“Books, for me, are a home. Books don’t make a home – they are one, in the sense that just as you do with a door, you open a book, and you go inside. Inside there is a different kind of time and a different kind of space. There is warmth there too – a hearth. I sit down with a book and I am warm. I know that from the chilly nights on the doorstep.”
Jeanette Winterson, from “Why be Happy When You Can be Normal”
This book is a remarkable memoir and as ever, written with honesty and passion. Gritty is a good word, and she isn't joking about those chilly nights on the doorstep when she was locked outside.
The title is also a direct quote from her mother - and it was an honest query, when normal and average and just like everybody else was how it should be - no standing out from the crowd, no being different or drawing attention to yourself. Luckily for us, this difficult childhood produced the great writer...
But back to books... I think kindred book spirits find this sense of home in books; a feeling of being home, of wherever you are being a good place to be if you have a book with you that settles the space into a friendly, caring and nurturing place.
I am convinced in my own weird way that having books, holding a book, reading anything changes my biochemistry and drops my blood pressure and sets me on the road to relaxation. For me it one of the best stress-reducing therapies ever.
Of course, some books are disturbing or challenging and you don't relax; but generally speaking having a book by me sets a totally different scene for me.
Which brings me to home and what it feels like and looks like...
I was working in the office this afternoon and ducked back into the dining room to grab something and the light! The western sun was sinking and streaming onto the dining table, illuminating our flowers in all their glory and decay...
Jeanette Winterson, from “Why be Happy When You Can be Normal”
This book is a remarkable memoir and as ever, written with honesty and passion. Gritty is a good word, and she isn't joking about those chilly nights on the doorstep when she was locked outside.
The title is also a direct quote from her mother - and it was an honest query, when normal and average and just like everybody else was how it should be - no standing out from the crowd, no being different or drawing attention to yourself. Luckily for us, this difficult childhood produced the great writer...
But back to books... I think kindred book spirits find this sense of home in books; a feeling of being home, of wherever you are being a good place to be if you have a book with you that settles the space into a friendly, caring and nurturing place.
I am convinced in my own weird way that having books, holding a book, reading anything changes my biochemistry and drops my blood pressure and sets me on the road to relaxation. For me it one of the best stress-reducing therapies ever.
Of course, some books are disturbing or challenging and you don't relax; but generally speaking having a book by me sets a totally different scene for me.
Which brings me to home and what it feels like and looks like...
I was working in the office this afternoon and ducked back into the dining room to grab something and the light! The western sun was sinking and streaming onto the dining table, illuminating our flowers in all their glory and decay...
I reckon I could actually build a home with my books...well, an igloo anyway.
ReplyDeleteJust love that idea Jo - I might just join you!
DeleteYou know I love books Fiona and I'm in agreement with all that you've said.... but if I had that stunning view to look at every day I think I'd be staring out into the distance instead of concentrating on the written word sometimes. What a fabulous outlook.
ReplyDeleteHi Lesley - we are fortunate I know. We have (only) 1 1/4 acres to care for and the rest of the back yard view is 'free'. We can see for about 80km (maybe 50 miles) to Brisbane and the next ranges which is pretty special. We deliberately kept the office on the opposite side from the view or else we would get no work done whatsoever! Still I can curl up with a book and lift my head and gaze, then back to the book. Must admit, much gazing happens here...
DeleteI'm sitting here letting out a big sigh of contentment - from reading your post and the comments left, from sharing those feelings about books. I can't imagine a life without books and the joys found inside the pages. Then again, as Printed Material (sorry, don't know her actual name) said, with that glorious view, just admiring the view would be good too. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteHi J - good books do just deliver a sigh of contentment don't they? I feel like I need another lifetime to read all the things I want to read and discover all the things that there are in books...but I shall make do with this one and enjoy it! PM is Lesley in Wales, and as I mentioned to her - much gazing gets done! I am always looking out, watching the light, the shadows, the storms, the mist, the birds...it is ever changing. Go well.
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