So This Happened...

You ever take a book from your bookshelves that you’ve had for years and start to read it? And guess what? It’s perfect for you at this time in your life. I wanted more of that experience, so I started to look through my book stash.

Now I’ve had quite a year of at home inner adventures. At one point, I decided to clean kondomari-esquely. I know it’s not a word but the idea is, I decluttered A LOT. Anybody familiar with the Marie Kondo books? I was determined to make something good come out of this quarantine, more in depth knowledge of myself, a subject, or maybe even just a cleaner home. I think I wanted to create more clarity in my life. If I could streamline my book shelves then I could have a better since of who I wanted to be and what I wanted to focus on in life, or so I reasoned. A world quarantine had me rethinking everything.

The bookshelves alone took weeks. Amazon and I are close friends, and not just for books y’all. I'm working on breaking off that relationship. Pre-pandemic, my local librarians also knew my face very well. Go public libraries!

I spent weeks sorting through my bookshelves looking to let go of books, and to inspire others to do the same. I let go of the books I’ve read that I knew I wasn’t going to read again. Did they bring me joy? Of course they did, and it was time to share that joy with others. I let go of books on my shelves that I thought I would read, but never did. Can I just tell you, I don’t even remember those titles. Freedom! You know how you collect titles. Someone told me to read this person’s work. Okay, I’ll get that book. Ooh, that looks interesting. Buy it. That NPR story sounds amazing. Got it! I’m doing me, living my life. I want to know something. I usually look for answers in a book first. You can’t really learn dance moves in a book, but you get the idea. 

Books are like friends. Sometimes you want to hangout with the ones that make you laugh, and sometimes you want to be with the ones that make you think. It depends on how you’re feeling. I continued the sorting, the culling. I got philosophical about it. Who am I? Does this book reflect who I am? How am I feeling about this subject, this title?

There those titles sat with their read and unread brethren…not being read. It occurred to me to let them go. Did I feel lighter after they were gone? I sure did. Have I bought any new books since? Of course I have(Hi, my name is Danya and I’m a bookaholic. Hi, Danya), but not nearly as many as before. It’s worth repeating, not anywhere near the amount I’ve bought before. I filled the lending libraries around my neighborhood. They’re so, cute!  I’m lucky to have many around within walking distance.

I still have books on the shelves that I haven’t read yet. I keep suggesting them to my bookclubs, but they haven't taken the bait on all of them, some yes, but not all. I’ve kept the ones I sincerely think I’m going to get around to reading:-) There are also books I’ve read many many times, and will continue to reread them: Toni Morrison everything, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz to name a few. Spoiler Alert, I finally shared The Four Agreements with someone.

I have books that have made me laugh, and still do just thinking about them, and yup a bunch of reference stuff, you know, for reference, lots of books for classes I’ve taken and books for things I want to learn e.g. cooking in many different styles and cultures, chess strategy, history stuff, and a gazillion and one biographies: Kamala Harris, Rita Moreno, Sigmund Freud, Prince, Benjamin Franklin to name a few.

The plan is to live a good long life and get around to reading every one of them in perfect time. Summer is a good time to pick up a book. What are you reading?