So here you have my thoughts, in the form which I [if space permits] would likely put them in a "From the Library of..." at the beginning of a book I would loan out. Comments, thoughts and stories are all welcomed; criticism aimed at anything other than making this written form of my thoughts more clear [clearer?] should be avoided. :)
Thoughts About Books
- Please treat any book like it was a treasured member of your family.
If none exist, please give this book a hug and take care of it like
you would want to be taken care of. - Much like a younger sibling, this book will probably get stains and
creases as it ages. Trying to prevent that completely is a lost cause,
but you may want to at least brush any dirt off so the next person can
still read it. - Loaning a book is a lot like having children [or at least, I think so,
not having any children]; At some point you have to let them go into
the world and experience it on their own. They may find their own way,
and they may return to you again and again. In either case your only
hope is to cherish the experience of having known them, and welcome
their return with open arms.- If you fall in love with this book and want to provide it a home,
by all means do; I ask only that you treat it kindly, and share with
me a story of how it came to your home. I worry over my lost children,
and rejoice when one makes their own way in the world. - If you lose this book and find it again, share it with others. Unlike
children, I can always buy another book; books that have been found
have many stories about them, not just within the covers, and stories
should be shared.
- If you fall in love with this book and want to provide it a home,
- While writing is a thing to be treasured, when someone reads a book they
are probably not interested in what you’ve written on the pages [unless
you perhaps wrote the book!]. If you feel the need to write in this book,
please do so here, in between the covers and before the story starts; poems,
thoughts and dreams add a story to the book, rather than hide the one
already written. - Reading a book should be enjoyable. While I only loan out books that I have
enjoyed, that doesn’t mean you always will like them, or even that I enjoyed
every single word or page. Take what enjoyment you can from each book, even
if it’s as simple as reading a paragraph and deciding that you have no
obligation to read the whole thing. Return it and someone else may find it.
Similarly, I rarely agree with everything in a book; the only thing contained
here that I agree with is what I have written here. And even that is
uncertain: just because Present me wrote it doesn’t mean that Future me
will agree. - I believe books should be shared; the stories you gain from the sharing may
come to be even more important than the story you read in the pages. I love
to hear how people experienced a book and what pieces they found interesting.
If you want to share a story about a book, please do! If there’s no-one
around to tell, please write it down and share it with me.
