Books

Do you keep your books after you read them?

There was a time when I thought it would be a good idea to keep all the books I read. And that’s what I did. I bought a book shelf, and all the books I read goes up there. As the book shelves gradually filled up, I was filled with pride and joy.

When the book shelves overloaded, I bought another one. Through the years, the books accumulate. Some were loaned to friends, and I never saw them again. I made a decision not to loan anyone books any more.

However, after some time, the pages of the books became yellow, the bindings fell apart, and I begin to wonder if it is a good idea to keep the books after all.

I decided that I will not keep the books any more. I would read them again, and if they fall apart, I would throw them out. Those that were all right, I would donate them to the library. And that was what I did.

Now, I have only about a dozen of books that I really would like to keep. Maybe I will read that for a third time before giving them away, or throwing them out.

I guess the following quotes had a strong influence in my decision to keep a library of my own when I was young.

A home without books is a body without soul. To add a library to a house is to give that house a soul. - Cicero

Your library is your portrait. - Holbrook Jackson

A bookshelf is as particular to its owner, as are his or her clothes; a personality is stamped on a library just as a shoe is shaped by the foot. - Alan Bennett

A man’s bookcase will tell you everything you’ll ever need to know about him. - Walter Mosley

At night, when the curtains are drawn and the fire flickers, my books attain a collective dignity. - E.M.Forster

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