Lets Blog Off, Personal Essay

Home…Is Where the Books Are

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(Bookworm, by Carl Spitzweg)

The topic for today’s Let’s Blog Off is “What is Home“. My first inclination when seeing that four letter word is to examine my relationship with God and family and ideas like: “home is where the heart is” and “home is where you make it”. Without any intent to belittle thoughts of that nature, my mind went elsewhere when this topic was posted.

It went to the places where I often make my home during the cool autumn days and the long winter nights, during the first signs of the return of spring and during the sweltering heat of summer. I am talking about books. But not just books themselves, but a home filled with books, for I have to agree with the Roman scholar Cicero:

“A home without books is a body without soul.”

Particularly over the last ten years, the space I occupy has become very important to me. “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home” rings true. I don’t live in a big house, but the house I live in is “home”. It is home not simply because it is the place I rush to giddily at the end of a long day to trade my work attire for pajama pants and Dr. Who t-shirts (though that is a delight), it is home because the odds and ends, the tchotchkes and ephemera, are put in place to reflect our dreams and our passions. Things in and of themselves are not important, but the things that exist as tangible representations of the years we’ve shared and the roads we’ve traveled are indeed very important. They are vital pieces that make up the physical whole of this thing we call “home”. One of the things that we share a deep and abiding love for is the written word, and our home reflects it.

There is a series of books written in the late 80’s and early 90’s by fantasy author John DeChancie that feature a place called Castle Perilous. Castle Perilous consists of 144.000 doors that open up into parallel universes, one of those being our Earth. The many and varied protagonists of the series experience their adventures by either purposefully or accidentally going through these doors. In addition to being straightforward entertaining fantasy adventure stories, I also see Castle Perilous as a metaphor for a house that is occupied by books. Not only is a book filled home the place that you cook and clean, have your meals and rest your head, interact with family and friends and quietly ponder life’s mysteries–it is the place where you can open up any one of a number of “doors” and be whisked away to a parallel universe of your choosing.

In our home we have books in the computer room, both bedrooms, the kitchen, the living room and the basement. The bathroom and garage are the only rooms without books and were it not for fear of moisture/weather damage both of those rooms would no doubt hold books as well. I spent the better part of this past Saturday afternoon re-shelving and rearranging the books in our basement “library”, all the while thinking of the comfort and joy they give to me by their mere presence within these walls. As I lovingly dusted and handled our books I thought of one of my favorite quotes:

“Too few people seem to realize that books have feelings. But if I know one thing better than another I know this, that my books know me and love me. When of a morning I awaken I cast my eyes about my room to see how fare my beloved treasures, and as I cry cheerily to them, “Good day to you, sweet friends!” how lovingly they beam upon me, and how glad they are that my repose has been unbroken”.

~Eugene Fields, The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac

A house can be many things, and indeed a home can be as well. Without the warmth of my dear wife and the laughter of my lovely daughter it would just be four walls. Without the presence of a loving God in our lives, “home” would be an inadequate place of shelter and protection from the chaos and turmoil in our world. But while those things travel with me everywhere and insure that home is indeed in my heart, my actual “home” could never be so without being surrounded by cherished friends made of paper and glue, ink and board. No matter my mood, no matter the state of the world or of the weather outside my front door, no matter the time of day, I can walk to any of these doors and have new adventures or take well worn journeys that broaden my experience and add to my definition of what it means to be home.

“He that loveth a book will never want for a faithful friend, a wholesome counselor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter”

~Isaac Barrow

So now I will ask you, “What is home?”

59 thoughts on “Home…Is Where the Books Are”

  1. The title of your post made me smile. That’s exactly what I think – home is where the books are. Even the non-readers in my family – my husband, my mother, one of my sons – says ahouse is just a house if it doesn’t have books in it.

    1. Ah, that is so great that you even have the non-readers trained right. LOL!

  3. As a recent grad, I can say that during each of the many times that I’ve moved in the past few years, my books were always the first thing unpacked. =D

    1. Mine would be too, and any time I’ve moved I’ve always made sure that I was the only one to handle my books. Obsessive? Yes, happily so. LOL!

  5. I can’t wait to see your reorganized books in the basement this Friday night. Hopefully I can find some to borrow as well!!!

