“Books fill my days. Not to mention my bedroom, my living room, my dining room and my closet.”

The above is a meme that Goodreads tweeted a few days ago. While I agree that books fill my days, my living space is not cluttered with reading material, other than the novel(s) I’m currently reading. I’ve never hoarded books, perhaps because as a librarian I had access to the titles I wanted to read. For a book lover, it’s a fortunate position to be in.

However, I do have a collection of books that is meaningful to me: volumes signed by the authors. I especially enjoy attending author readings and later standing in line to buy a copy of the book, meet the writer, and get an autograph.

Though I also have favorite books that I return to from time to time, I don’t own all of these. I did recently purchase a copy of Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros to read a second time. It’s a story I treasure, so I will keep it in my collection. I’m now in the habit of purchasing e-books and have quite a collection on my iPad. It’s an easy way to store favorite works but somehow lacks the intimacy of the actual book in hand. Regardless, books are like friends; I  choose carefully which ones I want to keep close.