Pick just one book you say? That is the prompt on Food for Thought this week and I have been mulling it over all week and if I was forced to pick just one book then it would a big fat note book with as many blank pages as I was allowed and of course I would also require a pen because then I could fill those pages with my thoughts and ideas and stories.
I would really miss having books to read but I would miss being able to write more but there is no way I would could ever pick just one book over all the others.
Books have played a huge role in my life. As a child they were my worlds. I was bullied in school and books were my friends. They were the places I disappeared to where I had friends and adventures and visited magical lands and saw amazing things. There are so many books from my childhood that to this day I adore.
Then into adulthood books remained my constant companions. I have never not had a library card and when I was poor would be there at least once a month stocking up on things to read and bookshops are special places for me where I can happily while away a hour or so browsing and trying to talk myself out of buying all the books. It is not possible to leave a book shop without something though. My current favourite bookshop is the Oxfam bookshop in town. I take all my read books that I no longer want there and I buy a lot of my reads there too. Bargain books are the best.
Books are worlds and adventures you can disappear into. Stories waiting for you to live them. How could you possible pick one of those rich glorious worlds over another? Even now books remain a place I can escape to. How I feel about them and what they give me has not really changed in all these years. In many ways I am still the little girl curled up in the corner of the book shop pouring over all the books I wanted and trying to decide which one I would get with my precious pocket money and which one would have to be left behind. The only difference now is that sometimes those books are downloaded off the internet rather than a physical thing on my shelf. Although having said that I much prefer a proper book. The Kindle is great, especially if you are traveling but you can’t beat the look, feel and smell of a proper book in my opinion
So which books would I always want to own? The list is actually fairly extensive but I do believe that you don’t actually own a book collection if it doesn’t include a set of Beatrix Potter books and no matter how old you are every now and then you should sit down with a cup of coffee or tea and read one. Trust me, you will feel better for it. They are little books of story perfection and they are guaranteed to brighten your day.
I started writing a list of books I love but I had to stop because it was becoming unruly and was no where near complete but was already fairly long. Proving my point that not only could I not pick out one book I can’t even really make a short list.
I think for me the one book that is missing from my life is the one I have always dreamed of writing. The problem is I have never really had a good idea of what that story is and the odd time I had an idea for a story, I’ve ended up never doing it because the whole thing seems hugely daunting to me and yet I know in my heart that it is a dream I have I had since I was a very little girl and one that stays with me to this day. The thought of doing it makes me feel quite emotional and yet I also fear I just don’t have a book in me. I find the idea hugely daunting. I don’t really know where to start. Surely I need an idea? Or more of an idea than I currently have and then I need time and finally talent. It all feels just a little beyond me.
Maybe one day I will work it out and write it. Maybe I will win the lottery and finally have the time to write and not have to worry about earning a living. Maybe I am not meant to write a book. Maybe short stories are my ideal storytelling length. Maybe non-fiction will turn out to be my genre or maybe I am meant to be a reader. Time will tell and in the meantime I will continue to add to my book collection and enjoy the stories that other people so generously write for me.
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