My Own Utopian Experiment #27: Enjoy the wonder of books daily
I am writing this post after bringing 4 books from a book fair. I love book fairs. The profit goes toward good causes. This justifies the impulse book shopping at least for me. I also know I will get to them in near future. The books are much cheaper at book fairs. Another benefit is that you sometimes find the old books that you can’t easily get. The best part is that it is a treasure hunt for me. They are organized into rough categories like fiction, non-fiction, history, arts, technologies, etc. There are boxes of boxes on the big tables rather than book shelves with nice decors. It is usually happening in a big conference room or basement. I go thru each box and book by book right next to other book worms, my kind of people. We do not know each other. We do not talk. We will never see each other again but it is a nice feeling to see people with the common interest. It is hard evidence that someone like me is out there. When I find books I like, I feel great joy. The anticipation of hidden treasure excites me every time. It is true I sometimes do not find any but it is also true I sometimes find many. The feeling of joy and accomplishment always exceed the risk not finding any. I found many treasures from book fairs for several years now. I have learned and read so many books this way. It is a wonderful way to do what I love.
Books are not only fun to shop. There’s nothing better than a good book for me. Not all books are equally good. On the other hand, there has not been really bad books either. I experience and learn something. I reflect a lot. I sometimes write about it. Books almost always treat me well. They are like nice friends. When I am with a good book, I do not know where the time goes. The whole day seem to evolve from the book. I am in it. I can’t stop thinking about it. I can’t wait to go back. In the meantime, I run several versions of next chapters in my head. Wild imaginations seize my soul. I truly feel there’s nothing else important than going back to the book. When I go back, I am in the zone. I am happy and sad as if it is my own stories. In fact, it is still about human experiences so it often overlaps a lot. The story often is mine or yours. I believe this is why people read books. You find your own stories in others. This is extremely comforting to know there’s someone like me out there with similar experience, values, thoughts, wishes, concerns, hopes and many other alternatives. I am happy when something turns out good on the pages. I grieve when it does not. My feelings can be intense but I grieve more on my own than what happened in the stories. It just becomes a mirror or tunnel that I can express and process my feelings. We all have unresolved or half-resolved episodes. Books are like counselors for my soul. I sometimes get epiphany. It clears my heart, mind, head and soul. So, grieving and being sad with a book are not all that bad at the end. You can say my relationship with books is very intimate.
Books also keep me young inside. I never lost my ability to imagine since childhood. It is not a secret but I do not recall I ever talk about this part with anyone since I became an adult. I used to have imaginary friends from books as a child. I am having dialogue with authors or people in the story about what I read and my life now. I think it is still sort of imaginary friends. I often wish I get to know them in person so we can have a discussion group regularly. I do not mind a book airline tickets to get there but not as a reader. I truly want to be friends. I mean the friends that talk about our lives, share meals and drinks. I sometimes live in a cottage in the middle of a valley with lots and lots of wild flowers. I seem to have a dog all the time there when I live in nature. I even named the dog. I am someone who is afraid of too much water. I confess I have never been on a cruise and do not have a plan as of now. In my imagination, I would travel the sea in a yacht to find the hidden city, Atlantis. Of course, there must be lots of treasure! It is still a debate whether Atlantis really exists or not. I wish it exists somewhere but hope not to be found too soon. Some things better to be hidden than being found so it is a mystery. I also want to leave this for next generations. I remember I was so shocked that many things were already found before me. This happened when I was probably around 4th or 5th grade studying history at school. I was utterly disappointed and even heart-broken that someone else robbed the opportunities from me to find something good. I had hard time to process that many things were already found. There may be some kids like my young self so I want them to grow up and find Atlantis. Where is your imagination going when you read a good book?
Regardless of what you do, where you are and what you are up to, don’t forget to have little fun. I am going to have fun with the books that I brought. Lots of reflection, writing and imaginations. Sending my love.