Remember these books? A coworker of mine collects them. After sorting through her collection during a move, she generously gave me a huge stack of duplicate copies. It was such a charming gift, like being given a small chunk of my childhood back. Oh how I love books.
I'm trying to be particular about my book collection. I don't want shelves of "impressive" books, just for the sake of impressiveness. I want shelves and shelves of books I've read and loved, books I would loan out in heartbeat. I'm not concerned about collecting first editions or hardbacks. I like my books to look lived in and loved. With this stack of Little Golden Books, I want to read every single one out loud to the children I hope to someday have, not stack them away for the sake of collecting. Books are meant to be read and loved, not to sit as shelf ornamentation. Someday, I hope to have little kids who share the same love as I do. Someday, I hope to have a house spilling forth with well loved books. Someday...
I love Louis L'Amour's words on his own library, so, if you don't mind, I'll share a couple. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to chat books with this great man and peruse his library, which I am sure is one of the finer collections the earth has seen.
"These were not nice even rows of books in similar bindings but often were battered old veterans moving from the hands of one lover to another..."
~ Louis L'Amour, Education of a Wandering Man
"My library is not simply an accumulation of books. Each book has its reason for being there, and there is no deadwood on those shelves. Those I have are what I believe to be the best in their field, and if not that, they at least have something of value to offer. I have no book I could not read again with profit, and most of them require rereading."
~ Louis L'Amour, Education of a Wandering Man
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