    I agree with your thoughts as well. I believe we have books in every room in our home as well except for the two you mention for the exact same reasons. I need to some book organization again down stairs as well. I find myself reorganizing books often on my living room book shelf several times a year. Some books I keep on it for easy access but most I can on it are my favorites. Books that I like to look upon each day as they bring a smile to face remembering the adventures we shared together. Because the relationship with a book is not a one way street but a two way one in my opinion. The care and nuturing of a good book by its owner brings forth the best stories in my experience.

    On a related reading note you will be happy to hear that I recieved our copies of Subterrean Magazine # 8 in the mail yesterday with the John Scalzi short story in it we’ve been so hoping to get our hands on. I will be bring your copy over Friday night and we can discuss when we want to try and read it together. I haven’t cracked my issue yet either so I’m not sure how long it is. I’m really excited about reading it though. I believed it’s titled Questions for a Solider.

    1. I’m charging admission, by the way. 😉

      Couldn’t agree more, relationships with books are definitely two-way. And any book has the ability to treat readers in widely different ways. And we’ve talked before about the two kinds of book lovers, those who treat their books reverently and those who love ’em up. I think Anne Fadiman’s essay is one of the best I’ve read on these two kinds of readers even though I am on the far opposite end of the spectrum from her. I love to treat my books in a courtly manner. I don’t love them any the less for it, but I like them looking in the best shape possible.

      Ah, so looking forward to a small glimpse back into the Old Man’s War universe. That is really, really good news.

      1. By admission can I bring our dog and leave it your home??? Will that suffice? :0

        As you know I try to treat my hardbacks in a courtly manner. I try on my trade paperbacks and mass market paperbacks but with much less success. I can’t read them with cracking the pages to far unlike some people I know. 😉

        I feel the same on the OMW short story. I’m very excited to get a glimpse back in that world as well. I figure its going to fire up my desire to read the first OMW book again as I haven’t read it but the one time years ago and I’ve been meaning to give it another turn about the library.

        1. You can bring it, but it has to go home with you!

          I’m not sure who you are speaking of. You should introduce me to that person. I could learn a thing or two from such a fantastic guy. 😉

          I re-read OMW last year and would actually like to re-read The Ghost Brigades this next year.

        1. Funnily enough I don’t mind collecting aged science fiction paperbacks, as long as they aren’t water damaged, moldy, or particularly stinky.

  6. I’ve always loved Cicero’s quote. It is so true. I can’t imagine not having my books in my home. It wouldn’t be my home. I hope all is well.

    1. I know, isn’t it great?!!? All is going very well. Slightly more busy than I prefer, but hard to complain. Hope you’ll be back to your own in home internet connection soon.

  8. lots of books and at least one cat, that’s home!
    (actually my house seems to operate inunder ‘the more the merrier’ for both books AND cats! 😀

    1. The only experience I’ve ever had with books and cats is when a friend’s cat ate part of the cover of a book I loaned to her. I don’t think I’ll be mixing the two any time soon. 😉

  9. Love this post. I find a house without books soulless. And I’ve seen quite a few. Can’t imagine my life without books and family. Sitting here looking at a few bookshelves now. Worlds exist on those shelves. People and places. I am rich. 🙂

    1. “Worlds exist on those shelves.” Yes, that is exactly it. Well said. I often catch myself looking over at various bookshelves in the house, remembering pleasant experiences with the books I’ve read and longing for time to read the books I have not. I am rich as well. 🙂

  10. Books as doors to other universes … what a wonderful way of thinking of our books. I know that I love being surrounded by mine and home is definitely where our books are. Great post Carl!

    1. I’m overly sentimental to the point of being sappy about books and about reading, but I honestly don’t care. It really and truly is the way that I feel about them.

  11. Well, all right! Another book lover! I wrote about the same thing. And I used the same picture! I hasten to add, though, that I wrote my blog yesterday, and that I didn’t look at anyone else’s until after I’d posted my own!

    I quite agree with the quote from Cicero. I have often said that myself, not knowing that I was actually quoting! Even so, it’s what I believe. The first thing I look for when I enter other people’s homes is their books. It astounds me to see so many homes with no books at all, or, at best, one small bookcase—and this in the homes of people who are in their forties and fifties!

