Old Books

Old Books ©

By

Michael Casey

I was looking around the room looking for an object to inspire a story when I glanced over and saw 2 paperbacks abandoned on the piano, and that was enough, so tonight before the big snow arrives I’ll be talking about Old Books. The 2 on the piano were brand new, but sadly the print size was so small I could not even read them. So rather than waste them I told my small daughter to hand them into the charity shop she in volunteering at. You have to do a bit of volunteering to get your Duke of Edinburgh thingy. Personally I’d just go to Edinburgh for the Festival and forget the Duke, not unless it was a name of a pub. Having just said that I can remember there was a pub near my church that one of my old school mate’s dad was the landlord there, William Francis where are you now?

So back to books, why do we like books? We like books because of the story inside them. Though marketing people will tell you a good cover and plurb at the back will sell the book. The smell and touch of a new book is a great thing too, not as good as a girlfriend, not as soft or smelling as nice, but a nice feel to a book is always good, and you can drink in the perfume from the pages.

In Birmingham we had Hudsons on New Street which was a rabbit warren of a bookshop and I really enjoyed visiting there 40 years ago. Modern bookshops are nice but Hudsons was special, if ever you visit Birmingham bow down before where it used to be, then visit Waterstones.

Or go to our new super dupper Central Library with its pretentious title, which is so good and expensive that the council cannot afford to keep it open. The opening hours have been restricted. The purpose of a Library is to share knowledge not just to be a monument of modern architecture. If all it becomes is a monument and it is not open for as long as possible to share knowledge then something has gone wrong. You decide for yourselves. A simple design of an open book, with the spine housing lifts and stairs would have been one quarter of the price and allowed Knowledge to be Shared, not shuttered and closed.

I sidetracked myself there, but the book was a revolution which allowed knowledge to be shared, and for our masters not to monopolise learning. So books took away the power of the master, pity in Birmingham a Big Idea ruining the meaning of Library. A Library is to share books and learning, and it can only do that if it is open.

Where was I, old books we keep because we treasure them, if we have finished with a book we can pass it on via the charity shop, but a treasured book we keep. I will keep The Book Thief, Don Camillo, a history book given to me 50 years ago when I let Primary school. These are precious books. You may not look at these precious books, but they are part of you like family photos. They are part of the architecture of your life, they are building blocks that help form your character. I have reread Don Camillo a few times and was reading it when my Italian heart surgeon took a look at me 3 years ago prior to my bypass operation. Though originally my History teacher 40 years ago suggested I read it.  

The Graveyard Book is another favourite book that I would not throw away, though I would never throw any book away, they are too precious, share them or pass them on, or give them to a charity shop. It’s written by the guy behind Coroline, but you can google. I used to have 100 paperbacks in my collection after I grew out of Spring Hill Library. However when you move house you cannot take everything with you, so they were abandoned, though a few sacred books were spared. Sacred is the correct word, if the book has been so much fun or you enjoyed it so much then you will keep it. It is not a Holy book per say but to you it has great significance.

The Art of Coarse Rugby used to be a favourite book because I had reached grammar school and I played rugby, if its still in print or if you can find it in a charity shop its worth a read. In those days rugby was played by mainly professional people at weekends, so its a great comic read.

I also keep an AtoZ map book in my book collection, nowadays everybody uses SatNav or an app or look on the computer. So in the future if I live long enough to see any grandkids I can show them  map book, and show them how to look up an address. Though that would be classed as old school.

Books teach us and guide us and amuse us. The 15 books I’ve written so far in my life are meant to amuse, I don’t expect anybody to keep or treasure any of them. They are just pieces of chocolate to be enjoyed with a coffee. They are guilt pleasures to be enjoyed and maybe never spoken of or shared. Perhaps somebody might keep a copy of The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker because the title is at least good. Or they keep 300 and Not OUT because they thought it was a cricket book.

I’ll never know, that’s all in the Future, I just hope The Book survives the future, even if libraries are built like books in a very cheap utilitarian form and not as great palaces that are closed because councils cannot afford to run them.