Too many books...

I love books... always have... from the time i was 5 and couldnt read to now..

that was a traumatic experience.. i didnt know how to read english and my khals put me into PS23 in staten island for 6 weeks when we went to visit NY back in '84. The language barrier aside, 1st grade wasnt a bad place to be. You got lucky charms for a midday snack after which everyone had to put their heads on their desks and nap.. I mean does life GET any better than this :)
Anyway, one fine day i got this book about a circus from the library and obviously when you cant read, everything looks like Greek to you.. the pictures were nice and i'm sitting there staring at the Greek like if i stare long enough it'll start making cohesive sense.. well.. THAT didnt happen... so i went to my mom like all kids do.. and she looks at me and says Did you finish the 100 pages of home work that i told you to do (even though the school only requires 5 pages but thats not the point)... i mutely shook my head in negation and she said well im not reading it to you then..

so i sat there.. sad.. illiterate :) staring at the little squiggles in the book that just wouldnt start making sense.. Far be it from me to actually make the effort to finish the 100 pages... oh nooo.. i just sat and stared at the circus lions.. after considerable time elasped, mummy dearest took pity on me (as all mummies are apt to doing) and read me the story... :) yayyy..

I have always loved books.. and ive been quite predictable about them too.. Im quite a mainstream person who tries hard to be cool by not coming across as mainstream.. but deep down inside.. im pretty mainstream... I will however try anything once... and thats why ive read way more books than the average person.. even Jane Eyre (literary classic aside, that book is to reading what karailas are to vegetables... bitter and unsavory unless treated right... ) Amazingly i managed to finish the unabridged version and actually enjoyed the writing style... Thanks to my NY cousins annual summer reading list, which they studiously brought along every summer but refused to touch, i read alot of great books i prolly wouldnt have touched otherwise.. The fact that they were on my cousins summer reading list somehow infused them with a certain coolness which would otherwise have been lacking :) ...
so thanks to inferred coolness i read up on Greek Mythology, Judy Blume, Ramona, Ulysses, Rebecca of Sunny Brook Farm, Anne of Green Gables, Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice, etc etc... and loved every minute..

My favorite anecdote from those days was when my cousin shaz called me at 7am in the morning from NY and said Remember that book you read this summer, gimme the summary. I have to submit it tomorrow.. lol.. amidst rolling on the floor with laughter, i narrated the entire story of a book i hadnt even read properly (Something about some kid called jacob.. it was damn boring)... That 20 minute long distance phone call is something i still havent forgotten... My cousin is still as nutty as she was back then :) mashallah ...

The rest of my childhood was largely overshadowed by Enid Blyton (who i love with every fibre of my being to this day). I had the entire famous five, five findouters, secret seven, the enchanted wood series, the magic faraway tree, the wishing chair series, Mr. Gallianos circus.. i LOVED those books.. when we came to karachi and shifted into our new house after abu retired, my entire carton was lost in the move in 1996. Its something that hurts to this day. Although to tell the truth i've run out of places to keep my books now.. but that was my entire childhood... Mallory towers and St. Clares... the naughtiest girl.. DAMMIT!.
I'm determined to build that collection back up slowly. I'll leave Famous Five and Secret Seven out of it, but the rest i will recollect.. from sunday bazaar and other places..

If any of you have any books you think i could be interested in, please donate..

love you guyz take care..

Princess of the GemWorld

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I dare to dream... so sue me.. :p
GemWorld

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