When chatting to a close friend about things to do before we were thirty, we pondered over sky dives and zorbing, until he came up with an unusual one; to have a library of all the books he had read for his children. It got me thinking, that I needed to do this too. What a brilliant idea! I have had texts forced on me by my parents, ones that they enjoyed wholeheartedly, the Tolkien’s and the Bronte’s. How much easier would it be to have them all in one place for them to choose what they want to read rather than it being obligatory? It works both ways, as it is a memory for you too. You can go back and revisit one of your favourites at any time and marvel at how many books you have actually read in your short lifetime.
It is important that great books of our time descend through our children and their children. If it were not for encouraging parents, the classics would not still be popular today. Of course it is the strength in the writing that carries them through, however it often comes down to word of mouth to keep something going throughout the generations.
Are we natural throw aways? Do we read books, pass them on and never see them again? Then 5 years down the line regret it terribly that out beloved copy of something went to ‘I can’t even remember who.’ Books were once expensive commodities and if you had them in your possession, you kept them there.
As libraries continue to be something of the past is it important as the public ones diminish that we strive to keep our own going? With books being so cheap on the internet if this was something you wanted to do it would not cost a fortune, all at the expense of tradition. Watch Beauty and the Beast for inspiration, it’s always a good place to start and aim high- maybe one day you could have ladders on runners to get you to your top shelves! However, if you don’t like alphabetising, it’s probably not the best idea!
Female First Lucy Walton
Tagged in Beauty and the Beast