Thursday 18 December 2014

Books, glorious books!

You know that feeling when you walk into, or past a book shop or even a library and get a tingle of excitement mixed with curiosity? That feeling that you could easily walk in, grab a book and get instantly lost in one of millions of different worlds lovingly created by the author? I kinda love that feeling.

My family is one who has always appreciated the written word, not just the biblical one, but family favorites such as the Harry Potter series which I take pride in being the first to buy one of the books in my family and subsequently introducing the rest of them to it, thus beginning our love affair with the brilliance of J.K Rowling's mind.

My brother was a bigger fan of Lord of the Rings though. When the movies came out we pre-ordered tickets well in advance for the first available screening (which I then slept through since I'm not a morning person, especially on the weekends).

Nevertheless, our family-wide and lifelong love affair with words is part of not only our backbone, but I dare say the backbone of society. Book shops are still quite popular, especially when combined with food and beverages in a relaxed surrounding. They're also great for long journeys on public transport or just to cull one's boredom.

As a child I was hooked on the Babysitters Club series, often reading as many as I could in one day, then I graduated onto the Sabrina the Teenage Witch series being a HUGE fan of the TV shows. From there I grappled with my hormones whilst reading as many Mills and Boon books as I could handle, and now I just read whatever takes my fancy really. I've read a fair few self-help books in the quest for enlightenment, but also like getting lost in the lives of others whether fictional or based on a true story.

With the advent of Kindle and other electronic (ebook) programs, the appeal for books has actually increased for me. There's just something better about holding someone's work of art in your hands as if proof that you are in fact reading it, not just playing a game on an electronic device. I can understand the convenience of Kindle and have considered investing in ebook formats when I start traveling more, but for now I just really like buying books to read at some point in my life when the mood strikes.

When visiting friends it's always refreshing or comforting to see a bookcase filled with different titles and genres. It just says 'I'm an interesting person with whom you can engage in conversation of varying subjects', at the very least it's a conversation starter.

Aside from that, who doesn't love to show off that they're reading an interesting book on public transport? It also helps to indirectly recommend titles to passersby when they see the cover, title, authors name, or maybe just glimpse over your shoulder and read a line or two before disembarking.

Prior to starting university this year, I became enamored with books again and took it upon myself to become a member of 2 more libraries aside from the State Library for family research purposes, and the one where I grew up and no longer frequent.

A friend of mine suggested that I visit the library instead of spending copious amounts of money on books. While I still do that because I like the convenience and flexibility of being able to own a book and read it in my own time, it's opened up a whole new exciting world for me as I'm sure it has for others.

For me growing up, books were a way to escape my life, as was writing when I first started. I'd sit in church feeling bored as anything and write a story about whatever I wanted. Usually it was about a girl who had way too many sisters because I'd forever longed for a sister of my own, and something to do with magic was always involved since I'd loved it for as long as I can remember.

I've grown fond of libraries. Not so much for their book resources which are usually excellent, but also for the environment they provide readers. Most have courses, groups or classes as well as the occasional talk by a new or upcoming author, there's always something to keep people interested and coming back.

My most recent book purchases were Thomas More's 'Utopia' which I was inspired to hunt down after rewatching Ever After (one of my favorite childhood movies), but also being a Philosophy major, it's quite an interesting story from what I've read of other people's reviews. The other purchase was Richard Taylor's 'Metaphysics' which looked interesting and thought provoking as I was flipping through it. Gotta love second hand book stores!

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