelf?

Even the children feel the need to own books. I began buying them a book for every birthday and every Christmas when they were just babies. They have always been surrounded by books, and are beginning to fill their own spaces with books, even if they aren't readers. Spencer's and Sabrina's Christmas lists are filled with mostly hard-bound books. Jonah hates to read but loves all things Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. He will read Tolkien without complaint and has vowed to own every version ever printed of any of his works. He's well on his way to stripping the world of all Tolkien works.

Here is Spencer's collection. He's been obsessed with the classics since he was ten years old, so I would buy him the little Classic Starts, but he is now determined to replace those little books with the real thing, and hard-bound if you please.

Sabrina is getting serious about her books. Her Christmas and birthday list is no joke. She is going to take after her mother and border on the obsessive I think. She informed me that she wants to replace all of those paperbacks with nice hardbound books.

Jessica is not an avid reader, but loves loves books. She has her own collection. She was kind enough to leave a majority of it behind so that I could photograph it.

I love the stories that people's books tell about them. You can tell a lot about a person just by wandering through their library.

Jessica had to rub in my face that she came across this book sale in Logan. She was in heaven.

As you can see, I am running out of shelf space.

What to do?...well, buy more shelves of course.

I plan to have a shelf in every room. Call it an obsession, call it an illness. I like to call it a very healthy passion. A passion that shows no sign of diminishing so long as their are writers, publishers, and book-binders in the world. May there always be such people in the world, for it would be a very gloomy place without them.