I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT BOOKS

is a quotation by Thomas Jefferson that I especially like. Its veracity is felt by many besides me.

I think I've always loved books. My first was Molly at the Zoo which I committed to memory at age 2 It was a Little Golden Book of which I had many.

I devoured them. Friends and relatives bought me new ones from far away places. At least from other towns and cities where they lived.

I inherited a library when I became Communication Arts Dept. Chair and I was fortunate to keep the room after my resignation as chair after 15 years. Although I might not have read all those books, somehow they felt good just to surround me. Just in case. In this case the book case(s).

We've always had a lot of books and bookcases in our homes, too. Until the house we occupy now. It's crazy, but we have very few straight walls. With many windows, also, there simply isn't the room for bookcases that I desire.

We primarily have 3, but that's not enough for me. Ok, four. But that's not enough.

If I were a carpenter (would you have my baby--darn it if I ever understood that lyric) I would have bookcases in all the empty walls between the windows. Some would be very small, but I'd fill them with some books. Maybe not throughout the whole house, but lots of places.

I'm going to go over our house layout again and try to find some more places. I know I could fill them up.