Jeanette Winterson
Perfect description of books for me!
Wake up calls, things that heal, things that can do damage, escape routes, rescuers and life affirmers. All of these things can be found in a book.
I like that their enormous variation means we don't know who will need what nor when they might need it; and yet at that particular point in time there might just be the perfect book for the moment.
I can recall some books that arrived in my life at just the right time. Often I hadn't been searching for them and hadn't known I needed them, but I am grateful that they arrived, offering just the right thing at just the right moment.
Books can be hard hats too! (2016)
as a librarian, I have long believed in letting libraries shelve and maintain the many books I want to read ... but lately I find myself buying more used books, the better to annotate and keep them ... of course, it's a constantly revolving door into and out of our home as there are far more books that I'd like to have than there are shelves on which to house them ... ha!
ReplyDeleteI like that idea of buying secondhand books so you can annotate them! Always feel a bit guilt noting things and wondering what others who read after me will think. And yes books are constantly not he mov tin our house too - sharing with others, giving away, and generally trying to make room for more! Go well.
Deletewhat a great post, love how just the right book will often just fling itself off the bookshelf into my hands when browsing in a bookshop or library!
ReplyDeleteI have just started Ruth Ozeki's latest "The Book of Form and Emptiness" in which the agency of books is celebrated
DeleteSo true Mo! - when you didn't even know you needed it. It's like the magnet of attraction happens and we are drawn together...
DeleteJust listened to a fabulous conversation with Ruth on that particular book - intriguing! https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/conversations/ruth-ozeki-hearing-voices-novel-animism-consumerism/13562046 (not sure if our ABC will let you listen in the US tho).
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