I can't resist. Whenever I come to a person's house, the part that interests me most is their bookshelf. I don't care for their furniture, their drapes, their coffee cups, it's their books I'm interested in. The question is, can I judge them by the books they read or display? (Of course, the next question would be, does he read the books or are they just there to show off.)
Or in public, someone reading in the train or in a waiting room, my eyes wander instantly to the book someone is reading.
So, do you or don't you? Judge them. I know I do. If someone has a similar interest to mine, I instantly feel we share something, have something in common, something to talk about.
Doesn't mean I dislike the person who has different books. People I have the biggest problem with, you guessed it, are those with no books at all. What kind of a world is that?
If I was judged by the books I read I would be labeled a crazy mixed up kid b/c my books are all over the place! From the Little House on the Prairie series to Einstein, the Dead Sea Scrolls, books on photography and birds, a PLETHORA of books on the Holocaust and 9/11, Mensa I.Q. tests and Prescription Drugs, from Shakespeare to E.B. White to Dr. Michio Kaku and more. Maybe I should be committed? ;) Wonder what someone would think of me reading Charlotte's Webb or Stuart Little? :) They are on my bookshelf. But, so are the books listed above. Maybe that makes me well rounded? :)
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed, Marianne, your choice of books just shows that you're universally interested. I haven't blogged much about non-fiction books, unless they are almost written like a novel. But I love all sorts of books, too, and that usually makes it a lot easier to find a common ground.
ReplyDeleteMe, too! I homeschool, and we know a few homeschool families whose homes we may visit. Naturally, I love to peruse their shelves. However, I sort of feel sad that my non-homeschool families (like relatives) do not own books or shelves, nor do they read. And I also feel bummed that those non-readers have no interest in my books. It's the first thing you see when you enter my house...this giant library in my living room. But it's invisible to them. I really wish they'd ask me one day, "Hey, what's a good book to read?"
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ruth. I never homeschooled and know very few homeschool families but I know lots of non-homeschool families who have tons of books. Our house was always full with them and my children and their friends loved reading.
DeleteThat doesn't mean I don't know those kind of families, either, where you don't see a single book. I always helped in the schools my kids were going to, often in the library. I was always shocked when I saw children who had never been to a library before. Mine had a library card as soon as they could hold a board book.
So, with the families who don't look at the books, I often get the conversation to them and then press one into their hands and say "you absolutely must read this, it's great." I'm always happy to share.
And I know a lot of people who read different kind of books from those that I'm interested in. But I feel I share more with them than with those who don't read at all.
Needless to say, I raised two avid readers.