Confessions of a True Bibliophile

I should have suspected as much the last couple times I moved to a different apartment with 5 or 6 large boxes labeled “Books.”

 

But it didn’t really hit me until I was having a conversation with friend about me and my sister.  For those of you who have met my sister Melissa, you may have noticed a slight difference in our personalities… or “polar opposites” as a friend once described it.  And it’s true, we really are polar opposites.  So ingrained into our very physiologies, this polarization of personalities has at times culminated in full out thermostat wars.  If I’m hot, she’s cold and vice versa.  Such is the nature of polarized personalities.  As kids it was made evident in our approach to books.  I always took great care to make sure all my books were in good order.  You couldn’t just throw a Bernstein Bears book in a pile with The Hungary Caterpillar and Good Night Moon. These are two completely different types of books! And I would never have dreamed of letting a pen or marker anywhere near my books.   However, for little sister books were just books, made to be read or played with, just like toys.  So you can imagine my utter horror, when one day when I was 7, I walked into my room to find my little sister crouched on the floor, leaning over an open Bernstein Bears book, crayons strewn across the floor, her hand moving furiously adding her own personal touch to the illustrations.  I don’t remember much after that, but I’m sure there were much tears and screaming….It was quite traumatic.

After telling this story, my friend observed, “So you were a bibliophile from a young age.”

And yes, apparently I was.

Therefore, in true bibliophilic fashion, I have started a Lifetime Reading List, a list of books that I feel, that I absolutely must read in my lifetime or no more be a bibliophile.  However, I suspect I may have missed some important books, which is why I am putting it here.  You can send me any suggestions of books that should be added, so that one day my library can look something like this…

 

 

Cathedral of Books at the Peabody Library

 

Okay…so maybe it’s a little too ambitious…