"A rose shook in her blood, and shadowed her cheeks. Quick breath parted the petals of her lips. They trembled. Some southern wind of passion swept over her, and stirred the dainty folds of her dress. "I love him, " she said, simply. The girl laughed again. The joy of a caged bird was in her voice. Her eyes caught the melody, and echoed it in radiance; then closed for a moment, as though to hide their secret. When they opened, the mist of a dream had passed across them."
~ Oscar Wilde
I was recommended 'A Picture of Dorian Gray', but was apprehensive about reading it, because of all the classics I'd tried to read but had found too horrible because of the way it's written. Buuuut I found it just fantastic (I still have 20 or so pages left, so no one spoil it for me!) and the way it is written is just beautiful, like the example above, which made me stop and read it again, because it was so wonderful. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to be adventurous and branch out from the easy-sleazy trash that is so safe to read!
I've come to the conclusion that I have far too many books for the time and space that I have... My shelf is overflowing; I'm going to have to stack stuff up to the ceiling soon and I haven't read about a quarter of the books that I have! The reason for this is the amazing new charity shop near my house called ARC, which also has too many books, so sells fully decent books for £1, or if you're lucky, 25p! Today I bought Enduring Love by Ian McEwan for 75p, Orlando by Virginia Woolf for 25p and Friends, Lovers and Chocolate by Alexander McCall for 75p! Who knows when I'll read them, but it makes me happy buying them and there's no need to feel guilty because it's a charity and they don't put me much out of pocket.
However, there is such a thing as over-indulgence and waste; so where should one draw the line?
"In a consumerist age we would do well to pause and reflect on the extent to which our indulgence in pleasures and pastimes has lost its innocence and humility. Our hobbies should be a means of losing ourselves in sheer delight in those things that appeal on account of the divine image we bear. Have they now become proud demonstrations of calculating self-centred attempts to remake ourselves in an image that we imagine carries greater cultural kudos? Has the acquisition of things, and the status that their ownership brings, become more important to us than any actual pleasure they impart?"
This from an article that I read about a man who has collected over 2 million pieces of Lego and it made me think about all these books that I've accumulated over the years. What is the likelihood that I will read all these books and when (or if) I do, will it be worth it? I'd like to think so, after all, as a letter from the English department at school said, "reading is the greatest journey of all" and I believe that there is no such thing as a wasted read, because you learn something from everything you read, be it a new word, an insight to a new way of writing or that you don't like that author!
I love reading; it's an escape for me and a deep pleasure that thrills me. Getting a new book, from a charity shop, book shop or library, is something I'll never become tired of. I think it's in my genes to be a bookworm, as my parents are avid readers and will go through two books a week gladly. I actually feel sad and disappointed that I haven't had the time to read my book in the past few weeks, although I can happily while away the time on Facebook, which irritates me. Getting back to books (Facebook is a worthy of a whole other entry by itself!), I do feel reluctant to buy several books at a time, because it takes away from the enjoyment of a new book to read straightaway. This is me being incredibly anal and odd, but I'm allowed to feel that way and allowed to write this!
I should probably wrap up now, as I've written more than enough and I know how length can put people off reading something... I just hope that from reading this, people can take away my passion for reading. I hope this has inspired someone to try reading again or get a good book out the library!
