ozma914 | Oodles of Books: the Gift That Keeps On Reading

"If the Beast gave me a library like he gave to Belle, I'd marry him too." -- Aya Ling

So, my wife's bosses were going through storage units, and had to sort through all the books their daughter collected over the years. Some were damaged, but they offered to give Emily and me most of the rest. Their daughter, they said, read a lot.

Not long after, they filled our Ford Escape with so many books I was afraid it would bottom out on every hill on the way home. A few days later, they did it again. Then again.

Mountains of books! Forests of books! More books than you'd ever read in a lifetime!

Ahem. If you'll pardon me for quoting Beauty and the Beast. I may have cried a little. I also may have cried a little while we were carrying them all up the steps into the house, but enough about my back.

It was Emily who had to clean up the books because, as it happens, I'm allergic to both dust and mold. Never thought I'd be glad about that. But I forgot, and later when I was cleaning our former bedroom/new reading room (our own library!) I gave myself an allergy attack. Too bad--eight hours of sleeping off the Benadryl, when I could have been reading.

Freaking scads of books!

We're still sorting them, by author and genre. Authors like me, who don't stick to a genre, will be a problem. But many of them were novel series (love a good series), which helped. We unfolded a table and Emily got started while I was cooking and doing the dishes, which is completely understandable when you realize how much more organized her mind is than mine.

Really, the only member of the family who wasn't thrilled was the dog. (This all happened before Beowulf passed away.) When we first put up the table he liked to lay down under it, but as we unpacked more books that space became filled, too. Sometimes he just walked up to the table and looks sadly at his former doghouse.

"I am NOT amused. I can't even read."

A large percentage of the books are what's called high fantasy, which I take it are better enjoyed when you're high. Wait, let me check ...

Oh. Well, it means epic in scope, with forces threatening a world that is not our own. Game Of Thrones stuff, and didn't it take us a whole year to read through those massive tomes. The novel I wrote (and am currently trying to sell) is low fantasy: mostly set in the real world, with the addition of magical elements. Now we're talking about Harry Potter and the Giant Dump Truck of Money.

Many others are space opera, again similar to another novel in my submission process. Think Dune, the Lensman books, and of course Star Wars. (My Junior English teacher in high school was the daughter of E.E. Smith, who authored the Hugo-nominated Lensman series. Fun old-timey SF, and possibly an inspiration for the Green Lantern.)

There are also history books, mostly involving World War II, which made me squeal a little. Okay, a lot. There are mysteries, and both nonfiction and fiction books about horses, and encyclopedia yearbooks covering all the earlier years of my life and some before. We have our own library of books--something I always dreamed of.

I took this photo to document that someone decided to leave their shampoo behind, and buy a book instead. If you never leave your couch, you don't need shampoo.

It all made me a little sad.

Let's face it: even if I gave up writing and put all my spare time into reading, there's no way I'll ever get to all these books, plus the ones I already have, plus the ones on my reading list. We've still got books in boxes in the garage. I've got friends writing books that I want to read. It makes me want to retire to a rustic cabin in the woods and just become one with a comfortable chair.

Still, just having all those books up on shelves around us will cheer me up substantially, and better too many than not enough. With books, I may never go anywhere again--but I'll go everywhere.

That's a pretty good way to spend your time.

Remember: Every time you don't read a book, the author has an allergy attack. Keep authors healthy.

We and our books--I mean, the ones we wrote--can be found everywhere:

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

>> "If the Beast gave me a library like he gave to Belle, I'd marry him too." -- Aya Ling <<

My version was, "Okay, now I love you." Because first, anyone with that big a library can't be all bad; and second, paying enough attention to realize that you court a bookworm by giving her tons of books shows some serious relationship potential.

One time we were at a con, and someone was unloading the library of a fan who had passed away. I think they were a dollar for hardbacks and a quarter for paperbacks. We bought boxes of books. It was beautiful. I stamped mine with a little autumn leaf so I'd remember which they were. Julie's books.

That's a wonderful way to deal with a deceased person's library. I used to go to our local library's sale every year, but I've had to face the reality that I officially have too many books to read in my lifetime. Maybe my wife and I should each take half the books, and give a report on them to the other!

>>That's a wonderful way to deal with a deceased person's library.<<

Everyone thought so. And that was several tables of books, after her friends and family took what they wanted.

>> I used to go to our local library's sale every year,<<

I love doing that.

>> but I've had to face the reality that I officially have too many books to read in my lifetime. <<

*nod* Fibercrafters call it SABLE: Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy.

>>Maybe my wife and I should each take half the books, and give a report on them to the other!<<

People have done it. Perhaps it would be fun to try with a book each here and there? Holidays are coming up, that's a good time.

Ah, the holidays ... I guess we're doing that again this year. Maybe we'll have a reading holiday.

A reading holiday sounds lovely.

We've just started discussing plans for Thanksgiving. But our refrigerator died and needs replacing, so I've been much more preoccupied with that.

Priorities must be followed. Besides, without a fridge where would you store the leftovers? We replaced ours just last year.

Yeah, I've had to set aside everything but the most critical stuff just to deal with the fridge. But at least we've got enough done to get the new one delivered tomorrow instead of Monday.

That helps!

Oodles of Books: the Gift That Keeps On Reading

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