At the weekend I finished a good book. I picked up a few others and read a few chapters but I think I had what you call Reader's Block. I just couldn't get into the books I picked up.
So I picked up this book sure to eliminate Reader's Block - Scribbles in the Margin by Daniel Gray.
It's a small book but it is full of gems about why we love books, reading and anything bookish. I admit I haven't read the whole book. I don't think it's that kind of book to sit and read from cover to cover but I flicked through most of it.
The book contains 50 short chapters, each chapter featuring an essay on why we love books. I could so relate to the first chapter Handwritten dedications in Old Books. I have a Berenstain Bears book that my father who died when I was 11, gave me for my fourth birthday in 1975. In the front he wrote "To Abigail, from Dad". That short piece of handwriting means more to me than the book and I often look at it.
Some of the other chapters in this bookish book include
- Visiting someone's home and inspecting the bookshelves
- Giving a book as a present
- Libraries
- Reading on public transport
- Smells of books, old and new
- Reading in bed
- Losing an afternoon organising bookshelves
- The calm a room of books brings
- Old Bookshops
- Large Bookshops
That is a just a few of the 50 chapters. This is a beautiful book. If you are book-mad like me, this is definitely worth adding to your collection.
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