When my parents split up last year I was the lucky duck who inherited the collection of leather bound, gilt edged, satin covered classics that they bought when I was just a kid. They sat on a bookshelf in our family room for years collecting dust, until I pulled Ivanhoe down off the shelf sometime in Junior High. I was equally surprised that I understood it and that I loved it. So I started to read a few more of them with the intent of working my way through them all. Of course, I haven't made it all that far, though I think I've read almost everything Jane Austen wrote. I had such a crush on her in my early twenties. I've kicked around some Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Some Grimm's, Milton, Poe and Bunyan. Some I finished, some I gave up on. In high school I used to sit around with my boyfriend and we would quiz each other on the authors and titles of the books just for fun.
"Quick, Leaves of Grass?"
"Uh... Walt Whitman?"
"Moby Dick?"
"Herman Melville."
"The Poems of John Keats?"
"Uh... heh."
"The Jungle Books?"
"Rudyard Kipling. Hey, if we get married and have a baby we should call him Rudyard."
It's a different reading experience with these books. For one, they're so heavy that it's a commitment to carrying it around. You don't just toss it in your bag and go, and you've pretty much got to read it lying down with a pillow for support. Also, they smell special. Like leather and ink. And they make a cracking noise when you open the cover to the thick, creamy pages.
It's all saying, "This here is a great book. Now sit up and listen. I've gotta story for you."
I like it.
8 comments:
HA! We had a large encyclopedia collection, thick paper- gold edged paper, and thick leather bindings... (I think it's pretty close to the ones you had in addition to your classics) I was sure that if only I could read them all I would be rilly rilly (ode to Mr Coupland) smart. Alas I only got through part of the A's so I guess I'm only good at anatomy- there were some rilly cool multi layer colourful mylar pictures - bones-organs-muscles-skin. Oddly enough I used the same multi layer anatomy pics for a class in art school... phew thank goodness for my parents investment in the late 70's! See ya Ang
dear rilly, rilly smart friend,
my grandma had a book like that where you peeled back the pages and peeled off a man's skin and muscles to his bones. so cool. i think the guy's face and his penis without the skin was kinda scary, though, if i remember correctly. maybe that's what your art piece was on? very deep. rilly smart.
Those crackly old books, yeah. And heavy is right. They are like bulky, passed down, real-life history that you can hold and caress.
Love the photo!
thanks, cherie.
i love thinking of the rough drafts that were tossed out when i look at my books. it's kind of exciting that these "classics" were new histories once, hey?
I find few things in life beat curling up with a good book, especially a classic in great binding:)
Your parents split up last year? Holy moly... mine split up when I was an adult and it totally sucked. I thought it was supposed to be easier as an adult, but it screwed me up big time. Go the comfort of big old books, cause right now I'd kill for our old World Book Encyclopaedia. Of course, not quite as inspiring as the classics, but still a weighty reminder of times past.
cecily,
i think it will be harder/weirder after my dad comes back from rehab in nov. right now, it kind of feels like i just haven't seen him in a bit, and it's a nice reprieve from the drama of his of the past two years. but ya, i think separation at any age is heartbreaking and difficult for kids to deal with. you're always a kid with your parents. you always want to feel like there is some stability that will never fail, hey? even if it's the stability of a dysfunctional family.
Nice legs. :-)
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