My Mint Dish

My Lovely Clutter

She just won’t give them up!

I told my mom many times to donate the book piles which are now of no use to me and my sister. Surrendering them for a good cause doesn’t make sense to her at all. Heaven knows why.

All the text books that my sister and I have had since we started schooling are still resting in our two bookshelves and bodega. Yes, I know you can imagine the cobwebs all over them. We wipe them off, but they come back after a while. Nasty ghosts, right?

For goodness’ sake, tell me what to do about our nursery books. How about the penmanship books, Spoken English books and all others that we are making room for? Even more, my sister and I attended the same school way back the age-old kindergarten days. And so we have the same collection of text books! Sure, we are keeping them all in our little shelter.

Years have gone by and the pile continues to build up until now. My sister has already graduated after five years in college, and I’m now on my third year. No, I don’t want to picture out the loads of books that we have collected so far.

If you would see my late lola’s bedroom which turned into a bodega a few months after she passed away, you would be startled with how the double-decker bed became a bookshelf.  Can you take a guess what’s beside the bed? Ta-da! Boxes and paper bags of more books!

What’s more to that is the whole set of Britannica Encyclopedia occupying almost the whole space in the shelf. And what with all the books she bought from Reader’s Digest? Well, I’m not including the magazines and other general reference books.

Books are all over the place! I grew up with them. And I love them.  

Oh yeah, I love them so much that sometimes I don’t eat in school so I can spend my school allowance for books. I started from cheap wonderful reads.  Book sales sweep me off my feet. When I have more than enough of resources, I buy the hardbound prints. I haven’t read them all yet but they’re endlessly stacking up. And I’m constantly dreaming of becoming a filthy rich person so I can add more wonderful books in my messy collection and gather them all in a brilliantly constructed extra-large bookshelf. I can only imagine. Happiness!

Books will be books. I don’t care about the 2011 Britannica Concise Encyclopedia available in your iTouch, iPad, Android, or what have you. Nor I care about the virtual bookshelf and the e-books in whatever multimedia gadgets you have. I will stick to my dream. Oooh La la la-ibrary!

[Wee! I’m reading Bulalo Soup for the Sole by Jew. Pleasure much!]