for the love of books

Part of my design book shelf

“Why have you stopped blogging?”, is a question I am asked often.  It feels very stupid to say that I don’t find enough time. Well today, I have pulled out time to share my systematically planned love for books :)

Whenever I tell someone that I bought this particular book, the first reaction is – Oh! Books are so expensive! Then I think, isn’t buying a car, expensive? Isn’t Prada or a Gucci expensive? Isn’t a body shop product expensive? Then why exclamations only for books?!

You change your car when it gets old, but old books are rare treasures. You need to take care of your branded products, but books take care of you. Books never get over; in turn they keep filling you up. Then, I am also asked questions like why books when all information is available on the internet? Better leave the question, unanswered! How shall I explain that a book is an experience and cannot be browsed on the internet!

I was never a good reader nor am I one today. But I enjoy reading. And recently I have started enjoying it more. It is kind of magical. It is like love. Like Maurice Sendak says:

“A book is really like a lover. It arranges itself in your life in a way that is beautiful.”

This is what exactly the books have done to me.

I started making my own little library since 2007. I would buy 1 or 2 books a year from my saving. This little library took a pause for a few years when paying bills would take up every bit. Then things started taking shape and it was time to focus on my library. As Rome was not built in a day, similarly a library needs years of hardwork and passion. It needs a systematic plan of investment. Since more than a year now, I have made it a point to buy one book every month. One thing I learnt differently from the SIP’s or the EMI’s is that an SIP for books is definitely exciting and enriching one! It is an investment where you get unlimited returns forever.

Past year, I have mostly bought design books – textile design in particular. Few I have purchased from the fountain market, few from flipkart/amazon and few from craft exhibitions. Few books I already had in mind since my studies at JJ and NID and few are the ones I stumbled upon client’s desk.

With Picasso, Dali, VanGogh and Klimt already on shelf, art is a completely different treasure to explore. And now my wishlist of books is never ending.

“So many books, so little time.”

-        Frank Zappa

This is so true!

In 2013, I happened to attend a poetry reading session at the Kalaghoda festival where contemporary poets like Ranjit Hoskote, Jerry Pinto, Mustansir Dalvi, Christine Herzer and many more read their poetry. I never knew poetry would be so much more magical! Since then, I have explored a bit of Neruda, Gibran and few Indian anthologies. I love getting lost in Neruda’s …

Here is an excerpt from love sonnet xvii:

I love you without knowing how, or when or from where,

I love you directly without problems or pride:

I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love

except in this form, in which I am not nor are you,

so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,

so close that your eyes close with my dreams.