Books packed for pastures new….

The photograph opposite is one of many, many boxes of my books which have been packed away and stored since October. As I await the date for the keys to my new home early in the new year I find myself missing my library more and more. I have been collecting books seriously and somewhat compulsively since the early nineties and it wasn’t until I began this venture that I fully realised the extent to my collection in terms of sheer physical volume.

In the house I am leaving I enjoyed the great pleasure of a floor to ceiling book wall which housed most of my collection of modern literature and some non-fiction. It was a constant source of joy and comfort and whilst I always appreciated having it I didn’t realise just how much until it came down and the walls were painted to cover its marks.

Having a large and varied collection allowed me to match books to my mood, books can be greatly underestimated in their ability to offer the reader so many forms of mental stimulation including help and recovery for those coping with a troubled mind. Books are a wonderful companion and right now it feels like being young again when you have to part ways with your best friend for a period of time. But it is a temporary loss, I shall take great delight at opening each box beginning with that marked ‘A’ and putting them in their rightful alphabetical and chronological place before sitting down and taking time to be reacquainted with one of life’s great pleasures; a book…..