ON "SHELFIES"

"Selfies show the body. 'Shelfies' show the soul." ..Maggie Galehouse

I recently read a wonderful article Shelfies - I'll Show You Mine.. by dewtx on Daily Kos that reinforced my intention to keep all of my books. Having moved five times in the past 15 years, I had to leave a lot of books behind. Most of those were fiction.. (I really love crime fiction.) A lot were books from a book club that I discovered were not worth what I paid for most of them when I tried to sell them to a used book dealer. In recent years, when I wish to read fiction, I usually visit my local library. Recently, I sometimes turn to e-books. My older son has generously gifted me with gift cards to Barnes & Noble, so I will be adding to my cache of nonfiction.

The bookcase above is in my office/guest room, and the one to the right is in my bedroom. All of the books in my home are accompanied by many "little treasures" on the same shelves -- photos of my loved ones and often small gifts from family and friends. Like a lot of people, the little table beside my bed has more than a few books that I have not yet finished reading or that I am reading again.

In the article I mentioned at the beginning of this post, was the following quote by J. Frank Dobie that was published in a column in the Houston Post, Sunday, November 1, 1959:

"For me, no mere design in paint is as beautiful as a wall of books, some old, some new, some with paper jackets still on, some without jackets. The colors in a whole wall of books are multitudinous: the arrangements, infinite. A house without books is as undecorated as a Hollywood decorator could make it. ... It doesn't matter to me that I can't read all the books. I can only read an infinitely small fraction of them: indeed, only a small fraction of them do I want to read. But it is wonderful to have hosts of good books around, and it's wonderful to look at walls solid with shelves of books, books, books."

I have to agree with Mr. Dobie with an exception. I have read most of my books. The big coffee table books in my living room, shown at the right, are some I probably have not read completely, however, I obtained them mostly for reference. That I have done, especially when creating Indian art work.

The invention of the Internet has sadly put an end to reading by the younger generations. All three of my children are extremely well-spoken, and talented writers (when I can coax them to write!). I read to each of them when they were very young. Consequently, my oldest, Craig, taught himself to read at age 5. I started when the youngest, Matthew, was a babe in arms. At nap time, as soon as he could walk, he brought me a stack of his books he wanted read to him while I rocked him. My mother bought sets of books that he received once a month for years. By the time he was eight years old, I was told he had the vocabulary of a sixteen-year-old. He was winning spelling bees consistently as well. 

When his son Travis was about a year and a half, I visited frequently. He did the same thing with his books -- bringing them to me to read to him. I have to admit the reading had to be interspersed with watching DVDs of Nemo and Monster, Inc.  An eighth grader now, he and his little sister are both good students and read very well.. especially on their computers.

As the old saying goes, "Children will not always do what you say, but they will always do what you do." I hope the children of my grandchildren learn to read something other than the emojis on their smart phones, or posts on their Facebook page!

You can tell a lot about a person by the books or lack thereof in their homes. It can be fun to sneak a peek at the titles.

Love and good reading,

Marilyn