15 Things about Books

Inspired by Clarion buds John, Trent, and Dr. Phil, here we go...

1. I love books. As goofy as that sounds, I really do love them. I can spend hours in libraries and bookstores, salivating over shelf after shelf of great reading. I remember loving books even before I could read them. I have vivid memories of picking up my older brother's science fiction paperbacks (the only size I could hold) and thrilling over the colorful covers and delighting in how I could fan the pages back and forth. There's just something right about the feel of a book in your hands. It still feels that way now.

2. Books are really simple, when you think about it. I mean every aspect of it is simple from inception to completion. Someone thinks up a story, some publisher prints the book, some store puts the book on a shelf, and someone buys it and reads it. It's really simple. (Until someone -- or some corporation -- makes it complicated.)

3. It's also simple – and amazing – that I can sit in my study and pick up The Iliad (or any classic) and read the thoughts of someone who lived centuries ago. Homer never dreamed that some clown in a place called Maryland in a country he'd never heard of was going to read his words and become captivated by them. And yet I can read a story from a collection by Dale Bailey (which I did last night), someone who's living right now, and email him about how "The Resurrection Man's Legacy" affected me. Books have an incredible power.

4. A book can be used, worn, ratty, falling apart -- and it's still valuable. CDs wear out. So do movies. But even if someone rips out every single page of my copy of Till We Have Faces and spreads it out on the floor, it's still going to be precious to me. Forever.

5. Having said that, I do treasure the few signed first editions I have from authors I deeply respect and admire. It's like having a bit of them with you always.

6. And the books that I treasure I put in Brodart protective covers. (You should too.)

7. I love hearing about books from people who are passionate about them.

8. I love discovering a book that someone else has led me to, a book that they've loved.

9. I love giving books.

10. Maybe it's the teacher in me, but there's nothing that gives me more joy than watching kids' eyes light up they buy a book or their parents/grandparents buy them books. That's magic.

11. There are so many of them. And so many types. Eugene Corporon, Director of Bands at the University of North Texas, has stated many times that programming music for the Wind Symphony is extremely challenging, not because there's not enough great music, but because there's too much of it. I actually heard him say once that he struggles with which pieces to record – he's concerned that he only has a limited amount of time on this earth and it's not enough to program all the great music that's already been written, much less the great new works that are constantly being written. I feel the same way about reading books.

12. Thank God for audiobooks. I can "read" twice as much now.

13. Whenever Cindy complains about my book addiction, I always remind her that I'm not addicted to drugs, booze or gambling, don't run around with other women, don't get arrested, and don't stir up (much) trouble. "I can't argue with that," she always says, as I step up to the bookstore counter.

14. I want to become close friends with someone who builds beautiful bookcases.

15. Books will never die. Never.