Monday 16 May 2011

Books, Books, Books







Books.
Willow has given us books this week.
What is there to say about books?

Books are treasure trove,
Books are life-blood,
Books are best friends,
always were, always will be.
Immersed in a book there is no loneliness,
time itself flies or stands still, whichever pleases you.
The whole world is yours for the taking.
Adventure, laughter, tears, excitement, sadness,
all the pain and all the joy in the world,
can be found in the pages of a book;
the wisdom of the ages to quench your thirst.

Favourite books, much handled books,
shabby and dog-eared,
their bookmarks old postcards with spidery, faded writing;
books with ancient lettering,
bought from a stall on the river bank
on a sunny Sunday morning;
Found in mouldering second-hand bookshops
smelling of old glue, dust and stale air,
and borne away triumphantly.
Books with broken spines and cracked leather bindings,
yellowing books, books with crinkly, crackling pages,
ready to crumble to dust themselves,
unless handled with the utmost care and devotion.

New books, shiny, garish paperbacks,
promising a quick easy read on the train,
on a park bench, in the garden,
while standing at the stove stirring tonight’s broth.
Piles of them, filling up every available space
on your walls, whether bedroom, bathroom, or hall.
Cookery books, gardening books,
teach-yourself books,
help-yourself-books,
books for every purpose and to every season.

Books.

I wouldn’t be me without books.




38 comments:

  1. I love when I find a postcard with spidery writing tucked in an old book as a bookmark.

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  2. I love it. You and I have a lot in common where books are concerned. The model for our house had a fireplace in it -- we took it out, because where else would we have room for our books???

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  3. Great! I feel the same way. My magpie: http://verseinanutshell.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/open-book/

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  4. Absolutely! And I love looking at other people's books too - tells me about them as well.

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  5. I've always dreamed of having an entire room, for a library of my own. Love the smell when walking into a room full of books. Oh, the possibilities that lie within that room!

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  6. Your last line says it for me, too, Friko.
    Perfect submission for this week's Magpie. I love it!
    — K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  7. All so true! Bloggers love books it can't be helped!

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  8. I love your ode to books. Wonderful descriptions and you gave me a new idea. When I stir the pudding I planned for dinner I'll read a book for the boring-to-death 11 minutes!

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  9. so much of my eventual understanding has come from books and music and art. i really enjoyed this heartfelt appreciation friko!!! steven

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  10. nor i...they are like food to me...2-3 a week...

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  11. It is also nice to find a sepia
    photograph of a couple from
    1944, he in uniform, her
    in his lap, left by accident,
    fated to be a missing icon
    in the recorded puzzle of
    someone else's life, spending
    its days lying between pages
    of Les Miserables, or Ulysses,
    or Last of the Mohicans,
    with the faint smudge
    of a lipstick kiss on the back
    of it; no names but all smiles.

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  12. I wouldn't be me without books, either. I rarely read anything that I don't expect to gain from in some way...to emerge wiser, or moved, or having found a new perspective. Also, without my friends lining my shelves, both the ones I have read and the ones I hope to, I would lose my landmarks.

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  13. Books are simply worth the time, as are your words... even the dust is different on books!

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  14. Books! Excellent piece! I love them, too, and am trying to pass that to the next generations by providing a wild assortment of reading and learning. So far, it's working!

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  15. Oh, how I love books and your poetry explains my love. How do you get what is in my head and heart and write about it so perfectly. All I can get out is I love book!
    Perfect.

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  16. Ich freue mich sehr über Deinen Besuch!
    Finde Deinen Blog sehr spannend und habe Dich in meinen Blogroll aufgenommen. Möchte noch ganz oft bei Dir vorbeikommen.
    Liebe Grüße, Petra

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  17. we wouldn't be we without books and the written word! This is splendid!

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  18. Nor would I be me without books! I think therefore I read.

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  19. well said, Friko




    Warm Aloha from Waikiki

    Comfort Spiral

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  20. You managed to do Willow proud. I find the most wonderful things tucked into my books.

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  21. Your lines that fill my eyes, nose and hands with sensory fullness are why I never want to be without books. Kindles are fine for some things, but I have to feel and smell and hear a book.

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  22. I too love books!!! I just got a Nook...so that will be fun...but I love love love my library. Filled with journeys and adventures yet to discover. All old friends!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  23. You've captured so well the joy of books. Amen.

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  24. I love books - especially when you find an unexpected jewel in the crown and you have to read it and read it - because you just cannot bear to put it down.

    Anna :o]

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  25. A fabulous post, Friko! Treasured books- the making of the mighty!

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  26. And that's why I hate Kindles. Just think how short your poem would have been if it had been about Kindles.

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  27. I totally agree. My entire childhood was filled with ideas thanks to books.
    My career was based on passing on the stuff found in books. Yet the kids today are reading from electronic devices and the school librarians are almost gone from our local system.
    Are there any foreign authors you cherish?

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  28. with you all the way on this

    give me the choice between a human and a book - well...

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  29. From one book lover to another...see you in the poor house. Dianne

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  30. Hi Friko,
    I used to love reading books, going to bookshops/libraries.
    Can only use auio books, still good but not the same.
    Since I have been spending more time sitting in my wheelchair I have not been visiting.
    Tonight I decided to visit.
    I just passed by to say hello.
    I hope you are doing well.
    Love,
    Herrad

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  31. I am so with you, Friko! I have a passion for perusing bookstores wherever I go. I've been adding bookshelves to our house for years, and now I'm down to the basement and up to the attic! I can't bear to part with any after I've read them. Sometimes there's a book I love so much that I just have to share it, I go out and buy another one! Your rhythmic verse was fun!

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  32. I agree heartily with every word. I do part with books but only the ones I didn't really enjoy.

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  33. I'm book crazy myself. Do visit my blog and leave your footprints by posting comments

    http://parentingworkshop.blogspot.com/
    http://fun-with-mails.blogspot.com/

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  34. The work of a true bibliophile. Thank you.

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  35. I am a book worm - always have been and always will be. I love your take on the Mag - it shouts at me 'that's you'! I can and do get lost in book stores for hours. When my children were young I would take them to a book store in Covent Garden where they could sit on bean bags with books whilst I browsed the adult side. When I lived in England and had my new kitchen put in I insisted on five shelves for all my cookery books.

    I cannot imagine life without books and music.

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  36. I wouldn't be me without books, either. So much wisdom in this piece. Thanks, Friko!

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