Lou wrote about his history with books and I get it. The first book I remember devouring was Arthur by Stephen R Lawhead which then meant I had to get the rest of the series and I loved them. I was around 10 and had to repurchase the whole set before I was 15 because my copies were falling apart. They still hold a soft spot in my heart though upon reading now I find them shallower than I remember.

The book I’ve read the most times now is The Faded Sun Trilogy, which is almost an annual read to start my year. I’ve read this at least 10 times and still enjoy each moment. I’m more careful with books now so my trade paperback copy is in decent condition, and prompted by this I just found and purchased the original series in hardcover.

I remember my mother’s library, a small room with 2 sides that had built in floor to ceiling shelves. I remember her using that cozy room to cross-stitch, knit and read. That room is central in my happy memories of my parents in their final house together. Not long after I moved out of that house they divorced and though I didn’t live at home anymore and was married myself for a few years, I mostly remember emotional turmoil after.

Now books pile up on my floor as they need to be catalogued. I have more books that I haven’t read than I have read. For years I tried to read a book a week, and succeeded, though last year I fell short and felt like a failure for a bit. This year I care less about the number but aim for reading regularly.

My current fiction book is Empire of Silence which I borrowed from the library but have liked enough that I’ve just ordered the whole series in hardcover from my local independent bookstore. My not-fiction read is Saving Time which is much more dense than I expected. It’s turning into the most insightful book on “productivity” or time management I’ve read in a long time as it has done a great job at noting the economic realities that hold so many back from following any of the advice in most productivity books.

I love books, and try to instill that in my kids who so far all can be found at some point each week squirreled away with a book somewhere in the house.