Why? There
are books I simply can’t forget, not over the years, not over many hundreds of
other books I read. They somehow managed to imprint themselves in my mind, to
never be forgotten. I haven’t found out the reason why, some of these books (or
most of them) don’t contain life-saving content, most of them are fun and easy
to read, but still, something in them won’t let me forget. I’m just glad that
not all of the books I read and will be reading in the future are memorable otherwise
my brain would shut down due to overload (I’m a real heavy bookworm).
I started
reading when I was a child and have never stopped since then. Today, I tried to
estimate approximately how many books I have read up to now. I soon stopped counting fearing that if all these book contents came back to me I would find
myself buried under a huge pile of letters, characters and book covers floating
around, trying to worm themselves back into my head. Just imagine all the
countless trips to the library my parents had to endure with me. The library
only allowed four books per person per month which was by far not enough. Sometimes
I got my brother’s or my father’s lot, too, but most of the time I was soon desperate
to go back and borrow some more books.
Nowadays,
my craving for books can easily be satisfied 24/7, thanks to my e-book reader.
Whenever I run out of books I simply go to the internet (directly on my reader,
technology still amazes me), browse through the book store and order a new book
over the whispernet, seconds later it is there ready for me to read. However, the
biggest advantage in my opinion is that I don’t have to drag along 20 books
when I go on holiday. It was always a tough decision to make between clothes
and books, more often than not the books won. Today, my carry-on luggage is light
as a feather, even though it contains dozens of books.
Despite the
obvious advantages of an e-book reader, I still love to visit book stores
wherever I am, since I definitely prefer real books to e-books. The actual
feeling of holding a printed book in my hands, the particular smell of it,
reading the first few pages and immediately being transported into another
world while still standing in the store, the sudden whispers of other people around
me, sometimes the smell of freshly-brewed coffee, what more can I wish for?
Why do I
write about this topic? As some of you know, I recently joined facebook (after
years of denial I gave in at the beginning of this year, as an easy way to stay
in touch with all of the very nice people I met in Brazil). Being still a
facebook newbie I got all excited when I found out that I can “like” books I
read. This feature triggered my trip down memory lane (fortunately only bookwise),
and during this trip my mind stumbled across a book I once read and which impressed
me more than most of the other books I read. I still don’t know why I love this
book, it probably touched my heart or provoked emotions that won’t let me forget
this book. Maybe I will find out when I read it again, for a second, third or
even fourth time.
At the risk
of being judged by you I mention its title here anyway. It’s called “The Particular
Sadness of Lemon Cake” by Aimee Bender and if you ever read this book please
let me know what you think about it. Is it just a simple read, without
provoking emotions, or can it touch you as well? I’m very interested in other
people’s reaction to this book. Please note that I’m in no way connected to the
author, and I won’t get any royalties if you buy this book (better still, you
can borrow it from me since it is a paperback and not an e-book). See you soon back in Switzerland and keep on
reading!