Thursday, April 18, 2013

The Books



  • There are several by the bed and stacks in the office. One is on the front seat of the car and one on the back. 
  • Many are being read on Kindle but over 95 percent of them are of old and new paper. A few invite a sniff of their fine aroma. 
  • A surprising number have sat unopened on the shelves for years before being read and loved. There is no guilt in buying a book and then not reading it until much later.
  • A serious reader always has plenty of unread books.
  • I always keep book covers and have never understood people who discard them. 
  • The first hardcover book that I ever bought new - Barry Goldwater's "Why Not Victory?" - is still with me as are some text books from high school and college. 
  • A glance at the bookcases can be a trip through time. Many of us recall the 25 and 35 cent paperbacks and how a 75 or 95 cent paperback was a real splurge. 
  • When "The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich" came out in paperback at $1.25 its price raised some eyebrows. [I read it during the summer before starting high school and thought it worth every penny.]
  • I don't abuse books but do regard many of them as tools. As a result, notes can be scribbled in margins and key points underlined. 
  • Many are old friends - think "The Wind in the Willows" - and a few are regularly re-read.
  • I no longer feel compelled to finish books that don't interest me. If the magic's not happening within the first 60 pages, I'm not going back.
  • Most are bought from used bookstores. My best buy was of "Remembrance of Things Past" from a Prescott, Arizona antique shop. 
  • Despite rumors of fortunes hidden in books, I've never found a dollar but have encountered some interesting bookmarks. Wild flowers were pressed inside my great aunt's old novels along with notes for her studies. 
  • There are few discoveries that yield as much wealth as a great book. With little cost, we can be surrounded by brilliance.

8 comments:

Kurt Harden said...

Do you read all books in order or go directly to chapters that interest you?

Dan in Philly said...

Well said. To me, there are two kinds of people in the world: Those who read and those who don't. It doesn't even have to be books on metaphysics and Russian literature. Even those who read light fiction encounter ideas that those who don't never do.

Reading broadens one's mind in a way similar to travel.

Michael Wade said...

Kurt,

Fiction is read in order. Nonfiction is read as the spirit takes me. Magazines, of course, are always read out of order.

What's your technique?

Michael

Michael Wade said...

Dan,

You're right.

Reading is a form of travel.

Michael

CincyCat said...

Your mention of unique and interesting bookmarks reminded me of one of my favorite books: my late grandmother's Bible, which I was fortunate enough to get to keep after she passed away. Whenever I came to visit her, it was almost always open on her dining room table. There are notes in the margins, underlined and highlighted passages, and pictures, postcards and inspirational quotes stuffed between the pages. It even has that comfy grandmothery "smell". :)

Michael Wade said...

CincyCat,

I know what you mean. I have some books that my grandmother sent me that I keep mainly because of her notes and because they are reminders of a kind old lady of limited means who was thoughtful enough to send me some books. And they are good books!

Michael

Kurt Harden said...

Just working through 1491. First read Chapter 8. Next came Chapter 2. Then to the beginning. Fiction is read in order but I find the chapters I want in nonfiction and then work back through.

Michael Wade said...

Kurt,

It makes sense to scout out the territory with nonfiction.

Michael