When it comes to books, I am GPS. I’m greedy, I’m possessive and I’m super-generous.
Greedy as in, I have to get a copy of books I like, though I know I won’t have time to read. Well, after a few pages when they prove to be good books, I usually discover that I can make time to read. And when I do make time to read, there is this ineffable greed to know the ending (fiction) or to grab all the knowledge offered in the book (non-fiction).
And then there is this possessiveness towards books, the trait I learned from my KaCher. She once got hold of an old book that the school library was giving away to reward librarians – the book was none other than Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster. As soon as I saw her reading it day in day out amidst chores and school hours, I knew it was a great book and I had to read it too. But we were too much of two-of-a-kind then; she would not let me borrow it even after she finished reading the book. She even hid it from me! I stayed up really late one night, ransacked our room, found it and stayed up ALL night reading it! What happened in the morning when she saw the book on my sleeping face was a World Wide War story greater than Saving Private Lion Ryan.
Super-generosity, the trait that I have towards books, has got me into a mess more than anything. As it is the bloody twin sister to my greed, I have to have books that I have to have! There’s no stopping me. Just like the greed, possessiveness and super-generosity that I have towards souvenirs I buy for other people that I end up keeping. You’re looking at the same gal here! I buy and buy and buy books – reading comes later. I have even made a schedule of what books to read when I am in my 60’s – another 20 something years.
And just in case my memory does not stay as long as my greed, my possessiveness and my super-generosity, I started a habit quite a few years back. That is, for every book I purchase I make a point to write down the when and the where I found the book. And the most important thing, how the book found me. For I believe they may have just one story written, but every book has more than just a story to tell. Someday the story a book tells might write me off, but with what I wrote, I can tell why I read it.
Questa è Enida 
