WIDE ANGLE WEDNESDAY - BOOKS

Both Mr. HCB and I are bookaholics or to give us the correct title “bibliophiles”, or even bookworms.

We much prefer reading a book to watching television - and the only things that stop Mr. HCB from reading are gardening and watching cricket!  Of course, the thing that stops me is Blipping!

I often wonder what people do when I go into someone’s home and there isn’t a book in sight - I think it’s unnatural not to have books about - and in fact, not only are our books on the four shelves in our dining room but they are also by the side of us on tables in the lounge and upstairs in one of our bedrooms, one of which is completely taken over by Mr. HCB’s collection of Channel Islands, Jack Higgins and Stephen Leather books.  I think he has every book that the latter two authors have ever written - see my extra photograph. 

His Channel Island book collection is very extensive and when we went over to Guernsey last year, his one stipulation was that we took the car so that he could buy more books, which of course he did!  And in case you think he just buys them, he doesn’t - he also reads them.

When I was pulling the books forward onto the shelf to take the photograph, it reminded me of Miss Knockells, I think she was called, who was the very strict librarian in our local library when I was very young.  I used to pushed the books to the back of the shelves, and she used to come along and say in a very stern voice “Please don’t do that” - it stopped me doing it that day - but when I went back a few days later, I did it again!  She also enforced the “No Talking” rule - and woe betide you if you uttered one word - how times have changed, with people laughing and joking and even chatting on their mobile phones - think I preferred the “olden days”! 

“A room without books 
     is like a body without a soul.” 
Marcus Tullius Cicero
106-43 B.C.