What kind of life can you have in a house without books?
Of course, many people have wonderful lives without books in their homes, but I do share Alexie's apparent passion for books. I love looking at them on my (numerous) bookshelves, stacked on tables, balanced horizontally on their vertical cousins because the shelves are too full. I suppose one could say that I hoard books. I suppose I would agree. And I'm okay with that.
Through the years I've gone through a number of reading phases and interests. That's part of the fun. I have enjoyed thousands of hours of enjoyment and learning and inspiration. Through those same years I have been given the great gift of passing on a love for reading and creativity and story to my children.
Having read Alexie's quotation, I wonder how the richness of my life would be changed if I had no books in my house except, perhaps, the one I was reading at that time. The richness of friends and family would still be there, as would the bounty of other interests...but I would miss seeing the books. Part of the pleasure of books is holding them and soaking up their smells and textures, their weight and shape. A book presents one with the opportunity to see the world through another's eyes, heart, mind and experiences. A book forces and invites me to consider other views which, in turn, enrich my own.
What kind of life would you have in a house without books?
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