Saturday we took my mom to Kennesaw, Georgia to celebrate her birthday. While we were there I ran into a Goodwill to get a picture frame I needed for a project. This Goodwill had a particularly large book section, so I decided to check it out. That’s where I came across this battered mass market paperback of The Name of the Wind.
I almost didn’t get it. I’m not a fan of mass market paperbacks. But I’ve been wanting a copy of this book. It hasn’t been real high on my priority list so I haven’t picked it up at other books stores. My husband suggested that I get it. He said, “it’s only a couple of bucks and you’ve been wanting it. You should get it and try it. If you like it you can buy a prettier copy later on. If not, you’ve not lost much money.” He really is a man of wisdom.
So I grabbed this well-loved copy, despite my hesitation, and I took it home. I started reading it that night and it made me think of reading when I was a kid. When I was younger I didn’t care what a book looked like. If I had access to it I was going to read it. That’s how much I loved to read.
But as I got older I started thinking about how it would look on the shelf. Or how it’s not a genre I normally read. I’m picky. I am a self-admitted book snob. And for a while I would only buy brand new books. Then I realized I was missing out. There’s a certain feeling that comes from reading a used books. This copy of The Name of the Wind had a whole life before me and now it’s my time to experience it.
I guess I’m saying all this to say maybe I’ve made reading too complicated. I’ve gotten too picky, and too goal-oriented. Let’s blame that on the fact that I’m a Capricorn. I want to love reading the way I did when I was younger. I would read anything and everything. And I found so many great books that way. I think it’s time to get back to the bookish basics.
Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.
To Kill a Mockingbird