    1. How hilarious! Great minds and all! I’ll be over when I have time later to check out your post. I just saw a print of that painting in a store a couple of weeks ago and have been dying to use the image in a post since then.

      I’m not sure if I ever actually heard that Cicero quote or not, but I knew there *had* to be someone who had said something witty to encapsulate the way I felt about books and about home.

      I do the same thing, I love to see what people are reading, what they have on their shelves, etc.

      It is sad that more people don’t read. Of course there are those who read a lot but use the library or trade in or give away books they buy because they don’t have that passion for possession that some of the rest of us have. And that is okay, of course. But for me books are what makes home feel like a warm, loving and lived in place.

  12. wonderful post, Carl V.

    I share your sense of home and I really enjoy the eloquence with which you speak of it. “A house can be many things, and indeed a home can be as well. Without the warmth of my dear wife and the laughter of my lovely daughter it would just be four walls. Without the presence of a loving God in our lives, “home” would be an inadequate place of shelter and protection from the chaos and turmoil in our world.”

    love the ‘castle perilous’ metaphor.

    lovely lovely post. am so glad to have read it.

    1. Thanks so much! Have no idea why Castle Perilous popped into my mind. It has been decades since I’ve read any of those books. Need to again though because I really did enjoy them. And it is an apt stand in for how I feel about books.

      I know you and your family feel the same way. I’m always thrilled to read about the reading adventures that you all go on together.

  13. Last winter, I build new bookshelves in my living room. It’s fascinating the wide range of topics that are represented there. You can learn a lot about a person by the books they keep around.

        1. Nicely done. I like the way they look like built ins and the colors and everything work great with your walls and window trim. Cool!

    1. Thank you. I really need to have the Fields quote up somewhere in my house.

  15. I’m quite sure I would have said the very same thing had a I written a blogoff post on this topic. Only I would add… home is also where you make chocolate chip cookies! (I feel like it’s not a home until you’ve baked in the oven and permeated the house/abode with that baking smell!)

    2. Carl, wonderful post. It’s impossible to have enough books. I can’t imagine living without books.
      Suey, you are so absolutey right.

      My perfect winterevening consists out of the following ingredients:
      – selfmade hot chocolate
      – selfmade warm blueberry crumble (can be substituted by applepie or any other baked good)
      – 1 or 2 books, maybe more.

  16. Goodness, Man! What a post! So well written (as always) and so very true. Books need homes. Homes need books. The relationship is symbiotic, like the Naboo and the Gungans, though without the ridiculous annoyances. Your concluding paragraph is a thing of beauty, and I echo its sentiments: God, wife, and daughter accompany me in my heart, too, but a book in hand is a place to pull me away and fill my mind with awe, a place welcoming and where I always feel welcomed.

    1. The relationship is very symbiotic! Yes! And look at you, rockin’ the Star Wars Prequels reference! Well done. Now I’m going to be having the Gungan leader’s voice in my head all day! Thanks for that. :p

      While I would give up the books for those other relationships when it comes to priorities, I am glad that I don’t have to choose and can enjoy all of those aspects that make home “home” for me.

  17. As you know, one of the big reasons we moved was to find more shelf space. I’m surprised that with over 1000 more sq. ft. we didn’t get everything on a shelf, but that will come with time and the budget. There are books in the dining room – the major book wall of hardcover books, the library (3 walls) and the Old Office – Wife retires Friday, we don’t know what the room will become. That’s about it, except the stack on the nightstand, the small bookcase in the living room with gardening and cookbooks. Oh and the book case by the guest room door full of graphic novels, and the stacks near the computer, and a few on an end table… and the quilting books in Wife’s quilt studio. None in garage, bathrooms, kitchen, laundry room, stairs, breakfast nook. For now.

    Liked your post a lot. Books weren’t the first thing out here, but that was because we had no shelves until we had them built, the last house had all built-ins I done. In fact the books were one of the last things to come out, and there are many boxes full of books waiting for a place to go. Which doesn’t seem to keep me from buying more.

    There is a warmth that comes from having printed books in the home that will never be matched by having an e-reader loaded with text files, no matter what anyone might argue. Look, feel, smell, weight, touch, pages, covers, bindings. Lovely!

