June 12, 2010

Dusty, dull...that's the way I like it. Ahaaa!

A faded brown, a dusty look, the smell of a forgotten existence in some corner of the shelf, a used-and-abandoned feeling...this is how I like my books. The spotless, shiny book covers, the white pages with bright black ink that almost throws the contents on to your face, the handle-with-care look, the fresh, unused feeling is not something I enjoy. Yes I am one of those people who like to buy books rather than borrow, read and return. My growing up years have, I confess, been spend in Lending Libraries where I did exactly this: borrow, read, return and pay for the pages. But I've always tried to keep a note of some of the books I have thoroughly enjoyed or books that have impacted me in some way or books where some chapters have remained deeply etched in my mind or some books that hold an emotional quotient (maybe I find the author charming or maybe I am in love with the title or simply because it's the favourite book of my first crush!). Later, when I could afford the money and the time, I have tried to find these and add them to my little collection of books.
There, inside the dusty shelves of my cupboard, they lay for months...sometimes years. Until a friend would ask to borrow it or I would suddenly rediscover my love for it and search it out from the many boxes/shelves. And then when I see its shiny clean surface replaced by a dusty coat and find the pages to have a new-found dullness, I fall in love with it all over again. There's something about the perfectly packed, new, glossy look of books that I don't quite enjoy. For me books have to have a secret life of their own, their own years of memories, their own many experiences...and with this they age into the dull, dusty look.
It may seem funny, but when I pick up books (I rarely buy books in 1s, it's always a set of 4 or 5 for me) and bring them home, I right away stack them into my shelf, amidst the many other reads that's ageing in there. As they go in, I pick up a couple of earlier buys that were stored to age gracefully and I spend the rest of my days reading through them. And then a month or more later, I pick up the other lot which has now enriched itself by sharing experiences and stories with its fellow bookers...and has attained the antique-look. The allergic in me does burst into continuous, almost-nonstop sneezing sessions when I retrieve these books from the dusty corners, but that's the way I like it. Ahaaaa!

7 comments:

anubhuti said...

Interesting... never really came across such a perspective. Somehow, crisp, new shiny books were always a temptation for me. SO yeah, an interesting viewpoint...

The Coffee Cup said...

@Anubhuti: I guess I can be weird. It kinda comes naturally to me!!!

Heathcliffs Girl said...

I too pick up many in number and i like the dusty smell of the pages too but then i like the fresh book smell too :p
what i dont like is having to run behind ppl who borrow my books!

The Coffee Cup said...

@Heathcliffs girl: Hi. I remember I loved the fresh smell too, but only in my school books. Maybe tat's the reason I never used it much...just so tat it didn't lose the fresh look and the new smell :).
Lending/borrowing is absolutely risky. Either you're chased for a book or you end up chasing some1 to get the book back. What's your kind of books?

Heathcliffs Girl said...

I just finished quite a ridiculous book, a severed head by iris murdoch!though some of the lines were funny i gota admit. then i have picked up zorba the greek and conrad's short stories. what abt u..what you reading...

Abhi said...

Your post wants me to pick up a good book , get cozy in a corner and start reading. It is sad today with TV and internet and all other forms of entertainment taking precedence that I haven't read a book/novel in ages.

The Coffee Cup said...

@Heathcliffs: I've been off books for a long long time, though I could never resist from buying them. The past two years didn't quite give me the free, lazy time I need to curl in bed with a book. Now I've just invited suggestions from all for good reads/authors and have got quite an impressive list. Planning to get started on that. Meanwhile now am fnally attempting to finish Eat.Pray.Love.
@Abhi: Technology invasion is happening but am forced to believe that those who love books can find no replacement for it. Like I said, a request for a few 'recommended books' got me 55 responses. Wow...so many still read and quite seriously too.