Of books of books

Working in a public library affords the opportunity to meet many interesting people.  By interesting, I mean "interesting" with a wink and a nudge. Most of them are harmless though, and we rarely have to call for police backup.

And sometimes we meet people who truly are interesting. Like the teacher who had promised herself when she finally retired she would read all the books that she wanted.  And she has! In the past six years she has read nearly 900 books, each one recorded in a lovely little notebook with a brief synopsis, what she thought of it, the date she finished it, where she got the book from. In the back she has neatly glued in reviews for books she'd like to read next. She was a delight to talk to - someone who has a passion for reading without any snobbery about the literary merit of the books she tracks in her notebook. Wouldn't it be interesting to read on its own? What a glimpse into a person's life, to see what they read day by day, their thoughts and feelings, where they were at the time and so on. I think she should publish it.

Here comes my inner geek: that little notebook made me so happy!  First of all, it was pretty: of a size to fit perfectly in the hand, well designed spirals that functioned properly (you'll have to read elsewhere to understand my feelings toward badly bound books - especially spiral bound ones  - that fall apart) with a simple black and white sketch of an elegant cat on the cover.  Second, and most importantly, it was tidy and organized without being fussy or overwhelming. Heavenly!

It just might be time to go notebook shopping.