#136 …when you dread to see someone stare at your bookshelf.

I recently hired a carpenter to give shape to my dream – a permanent home to my orphaned books. Just as a collector lays bare his collection every now and then to approve of it, I would visit the sacred corner after every minute to smile and pat my back for it. Once it was complete, it dazzled with the radiant of my exquisite collection. I was beaming with pride.

Next day when I found my neighbor staring at my pretty wooden bookshelf, I was dead stricken with terror. The first thought that crossed my mind – “What if he took one away?” On another thought, I myself took out a book, handed it over to him and hoped he would find it just as fascinating and life-changing as I did. As is said, “if you love your books, let them go.”

I simply adore my books. On rainy mornings, lazy afternoons, breezy evenings and moonlit nights, I sit in front of my bookshelf and caress my precious books just like some young woman would lay out her shoes on the floor to admire. I swear - if my house ever caught on fire, I would somehow, someway, will gather enough power to rescue all my books! They are my windows through which I see this world and learn about its people, places, cultures and adventures. Books define my thoughts, and I honestly believe that if I had not read particular authors, I wouldn't be me now.