WHAT ARE BOOKS?

[rapa]

“Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created and recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books. (Rudine Sims Bishop, 1990)


The above thoughts of Rudine Sims Bishop echo some of my thoughts. How do books effect you?

[Gloria Helmer / Datsunlvr]

 I developed a love of books very early in life, mainly because of my dad. As an adult, our mutual love of reading re-created a bond between us that had been lost through tragedy during my teens. Dad often shared insight into his thoughts and feelings by the selections he shared with me. Mom could never understand why books were so important to the two of us, but that didn't matter, we understood. When we got the word from his docs that he had terminal cancer, he sat down all the rest of the kids and asked them what they would like as a remembrance of him. One by one, they all lay claim to his various collections and curios. When it came to be my turn, he didn't even ask me. He simply said he was leaving his entire collection of books to me ... including a bible I had given to him many years ago. Inside the bible was a letter he wrote, thanking me for being his constant reading companion. Although over the years since he's been gone, I have shared most of the books with the rest of the family, I still have a few select editions that remind me of him every time I re-read one of these precious books, but most of all, I treasure that bible ... and his last message to me. You see, he died shortly thereafter and it means the world to me that he communicated his love for me one last time in that book.

[rapa]

Thank you! That says it all!!! The sharing of the bond keeps memories alive!

[Doug62]

Very nice story.

[Ursula]

What a lovely memory!!  Thanks for sharing it with us!

[Lyn]

I think books are pathways to so many things that you could not imagine yourself.  It is a magical experience to be able to enter another person's mind and see another way of thinking and to learn of history and dreams.

[Lip Service]

Gloria that is wonderful and sweet story 

My love of books came in a tortured way. When I was ten years old, I developed a tonsil infection that became a serious condition called rheumatic fever. They needed to take my tonsils out but could not because I also had a very high blood fluidity. Any surgery would have caused uncontrolled bleeding like a hemophiliac. The rheumatic fever also damages the heart valves so I was ordered to stay in bed. This predicament lasted about a year.

We did not have television in the house so there was no way to while away the hours. In the beginning the doctors had forbidden me to have access to books, because a paper cut could have been fatal. After a while they relented (provided I am careful with not getting accidentally cut). I was not an avid reader but because it was the only avenue, it fast became my favorite (and only) activity and I never lost the love of books.

Years later when I moved out of my parents home, my mother sold most of my book collection to a used books dealer. I used to write my name and the date on the first page of every book I bought and years later a few people told me that some of my books ended up in their libraries

[Lip Service]

The love of books turned out to be beneficial not just for overcoming boredom but was also useful for the rest of my life. The condition that confined me to bed also resulted in my staying back one year in school. However, when I returned to school I found out that my extensive reading had opened up my horizon and I had more  information than most of my new class mates. While before I was only a mediocre student, I became near the top of my class and that remained with me for the rest of my life thanks to the love of books (It seems that even a little bit of extra knowledge gives you enough push to distinguish you from the rest)

[Gloria Helmer / Datsunlvr]

How very true. I was not a pretty or very popular girl in school so I guess you could say reading was an avenue of escape too. I spent most of my free time in school in the library, at first to avoid being picked on, but as my reading level improved (due to our reading sessions at home,) I found delight in learning. I gave the other kids one more reason to despise me. LOL! I became a straight A student. When all was said and done, I still feel I came out a winner because the things I learned in those books (instead of acting like any normal teenager,) made me a stronger person, more able to stand on my own. It gave me not only knowledge, but the ability to think for myself. Yes, reading can affect us in many ways, almost all of them good!