I have become a tapeworm.
I am an avid reader. Anyone who has seen my library, which takes up half of my roughly 400SF shed, can attest to this. Incidentally, it is in the shed because it didn’t fit in the house, which proclaims both the size of my bibliotheca and the lack of square footage in my “cozy” home. My boyfriend’s brother-in-law Clif nobly assisted in my recent move to said cozy home. He heroically muscled dozens of boxes of books from apartment to car and car to house, box after box, admittedly with increasing ill humor and incredulity. “Who on earth needs this many books?” he asked – an appropriate question, I agree, and one I can’t really answer. I am to books as most women are to shoes – though I do love new shoes, given the choice between a pair of Minolo Blahniks or the entire library of Booker Prize winners – well, a look at my 2 year old Payless Shoe Source flip-flop filled closet will tell you which way I’d go. When my minimalist boyfriend surveys the shed, and the Chapel Hill Public Library books piled on my dresser, he sighs. I have tried to explain to him the need for Navy brats like me to cling to the familiar, and that my books are the only friends that have accompanied me through all stages of my life (besides my beloved siblings, of which I also have an abundance). He just says that it’s fine, and then makes ominous references to the day when our households are combined. It’s not looking good for my collection of Nancy Drews.
Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time in the car: to work, to tutoring (45 min each way, 3x a week), to Patrick’s, to my house from Patrick’s, here there and everywhere. This limits the already precious little amount of time I have for reading. I have been at a loss for what to do . . . that is, until my recent trip to the public library, when I stumbled into the back corner, behind the circulation desk, and found my latest crush.
It was love at first sight. Rows upon rows of audio books – fiction and nonfiction, autobiography, novel, essay collections, humor, science fiction, language lessons. At last! Something to do in the car! This week I have been enjoying the comedic literary stylings of David Sedaris, read by the author, and also learning how to speak Italian. Le e copesce l’Italiano? Io copisco un po l’Italiano. Io sono Americana. And so on!
So, I have made the leap from certified bookworm to enthusiastic tapeworm. I admit I stole the term from Sedaris – but I feel it applies to me just as much as he. Time in the car has never been so well spent. The miles just roll by while I laugh, cry, shout emphatic Italian phrases, and think of excuses to drive just a little longer.
Until next time . . . arrivederci!
I can attest to the plethera of books in the shed, as well as the distaste for moving them. i myself have never really taken to books, though now they are becoming my bedtime friend. hmmmmm how two sisters can be so different.
I don\’t have a shed full, just a few bookcases (okay and some boxes.) We go to a used bookstore exchange on occasion. We are good at buying, not so good at giving back. I reread books a lot like watching a favorite movie. Although my reading time has been reduced to very little since I have had children. I can barely stay awake after I get them to bed. So maybe I should give this tape thing a try, it may be the only way!Nora
Hi Gillian, I know it was a bit of a surprize to see on my space what you did. Even after the interesting comments between Liz and I. I think Liz is staying in neutral territory, but she still leaves some interestiing comments which make me laugh. We\’ve been doing a little joking around and her being a fellow blogger from IL like me its all funa and games. Thanks for having the stiomach to read my story, I get that way sometimes being a Army Ranger and a big time patriot
Just read your comment on my space. I don\’t know of any plants cats hate except maybe cacti. But that probably sounds mean. Sometimes people have good luck with gravel or rough surfaces on top of the soil. NoraP.S. Word to the wise…. Never use the fish emulsion fertilizer on your houseplants if you have cats.
Ah, a fellow book lover! I know no Italian, but you type it beautifully. 🙂 I used to have cases and cases of books, but had to get rid of some for a few reasons. None of which I care to discuss as it only reopens the wound of having said goodbye to so many good friends. Books were my only friends for much of my childhood, so I understand where you are coming from on the note of having moved around a lot and having that stability. "In a very real sense, people who have read good literature have lived more than people who cannot or will not read." -S.I. HayakawaAmanda 🙂