Addicted To Books
I love to read; always have. I still have my favorite story book and one of the very first books I ever bought through the school book program. The story book is "Make Way For Ducklings" and I had the joy of reading it to my boys when they were little. The other book is titled "The Enormous Egg" and although its decades old, amazingly, it's still in fabulous condition.
I'm guessing that most people that live in the US remember the elementary school book programs. This was a program where each month a pamphlet was handed out in class so that kids could order/buy books for their personal libraries. That program was introduced at my school when I was in the 3rd grade.
Back then (the dark-ages) there was no Amazon.com; no Barnes & Noble on the corner or any kind of big no-holds-barred book stores. There was the school library and the local library. Since both my parents were career oriented, the chances of me getting to the local library were rare, at best, because the library wasn't open in the evenings or on weekends. For that reason I was limited to the library at my school; and let me tell you, private schools do NOT have the libraries you would expect them to have. On top of that, there were horrible limitations; library time was only once a week; as a class; for half a day; with a limit of one book for check out. To a kid that loved to read the way I did it was torture.
I was so happy when the book program came to our school. Each month when the pamphlets were handed out, I'd race home and lock myself in my room to read through the entire thing and then fill out the order form (I think there were usually about 4 pages). The Enormous Egg was in the first group of books ordered under that program. For the next three years, each month, I had a box of books to carry home when the order came in. Thankfully there were other girls in my classes that had just as many books from their orders and that kept me from standing out anymore than I normally did. LOL
Thus began a life long love affair with books. There isn't a room in my home that doesn't have at least one stack of books in it. My bedroom is a joke, with the nightstands covered in books as well as 4 or 5 stacks of books on the floor next to the nightstand. No clue how I'll finish all the books I have before I die; especially since I bought a Kindle and can now download the darn things from anywhere in the US. A dream come true, I can carry 1500 books with me anywhere I go. WOW ... kind of reminds me of The Time Machine where books, actual books, are obsolete in the future.
Though my list of much loved books would take a month of Sunday's to post, there are several books that I would never part from and are on the center shelf in my home office. These are the books that I read over and over again. They are the books that a person lists when presented with that desert island question. However, the problem for me would be the limit of only five selections. UGH .... forget it. I'll go down with the ship. *wink* Below are the books that are on that center shelf and are my favorites. If possible I would even save them if the house was on fire.
~Lord of the Rings - I have three copies of this book. One was a gift and its an incredible special edition with the most gorgeous lithographs. I'm one of those LOTR geeks that has even read the appendixes.
~Pride and Prejudice - I have 4 hardback copies. What's the difference between them? The covers. *feel free to insert eyeroll here*
~Dracula - One of my favorite horror stories and the book that should be the bible of the genre.
~Isaac Asimov's Sci-fi books - I have the robot series and the first five books of the Foundation series. I also have several of his Sci-fi shot stories of which two have been made into full length movies. iRobot anyone? These books are dead center on my shelf.
~Bridget Jones Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason - The movies have nothing on these books. I have to put them down at times to wipe the tears of laughter from my eyes.
~The Time Travelers Wife - Time travel with a sappy romantic twist .... nuf said.
~Paradise - Romance novel by Judith McNaught. Even my cynical heart has to believe in HEA once in awhile.
~Harry Potter Series - I jumped on this band wagon late in the game. The first 5 books were out before I bothered. It was Gary Oldman's connection to the movie that had me jumping into the books. I am forever grateful to the casting person because these books are fabulous fantasy and pure escapism.
~Webster's Dictionary - Never more than an arms length away and the most utilized book in my home.
So there it is, my selection for the desert island. Unfortunately that's only the tip of the iceberg. I have a floor to ceiling wall of books in my office and there is still another wall worth stacked about the house. Books, books ... everywhere books. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Happy reading.