    1. “There is a warmth that comes from having printed books in the home that will never be matched by having an e-reader loaded with text files, no matter what anyone might argue. Look, feel, smell, weight, touch, pages, covers, bindings. Lovely!”

      Couldn’t have said it better myself, and I could not agree more. Your new home is lovely, and not just because of the incredible new bookshelves and spaces dedicated to reading. But they do make it an incredible home.

      And I look forward to the budget allowing for even more bookshelves so your poor boxed books can come out and shine.

  18. Oh my. Your post made my heart smile and weep simultaneously. The smiling part is quite obvious, I’m sure. The weeping comes from the current state of our home. We’re trying to get the house ready to sell…and the real estate guy highly recommended that we pack up most of our bookshelves to make the house look bigger. This past weekend 90% of our books and bookcases were moved to a storage unit. I realize that we probably still have more books here than 90% of people have in their homes, but to us it feels so empty. 🙁 I tell myself it’s for a good cause though. Anyway, Carl, this was a truly lovely post. Truly lovely.

    1. I either didn’t realize or just don’t recall that you were moving. Now of course I’m interested in details. 🙂 I would definitely have a hard time storing my books elsewhere, so I can feel your pain. I hope your house sale goes well and goes quickly and that you are soon in a home with all your books unpacked.

  19. Since I have three bookshelves in my bedroom, three bookshelves in my family room (one in which has only children’s books and the other photo albums) and built in bookshelves in the kitchen to hold cookbooks, I would have to agree that books play an important part in my life and help to make my house a home.

    1. Yes they do, and good for you! I need many, many more bookshelves in my own home and I hope next year provides that opportunity to convert more of our office space into a library.

    1. Isn’t it a great image? I just saw a framed version of it in the store a few weeks back and immediately came back and tracked it down on the internet. I feel such a kinship to that man.

  22. As a collector with 30,000 books in his basement, I can really relate to this post! I’m currently listening to the audio book version of Stephen Greenblatt’s brilliant THE SWERVE: HOW THE WORLD BECAME MODERN has plenty of stories of lost books and hidden libraries. As the Roman Empire fell, thousands of books were burned or destroyed. The lack of learning and books created the Dark Ages. The rediscovery of ancient texts hundreds of years later makes a fascinating tale.

    1. That sounds like a really great book, George. I need to see if my library has the audio version. I have been in the mood to track down something new on audio for the daily drives to and from work.

      So my question is, are your 30,000 books all out in a basement library or do you have to have them boxed up?

  23. The bulk of the library is on shelves, Carl. I need to donate another couple thousand books to SUNY at Buffalo to free up some space. You can see part of the last donation at http://libweb.lib.buffalo.edu/kelley/. THE SWERVE (all 9 hours) is on one CD. In order to do the entire book on one disk, RECORDED BOOKS used MP3 technology. If your car radio doesn’t play MP3 files, you’ll have to listen to it on your computer or MP3 player.

    1. That is a cool collection. I’d love to see that. They did a really nice job with the website.

      I can’t play MP3 in my truck, but I notice my local library does have copies of the book itself for check out.

  24. Thanks for your kind comments on the Kelley Collection web site. SUNY at Buffalo did a very nice job with it. I found the story of how civilization was lost, and then found, in THE SWERVE fascinating, Carl. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

    1. It was easy to be kind, the site is amazing. Didn’t do much good for my keyboard as I sat drooling watching the books scroll by. 🙂

  25. Stumbled in here from another blog I went to read about technology and TV – the Blog title caught my eye as a fellow fan of Slippery Jim DeGriz. My congratulations to you on 6 years of blogging.

    And I am glad to have read this post. As a new home-owner, I am eagerly pursuing building the bookshelves to once again free my friends from their cardboard boxes. And I wanted to share my favorite quote:

    “Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read”. – Groucho Marx

    1. I’m glad you stumbled in Don, especially given that you are a fan of the Stainless Steel Rat!

      I wish you all the best in getting some really nice shelves to adorn your new home (congratulations!), because there is hardly anything more sad in a house than boxes filled with books. They need to out and free! 🙂

      Love that quote. I’ve used it before myself in book-related posts.

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