Heartache Never Felt So Good!

"You've been gone for about 6 hours. I thought you were going to the book store?"

My Step-Mother would call me and ask me that question more than I'd like to admit. I would come home with bags from places like the Barnes & Noble, Borders, or Goodwill. The bags were always over flowing with books. When I happily showed my parents what I'd purchased that day my father would just shake his head and say, "You know, most women buy shoes."

Now, my Dad is pleased that I love books and I love reading, but my book buying addiction is getting a little rough for even me to handle. I'm running out of shelf space and I've got limited funds to work with. I'd have to have a separate job to support by book habit! So today I came to a very big and difficult decision.

I took 26 books off of my shelves.

There were so many books on my two shelves that I'd forgotten were there. A great deal of them were books I'd not even think to pick up to read. I had books on my self I purchased in the 5th grade!  I had stacks upon stacks of titles gifted to me or from me picking through garage sales and bargain book outlets. I'd held onto so many of my old books for their sentimental value or the comfort of having them constantly in my atmosphere, but today I had to buckle down and just do it.

I grabbed a box and started searching through my 226 book collection. As I read the titles I felt like I was visiting old friends. There were stories for so many of them. How could I possibly say goodbye? I have 2 copies of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. One particular set was my Great Aunt Isy's. I'm the third generation to own them. The other is an All-in-One collection that was my Grandpa's. And Oh! My Harry Potter books! How could I not love THEM? Each book in the series a gift from my Mom on Valentine's Day. And of course, my Vampire Chronicles complete with a home made collection box from my Grandmother for my 18th birthday. I picked up Felicity an American Girl and it really brought back memories. I had flashes of summers at Williamsburg, Virginia with my Grandpa. I loved it so much and I miss him even more. Nearly every book I picked up had a memory. How could I not share my favorites with someone else?

Many of them were books given to me simply because I like them. Books I'd never read with titles like "Spider-man: The Venom Factor" by Diane Duane (I am a rather large Spider-man Fan, BTW) and "Lancelot Du Lethe" by J. Robert King. Good books each in their own right, but not something I'd sit down with a cup of tea. So in the box they went with books I had that were #3 in the series or #9 like "Lord Hornblower" by C.S. Forester.

I packed up my books and headed to my Aunt's house. My feet were heavy as I walked through the door. I couldn't say anything to Dominique who sat on the couch playing her DS. I simply sat them down on her lap. To my surprise she looked up at me then down at the grocery bag in her lap and pushed her DS aside.
"We have this one at the school library! Oh! Look! A horse book! These are for me?" How could I describe how I felt? It was thrilling and it made it so much easier to say goodbye. She was just so excited and thanked me 3 times before I finally left with a promise that if she liked those books, I'd gladly help her find more. As I walked out the door she was trying to figure which book to start reading first.

I'd made her day and she made mine. By this time it was too late to go to the used book store, but I bought myself some celebratory Chinese food and a cola. I felt I deserved it. I'd made a break through. Now if only the 3 books from Barnes & Noble I ordered would get here ASAP! I mean, After all, I've got more space on my bookshelf for some new friends.

;-)